Page 1707 - Politics
Cabinet clears amendments to strengthen law banning illicit deposit schemes
Amid a raging controversy over chit fund scams, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to amend a law to enable banning unregulated deposit schemes with deterrent punishment and fines in a bid to protect small investors.
India, Nepal officials to discuss bilateral issues to reduce trade deficit
High-ranking government officials from Nepal and India are set to meet in Pokhara from February 8 to discuss various aspects of the bilateral trade issues between Kathmandu and New Delhi, mainly the huge trade deficit."The meeting will explore the ways to reduce the huge trade deficit between the two countries, discussing whether to amend the bilateral treaties as per the need of the time or deal the issues through a new way," the state news agency RSS quoted Rabi Shanker Sainju, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, as saying.The meeting is expected to recommend amendments to the Nepal-India Trade Treaty 1990. Joint Secretary Sainju is leading a nine-member delegation to the meeting and his Indian counterpart Bhupinder Bhalla is heading the seven-member Indian team, the report has stated.The meeting assumes significance as Nepal is experiencing a ballooning trade deficit with its southern neighbour.Officials from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and ..
K'taka: Congress issues whip to MLAs to be present in budget session
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah has issued a whip to party legislators to be present in the state assembly during the budget session.Any breach of the whip has serious consequences including disciplinary action against the violators, he said.The budget session of Karnataka Assembly commenced on Wednesday. There was total pandemonium in the Karnataka Assembly as BJP shouted slogans and staged a walked out in the midst of Governor Vajubhai Vala's speech, claiming that the incumbent JD(S)-Congress alliance government is a minority government.Earlier in the day, the former chief minister had issued another notice to the four dissenting party MLAs seeking an explanation before or after the Assembly Session.This comes a month after Siddaramaiah served notices to the four legislators who did not turn up at a Congress legislature party meeting in Bengaluru.Speaking to the media at that time, Siddaramaiah said, "The situation is not like it is being portrayed in the media.
Stand by my family, says Priyanka as ED grills Vadra
Sending out a strong message to the political opponents, newly appointed Congress General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi, on Wednesday backed her husband Robert Vadra and accompanied him to the office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here which quizzed the controversial businessman in a money laundering case.
Ranu Langthasa elected unopposed chief of NC hills council
BJP member Ranu Langthasa on Wednesday was elected unopposed as the Chairperson of the 12th North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, polling for which took place last month. Langthasa was the Chairperson in the outgoing Council too and is the first woman to hold this position in 2016. The election for post was held at the Council premises in presence of Dima Hasao Deputy Commissioner Vikram Dev Sharma. Langthasa has been winning from Semkhor seat since 2007. The BJP swept the polls, held on January 19, by winning 19 of the 28 seats in the Council, while the Congress bagged two and the AGP managed one seat. The remaining six seats went to Independent candidates. Later, the AGP and the Independent candidates joined the BJP, making it the single largest party with 26 seats.
Will contest Lok Sabha polls if party gives ticket: Himanta
Assam Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma Wednesday said he may contest the coming Lok Sabha polls from any of the 14 seats of the state if the party wished so. Speculations that Sarma may contest in Lok Sabha elections have been doing the rounds for sometime since veteran BJP Parliamentarian from Gauhati constituency, Bijoya Chakravarty, announced her intention not to be in the fray in 2019. Sarma is currently a member of Assam Assembly from Jalukbari constituency, which is a part of the Guwahati city. Asked if he is likely to be the BJP candidate from Gauhati seat, the minister said, "I can contest from any of the 14 constituencies in Assam. I will contest if ticket is given to me." Talking to reporters at the Assembly complex after presenting the state budget, the NEDA convenor said he cannot make a decision on himself. In 2016, the BJP floated a platform of non-Congress parties, North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), and Sarma was made its ...
Swedish PMO has a Maharashtra connection - Nila Vikhe-Patil
A Marathi-origin 'mulgi' (girl) has been re-appointed as an Advisor in the Sweden Prime Minister's Office in-charge of the crucial departments of Finance, Housing and Financial Markets, her family members said here on Wednesday.
PM's meeting with GMPF only election gimmick: Congress
The Congress Wednesday termed the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and representatives of mining-dependent people of Goa as an election gimmick. Modi met leaders of the Goa Mining People's Front (GMPF) alongwith Union minister Shripad Naik and MPs Vinay Tendulkar and Narendra Sawaikar in Delhi earlier in the day. The prime minister assured them that he would look into the matter, said GPMF president Puti Gaonkar later. "All this is election gimmick. When thousands of people were sitting in protest in Delhi, PM had no time to meet them," Congress secretary A Chellakumar said here. He was referring to a protest held by the GMPF in Delhi in December. "Today's meeting was just a political gimmick ahead of Lok Sabha polls," he said. Chellakumar also alleged that the ruling BJP or the prime minister did not come up with any solution in today's meeting.
PM expresses concern over Goa mining impasse
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday assured a delegation of lawmakers and representatives of the Goa Mining People's Front (GMPF) that the Central government will try to find a solution to the mining impasse in the state within the "four corners of the law".
Rahul vows to safeguard tribal rights, attacks Centre, Odisha govt
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Wednesday hit out at the Modi government, accusing it of thrusting corruption and unemployment on people and vowed to safeguard the rights of tribals on "Jal, Jamin and Jungle" (water, land and forest). Gandhi also vowed to provide minimum income to the poor, if voted to power in the state, where it has remained in opposition for two decades. Citing BJD's support to NDA on measures such as demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax, he claimed Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was being "remote-controlled" by the BJP. "Chowkidar chor hai, Naveen Patnaik remote-controlled hai," Gandhi said. Kicking off the Congress campaign for Lok Sabha and assembly polls in Odisha, likely to be held simultaneously in April-May, he addressed rallies in the tribal-dominated Kalahandi and Sundargarh districts during his second visit to the state in a fortnight. Gandhi also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, "Corruption is rampant at the Centre and in ...
Government tightens rules on unregulated deposit schemes
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's cabinet on Wednesday introduced amendments it said would make unregulated deposit schemes more difficult to run.
Maha Cong to hold 50 Jan Sangharsh rallies across state
The Maharashtra Congress Wednesday said it has decided to hold 50 Jan Sangharsh rallies across the state before the Lok Sabha election dates are announced. Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan said as part of the plan, the party will hold four rallies in Marathwada region on February 7 and 8. "The first of the 50 rallies planned in different cities will be held at Daulatabad (near Aurangabad) on Thursday, followed by another rally in Aurangabad city the same day. On Friday, rallies will be held in Paithan and Pune cities," he said. Chavan said he has covered 6,500 kms in the last few months and travelled across 120 assembly constituencies as part of the Jan Sangharsh Yatra to highlight the "failure" of the BJP-led central and state governments. "As second part of the campaign against the BJP, 50 rallies are being planned in different cities before the election code of conduct comes into force," the former chief minister added. "Congress has got a tremendous response ..
Hardik to fight LS polls, Cong says may join party
Firebrand Patidar community leader Hardik Patel announced on Wednesday that he would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Although Patel did not specify whether he would join any political party or contest as an Independent, sources in the Congress claimed that he is likely to join the party to fight the polls. "Bilkul, hum 2019 mein chunav ladenge (I will definitely contest the 2019 elections)," Patel told reporters in Lucknow when asked if would take a plunge into electoral politics. On joining the Congress, the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader said he would take a decision about it later. Congress sources said negotiations were on with Patel about his joining the party to fight the elections. He might contest the elections from Mehsana or Amreli seat, which have a strong presence of the Patel community, party leaders said. But Patel has been barred from entering Mehsana by a court in a case of violence during the 2015 Patidar agitation, party sources said. He had ...
India, New Zealand resolve to step up political, economic ties
India and New Zealand have vowed to step up their political and economic ties after top officials of both countries held wide-ranging talks to strengthen the bilateral relationship. The second foreign office consultations between India and New Zealand were held here on Tuesday. At the talks, the Indian side was led by Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, while the New Zealand side was led by Ben King, Deputy Secretary Americas and Asia Group, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, of that country. The dialogue provided an opportunity to review the entire range of bilateral relations, including political, trade and economic ties, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. India reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with New Zealand in these areas, it added. The two sides also exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues, including cooperation at the UN and other international organisations.
Jagan stresses special status for Andhra
Predicting a hung Parliament, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednesday announced that whichever alliance agrees to accord the special ctegory status to Andhra Pradesh will get his party's support.
Decided against any agitational programme on Ram Temple on advice of 'sants': VHP
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad said on Wednesday that it decided on not holding any agitational programme on the issue of Ram temple at Ayodhya for the next four months on the advice of Hindu religious leaders and also because it did not want the issue to be linked to elections.
State yet to receive MHA notice on city police chief: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday said the state government is yet to receive any notice from the Ministry of Home Affairs for taking disciplinary action against Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar for allegedly violating service conduct rules. The chief secretary or the home secretary will reply to the notice after it was received, she told reporters at the state secretariat. Banerjee was replying to a query about reports from New Delhi that the MHA has asked the state government to take steps against Kumar for his alleged violation of the All India Service (Conduct) Rules by attending the Trinamool Congress supremo's dharna here. "No such letter was received till this afternoon. At a meeting to discuss the business summit tomorrow, I asked the chief secretary and home secretary whether they had received any such letter. They said no," Banerjee said. On how contents of the purported letter found mention in a section of the media, she said, "I ...
AIADMK to lead coalition for Lok Sabha polls
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said here on Wednesday the AIADMK would lead the electoral coalition in the next general elections.
Lankan Prez says truth about his assassination plot would be revealed soon
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said on Wednesday that the police recorded his statement over an alleged plot to assassinate him and the truth would be revealed in two weeks. "The CID recorded a statement from me a few days ago. The CID will hand over its report in two week's time to the Attorney General and then the people will get to know the truth regarding the plot to assassinate me," he said while addressing the Parliament. In mid-September, a senior policeman heading the police's counter-terrorism division was arrested along with an Indian national for the alleged assassination plot targeting Sirisena and former defence minister Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Sirisena accused the police, then under the control of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, of going slow on the investigation. He cited the alleged plot as a reason for his decision to sack Wickremesinghe as prime minister in October last. Just weeks before his unconstitutional move to sack Wickremesinghe, the two leaders .
Rahul to be in Ajmer on Feb 14
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be in Ajmer on February 14 to address a state-level Sewa Dal convention, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot said in a statement on Wednesday. He said the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee has also invited the party chief to speak at a gathering in Udaipur on March 1. A state election committee meeting was also held Wednesday, for selecting Lok Sabha poll nominees. As per the statement, a meeting chaired by Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot in the presence of party general secretary Avinash Pandey and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot unanimously decided to authorise Congress President Rahul Gandhi for selecting nominees for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. It was also decided to conduct a two-day training camp for Congress workers on February 11 and 12 in Bada Padampura of Jaipur. A training camp from February 15 to 25 will be held for booth management and other polls practices.