Page 1638 - Politics
Modi tarnished Gujarat's image: Kanhaiya
Youth leaders Kanhaiya Kumar, Hardik Patel and Jignesh Mevani here on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of tarnishing Gujarat's image,attacking constitutional institutions and targeting those who question him.
Shatrughan Sinha joins opposition rally in Delhi, takes dig at PM
Disgruntled BJP lawmaker Shatrughan Sinha joined a rally of opposition leaders here on Wednesday and took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking would his "56-inch chest" reduce in size if he spoke on the Rafale issue. On a day when the CAG report on the 2015 Rafale fighter jets deal was tabled in Parliament, Sinha said Modi should speak the truth on the agreement between India and France, because as prime minister, he was accountable to the nation. "Why cannot he reply to the nation, will his 56-inch chest squeeze to six-inch?," he asked. The filmstar-turned-politician even egged on the crowd on the issue, as they chanted, "Chowkidar Chor Hai". The Congress and its chief Rahul Gandhi have used this slogan to target Modi over the Rafale issue and Sinha's participation and comments at the opposition rally may lead to more bitterness between him and the ruling BJP. The rally was hosted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at Jantar Mantar here, during which leaders of various opposition
Himachal Cong forms committee to look into issue of rebels rejoining party
Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Himachal Congress in-charge Rajni Patil has constituted a four-member committee to look into the issue of rebel leaders rejoining the party, a state leader said. In a press note issued here Wednesday, the state Congress general secretary (oragnisation and administration) Rajnish Kimta said the four-member committee has been set up under the chairmanship of AICC secretary Gurkirat Singh Kotli, who is also co-incharge of state Congress. Vidya Stokes, Kaul Singh Thakur and GS Bali have been included as members in this committee, he added. The committee will decide on the issue of rebel leaders rejoining the party, he added. These rebels had contested the last assembly elections against the official Congress candidates.
Navi Mumbai airport to be operationalised by 2021-22: Minister
The Central government plans to operationalise Navi Mumbai airport by 2021-22, apart from creating additional infrastructure at existing airports in Delhi and Banagalore, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said on Wednesday.
NPP is still partner of NDA: Meghalaya CM
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Wednesday said that his party, National People's Party (NPP), is still a partner of the BJP-led NDA, after the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was not tabled in the Rajya Sabha.
We will join hands to oust Modi govt: Rahul after Opposition meeting
Moving forward on a united anti-BJP front for the Lok Sabha elections, top opposition leaders Wednesday agreed to work together to prepare a common minimum programme to oust the Modi government and to consider forging a pre-poll alliance. The meeting hosted by NCP president Sharad Pawar also saw Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and AAP's Arvind Kejriwal coming together for the first time, while West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu vowed to work together due to "democratic compulsions to save India". After the meeting, which took place hours after opposition leaders shared a dias at an AAP protest on the day of the last sitting of the present Lok Sabha, Gandhi told reporters that opposition leaders agreed to have a common minimum programme. "We will work together to defeat the BJP," he said. Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal termed the talks constructive and said the opposition will work together. The meeting indicates that the ...
No big terror incident in last 4-5 years: BJP MP
Asserting that infiltration through international borders had come down due to the Army's surgical strikes, BJP national vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe on Wednesday asserted that no big terror incident had taken place in the country in the last four-five years. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP said after a long time, the country had a government, under which no one was questioning its topmost leaders' credibility. "Everybody knows about the surgical strikes, due to which infiltration through the international borders has come down. We have done this not only on the western border, but in the east also. In the last four to five years, no big terror incident took place in the country," he said at a BJP event. Sahasrabuddhe added that the middlemen were removed from the defence corridor and India had started manufacturing different arms and ammunition. "For the last couple of years, people wanted to have a police memorial in the memory of those officers who had lost their lives. ..
LS passes unregulated deposit schemes Bill
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a Bill that provides a comprehensive mechanism to ban unregulated deposit schemes and protects interests of depositors, amid slogan shouting by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Samajawadi Party (SP) members.
The CAG report presented
The CAG report presented Parliament showed that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was spreading misinformation on the Rafale deal with an eye on the coming Lok Sabha elections, BJP General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao claimed here Wednesday. "BJP has brought an end to the system of middlemen (in defence deals) that existed during Congress regim...Nothing that finds fault with the government has come either in the Supreme Court or through CAG," he told reporters. BJP would face the 'misinformation campaign' of Congress and take the opposition partys politics of bankruptcy to the people, Rao said. PTI SJR The Comptroller and Auditor General, in its report said that Modi government secured a 2.86 per cent cheaper price for Rafale fighter jets than what was negotiated by the UPA regime, but flagged that removal of 'sovereign guarantees' only benefitted the French manufacturer, and not India.
Mamata should focus on governance in Bengal: BJP
The West Bengal BJP on Wednesday said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in Delhi for an opposition rally convened by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), should concentrate on governing her state properly rather than dreaming of becoming the prime minister.
CEC reviews election preparedness in Telangana
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora Wednesday reviewed the election preparedness in Telangana with state Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar, Chief Secretary, DGP and other senior government officials. He discussed the preparation of electoral rolls, law and order situation, availability of quality manpower for conducting the elections and issues related to availability of EVMs and VVPATs, an official release said. Rajat Kumar told reporter that the Commission is very serious that properly trained and qualified officers be posted for election purposes. As part of updating of electoral rolls, he said 27.31 lakh claims and objections have been received, of which 10 lakh had been processed.More than seven lakh are first time voters, he said. A two-day session on training senior election officials (certification programme) began here on Wednesday. Some of the topics covered in the programme include role and responsibility of returning officers, electoral rolls and model .
Priyanka in action, Congress announces alliance with Mahan Dal
The Congress on Wednesday announced an alliance with a regional outfit, Mahan Dal, for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh. The two parties had fought the 2014 elections in alliance wherein the Mahan Dal had fielded candidates from Nagina, Budayun and Etah. The party had lost all the three seats.
Maha: Cong & NCP hold talks for proposed grand alliance
Opposition Congress and NCP in Maharashtra Wednesday held a meeting to finalise the contours of the proposed grand alliance against the ruling BJP, and decided to expedite its process. The state unit leaders of both the parties met at the residence of Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil. Congress leader Manikrao Thakre said it was decided to expedite the process of finalising the talks with Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader Raju Shetti and Left parties. Talks with Samajwadi Party are in the final stages, he said. "If Ambedkar is flexible, Congress is ready to accommodate him. Congress is positive about the issues he has raised other than the demand for number of seats," Thakre said. According to him, the final seat-sharing formula would be decided after talks with smaller parties conclude. "We need to see which constituencies will be given to the smaller parties. The formula will be ..
NCP, Congress have finalised seat-sharing agreement: Pawar
The NCP and the Congress on Wednesday finalised the seat-sharing agreement for their alliance in Maharashtra after Sharad Pawar and Rahul Gandhi met here. Gandhi met Pawar in the afternoon at the latter's residence. NCP leaders Praful Patel and Supriya Sule as well as Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and K C Venugopal were also present during the hour-long meeting. The NCP and the Congress have finalised the seat-sharing agreement, Pawar told PTI, without divulging details of how many seats each party will contest. The announcement of the seat sharing and the details will be made in Mumbai, he said. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the two parties were in alliance and the Congress contested on 26 seats, winning 2, while the NCP contested on 21 seats, winning 4. However, the parties parted ways in the state assembly polls held months after the general election.
Audio clip row; BJP MLA's house attacked
As the audio clip over BJP's alleged toppling game raised the political temperature in the state, party MLA Preetam Gowda's house was attacked allegedly by JDS workers at Hassan Wednesday, police said. The JD(S) Wednesday released the complete 80-minute audiorecording containing purported conversation between, BJP statechief B S Yeddyurappa, JD(S) MLA Naganagouda, BJP MLAs Shivanagouda Nayak and Preetam Gowda about their alleged bid to destabilise the eight-month old coalition government. Accusing Gowda, who represents Hassan, of conspiring to topple theCongress-JD(S) government, the workers allegedly attacked his house by pelting it with stones. A BJP worker sustained serious head injuries. He was later admitted to the hospital where his condition was stated to be stable, police said. Angry over the attack on his house, Gowda held the JD(S) leadership responsible. "The JD(S) rowdies attacked my house with an intention to kill me. Those people were taking the name of the .
Congress wants seats equal to RJD for LS polls
Differences over seat sharing in the Grand Alliance in Bihar cropped up on Wednesday with Congress leaders saying the party will contest equal number of seats vis-a-vis the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Opposition's Jantar Mantar rally flop-show, will purify venue with Gangajal: Delhi BJP chief
The Delhi BJP slammed the AAP on Wednesday over its Jantar Mantar rally of opposition leaders, saying Arvind Kejriwal was now sitting with those whom he had once held as corrupt during his days as an anti-corruption crusader. The Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hosted the "Tanashahi Hatao, Loktantra Bachao Rally" here, in which opposition leaders including Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and N Chandrababu Naidu mounted a blistering attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Those who were villains in Kejriwal's list are his heroes today. He sat on a dharna at Jantar Mantar with the people who were called corrupt by him," Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said. Stating that the BJP would observe February 13, marking the fourth anniversary of the AAP government in Delhi, as "Black Day", Tiwari alleged that the national capital was "ruined" under Kejriwal's rule. Delhi BJP workers, led by him, would "purify" the Jantar Mantar area, where the AAP's ...
Last time you made a Class 12-pass PM, do not repeat the mistake in 2019: Kejriwal
In an all-out attack on Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that people made a Class 12-pass the prime minister of the country but they should not repeat the mistake in 2019. The Aam Aadmi Party supremo also charged Modi with being involved in corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal. "Last time you made a Class 12-pass the prime minister of the country. Do not commit the mistake this time and find someone who is educated because a Class 12 pass (person) has not the understanding where he is putting his signs," Kejriwal said, referring to questions raised on Modi's educational qualification. Addressing the "Tanashahi Hatao, Loktantra Bachao" rally in presence of opposition leaders including Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar and Chandrababu Naidu, Kejriwal asserted their protest-rally will uproot the Modi government. "This dharna will uproot the Modi government just as it removed the then government (of Congress-led UPA) in the country after the historic .
Haryana cabinet okays EWS quota in govt jobs, education
The Haryana government has decided to give 10 per cent reservation to the economically backward among the general category in jobs and educational institutions in the state. A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of state cabinet, which met here on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. The10 per cent reservation will be given to Economically Weaker Sections in recruitment to various category of posts including Group A, B, C and D, in all Departments, Boards, Corporations and Local Bodies of the state government. Besides, the government has also decided to grant 10 per cent reservation to the EWS in admissions to all educational institutions in government or government aided educational institutions. As per an official statement, those persons will be excluded from the benefits of reservation if their families own or possess five acres of agricultural land and above, residential flat of 1,000 square feet and above, residential plot of 100 ..
Will work together to defeat BJP: Rahul after Opposition meeting
Top opposition leaders held a meeting Wednesday, during which Congress president Rahul Gandhi and AAP's Arvind Kejriwal were seen together for the first time, and decided to work together with a common minimum programme to fight against the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls. Gandhi told reporters after the meeting, hosted by NCP president Sharad Pawar at his residence, that opposition leaders agreed to have a common minimum programme. "We will work together to defeat the BJP," he said. Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal termed the talks constructive and said the opposition will work together. The meeting indicates that the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, who have been bitter rivals since the regional party came to power in Delhi in 2015, may forge a tie-up. Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the meeting "fruitful" and asserted that "we will do pre-poll alliance". Telugu Desam Party head and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu