Page 1641 - Politics

SP leaders tight-lipped over Mulayam's statement on PM Modi

Samajwadi Party leaders were tight-lipped over its founder Mulayam Singh Yadav's statement in the Lok Sabha Wednesday that he wished to see Narendra Modi back as prime minister. "I wish that all members come back to the House," Yadav said during the last sitting of the 16th Lok Sabha. And pointing to Modi, Mulayam said he wishes that the BJP leader comes back as the prime minister, remarks that drew applause from the treasury benches. "I wish pradhan mantriji becomes pradhan mantri again," said Yadav, with UPA Chairperson and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi by his side. Gandhi appeared flustered with Yadav's remark. While the statement left SP leaders tight-lipped, asked to react, a senior Congress leader told PTI that the statement will benefit his party. "I have not seen what statement he has made. I have no clue," said senior SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary. He was asked by PTI to comment on the SP patriarch's remark which created a flutter in the Lok Sabha. Mulayam Yadav's comment

Vote for literate PM this time: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday urged people to vote for a literate man, unlike the last time when they voted for a 12th pass.

Centre 'playing with fire' in Jammu and Kashmir: Mehbooba

The Centre is "playing with fire" in Jammu and Kashmir by "implementing" BJP's agenda through Governor Satya Pal Malik, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti alleged Wednesday, accusing New Delhi of "trying to break the Muslim-majority character" of the state. She alleged that the Central government, through the governor, is taking decisions which are against the people and the common sentiment of Jammu and Kashmir. "The whole country and the Centre should accept that this (J-K) is a Muslim-majority state and the decisions should only be taken after taking care of the sentiments of the larger community as well as the minorities," Mehbooba told reporters at a press conference here. Referring to the governor administration's decision to grant a division status to the Ladakh region, the former chief minister, said, "We had warned the government that if you selectively create a division, the consequences would be grave." "They not only selectively created a division by ignoring the Pir Panjal and .

U'khand HC dismayed at state govt decision to waive rent of former chief ministers

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday expressed dismay at the state government's decision to give rent waiver to former chief ministers who had occupied government accommodations for years together after demitting office. Hearing a PIL, the division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice R C Khulbe expressed surprise and dismay when the Advocate General informed the court that the government of Uttarakhand had decided to waive all the unpaid rent of the former chief ministers and amounts spent on extending other facilities to them, petitioner's counsel Kartikeya Hari Gupta said. The petitioner had raised objections to the "meagre" rent paid by former chief ministers Vijay Bahuguna and Ramesh Pokhrial Nishank. The petitioner also pointed out that their payment was not in accordance with the Supreme Court order which directed recovery of "appropriate rent" and also a previous order of the Uttarakhand High Court asking the state government to calculate the "market rent" .

CAG report on Rafale deal a slap on face of Naidu, Rahul:BJP

The Comptroller and Auditor Generals report on the Rafale deal was a slap on the face of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, BJP's state president Kanna Lakshmi Narayana said Wednesday. In a statement here, the BJP leader said the CAG established that there was no scandal in the fighter jet deal, as being alleged by the Congress and the TDP. The CAG also established that the cost of the jets came down by 2.86 per cent compared to the price negotiated by the previous UPA government, the statement said. "Truth has triumphed, the opposition parties have been exposed and the BJPs integrity upheld," the BJP leader added.

For Mamata Banerjee, Congress a foe in state but friend at national level to 'fight' BJP

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that while the Congress and the Trinamool Congress will contest against each other in the state, they will fight together at the national level against the BJP. The statement comes hours after Banerjee, upset with Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's attack on her over the Saradha chit fund case in the Lok Sabha, registered her displeasure with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Parliament. Sources said Gandhi, while trying to placate her, said, "We are accusing each other but we are friends," to which the TMC chief responded: "I will remember." "Any fight with the Congress will remain in the state. At the national level, we will fight together, this I am saying from the heart... For the greater interest of the country, I am ready to sacrifice my life, my party. I am ready to sacrifice everything," she said at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) protest at Jantar Mantar which was attended by several opposition leaders. Banerjee, who .

Ex-MP CM Chouhan meets Kamal Nath, discusses various issues

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met his successor Kamal Nath at the state secretariat here on Wednesday and held talks with him on various issues. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Chouhan said he drew Nath's attention towards farmers' concerns and law and order situation. "I sought compensation for the farmers, whose crops were damaged due to hail and frost in different parts of the state recently. Besides, I drew the government's attention towards its Rs 2 lakh loan waiver schemes for the farmers," he added. "Farmers want the loan waiver scheme to be simplified. I also underlined the need to improve the law and order situation in the state," he said. The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has waived the outstanding short term crop loans of farmers up to Rs 2 lakh. The party had promised the farm loan waiver in the run up to the November 28 MP assembly polls.

Indian teenager who mistakenly crossed into Pakistan released

An Indian teenage boy, who mistakenly crossed into Pakistan, has been repatriated as a goodwill gesture, according to a media report. Bimal Narjere, 16, from Assam inadvertently crossed into the Pakistani side in August last year. Pakistan Rangers informed India's Border Security Force (BSF) about Bimal and initiated inquiry into the matter, The Express Tribune reported. After completion of all legal requirements and verification of the Indian citizen's identity, he was handed over to the BSF personnel via the Wagah Border. On December 26 last year, Indian authorities too had released Abdullah Shah and Imran Warsi, two Pakistani nationals, through the Wagah Border.

Don't impose any ordinance in place of Citizenship Amendment Bill: Mahanta tells Centre

Former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta Wednesday asked the Centre not to promulgate any ordinance after the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill could not be passed in Rajya Sabha. Mahanta also said the NDA government should notice that there has been "overwhelming" opposition to the legislation, which was passed in Lok Sabha on January 8 but could not be debated in Rajya Sabha, from the people of the Northeast. "They (government) should not issue any ordinance. They should not try to impose the bill on the people of Northeast through other ways," he told reporters. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill provided for according Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India, instead of the current 11 years. The bill is set to lapse on June 3 when the term of the present Lok Sabha ends as it could not be passed in Rajya Sabha, which adjourned sine die on Wednesday. The

Envoy says Russia's clout in Afghanistan rises

A senior Russian diplomat says that because America "completely failed" in Afghanistan, this has opened the way for Moscow to expand its clout in the country. Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin's envoy for Afghanistan, says many Afghans now view Russia as an impartial mediator that could help advance political process despite the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Kabulov told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday that the US has "completely failed" in Afghanistan. He argued that it's in the US interests to withdraw its troops as quickly as possible and focus on financial assistance to the Afghan government to help the post-war recovery. Last week, a meeting in Moscow brought together Afghan former officials, opposition igures and the Taliban but sidelined President Ashraf Ghani's government.

No problem in Mahagathbandhan over seat adjustments for Lok

Congress leader R P N Singh Wednesday said there was no problem in the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) over seat adjustments for the coming Lok Sabha poll in Jharkhand. He further said that the alliance partners will fight the Lok Sabha election with all its might in the state to unseat the BJP. On the reports of pulls and pressures over seat adjustments among the coalition partners, Singh, who is Congress in-charge for Jharkhand, told reporters that leaders of every party has the pressure to get maximum number of seats to contest. But there is no problem. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik-JVM) of former chief minister Babu Lal Marandi and the Congress are important allies of the Mahagathbandhan in Jharkhand. Jharkhand has 14 Lok Sabha seats, and the alliance has not yet officially announced as to which party would contest how many seats and from where. According to media reports, there is a bone of contention over a few seats on ...

Maldives seeks whistleblowers in search for looted cash

The Maldivian government urged its citizens to support its anti-corruption drive Wednesday after it launched a website to help trace millions of dollars reportedly stolen during the former regime. The whistleblower site went live on Tuesday, days after the government sought international help to find millions of dollars allegedly siphoned off by former president Abdulla Yameen, who faces embezzlement and money laundering charges. Launching the portal, President Mohamed Ibrahim Solih called on government employees and ordinary citizens to anonymously lodge reports of corruption, an official in his office told AFP. "The campaign is to assure the community that his administration will not tolerate corruption at any level," the official said. Users were encouraged to access the whistleblower site through proxy servers to ensure anonymity. Maldivian police have said their investigations found evidence linking Yameen and his justice minister Azima Shakoor to the theft of state funds and ...

Iran's supreme leader says any talks with US can only 'harm'

Iran's supreme leader said Wednesday that any negotiations with the US would "bring nothing but material and spiritual harm" in remarks before an American-led meeting on the Mideast in Warsaw. The comments from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were part of a seven-page statement read word-for-word on Iranian state television and heavily promoted in the run-up to its release. They also come two days after Iran marked the 40th anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington. "About the United States, the resolution of any issues is not imaginable and negotiations with it will bring nothing but material and spiritual harm," Khamenei said. The supreme leader went on to describe any negotiations as an "unforgiveable mistake." He also said negotiations would be like "going on your knees before the enemy and kissing the claws of the wolf." That tone is a long way from 2015, when Khamenei approved of talks between Iran and the United States that ...

Introspect if you lived up to expectations of people: LS Speaker tells members

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan Wednesday asked the members to introspect whether they lived up to the expectations of people whom they represented in the House in the last five years. In her address on the final day of the last session of the 16th Lok Sabha, Mahajan expressed satisfaction that 205 legislations were approved by the House. However, she said that 422 hours and 19 minutes were lost due to disruptions in the five years since June 2014. The House conducted business for 1,612 hours spread over 331 sittings, she noted. Mahajan was elected as Speaker on June 6, 2014 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government came to power. Giving details about the business conducted by the outgoing Lok Sabha, she said 205 important legislations were passed. These include law to curb black money as well as those related to juvenile justice, GST, Aadhaar and 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker section of people. "In the last session of the 16th Lok Sabha, it is time ...

Budget defeat puts Spain's center-left government on ropes

Catalan separatist and right-wing lawmakers in the Spanish parliament's lower house rejected Wednesday the ruling Socialist government's 2019 budget plan, likely paving the way for a call of early elections by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The 191-158 vote, with one abstention, opens a new crisis in Spanish politics. Members of the cabinet had signaled that a defeat in parliament would lead to a general election. The only other time that a Spanish government lost a budget vote, in 1995, the Socialists were forced to dissolve the parliament and call an election. Opposition leader Pablo Casado, head of the conservative People's Party, said Wednesday's vote was "a de facto confidence vote against Pedro Sanchez." Catalan deputies from pro-independence parties had demanded to open talks on the northeastern region's self-determination in exchange for supporting Sanchez's spending proposal, but the center-left minority government had rejected that. The socialist party holds only 84 seats in .

No clash or competition between Nepal and India: Acharya

There is no competition or clash of interest between Nepal and India and the bilateral relations need to be harmonised in accordance with the changing time and geo-political realities, the Nepalese ambassador designate to New Delhi has said. Ambassador Nilamber Acharya while speaking at a programme organised here to felicitate him said Nepal and India are close neighbours and the relations between the two countries are centuries old. "In such a close relationship it is natural to have some differences, which need to be sorted out through open dialogue between officials of the two countries," said Acharya. He said there was no anti-India sentiment among the people of Nepal as reported in some sections of the media. "The Nepalese people want to see their southern neighbour progress and move forward. There is no competition or clash of interest between Nepal and India as there is only place for cooperation and collaboration between them," he pointed out. Acharya said the relations ...

Local OBC outfit allies with Cong for LS polls

The Congress Wednesday roped in a little known local outfit Mahan Dal in an alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls. The annoucement was made in the presence of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the newly appointed Congress general secretary for east Uttar Pradesh. Jyotiraditya Scindia, another general secretary of the Congress looking after western UP, and Keshav Dev Maurya of Mahan Dal announced the alliance at the state Congress office here. "I welcome Keshav Maurya ji. We will fight the elections jointly. Rahul ji has given us the task of creating a political atmosphere in which everyone is taken along and all sections of the society are represented," Priyanka said. "We will contest with full might," she asserted. The Mahan Dal had joined the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2014. In western Uttar Pradesh, the Mahan Dal contested from three Lok Sabha constituencies - Badaun, Nagina and Etah, though all lost. The Mahan Dal claims support from the OBC voters of western UP,

Bulgaria freezes suspicious payments from Venezuela

Bulgaria and the US have halted what they believe could be a scheme to illegally channel money out of Venezuela, which is under sanctions from Washington amid the ongoing political crisis in the South American country, officials said. Bulgarian officials and US ambassador Eric Rubin told a news briefing that "millions of euros" in payments from Venezuela's state oil company PVDSA had been seized in bank accounts in Bulgaria. The funds -- ostensibly earmarked for the purchase of food and to finance a Venezuelan sports federation -- had been paid into a number of accounts held by a lawyer with dual Bulgarian and foreign nationality, who had now left the country. Some of the money had already been transferred out of the accounts to other countries, Bulgarian chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov said. The Bulgarian and US authorities suspect that the reasons given for the money transfers "have nothing to do with reality," he said. "We will most probably open a probe for money laundering," ...

Harish Rawat sits on token fast to raise sugarcane growers' issue

Former Uttarkhand chief minister Harish Rawat on Wednesday sat on a token fast and dharna near the Assembly to protest against the state government's alleged indifference to issues related to sugarcane growers. Accusing the state government of being indifferent to the plight of sugarcane growers, Rawat said their dues must be paid without further delay. He also demanded an ex-gratia of at least Rs 5 lakh for the families of hooch tragedy victims in the state. Those who sat on dharna along with him included former minister Mantri Prasad Maithani, Anusuya Prasad Maikhuri and MLA Furkan Ahmad. Congress MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Indira Hridayesh and state party chief Pritam Singh, disrupted proceedings of the state Assembly over sugarcane growers' issue, forcing four adjournments of the House. They staged a walkout and later joined Rawat in his protest.

Strong pitch for majority govt, potshots at Rahul by PM in

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took potshots at Congress president Rahul Gandhi over the Rafale issue and made a strong pitch for electing a majority government in national interest, as he addressed the 16th Lok Sabha for the final time on Wednesday. Modi said the House did not witness any earthquake, an apparent reference to claims of Rahul Gandhi that his revelation on Rafale would create tremors. Taking a swipe at Gandhi, who was not present in the House at that time, the prime minister referred to the Congress president's hug and "winking" episode, saying it was a new thing he witnessed as a first time member of Parliament. "We heard that there would a earthquake. The five-year tenure is coming to an end but we did not witness any earthquake," he said, on a day the much-awaited CAG report on the controversy-hit Rafale deal was tabled in Parliament. "Kabhi hawai jazah ude. Bade bade logo ne hawai jahaz udaye. Lekin loktantra aur Lok Sabha ki maryada itni oonchi hai ki .