Page 1695 - Politics
Rahul Gandhi attacks PM over Rafale deal, accuses him of robbing Air Force
The Congress leader was addressing a press conference on the fighter aircraft deal after a report in The Hindu newspaper quoted a Defence Ministry report that expressed strong reservations on the "parallel negotiations"."PM Modi himself robbed Air Force's Rs 30,000 crore and gave it to his friend Anil Ambani. We have been raising this since one year. Now a report has come where Defence Ministry officials say that PM was holding parallel negotiations with France government," Gandhi said."The Prime Minister should explain to the armed forces, the Air force, why he is interfering with the negotiations?," he said, alleging Modi was looking rattled."It is a corporate warfare and the Prime Minister is representing Anil Ambani. The PM is talking about himself does he have a dual personality chowkidar and the chor," he said."Ulta chor, chowkidaar ko daante. He's talking about himself? He has got a dual personality? He's now viewing himself as 'chowkidaar & 'chor'. He talks to himself at ..
PM systemically demolishing country's democracy, misleading the people: Kumaraswamy
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "systemically demolishing the country's democracy" and misleading the people."He (Prime Minister) is systemically demolishing this country's democracy, misleading the people, I request all the opposition parties to rise. They must expose the truth of the Prime Minister in the Parliament," Kumaraswamy said ahead of the budget session of the Karnataka assembly."On one side Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preaching to the country and politicians. On the other side, he is encouraging his friends to demolish democracy through black money. I will expose this now, I have the proof to back my charge," he added.Kumaraswamy later released an audio clip of a conversation allegedly between BJP State Chief BS Yeddyurappa and JDS MLA Naganagowda Kandkur's son Sharana where Yeddyurappa allegedly made an offer of Rs 25 lakh and a ministerial post for his father."The lies he (Prime Minister Modi) has spoken, in ..
Rajapaksa set to visit India
Sri Lanka's Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa is set to visit India, his office has said. This will be Rajapaksa's first overseas tour since being appointed as the Leader of the Opposition last month. He will leave Friday on an official tour to India, his office said. Rajapaksa is to deliver a lecture on Sri Lanka-India relations in Bangalore, it said. His will be his second visit to India within 6 months. In September, he visited New Delhi and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rajapaksa was controversially appointed the prime minister by President Maithripala Sirisena late October, triggering an unprecedented constitutional crisis which lasted for over 50 days. The Supreme Court later restored of Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister.
Ruckus over Rafale, LS adjourned till noon
The Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon on Friday following ruckus over fresh revelations that the Defence Ministry had strongly objected to "parallel negotiations" conducted by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) with France on the Rafale fighter jet deal.
Modi ran parallel negotiation with France for Rafale: Rahul
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being directly involved in the Rafale fighter jet deal with France, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that he ran a parallel negotiation.
US in talks with India over missile defence collaboration: Pentagon
The US has discussed a potential missile defence collaboration with India, a top Pentagon official has said, underlining that America wants to build a "much deeper and broader relationship" with the country. Under Secretary of Defence for Policy John Rood, however, said that it is early to determine how far India, which already has substantial domestic missile defence capabilities, will go regarding the defence collaboration. "We have talked to the Indians about missile defence as potentially an area as well to collaborate on. It's early days to determine how far that will go, Rood said speaking at a think-tank here on Thursday. "The Indians have substantial capabilities domestically of their own and they've done some development of missile defences. So the degree to which they're interested in acquiring or working collaboratively with us in the US remains to be seen, Rood said when asked about reports that India is interested in purchasing the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense ...
Rafale issue rocks Rajya Sabha; House adjourned for the day
Rajya Sabha Friday witnessed opposition uproar over the Rafale jet deal issue, leading to adjournment of the proceedings for the day. The Congress sought to raise the Rafale controversy, citing a news report which claimed the Defence Ministry had raised strong objections to "parallel negotiations" conducted by the PMO with France, which "weakened negotiating position of the Ministry of Defence and Indian Negotiating Team". Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad sought to raise the issue but Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu disallowed him, saying he has reserved a final judgement on the notice by Congress members under Rule 267 on the issue. Rule 267 provide for setting aside the business of the day to discuss the issue being raised. Naidu said nobody can speak on the issue that has been reserved by the chair. He ordered that nothing will go on record. However, Azad continued to speak and other opposition members joined in. Congress member shouted slogans like "Chowkidar chor
Yeddyurappa dismisses audio clips released on him by CM as
BJP Karnataka president B S Yeddyurappa Friday rubbished as "fake" and "a concocted story" audio clips released by state chief minister H D Kumaraswamy about his alleged bid to lure an MLA to topple the Congress-JD(S) government. Shortly after Kumaraswamy released the clips, Yeddyurappa said he had not met anyone to woo JD(S) lawmaker Nagana Gouda as alleged and that the charge against him was "far from the truth." Yeddyurappa said he went to Devadurga, where the MLA's son Sharan Gouda claimed to have met him and recorded the conversation, to visit a temple and flew back to the city. Kumaraswamy had "concocted" the story to hide his failures and inability to keep the JD(S) and Congress flock together, Yeddyurappa told reporters here. "It is a fake audio... I have not met anyone. Kumaraswamy is trying to hide his failures. This is a drama," Yeddyurappa said. He said the Kumaraswamy government had lost the trust of the people and had "no moral right" to continue in ...
Australian Parliament's computer network targeted by hacker
Australia's parliament had to reset all the passwords on its computer network after an unknown attacker tried to hack into the system, an official statement said on Friday.
PMO directly involved in Rafale deal, PM is guilty: Rahul Gandhi
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was directly involved in conducting negotiations with the French side on the Rafale deal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "guilty" in the scam. It is an open and shut case, Gandhi said, mounting a fresh attack on the government on the fighter jet deal following a media report. The government can use the law against everyone, including his brother-in-law Robert Vadra and former Union Finance minister P Chidambaram, but must answer questions on the Rafale deal, the Congress chief said. He was responding to a question on the Enforcement Directorate interrogating his brother-in-law Robert Vadra in a money laundering case and the government's sanction to prosecute former finance Minister P Chidambaram in the INX MEDIA case.
Kumaraswamy releases audio clips, claiming BJP trying to topple his govt
Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Friday released two audio clips purportedly of BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa trying to lure JD(S) MLA Nagan Gouda, claiming the party was trying to topple his government and it was being done with the knowledge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, Yeddyurappa dismissed the audio clips as "fake". Kumaraswamy released the clips at a hurriedly called press conference hours before the presentation of the state budget in the assembly. He claimed that the clips were purportedly of Yeddyurappa trying to lure JD(S) MLA Nagan Gouda. Kumaraswamy claimed Yeddyurappa called Nagan Gouda's son Sharan Gouda in the early hours of Friday attempting to entice his father. "Without the knowledge of the prime minister, is it possible to do this," he asked, saying Modi should come clean on the issue. The ruling coalition partners Congress and JD(S) have been accusing the BJP of trying to dethrone their nine-month old government with various offers, including ...
LS adjourned till noon following protests over Rafale issue
The proceedings of Lok Sabha were on Friday adjourned for nearly 50 minutes after the entire opposition trooped into the well raising slogans on the Rafale jet deal issue. As soon as the House took up Question Hour at 11 AM, members from Congress, the Left, Trinamool Congress and TDP rushed into the Well holding placards of a newspaper clipping which claimed the Defence Ministry had protested to the PMO the mechanism being adopted for Rafale deal. As members shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon at around 11.05 AM. Earlier Speaker Sumitra Mahajan told members that she would allow them to raise the issue after Question Hour. But the opposition persisted with its protest.
Longest-serving US congressman dead
John Dingell, the longest serving member of the US Congress on record and a politician whose voice loomed large even after he left Capitol Hill, has died. He was 92.
Tough times for Iran's political parties as revolution turns 40
Iran's main political parties are on rocky ground as the Islamic Republic marks its 40th birthday, with reformists in disarray and conservatives seeking a new identity. Even though key reformist leaders have been forcibly sidelined, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former reformist vice-president in the 1990s, still believes gradual change is the only option for his country. Since mass protests against alleged election-rigging in 2009, his former boss, ex-president Mohammad Khatami, is barred from appearing in the media, and presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have been under house arrest for the last eight years. There are also few signs of a new generation emerging to succeed them, not least because Iran's influential Guardian Council has the power to reject any election candidates it deems unqualified, Abtahi told AFP. "The candidates that can pass the Guardian Council's vetting are low-level," he said. "You can't expect much from them." The reformists instead ...
Amazon's Bezos says National Enquirer owner tried to blackmail him
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jeff Bezos, chief executive of Amazon.com Inc, has accused the owner of the National Enquirer of trying to blackmail him with the threat of publishing "intimate photos" he allegedly sent to his girlfriend unless he said in public that the supermarket tabloid's reporting on him was not politically motivated.
Thai princess to run for PM -- against junta chief
A Thai princess will run for prime minister in upcoming elections, in a stunning twist that pits the high-profile royal against the chief of the ruling junta who had hoped to maintain his grip on politics. Princess Ubolratana, the older sister of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, emerged as a candidate for the Thai Raksa Chart party steered by the divisive Shinawatra political clan. "The board agrees that the name of Princess Ubolratana, an educated and skilled person, is the most suitable choice," Thai Raksa Chart party leader Preechapol Pongpanich told reporters. The party falls under the tutelage of Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire self-exiled former premier, who stands at the heart of Thailand's bitter decade-long political schism -- loathed by the army and Bangkok elite, yet adored by the rural poor. The announcement means a royal-fronted party tied to the Shinawatras will directly take on the military party, whose own candidate was also announced Friday as junta leader Prayut ...
Tripura CPI leader defects to JD(U)
Former minister and senior CPI leader Manindra Riyan has joined the Janata Dal (United), alleging that that the CPI (M)-led Left Front, during its rule in the state, never practiced what they preached. Riyan, who served as minister for home (prisons) during the Left Front rule, claimed that that he was inspired by the principles of JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar. "The CPI (M) and other Left parties talk of equal distribution of wealth, but they never practice the policy. I have joined the JD(U) as I believe in the principles of Nitish Kumar," he told reporters Thursday at Shantirbazaar in South Tripura district, about 90 km from here. Riyan also alleged that about one year had passed since 2018 assembly elections, but no one from the Left Front has bothered to enquire about him. At a press meet here later in the day, CPI state secretary Ranjit Majumder said that the disgruntled leader has been expelled for "anti-party activities". "We had information that Manindra Riyan was .
Thai Princess nominated as PM candidate
A Thai party on Friday nomimated Princess Ubolratana Mahidol as their candidate for Prime Minister.
Simultaneous elections 'desirable goals', says CEC Sunil Arora
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Thursday said that simultaneous elections are "desirable goals", but for that, the political system of the country will have to take steps to align the life of a state assembly with the life of Parliament."Till 1967, we had elections simultaneously. For various reasons, the cycle got disrupted in 1967. It's a very desirable goal, but for that, political systems of the country will have to take steps to align the life of a state assembly with the life of Parliament," CEC Sunil Arora said during a book launch event.On electoral reforms, the Chief Election Commissioner said: "We have had a meeting with the current law secretary about 10 days back on the reforms which have been suggested at different times. I think they're now trying to expedite the same. It was a very detailed meeting."CEC Sunil Arora said that the Election Commission has proposed to institute an annual lecture in memory of the country's first chief election commissioner Sukumar
Thai junta chief says will run for PM in election
Thai junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha said Friday he will stand as prime minister in March's election as the army looks to maintain its influence on politics more than four years after a coup. "I agree to accept the invitation by Phalang Pracharat to nominate my name to parliament to be appointed as PM," Prayut said, referring to a party aligned with the army.