Page 1664 - Politics

PM Modi is a vindictive leader, even Shiv Sena not happy with him : N Chandrababu Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu said on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a 'vindictive' leader with whom even the BJP's traditional ally Shiv Sena is not happy."Narendra Modi is a vindictive leader with whom even Shiv Sena is not happy," said Chandrababu Naidu."Uddhav Thackeray is the best friend of mine, even Bal Thackeray was very affectionate towards me. I really appreciate Shiv Sena chief for extending the cooperation," said Naidu. He was addressing a public gathering at "Dharma Porata Deeksha" a day-long fast against the Centre here in national capital sharing the dais with prominent leaders of opposition including the Shiv-Sena's Sanjay Raut. Other leaders present on the occasion were Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Congress leader Digvijaya and others. However, presence of Raut allegedly sets alarm bell ringing for the BJP ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as Shiv Sena joining Opposition might prove too formidable ..

Congress seeks disqualification of four rebel MLAs

Cracking the whip, the Congress Monday sought disqualification of four rebel MLAs under the Anti-Defection law after they repeatedly remained defiant, skipping the assembly session and legislature party meetings. The Congress petitioned the Assembly speaker Ramesh Kumar, seeking action against lawmakers Ramesh Jarkiholi, Umesh Jadhav, Mahesh Kumathali and B Nagendra weeks after giving them warnings to mend their ways and fall in line. Congress Legislature Party leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met the Speaker and gave him a letter along with supporting documents to disqualify the four MLAs. Siddaramaiah,who also heads the JDS-Congress coordination committee, was accompanied by deputy chief minister Dr G Parameshwara and Congress state president Dinesh Gundu Rao. Later, Rao tweeted, "@siddaramaiah and myself have petitioned the Hon'ble Speaker, to disqualify 4 of our MLAs under the rules of the anti-defection law. Despite repeated notices & issuing of whips

Students clash with stranded Kashmiri passengers in Jammu

At least six stranded Kashmir Valley residents, including a woman, were injured when local students pelted stones on them as they were staging a protest against the administration here on Monday.

Rahul shuts doors on BSP-SP, says Congress will contest with full might

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday virtually shut the doors on the BSP and Samajwadi Party and said that while he respected their leaders Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, there should be no doubt that his party will fight the coming Lok Sabha polls with "its full might and ability" in Uttar Pradesh.

Lok Sabha passes Interim Budget

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Interim Budget for the financial year 2019-20 after a day-long discussion.

AAP govt making false promises to people ahead of Lok Sabha polls: Dikshit

Upping the ante against the AAP government ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit Monday accused the ruling dispensation of employing the same "cunning" strategy which it did four years back during the Assembly polls by claiming electricity rates have been reduced to half. The former Delhi Chief Minister accused the AAP government of making "false" promises ahead of the elections and said contrary to the government's claims, the power rates have become costlier than before. "AAP had employed the same cunning strategy before the Delhi Assembly elections four years ago, that electricity will be provided to the consumers at half the rate but reneged on its promise after coming to power in Delhi. "After completing four years in office, the Kejriwal government through newspaper advertisements have been claiming to provide electricity at half rate to Delhi consumers but the reality is that power has now become costly than ever before," Dikshit said at a press ...

Authorised immigration point for Kartarpur corridor

The government on Monday said the Ministry of Home Affairs has designated Dera Baba Nanak land checkpost in Punjab's Gurdaspur as an authorised immigration point to facilitate pilgrims passing through the proposed Kartarpur corridor in Pakistan.

Cong betraying nation by opposing farmer-friendly policies:

Accusing the Congress of betraying the nation by opposing government policies for the poor and farmers, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said the people will never forgive it. While replying to the debate on Interim Budget in Lok Sabha, Goyal said that the Modi Government had taken a lot of initiatives in the past four-and-half years for the benefit of poor, farmers and middle class and the 2019-20 Interim Budget was a continuation of that. The Interim Budget was later passed by Lok Sabha by voice vote, amid walk-out by the Congress, NCP and CPI-M. Referring to the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi under which small farmers will be provided Rs 6,000 financial assistance every year, Goyal said that those living in palaces will never understand the importance of Rs 2,000 every four months and hence they "belittle" the scheme. "This government has changed the working style followed by the Congress. We are moving towards an honest system," he said, adding the government will take

Maha Youth Cong leader alleges malpractices in MPSC exams

The Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) has been encouraging "mass copying" in its examinations by "faulty" allocation of seat numbers to candidates, a state Youth Congress leader alleged Monday. Maharashtra State Youth Congress president Satyajit Tambe, speaking to reporters here, equated it to the Vyapam scam in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh and said he would go to court if the state government did not take action. "Candidates appearing for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission examinations have to register a mobile number while submitting the examination form. From 2017-18, the seat number is allotted to the applicant based on the last digit of his or her mobile number," he said. "However, it has come to light that many candidates have updated their mobile numbers in the form so that it closely matches that of candidates known to them. Using this trick, candidates get seat numbers allotted in such a way that they are seated close to individuals known to ...

PM stole from Andhra Pradesh and gave money to Anil Ambani: Rahul Gandhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stole from the people of Andhra Pradesh and given the money to industrialist Anil Ambani, Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged on Monday as he extended his party's support to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu who is on a day-long fast here. TDP president Naidu's fast, demanding that the Centre fulfil promises made during Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation in 2014 and alleging that the prime minister was not following 'raj dharma' by denying the state special status, became a rallying point for various opposition leaders, who gathered at the venue to back him. "The prime minister has stolen from the people from Andhra Pradesh and he has given that money to Anil Ambani. That is the fact of the matter. "I want to let you know that we are all standing together. We are going to defeat the BJP-Mr. Narendra Modi," Gandhi said at Andhra Bhavan in an apparent reference to the Rafale fighter jet deal with France. Ambani's company is offset partner of French firm ...

CAG report will not be worth the paper it is written on if it ignores wrongdoing in Rafale deal:Cong

A day before the CAG report on the 2015 Rafale jet deal is likely to be tabled in Parliament, the Congress on Monday said that if the "overt acts of malfeasance" in the contract are ignored by the report, then it will "not be worth" the paper it is written on. The opposition party's statement came after a report in The Hindu claimed the Rafale deal between India and France involved "major and unprecedented" concessions from the Indian government. It reported that critical provisions for anti-corruption penalties and making payments through an escrow account were dropped days before the signing of the inter-governmental agreement (IGA). An escrow account is a provision under which the amount to be paid in a deal is held by a third-party in that account, on behalf of the transacting parties. "Never ever in any past transactions in the last three decades, has the govt dropped such mandatory clauses from a procurement contract. One thing is emerging clearly which requires investigation, ..

BJP observes death anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya

The BJP in Telangana Monday observed the death anniversary of its idealogue, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya as 'Samarpan Diwas'. State BJP president K Laxman and other party leaders paid homage to the departed leader here. Recalling that Upadhyaya advocated 'Antyodaya' (welfare of the underprivileged), he said the Modi government was inspired by the philosophy. The 'Swachh Bharat' campaign is an example of it, he added. Further, Laxman said the BJP would take up 'Mera Parivar-BJP Parivar' campaign from Tuesday. Under the campaign, every BJP worker would hoist the party's flag on his house.

Cong workers, analysts, husband and BJP, Priyanka under watchful gaze of many

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was the cynosure of many eyes on Monday -- the thousands walking alongside during her debut road show in Uttar Pradesh as Congress general secretary and the many analysts looking for political nuance but also her husband who asked people to "keep her safe". The lines between politics and family and public and personal seemed to have blurred for the Congress leader and mother of two, who also found herself at the centre of a debate with a BJP MP's comments on her choice of clothes being slammed as sexist and misogynistic. "Priyanka Gandhi wears jeans and top in Delhi but when she comes to rural areas she is clad in a sari and wears sindoor," Harish Dwivedi, BJP MP from Basti in Uttar Pradesh, told reporters in his constituency on Sunday night. Congress leader M Veerappa Moily and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti were among those who criticised him for his anti-women remarks. The sexist and inappropriate remarks reflect a "patriarchal and misogynistic mindset", Moily said .

US-backed Syrian forces battle to take last IS pocket

Syrian fighters backed by artillery fire from a US-led coalition battled a fierce jihadist fightback Monday as they pushed to retake a last morsel of territory from the Islamic State group. Mushrooming black clouds rose over the embattled jihadist holdout in eastern Syria, as missiles and a warplane streaked through the sky. More than four years after the extremists declared a "caliphate" across large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, several offensives have whittled that proto-state down to a tiny holdout. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday announced the final push to expel hundreds of diehard jihadists from that patch on the Iraq border. "IS launched a counterattack on our forces and we are now responding with rockets, air strikes and direct clashes," SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told AFP Monday. He said there were "dozens of SDF hostages held by IS" inside their last foothold, but denied reports of executions. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a ...

Modi is 'cure' for problems facing the country: Rajnath Singh

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "cure" for problems facing the country and asserted he will be voted back to power in the Lok Sabha election that must be held by May. Singh said the prime minister worked for the poor, farmers and weaker sections of society during the past four and a half years of his tenure. Addressing an event in Moradabad, he cited several central government schemes such as Ujjwala Yojana of providing free LPG connections to poor households and Ayushman Bharat health care programme to make his point. "Chowkidar chor nahi, chowkidar pure hai. Next PM sure hai, problem ke liye cure hai," Singh said, using the word Congress president Rahul Gandhi has used to attack Modi on the Rafale jet deal. Singh's statement in English meant: "The watchman is not a thief, he is a pure man." "He is sure to be the next PM, he is a cure for problems." The Congress has been alleging that the 2015 Rafale deal to purchase 36 fighter jets ..

Rafale deal no exception, ant-corruption clause didn't exist in earlier contracts also: Air Marshal SBP Sinha

Amidst allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government had removed the anti-corruption clause in the Rafale deal, Air Marshal SBP Sinha who headed Rafale negotiations on behalf of India, said that such a clause was not there in the earlier government to government contracts signed with America and Russia."Till now, we had 'government to government' contract with America and Russia. It is the third 'government to government' contract, which is with France. Such clause was not there in any of them," said SBP Sinha while speaking to ANI.Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has facilitated loot in the Rafale deal as according to a media report he had removed the anti-corruption clause from the controversial fighter jet deal."Every Defence deal has an anti-corruption clause. The Hindu has reported that the Prime Minister removed the anti-corruption clause. It is clear that the Prime Minister facilitated loot," said Rahul earlier .

2nd Trump-Kim summit critical for attaining peace: South Korea Presdent

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday said that the upcoming meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump will become a critical turning point for achieving complete denuclearisation and long-lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula.The meeting is scheduled to be held at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on February 27 and 28. The two leaders are expected to discuss North Korea's progress of dismantling its nuclear weapons programme."(The upcoming summit) will become a critical turning point that will advance to a specific and tangible level already agreed-upon principles, including the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, new US-North Korea ties and a peace regime in the peninsula," Moon was quoted by Yonhap News Agency while speaking to presidential secretaries and aides at a weekly meeting here.Insisting that the second US-North Korea summit will push the communist country's denuclearisation process forward, the South Korean ...

PDP MP writes to PM, seeks handover of mortal remains of Parliament attack convict to family

A PDP MP today wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging that the mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and JKLF leader Maqbool Bhat, who were hanged in Delhi's Tihar jail separately, be handed over to their families, so that the "sense of alienation" of Kashmiris could be "brought down by several notches".Mir Mohammad Fayaz, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, wrote that granting the request would be "like a balm on old wounds that are unhealed even after so many years".Significantly, he wrote the letter on a day when Bhat was hanged 35 years back for separatist activities. Guru was hanged on February 9, 2013 for the attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001.While seeking handover of the mortal remains to their families, Fayaz said: "I can, with utmost responsibility, say that should the government of India decide to act upon this request, the animosity of Kashmiris and their sense of alienation can be brought down by several notches."Contending that Kashmir ...

Gujjars should take reservation demand to Centre : Ashok Gehlot

As the Gujjar agitation entered its fourth consecutive day on Monday with demands for 5 per cent reservation, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said protesters should shun violence and voice their demands to the Centre.He also said that the Congress government in the state is ready for a dialogue with the community but the final decision will have to be taken by the central government. "The government is ready to help them, they need to voice out their demands to the Centre, and it is up to the Centre what decision they take," said Ashok Gehlot."Trains have been cancelled or diverted, who is at loss? It is the country which is at a loss. What is the point in staging a protest? I would like to make an appeal, start a dialogue with the government, I can assure you we will do whatever we can," said Gehlot.Due to the ongoing Gujjar stir several trains were cancelled, while several others were diverted or short- terminated.As per railway authorities, as many as 18 trains were cancelled

Modi to return as PM, 'not fair' to view Nitish as claimant for top post: Prashant Kishor

JD(U) national vice president Prashant Kishor said on Monday that Narendra Modi would return as the Prime Minister after Lok Sabha polls and though Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was "a big leader in the NDA" it was "unfair" to view him as a claimant for the top post, even in the event of the BJP not getting a clear mandate. Kishor, who joined the JD(U) in September last year, made the comments in response to queries about his recent visit to Mumbai, where he met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, fuelling speculations about a strategic alliance between his party and the Maharashtra-based outfit, which, of late, has been critical of Modi's leadership. A resident of Buxar district in the state, Kishor shot to fame in 2014 when he managed the poll campaign for Narendra Modi, then the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, which went on to put up its best-ever electoral performance. A year later, he collaborated with Kumar who returned to power for his third consecutive term after ...