Page 1681 - Politics
Parrikar hints at larger role in LS poll campaign
Hinting at a more active role in the campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday said he would be making longer speeches on campaign trail.
PDP, NC poisoning minds by raising demand for divisional status to Pir Panchal, Chenab Valley: Singh
Union Minister Jitendra Singh Saturday took a dig at the PDP and the National Conference for raising the demand for separate administrative divisions for Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley, saying the parties were desperate to "introduce poison" of divisiveness based on religion in the peaceful region. Politics in the name of religion is going to cause more harm not only to the state but also to these parties, he said. The Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office justified the decision to carve out Ladakh division, comprising Kargil and Leh districts, from Kashmir. "Let us not forget that the decision to carve out a division for the region was based on certain academic logic. It is based on very firm reasons of logistics, geographical realities and it is not motivated by any politics," he said. "It was a long-standing demand of the people of Ladakh for obvious reasons... The BJP had promised divisional status to the region even before coming to power," Singh told reporters ...
Islamic State attacks US-backed force near Syrian oil field
Syrian opposition activists say Islamic State militants have attacked US-backed fighters near an oil field in the country's east, triggering airstrikes by the US-led coalition. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 12 IS gunmen attacked the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and clashed with them for several hours until most of the attackers were killed early Saturday. Other activist collectives, including the Step news agency, reported the attack, saying some of the attackers used motorcycles rigged with explosives. The fighting was concentrated near al-Omar field, Syria's largest. The SDF, backed by US air power, has driven IS from large swaths of territory it once controlled in northern and eastern Syria, confining the extremists to a small pocket of land near the border with Iraq.
NCP hits out at Shah, Fadnavis on Baramati LS victory claim
The NCP Saturday hit out at BJP chief Amit Shah for asking his party functionaries to work towards winning Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, for long a bastion of Sharad Pawar. Pawar was first chosen as MLA in 1967 from Baramati and was also Lok Sabha MP from there for several terms. Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule is currently the Lok Sabha MP from Baramati. It dared the BJP to declare its candidate for the seat first, with NCP national spokesperson Nawab Malik asking the ruling party whether it will field Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah or Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis from the constituency. "Fadnavis ji and Shah have said that they would win 45 of 48 seats in Maharashtra, including Baramati. It would not have been surprising even if they had claimed that they will win 50 seats of 48 in Maharashtra," Malik said. "They said they are going to win Baramati seat too. Who will be there candidate? Mr Modi, Mr Shah or Mr Fadnavis? If you have guts, declare the .
Opposition competing in Olympics to deride me: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday hit out at the opposition, saying the main job of the 'mahamilawatwalas' is to deride him and it seems they were all competing in an Olympics of hurling abuses at him. Calling the opposition a 'mahamilawat' (great adulteration) again, he said its leaders are only involved in "holding each other's hands in meetings in Delhi and Kolkata for photographs". "The job of the 'mahamilawatwalas' is only to hurl abuses and more abuses on Modi. It is as if an Olympics is on to deride Modi," he told a rally here. Continuing his tirade, Modi said political parties who cannot see eye to eye in West Bengal, Kerala or Tripura are now uniting to "abuse" him. "They (opposition parties) are dreaming of forming a government in Delhi as soon as possible which will only be involved in corruption, malpractice and nepotism ... They cannot form a 'majbut sarkar' (strong government) but only a 'majbur sarkar' (helpless government)," he said. "The results of the coming Lok .
BJP assures jobs, pucca houses ahead of elections in Odisha
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday assured several welfare measures in Odisha, including permanent land records, jobs to youths and pucca houses, if it is voted to power in the forthcoming elections.
Highlight 'burning issues' of farm distress and unemployment: Rahul to Congress office-bearers
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asked office-bearers of the party to raise the Modi government's "dictatorial style" of governance and "burning issues" such as farm distress and unemployment in the Lok Sabha poll campaign. Two days after meeting All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretaries and state in-charges, Gandhi held a meeting with state Congress Committee presidents and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders here and discussed the party's strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. In the meeting, the Congress chief said the candidate selection process should be more inclusive and participation of maximum party stakeholders and workers should be ensured. He also instructed the leaders to complete the candidate selection process as soon as possible, according to a statement released by the Congress general secretary in-charge of organisation. Gandhi urged state unit chiefs and Legislature Party leaders to expose the "anti-farmers, anti-youth, anti-women ..
Citizenship bill won't not harm interests of people of Assam, NE: PM
Greeted with protests and black flags in Assam over the citizenship bill issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday sought to allay fears about the controversial legislation claiming that it will in no way harm the interests of the people of the state and the Northeast. Addressing a public rally in this assembly constituency of Assam Health Minister and BJP-led NEDA convener Himanta Biswa Sarma, he said the NDA government is committed to protecting the language, culture, resources, hopes and aspirations of the people of Assam and the Northeast. This was his first visit to Assam after the citizenship bill was passed by Lok Sabha on January 8. It awaits the approval of Rajya Sabha, where the ruling coalition is short of numbers. "It is a national commitment to the people of the Northeast that they will not be harmed in any way and citizenship will be only granted after due investigations and recommendations of the state governments," he said. Modi asserted one should understand that .
BSP calls off alliance with INLD, says Chautala family split 'weakened' tie-up
Blaming the split within the Chautala family for "weakening" the alliance, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Saturday snapped its nearly nine-month-old association with Haryana's main opposition the INLD and forged ties with the LSP, an outfit floated by rebel BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini. The development came three days after Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Abhay Chautala had claimed that the alliance was intact. The party had suffered a humiliating defeat in the Jind Assembly bypoll, with its candidate Umed Singh Redhu forfeiting his security deposit and was reduced to fifth position. On the other hand, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) which came into existence following INLD split, put up a spirited fight and its candidate Digvijay Singh Chautala secured second position as the BJP won the seat. The BSP's Haryana in-charge Meghraj on Saturday said, "On the directions of BSP national president Mayawati, the party ends ties with the INLD as the alliance is getting weakened because of the ..
Tripura to be gateway of Southeast Asian countries: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that with help from the Bangladesh government, and by using their ports and other infrastructure, Tripura would become the gateway to Southeast Asian countries.
Modi to serve Akshay Patra's 3 billionth meal on Monday
Preparations are being made to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Monday to serve Akshaya Patra's three billionth meal to children.
Ex-Minister Senthil Balaji's loyalist joins DMK
Following the footsteps of former Minister V Senthil Balaji, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam's Karur district treasurer Saturday joined the DMK. V G S Kumar joined the main opposition party of Tamil Nadu in the presence of DMK chief M K Stalin and Karur district party in-charge Senthil Balaji in Salem, a party release said here. On December 14 last, Balaji walked out of the TTV Dhinakaran-led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam and joined the DMK. Balaji was the Transport Minister between 2011-15 in late J Jayalalithaa's cabinet and wielded clout both in the government and in his native Karur district. After the death of the AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, he sided with Dhinakaran.
Telangana collector suspended for poll norm breach
The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday ordered suspension of the district collector of Vikarabad, Telangana, for violation of election norms during the recently concluded Assembly polls in the state.
Raman Singh may contest LS polls
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and BJP leader Raman Singh is likely to be fielded in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Ukrainian president vows to push for EU, NATO membership
Ukraine's president says the nation needs to join the European Union and NATO to protect itself from Russia's expansionist actions. President Petro Poroshenko, who is seeking a second five-year term in the March 31 vote, accused Russia on Saturday of planning to meddle in the election. He described the election as a "general battle for Ukraine." Opinion polls show Poroshenko trailing behind comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Ukraine has struggled with economic woes following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, leading to a sharp decline in living standards. The government's failure to combat corruption has also fueled public dismay. Poroshenko has sought to shore up his sagging support by spearheading the creation of a new Ukrainian Orthodox Church independent from Moscow Patriarchy.
Kejriwal, Vijender Gupta in war of words over deletion of voters' names in Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta engaged in a war of words on Twitter on Saturday, accusing each another of lying over the issue of deletion of voters' names from electoral roll in the national capital. The blame game erupted with Gupta charging the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader with lying that names of 24 lakh voters had been deleted in Delhi in the past four years. "Do not lie Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The 24 lakh votes have been deleted in last 10 years due to death, duplication, self-deletion through Form 7. Thirty lakh votes have been added during this period. It's a normal process," Gupta of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tweeted in Hindi. Kejriwal hit back, saying, "Your Election Commission has given us list of 24 lakh votes deleted in four years. The dirty game of BJP has been exposed early that's why you are so flustered. Will EC resign if I give you the list of those whose names have been deleted ...
Jagan Mohan Reddy meets Andhra Governor, accuses CM Naidu of removing names from voters' list
YSR Congress Party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday met Governor ESL Narasimhan to request for free and fair elections in Andhra Pradesh.He accused Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu of removing names from voters' list and misusing his power in appointing police officers.Reddy, who is the leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, informed the Governor that he had already lodged a complaint with the Election Commission stating that lakhs of fake voters were included in the voters' list in Andhra Pradesh.Speaking to ANI, he said: "We have raised questions on how Naidu's government is misusing the police department and requested the removal of few officers from election duty. Also, 59 lakh duplicate voters are present in the state and there is a need for its removal."Reddy also mentioned that they have enclosed evidence along with claims to the Governor and requested for action against it.
In Tripura, PM Modi reiterates Centre's move to strengthen autonomous council of tribal
In a bid to woo the tribal community ahead of the coming Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that his government has not only taken steps to strengthen the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), but would further ensure its self-reliance and adequate staff strength."Our government at the Centre has taken a step forward to fulfill the long-pending demand of strengthening the autonomous council (TTAADC). With the amendment in the law, we not only wish to make the council self-dependent but also want to increase the number of officers in the council," Prime Minister Modi said after inaugurating Garjee-Belonia railway line.Recently, the Union Cabinet approved a Constitutional amendment to increase the powers of the autonomous councils in the northeastern states, namely, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya, which in all have 25 Lok Sabha seats at stake. TTAADC was constituted under the
Stay united, re-elect PM Modi, Parrikar tells BJP workers
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Saturday exhorted BJP workers to stand united to help Prime Minister Narendra Modi retain power in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Parrikar, who has been undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment for several months now, was addressing workers as part of the BJP's 'Atal Booth Karyakarta Sammelan' here in the presence of party chief Amit Shah. "We should be together for the sake of the country, forget minor differences and re-elect PM Modi. Ignore the rumours that would be floated in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections. Our aim should be iss baar Narendra Modi (this time Narendra Modi)," he said. He kept his speech short and said, "I will not be speaking much today. I am reserving my lengthy speeches for the (LS) election." Taking a swipe at the Congress, Parrikar said the party would share the same fate as that of Sri Lanka. He, however, did not elaborate on his statement about the neighbouring country nor give its context.
Togadia launches party, to contest polls
Former Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia on Saturday launched a political party, Hindusthan Nirman Dal, and said it would fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.