Page 1655 - Politics
Mamata condemns Akhilesh snub
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday condemned the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for preventing Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav from taking a flight to attend an event in Allahabad University.
SP workers go on rampage as govt clips Akhilesh Yadav's wings
Samajwadi Party workers went on a rampage across Uttar Pradesh Tuesday after the government clipped the wings of their national president Akhilesh Yadav, preventing him from flying to Allahabad on grounds of law and order. Yadav claimed he was stopped by authorities at the Lucknow airport in a bid to prevent him from visiting Allahabad, triggering outrage by party lawmakers in the state legislature and workers outside the airport. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said he was to fly to Allahabad from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport to attend an event at Allahabad University. He posted photographs on his official Twitter handle in which he was seen talking to police officers inside the airport. Protests broke out in Allahabad, Jaunpur, Jhansi, Kannauj, Balrampur, Jalaun and Gorakhpur, among other places, where SP supporters smashed windscreens of vehicles and clashed with the police. SP leaders said party MP Dharmendra Yadav was injured in Allahabad in cane charge by
Modi has rock-solid support; who is Oppn's PM candidate: Shah
Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rock-solid support of people, BJP president Amit Shah Tuesday dubbed the proposed "mahagathbandhan" of opposition parties as an alliance of state-level leaders "not standing a chance" in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Attacking the opposition parties' bid to forge the 'grand alliance' ahead of the election to take on Modi, Shah said it will not affect BJP's poll prospects. He sought to know from the opposition parties their prime ministerial 'face' and leader of their proposed grand alliance. Addressing BJP leaders and workers from Gujarat after launching the 'Mera Parivar-Bhajapa Parivar' voter outreach campaign, Shah said a full majority government was required to enable Modi to continue serving the needy. "The 2019 Lok Sabha election is an important step for India to become a superpower in the world. I have travelled across the country and I can see thatpeople are standing like a rock with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I ...
BJP's AP unit lashes out at AP CM over his protest in Delhi
The BJP's Andhra Pradesh unit Tuesday hit out at Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu over his protest in Delhi seeking special status for the state. Naidu appears to be interested in gaining public sympathy as he rejected a package worth Rs 16,000 crore while insisting on special status which gave only a paltry benefit (towards tax incentives) to north-eastern states, BJP's state unit spokesperson Sudhish Rambhotla alleged. Naidu should stop such "fake fasts", he told reporters here. The chief minister has taken a 'U-turn' after accepting and even welcoming a package for assistance, in lieu of the special status, when the TDP was part of NDA, he claimed. Slamming Naidu over the protest in Delhi, the BJP leader said, "He (Naidu) has understood that there is lot of anti-incumbency against state government. What is to be done? Attention can be diverted by showing a new object of fear by doing all this. Let us put all this on Central government's shoulders... let's gain ...
U'khand CM hoists BJP flag at residence to launch party campaign
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat Tuesday unfurled the BJP flag at his private residence in Defence Colony here, signalling the launch of the party's 'Mera Parivar BJP Parivar' campaign in the state. The voter outreach campaign will strengthen the party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in which it targets to win more than 400 seats, he said, and appealed to party workers to make the campaign a huge success. Rawat said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming public meeting in Rudrapur on February 14 will be unprecedented and a huge turnout is expected. He added that the prime minister has granted projects like all-weather roads and the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail line to Uttarakhand, which shows how prominently the state figures in his scheme of things. The chief minister also said that investments worth Rs 62,000 crore are being made in the road sector in Uttarakhand. The Narendra Modi government has dealt a fatal blow to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and has strengthened ..
Rahul acting as lobbyist for foreign firms: BJP
The BJP Tuesday accused Rahul Gandhi of working as a "lobbyist" for foreign firms and asserted that the e-mail he cited to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to some chopper deal and not the purchase of Rafale fighter jet as the Congress president claimed. After Gandhi accused Modi of "treason" claiming that businessman Anil Ambani was aware in advance of the Rafale deal India and France had signed in 2015, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad dismissed his charges as "height of shamelessness and irresponsibility" and dubbed him a "lying machine". The Union minister also put Airbus, whose internal e-mail was cited by the Congress president, in a dock, saying the European aircraft manufacturer is under a needle of suspicion in deals finalised during the previous Congress-led government. The firm is also linked to a corporate lobbyist, which was recently deported from the UAE and is being probed on money laundering charges, he alleged. "Let Rahul Gandhi explain where did he ..
Brother not married, so sister has come:Shah on Cong 'dynasty'
Targeting the Gandhi family, BJP president Amit Shah Tuesday claimed the prime minister's seat is reserved "by birth" in the Congress, wondering if a worker from that party could ever think of occupying the top post. As the "brother" (Rahul Gandhi) has not married, so now the "sister" (Priyanka Gandhi) has come (in the political arena), Shah said. Shah claimed that in the BJP, a common booth worker like him could rise to the rank of party president and a 'chaiwala' (Modi) could became the prime minister. "I was a booth worker of the BJP. I rose to be the party president. The chaiwala has become the prime minister of the country, rising through the ranks," Shah said, addressing party workers here. "Can any party worker from Congress ever think of becoming the prime minister? In that party that seat is reserved by birth," he said. A BJP worker need not take birth in a specific family to occupy high posts, he added. Priyanka Gandhi was last month appointed AICC general ...
SP workers protest in Prayagrag
Hundreds of Samajwadi Party (SP) workers took to the streets here on Tuesday shortly after party chief Akhilesh Yadav was prevented from boarding a flight to attend an event organised by the students union at the Allahabad University.
HC junks PIL opposing ministers using govt funds and machinery for poll campaigns
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a PIL opposing the practice of ministers, at state as well as national level, using the government machinery and funds in election campaigns for their parties. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao dismissed the petition saying it pertained to guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (EC)and asked the petitioner to approach the poll panel. "Go to the Election Commission. We are not entertaining it. Dismissed," the court said. The order came on a plea by B R Harish Babu who had contended that once elected to power, the ministers, whether at the Centre or in states, owed allegiance to the citizens of the country and not to their respective political parties. In his petition, he had also claimed that the EC's "Model Code of Conduct guidelines specifically provide that the state and central governments shall not misutilise any public funds nor make use of government machinery for the purpose of ...
Condemn arrogant attitude of so-called BJP leaders: Mamata as Akhilesh Yadav is stopped at airport
Condemning the incident of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav being stopped at Lucknow airport, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday said it happened because of "arrogant attitude of so-called BJP leaders". "I've already spoken to @yadavakhilesh. We all condemn the arrogant attitude of the so-called #BJP leaders who didn't allow Akhilesh to address the students. Even @jigneshmevani80 was not allowed," Banerjee wrote on her Twitter handle. "Where is the democracy in our country? And they are giving lessons to everybody!" she added. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was stopped by authorities at Lucknow airport in a bid to prevent him from visiting Allahabad, triggering outrage by opposition parties in the state and elsewhere in the country. Yadav said he was to fly to Allahabad from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport to attend an event at Allahabad University. In a separate incident on Monday, Mevani's college cancelled its annual day function after the .
Hooch tragedy rocks U'khand Assembly for second day
The hooch tragedy rocked the Uttarakhand Assembly for a second day on Tuesday, with the Congress staging a walkout over the government's "insensitivity" even as the speaker announced that an in-house panel will be set up to probe the incident. Over 70 people were killed in Uttarakhand and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh after consuming spurious liquor. At least 36 people died in Uttarakhand alone. Opposition leaders rushed into the Well of the House and raised anti-government slogans. They also sought resignations of Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and Excise Minister Prakash Pant over the issue. The Opposition also alleged that Rawat and his cabinet colleagues did not deem it important to visit the families of the victims, who were mostly Scheduled Caste labourers. Leader of Opposition Indira Hridayesh said the ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh announced by the state government for kin of the deceased was not enough. "In some cases, poor women have lost both their husbands and sons and don't ...
No sovereign guarantee with Russia in S-400 deal: top IAF officer
India's S-400 missile defence system deal with Russia doesn't have a "sovereign guarantee" as the process of inter-government agreements with countries like Russia and the US are already "streamlined", top IAF officers said on Tuesday. The statement comes at a time when a political controversy has erupted over a media report about Indian government having made concessions by allegedly dropping some key clauses relating to anti-corruption penalties and sovereign guarantee in the controversy-hit Rafale fighter jet deal with France. While opposition parties have raised questions about such clauses having been dropped, the ruling BJP and the government have rejected corruption allegations. Replying to a question here during a press interaction on the IAF's fire power demonstration Vayu Shakti 2019 at Phokran ranges later this week, Air Marshal V R Chaudhari, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, said, "There is no sovereign guarantee in the S-400 deal with Russia." IAF's Vice Chief Air Marshal ..
Akali Dal protest for farmers a political stunt: Amarinder
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday termed the protest by the Shiromani Akali Dal along with a handful of farmers near the Assembly a "petty political stunt" undertaken with an eye on the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.
SP legislators sit on dharna outside Raj Bhawan
Samajwadi Party legislators Tuesday sat on dharna outside the Raj Bhawan after staging a noisy protest in the UP legislature, agitated over party chief Akhilesh Yadav being denied permission to fly out of the state capital to Allahabad. The SP legislators relented when Governor Ram Naik sent them a message that he would meet their delegation Wednesday. Earlier, they raised the matter vociferously in both the state Assembly and the Council and shouted anti-government slogans, prompting the chair to adjourn the proceedings. Then, they reached the Raj Bhawan to register their protest against "undemocratic behaviour" of the BJP government and sat on the dharna. Yadav was stopped from taking a special flight to Allahabad on ground that law and order would be vitiated there. "We strongly condemn this dictatorial attitude of the Yogi Adityanath government. SP workers will not tolerate such action. Not only us, people of the state will give a befitting reply in the Lok Sabha elections," SP ...
US-led coalition hits mosque in Syria used by Islamic State
The US-led coalition says it has hit a mosque used by the Islamic State group as a command and control center in eastern Syria. The coalition said Tuesday it launched the strike in support of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who are fighting to drive the extremists from their last tiny stronghold near the border with Iraq. It said the strike occurred Monday as IS was using the mosque to direct attacks and employ suicide car bombs against the SDF. The coalition's deputy commander, Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, was quoted in the statement as saying "this mosque lost its protected status when ISIS deliberately chose to use it as a command and control center." The SDF on Saturday launched its final push to clear the area after months of fighting.
Chandrababu Naidu marches to Rashtrapati Bhavan, demands special status for Andhra from President
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu along with TDP MPs and MLAs met President Ramnath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Tuesday and raised demand for special status for the state. The delegation marched from Andhra Pradesh Bhavan to Rashtrapati Bhavan and presented a memorandum to the President with 18 demands, including the Bifurcation Act promises and special status to the state. "We met the President and apprised him of our demands. The central government has ignored the Andhra Pradesh bifurcation act promises. Modi government is passing the time without releasing grants to the state. "For the development of Hyderabad there has been a struggle for 60 years and today it stands as a world-class city. On seeing the injustice done to Andhra Pradesh many people went into depression and recently a physically challenged man Arjun Rao has committed suicide over the special status not being granted to the state," Naidu said at a press conference. He said that a possibility .
Uttarakhand to launch bill against spurious liquor
The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday decided to launch a bill to curb spurious liquor in the state, days after 36 people died due to its consumption.
US lawmakers reach deal to avoid government shutdown (Third Lead)
US House and Senate legislators have reached an agreement "in principle" to provide $1.375 billion for fencing and other physical barriers at the Mexico border, a figure far lower than the $5.7 billion that President Donald Trump had demanded, to stave off another government shutdown.
Ex-Odisha CM's wife likely to rejoin Congress
Hema Gamang, a former parliamentarian and wife of former Odisha Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang, is likely to join the Congress again.
S Arabia crown prince to visit India next week; trade, energy security top on agenda
Defence, trade and energy security are expected to be high on the agenda when Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman holds talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two-day visit to India next week. Accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials and leading Saudi businessmen, Prince Salman will arrive India on February 19 on his maiden trip to the country, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement here. During the visit, the Crown Prince will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on wide range of issues of mutual interest. He will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. The visit by Prince Salman, who is also the vice president of Saudi Arabia's council of ministers, follows the highly successful trip of Prime Minister Modi to that country in April 2016, during which the two sides agreed to further elevate existing strategic partnership, the MEA said. In recent ..