Page 1689 - Politics
MP Congress poster shows Rahul as Ram, Modi as Ravana
A poster depicting Rahul Gandhi as Ram shooting arrows at Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Ravana appeared in the city Friday ahead of a rally of the Congress president here. While the BJP took exception to the poster, the Madhya Pradesh Congress distanced itself from it. The poster was put up by Bhopal district Youth Congress president Rohit Rajoriya and others on Chetak Bridge here. Showing Rahul as Ram and Modi as demon king Ravana of the epic Ramayana, it also carried a slogan: "choro tumhari khair nahi, hum Ram bhakt hain, choron ke alawa kisise bair nahi" (Thieves, you will not be spared. We are devotees of Ram. We don't have enmity with anyone other than thieves)." Rahul Gandhi, while alleging corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal, has often used the slogan "Chowkidar Chor Hai" to target the prime minister. A state Congress spokesperson, however, said the party did not approve of such posters. "The poster was put up by some over-enthusiastic party workers. We ..
PMO did not hold parallel parleys: Official who led the Rafale negotiation
Amid a fresh controversy over the Rafale deal, Air Marshal SBP Sinha (retd), who was leading the Indian negotiating team for the fighter jet purchase, Friday rejected the charge that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had held parallel negotiations. Former Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar also said it was "absolutely wrong" to say that the PMO was conducting a parallel negotiation, as alleged in a media report to which the Congress and other opposition leaders have latched on to attack the Modi government over the Rafale deal. "There was no parallel negotiation and every word in the Intergovernmental Agreement is jointly decided by the Indian and the French negotiating teams without participation of any other agency," Sinha said. Sinha was one of the top Air Force officials leading the Indian negotiating team. The controversy erupted after The Hindu newspaper reported that the Defence Ministry had raised strong objections to "parallel discussions" conducted by the PMO during ...
PPA voices concern over Permanent Resident Certificate issue
The Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA) Friday charged he ruling BJP and the opposition Congress in the state with not being serious on the Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) issue which it alleged will jeopardise the existence of the indigenous tribal population. Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chown Mein had in recent times announced to grant PRC to six non-Arunachalee communities residing in the state, as a new year gift which, had sparked wide protest in the state. "PPA is clear in its stand that it will not accept granting PRC to non-Arunachalees residing in the state at any cost," PPA Chairman Kamen Ringu told reporters here. Ringu, who is also a member of the Joint High Power Committee, constituted by the state government under Environment & Forest Minister Nabam Rebia to study the issue and to submit its recommendations to the cabinet, informed that he had visited all the places and was surprised to see that non-Arunachalee voters have ...
Rahul slams PM on Rafale; says cash support to farmers paltry
Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi said Friday that the 'minimum income guarantee' which his party is promising would not be like Narendra Modi government's Kisan Saman Nidhi scheme, under which farmers will get only "Rs 17 per day". Addressing a 'Kisan Aabhar Sammelan' (thanksgiving rally) here, Gandhi also alleged that the Prime Minister's Office was directly involved in conducting negotiations with the French side for Rafale fighter jets and this had weakened the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) negotiations on the same deal. "This is historic. No other country has done this. India is going to be the first country to do this. The Congress (if elected to power) will give a minimum income guarantee to the poor," he said. "We are not going to insult you by giving Rs 17 per day," Gandhi said, pooh-poohing the Centre's recent budget announcement of Rs 6,000 per year cash support for farmers under the Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. "When we (Congress governments) decided to waive farm ...
PMO never intervened in Rafale negotiations, Defence Ministry note cited to 'malign excellent procurement': Chief negotiator
India's chief negotiator for the Rafale fighter deal Air Marshal (retd) SBP Sinha on Friday asserted that the PMO had never intervened in the negotiations and alleged that a Defence Ministry note has been cited by a newspaper to "malign the excellent procurement" by "concealing facts".Sinha was dismissive about the Defence Ministry note which was cited by the newspaper to allege that the PMO was holding "parallel negotiations" with the French side, saying it was prepared by an officer who was not part of the Indian negotiating team.The PMO never intervened in the negotiations, he told ANI, adding the letter itself is a clear proof of no intervention."There are attempts being made to malign the excellent procurement that the government of India has initiated to procure. It was very surprising for me to know that in the article printed today, a note within the MoD has been used to malign this procurement by concealing facts," Sinha said.He said the note cited by the newspaper does not ..
Twitter says it doesn't take actions based on political views
Faced with allegations of being politically biased in India, Twitter Friday said it believes in impartiality and does not take any actions, such as blocking of accounts, based on political views. Twitter, which has been accused by supporters of the ruling BJP of being biased against the right-wing, said "abuse and hateful conduct comes from accounts across the ideological spectrum" and it will continue to take action when rules are broken. Explaining how trending topics on Twitter work, the US-based microblogging platform said the velocity or the number of tweets in a given time period and not the total number of tweets decides what is trending. The statement by Twitter comes days before its representatives are set to appear before a Parliamentary panel on information technology, which is perceived to have issued the summons to it as a reaction to concerns of supporters of the ruling dispensation. The committee head and BJP MP Anurag Thakur on February 5 had tweeted about the agenda ..
Ladakh becomes third administrative division of J-K
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday approved the creation of a separate Administrative Revenue Division for Ladakh, said an order issued by state Governor Satya Pal Malik. This division will comprise Leh and Kargil Districts with its headquarters at Leh. Now, Jammu and Kashmir will have three divisions - Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir,The creation of two posts of Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police (IGP) has been sanctioned for the new division. Further, a committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary to government, planning, development and monitoring department to identify the posts of divisional level heads of various departments that may be required for the new Division; particularly their staffing pattern, role and responsibilities and proposed location of these offices.Ladakh is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir and is the highest plateau in the state, with most of it being over 9,800 feet above ..
Rahul's allegation a lie, he working for Rafale deal cancellation: BJP
In a sharp counter-offensive against Rahul Gandhi over the Rafale issue, the BJP Friday said Congress chief's fresh allegation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "yet another lie from his lie-manufacturing factory" and accused him of working at the behest of foreign forces for the cancellation of the deal. Gandhi demanded answers to questions raised by a report in The Hindu that the PMO conducted parallel negotiations on the Rafale deal, saying it is now crystal clear that the "watchman", a reference to Modi, is the "thief". A bevy of Union ministers from the BJP hit out at Gandhi. "Rahul Gandhi's lie-manufacturing factory has served us yet another lie. We absolutely reject his allegations. He and the Congress are working to get the Rafale deal scrapped. They are playing in the hands of foreign forces and companies with vested interests," Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who earlier in Parliament slammed the opposition for ...
Beware of opposition's 'mahamilavat' coalition: Modi
Taking swipes at the proposed grand alliance of opposition parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday asked people to be wary of this "mahamilavat" (highly adulterated) coalition. The new Congress government has barred the CBI from taking up fresh cases in Chhattisgarh because the Congress wants to use the state as "ATM" for coming elections, Modi alleged at a rally at Kodatarai in Raigarh district. It was his first rally in Chhattisgarh after the BJP lost power in the state last year. "The first thing they (Congress government) have done is to pull out of Ayushman Bharat scheme and the other is to ban the CBI from conducting probe in the state," he said. "If the poor are getting benefit of the health scheme and availing free treatment worth Rs 5 lakh every year, how will it harm you (the Congress government)? You need not give anything (for the scheme)," he said. "Actually, the Congress is weighed under the favours of 'bichauliye (middlemen). The Congress 'sultanate' ..
Three Tripura CPI-M MPs to boycott Modi's programme tomorrow
Three MPs of the opposition CPI-M in Tripura will boycott the programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi here tomorrow to protest and express solidarity with the movement against the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016. In a signed joint press statement issued by Lok Sabha MPs Jitendra Chowdhury, Shankar Prasad Datta and Rajya Sabha MP Jharna Das Baidya said "We the three MPs of Tripura have taken a conscious decision to boycott the functions at Agartala to be attended by the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi tomorrow on 9th February, 2019. Tripura has three MPs. Modi is scheduled to unveil the statue of Tripura's last ruler Birbikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur at the airport, address a public rally at Swami Vivekananda Maidan, inaugurate a new block of Indian Institute of Information technology (IIIT) at the premises of Tripura Institute of Technology (TIT) here and a 23-km-long railway track between Garjee in Gomati district and Belonia in South Tripura, BJP sources ..
Parrikar washed hands off Rafale deal to save his neck: Congress
The Congress on Friday said that former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar "washed his hands off the deal" in order to save his neck.Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari made the statement after the Centre today dismissed a media report that claimed that Defence Ministry officials had raised concerns over the direct involvement of the Prime Minister's Office in the Rafale dealThe Congress asserted that Parrikar had sensed that the deal might land into controversy in near future and hence kept him-self out of it.Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari cited the noting by the then Defence Minister Parrikar which read, "It appears that the PMO and the French president Office are monitoring the progress of the issue which was the outcomes of the summit meetings and Para (5) appears to be an over-reaction. Defence secretary may resolve the issue in the matter in consultation with Principal Secretary to PM.""What Manohar Parrikar has done is that he has washed his hands off the matter. He is like
Mamata Banerjee calls PM Modi 'Mad-dy babu'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "Mad-dy babu" and said that during elections Prime Minister Modi becomes a "chai wala" while after the polls in the country he becomes "Rafale wala".When a reporter asked that 'you said Modi babu is lying...', Mamata promptly said: "I did not call him Modi babu, I called him Mad-dy babu."Referring to the Godhra incident, Mamata lashed out at Prime Minister Modi by saying, "He (Prime Minister Modi) doesn't know India. He reached here only after Godhra and other conflicts."The Godhra incident that Mamata referred to was burning of two coaches of Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002, in which 59 kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya were burnt alive. The incident was followed by riots in Gujarat. Modi was the Chief Minister of the state at that time.Continue to hit out at Prime Minister Modi; Mamata said, "During the election, he (Prime Minister Modi) becomes 'Chaiwalla' after the election he ...
PM attacks Mamata, says first time a CM has staged a dharna to 'defend' those accused of corruption
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday slammed Mamata Banerjee for her recent dharna, saying that it was for the first time that a Chief Minister had taken such a step to "defend" those accused of corruption. "In the history of India, it is for the first time that a Chief Minister is holding a dharna to defend those accused of corruption and looting the poor people's money. However, this will not continue for long as the way the BJP uprooted the red flag in Tripura, our party will uproot the TMC from West Bengal too. I will not spare those who protect scamster," he said."I want to tell you that this 'Chowkidar' will spare neither the perpetrators of chit fund scam nor those protecting them. Mamata has developed fear not because of me but because of the people of Bengal. The people of Bengal are our inspiration, energy, and strength," said Prime Minister Modi while addressing a mammoth gathering here at Mainaguri after inaugurating the new circuit bench of the Calcutta High ...
DMK urges EC to hold by-polls for 21 seats in TN along with LS polls
A delegation headed by Rajya Sabha MP and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Kanimozhi visited the Election Commission (EC) office here on Friday, urging the top electoral body to hold by-polls for 21 vacant assembly seats in Tamil Nadu simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections, slated to be held between April-May.The delegation submitted a letter to the EC on the same, stating that it would save time for the voters and save public exchequer."(DMK chief MK) Stalin had asked us to meet the EC and give a representation to them. We submitted a letter stating that by-polls for 21 seats in Tamil Nadu should be held along with the parliamentary elections," Kanimozhi told ANI.Out of the 21 seats, 18 of them had fallen vacant after the disqualification of the AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) MLAs who had pledged support to TTV Dhinakaran by Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker Dhanapal. Subsequently, the Madras High Court upheld the validity of the Speaker's order last year.The .
Parliamentary board to decide party candidates: HP BJP incharge
The BJP will not "invite" applications for Lok Sabha poll candidates from Himachal Pradesh, leaving its parliamentary board to pick nominees on the basis of their winnability, a party leader said Friday. Himachal BJP election incharge Tirath Singh Rawat claimed that the BJP would again emerge victorious on all the four Lok Sabha seats in the general elections. He said the board will decide the candidates and their winnability would be one of the main basis for allocation of tickets. He said there is no age bar in allocating Lok Sabha tickets. On whether the BJP will allocate tickets to all the four sitting MPs in Himachal, Rawat said, "The public wants to see Modi as the prime minister and whosoever the party will allocate ticket to, that candidate will win". Replying to a question regarding beginning of the selection process for candidates by the Congress, Rawat said, "Out party has its own system and our leaders in Delhi know that which party leader will win." Later in the day, ...
Long-serving US lawmaker John Dingell dead at 92
John Dingell, an imposing and outspoken Democrat who became a powerful figure in Washington over the course of a record 59 years in Congress, has died at the age of 92. The death of former House member Dingell, who retired in 2015, was announced by his wife Debbie Dingell, who succeeded him in their district in the car-making region of Michigan. In recent years, in retirement, he was known for stinging criticism of President Donald Trump. Dingell was scathing, for instance, towards the end of last month's partial government shutdown prompted by Trump's dispute with Democrat lawmakers over his proposed border wall. "Crooks like Trump will steal a hot stove and come back for the smoke. There's no bar too low," he wrote on Twitter on January 24. Dingell was an imposing figure. He stood 6-foot-3 (1.9 metres), weighed 200 pounds and had a booming voice. He was a long-serving committee chairman who helped shape US legislation on everything from energy and health care to telecommunications ..
SC orders Tejashwi to vacate Dy CM's bungalow, fines Rs 50K for wasting judicial time
The Supreme Court Friday dismissed RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's plea challenging a Patna High Court order asking him to vacate the bungalow meant for the deputy chief minister and imposed Rs 50,000 fine on him for wasting "judicial time". The apex court did not find fault with the two orders passed by the single judge and the division bench of the high court dismissing the pleas of the former deputy chief minister against the state government's decision asking Tejashwi to vacate the bungalow for his successor Sushil Modi. The high court had asked Tejashwi, who is now holding the post of leader of opposition (LoP) in the assembly, to swap bungalow with the present deputy chief minister. "What is this luxury of litigation? Precious judicial time has been wasted," a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said when Tejashwi's counsel, senior advocate A M Singhvi, attempted to establish that the post of a minister and that of the LoP was similar in protocol. Moreover, there is no ...
Pakistan will present all evidence against Jadhav in ICJ on Feb 19: FM Qureshi
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Friday said Pakistan would provide all the evidence of "sabotage activities" by former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on February 19. Jadhav, 48, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on spying charges in April 2017. India moved the ICJ in May the same year against the verdict. The world court has halted Jadhav's execution on India's appeal pending the final verdict by it. Both India and Pakistan have already submitted their detailed pleas and responses in the world court and it has decided to hold hearings in the Jadhav case from February 18-21, 2019. India denies all the charges and maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy and that he has no links with the government. In its written pleadings, India had accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention by not giving consular access to Jadhav. In response, ...
PMO not a party to Rafale deal: Former Defence Secretary
Giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office, former Defence Secretary G. Mohankumar -- during whose tenure the Rafale deal was finalised -- said on Friday that the deal was a clean one and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had no role in it.
Modi master of corruption: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him "the master of corruption" and said that she supported the views of the Congress on the Rafale deal. She described Rafale deal as "one of the biggest scam of the country". "I do not know how much money changed hands or what had happened, but certainly there must be something behind the curtain. Rafale deal is a big scam and I support the Congress' views on it," Banerjee told a press conference after the conclusion of the Bengal Global Business Summit here. Earlier in the day, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had alleged that "the prime minister has stolen Rs 30,000 crore of your money, bypassed a process, and given it to his friend Mr Anil Ambani". He demanded answers to questions raised by a media report that the PMO conducted parallel negotiations on the Rafale deal, saying it is now "crystal clear" that the "watchman" is the "thief". Calling Modi as "Mr Maddy", Banerjee claimed that