Page 1688 - Politics
India sends note verbale to Pakistan in protest against Hafiz Saeed's rally
India has taken a strong note of 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed's recent rally in Lahore on the occasion of so-called 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' and sent a note verbale to Pakistan in protest against the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief's gathering, sources said on Friday.Sources added that India registered a strong protest against the continued use of Pakistani soil by extremist and terrorist elements to freely propagate and promote violence against New Delhi.They further said that the Indian government once again called upon the Pakistani government to fulfill its international obligations and abide by it bilateral commitment to not allow any territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India, in any manner.On February 5, Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist, had taken part in the rally in Lahore as part of the so-called 'Kashmir Solidarity Day.'India, has, time and again, protested against Pakistan for harbouring Saeed, who is widely believed to have plotted the ..
Bangladesh inks 4 MoUs with India in field of capacity building, training programme for bureaucrats
With an aim to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, India and Bangladesh on Friday signed four MoUs in key areas including capacity building, anti-corruption issues, and medicinal plants.A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of India and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Bangladesh, which is aimed at sharing expertise and developing anti-corruption mechanism. An MoU was inked between the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Mussoorie, and Ministry of Public Administration (MOPA), Bangladesh, which envisages training and capacity building programme for 1,800 Bangladesh civil servants over the next six years.An agreement was signed for cooperation in the field of medicinal plants between the National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH and Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh. An MoU was also inked between Bangladesh Economic Zones ...
Rafale issue: Sitharaman terms news item 'distorted', wonders if doubts are being created deliberately
New Delhi, Feb 8 (ANI) A combative Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday termed as "incomplete" and "distorted" the news item published by a newspaper about "parallel negotiations" by the PMO in the Rafale fighter deal and wondered whether "doubts" were being deliberated created in the minds of people because of some "corporate warfare".In an exclusive interview to ANI here, Sitharaman slammed Congress President Rahul Gandhi for constantly raising questions over the Rafale deal, equating him to a "parrot" and asked what "moral authority" he has to do so when he, along with his mother Sonia Gandhi and brother-in-law Robert Vadra are on bail.She asserted that it is the duty of the Prime Minister to monitor progress in any deal or project and if the PMO checks on these, it cannot be termed as "interference".Referring to the news item which appeared in a newspaper on Friday, Sitharaman alleged that it was "half truth, with the intention ... to create doubt in the minds of the ...
HC reserves order on Sasikala-Dinakaran plea seeking AIADMK name, two leaves symbol
The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its order on V.K. Sasikala and T.T.V Dinakaran pleas challenging Election Commission decision awarding the 'two leaves' symbol and AIADMK name to a faction led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E.K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.
Congress-Government in a slugfest on Rafale
The Congress and the Modi government were on Friday involved in a slug fest over the Rafale deal after a news report claimed that the PMO ran a parallel negotiation with the French government in 2015.
Ahead of House panel hearing, Twitter says fighting political bias in India
Set to face a 31-member parliamentary panel hearing on February 11, Twitter on Friday said it is proactively working with political parties to verify candidates, elected officials and relevant party officials whose accounts will be active in public conversation.
Defence ministry note on Rafale deal rocks govt; Rahul slams PM
The Modi government was on Friday rocked by a 2015 Defence Ministry note cited in a media report expressing strong objections to the "parallel" negotiations by the PMO in the controversial Rafale jet deal and came under fresh attack from Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Stepping up his offensive on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi demanded answers to questions raised in the media report, saying it is now crystal clear that the "watchman" is the "thief", an apparent reference to Modi's alleged cronyism in the Rafale deal. Gandhi's offensive drew a counter-attack from Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who dismissed the report in 'The Hindu' newspaper on the internal note in the Ministry of Defence(MoD) dated November 24, 2015 as "flogging a dead horse" and alleged that the opposition was playing into the hands of multinational companies and vested interests. As the MoD note led to a ruckus in the Lok Sabha and sparked a fresh confrontation between opposition parties led by the ...
DMK condemns PMK man's killing over alleged conversion bid
: DMK president M K Stalin Friday strongly condemned the killing of a PMK functionary who questioned an alleged bid by a group to convert people to Islam. Following the arrest of five people, suspected to be associated with an Islamic outfit for the killing, Stalin in his tweets demanded that the government expeditiously secure punishment for them. The leader of the opposition in the Assembly asked the government to end such violence. "The AIADMK government should come forward to guard communal harmony that traditionally prevails in Tamil Nadu by taking stern action against the perpetrators, whichever religion they may belong to," he said. Ramalingam, a PMK functionary and resident of Thirubuvanam near the temple town of Kumbakonam in central Tamil Nadu, was killed on Feb 5 after he questioned a group of men allegedly engaged in proselytising. On Thursday, police said five people -S Nijam Ali, Sarbudeen, Rizwan, Mohamed Azarudeen and Mohamed Raiyaz- were arrested in ...
Gujarat: Ex-Congress MLA Asha Patel joins BJP
Asha Patel, who resigned as a Congress MLA in Gujarat a few days ago, joined the ruling BJP on Friday. Patel and some of her supporters were inducted into the BJP at the party's 'Cluster Sammelan' in Patan in north Gujarat in the presence of BJP state unit chief Jitu Vaghani and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Rubbishing charges that Patel joined the BJP as part of a "deal", Vaghani said she quit the Congress due to in-fighting. "We welcome Ashaben in our party. There is no question of any deal between the BJP and her. BJP never indulges in horse-trading. She has joined the BJP to serve the people in a better way," Vaghani told reporters after the function. Patel, who resigned as an MLA and also quit the Congress on February 2, was elected from Unjha seat of Mehsana district in the 2017 Assembly polls. She had defeated BJP veteran Naran Patel, who was also present at the induction ceremony. Reacting to Patel's decision to switch sides just months ahead of the
Fadnavis rules out possibility of simultaneous polls in Maha
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Friday ruled out the possibility of simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Maharashtra. His comments come a day after state Congress president Ashok Chavan predicted that elections would be held simultaneously, and asked party workers to be prepared to face the polls. Fadnavis said his government did not intend to prepone the Assembly polls and added the two elections will be held as per their respective schedules. Making light of Chavan's remarks, the chief minister said the Congress leader had "developed" the habit of predicting future as he was "left with no work" in his party. "Ashokrao should not hurry into occupying Opposition benches again. We are going to hold the elections on (their respective) time. We do not intend to prepone (the Assembly) polls," Fadnavis told reporters in Palghar district after an event. Addressing a Congress rally in Aurangabad Thursday, Chavan had claimed that Fadnavis would dissolve the state ...
People will punish BJP, BJD for making false promises: Cong
The opposition Congress Friday cautioned both BJP and BJD of losing the upcoming elections for making false promises to the people. "This time you (BJP and BJD) will not succeed as the political wind has started blowing in a changed direction," Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra of Congress said while initiating a debate on the Odisha Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill, 2019 in the Assembly. Mishra accused both Prime Minister Nrendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of making false promises before elections and fooling the people. "You (Modi and Patnaik) cannot fool all people all the time," he said, adding that people have this time decided to punish those who gave false assurances. The Congress leader said that the time has passed when leaders got votes despite not meeting any of their poll promises. "Now, the people are aware and they will not allow leaders to cheat them for one more time," he said. Mishra said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ...
Committed to depoliticise Pakistan's bureaucracy: PM Khan
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said his government was committed to depoliticising and insulating the country's bureaucracy from "all kinds of political pressures". His statement came days after the Supreme Court, in a rare rebuke to Pakistan's powerful military, prohibited them from engaging in political activities. Chairing a meeting of Task Force on Civil Service Reforms here, Khan said he regretted that bureaucracy was heavily politicised during the past ten years which resulted in its inefficiency and created fear amongst the bureaucrats. Khan said the government is firmly committed to undertaking structural reforms of bureaucracy to make it efficient and responsive to the need of the hour. "Bureaucracy will be depoliticised and insulated from all kinds of political pressures," he said. "During the 60s and 70s, Pakistan's civil service was one of the best in the region and countries from the region would come to us and learn from us," Khan was quoted as saying by ...
India to train 1,800 Bangladesh civil servants
India will train 1,800 Bangladeshi civil servants in the fields of e-governance and service delivery, information technology, ethics in administration over the next six years, the Ministry of Personnel said.
Modi doing politics in inaugurating Calcutta HC's circuit bench: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing politics by inaugurating projects "hurriedly" ahead of the elections after the PM inaugurated a circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court in north Bengal.
Income support for farmers: Modi works out of fear, says Rahul
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Rs 6,000 grant to farmers as income support, saying one can get anything done by scaring him.
Congress showed its real face by promising to scrap Triple Talaq Bill: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Congress has exposed its 'real face' by promising to withdraw the Triple Talaq Bill, and accused the opposition party of "cheating" Muslim women who have suffered because of the practice.
Modi says Mamata held sit-in to protect scamsters from CBI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of trying to save those who defrauded the poor in the chit fund scams, and said that none of the offenders will be spared.
Modi alleges Mamata shielding corrupt, 'Didi' returns fire at
Escalating his face-off with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday accused her of trying to protect those involved in chit fund scams and warned neither the perpetrators nor those shielding them will be spared. The stormy TMC boss quickly returned the fire, calling Modi "master of corruption" and a "shame" for the country. Addressing his third rally in the state in a week, Modi said Banerjee's ruling TMC had inherited the legacy of "bloodshed, violence and atrocity" from the previous Communist government, and "defamed" the soil of West Bengal. Attacking Banerjee, who is at the forefront of efforts to stitch together a broad-based anti-BJP coalition of opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Modi said the proposed 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) was 'Maha Milawat' (a grand adulderation) of people who had no ideology or vision for the country. "Never in the history of our country have we seen a chief minister sitting on
Akhilesh once criticised Mayawati for her statues, now goes soft on her
SP president Akhilesh Yadav, who in the past has lashed at BSP chief Mayawati for getting her statues erected with the state's money, Friday went soft on his alliance partner after a scathing observation by the Supreme Court on the same issue. "I don't have full information about this. The court might have made some observations. BSP's lawyers will put their side in the court," he told reporters. The apex court, earlier in the day, said it was of the tentative view that Mayawati should reimburse the public money used for erecting statues of herself and of elephants, the party's symbol, in Lucknow and Noida. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party recently announced their alliance for Uttar Pradesh in the coming Lok Sabha elections, putting aside their once bitter rivalry. Akhilesh Yadav had earlier termed the parks and memorials set up in the BSP regime a Rs 40,000-crore scam. But when questioned Friday on the apex court's observations on BSP leader's statues, Yadav attacked .
Sehwag rules out contesting LS elections
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag Friday rejected media reports speculating him to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket from Rohtak. During the past few days, several media reports had claimed that the former Indian opener could be fielded by the BJP to take on Congress' Deepender Singh Hooda, who is a three-time MP from Rohtak. State BJP President Subhash Barala had, however, denied these reports. Sehwag said on Friday that such rumours were circulated even at the time of the 2014 parliamentary polls. He asserted that he is not keen to contest elections. "Some things never change, like this Rumour. Same in 2014, and no innovation even in Rumour in 2019. Not interested then, not interested now. #BaatKhatam#5YearChallenge," Sehwag tweeted.