Page 1711 - Politics
J-K Guv downplays Mehbooba's comments against Army official
Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik on Wednesday downplayed former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's comments against an Indian Army official.Advising not to take Mehbooba's comments "seriously", the governor asserted that he will not let her remarks affect the morale of the security forces.According to media reports, Mehbooba had lashed out at Indian Army officer Major Rohit Shukla earlier in the day, alleging that Major Shukla 'tortured' a Jammu and Kashmir youth while probing a matter."It is election time and her party is falling apart. She came into power after making such statements. We should not take her seriously. We will not let such statements affect the moral of our security forces," Malik told reporters here.According to media reports, Mehbooba, after visiting the SMHS hospital in Pulwama where the youth is being treated, said that the man was 'thrashed' and 'asked to pose with a gun on his shoulder' by Shukla. "We have heard that Major Shukla is a brave soldier. ...
Clear your stand on Ram temple: Amit Shah to SP, BSP, Congress
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Wednesday asked the Samajwadi Party(SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress to "clear their stand" on the Ram temple issue.Addressing a public rally here, Shah said the BJP wants a grand temple of Lord Ram to be built at the very site where he is believed to have been born."BJP's stand is clear that Ram Temple will be built in that very place in Ayodhya. The SP, BSP and, Congress should clear their stand, whether they want the construction of Ram Mandir or not," he said. The Centre had on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court for permission to restore the "excess" land surrounding the disputed portion in Ayodhya to Ram Janambhoomi Nyas.The government, in a petition, sought directions for releasing the 67 acres which it had acquired about two-and-a-half decades back, leaving untouched the 0.313 acres of disputed land.The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute has been pending before the apex court for the last eight years. For a long
No regrets, says Hindu Mahasabha leader held for recreating Bapu's assassination
Hindu Mahasabha leader Pooja Pandey who was arrested on Tuesday for re-enacting the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi said she has no regrets and was merely exercising her constitutional rights."We have not murdered anyone, we have used our constitution rights. I don't have any guilt. We don't have any complaint against the government, they are forced to do what they are doing" Pandey said.Her husband Ashok Pandey said, "We are doing our job, the police are doing their job. This is the unfortunate plight of independent India. People who are disrespecting the country are roaming free, while people like us are being arrested."On January 30, at an event in Aligarh, Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha secretary Pooja recreated Gandhi's assassination by shooting an effigy of Mahatma Gandhi and hailed the killer Nathuram Godse.
I give my word for minimum income guarantee, can't promise Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts: Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday reiterated his promise of giving minimum universal basic income for the poor if his party voted to power at the Centre, saying he is committed to his word."I cannot promise Rs 15 lakh to you all. But, I can give my word for the minimum income. No one can stop us from providing mininum income to the poor," he said at a rally here.The Gandhi scion claimed that be it Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, they were running their respective governments for "their rich friends".Intensifying his attack against the Centre, Rahul said: "In the Budget, the Centre's scheme is to provide Rs 6,000 per annum to farmers which boils down to just Rs 17 per day. This is not enough to address their plight."He added, "This means each person in a (farmer's) family is getting Rs 3.5, whereas (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi has waived off loans of his industrialist friends worth Rs 3.5 crore. Narendra Modi and Naveen Patnaik are ...
Air India CMD Pradeep Kharola appointed Civil Aviation Secretary
Chief Managing Director (CMD) of Air India Pradeep Singh Kharola has been appointed the Civil Aviation Secretary, the government said on Wednesday.Pradeep Singh Kharola had assumed the office of CMD, Air India on November 28, 2017.Kharola is a Karnataka cadre IAS officer who has also served as the Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.Meanwhile, Shailesh will continue to hold the post of Secretary, Department of Official Language.
Mehbooba a sympathizer of terrorists: Jitendra Singh
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday claimed that People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti "sympathizes" with terrorists.Speaking to ANI, Singh, who is the Minister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), said the tricks Mehbooba used to win elections last time will not work this time."Selective condemnation of human rights...these leaders are quick to express their sympathies if a terrorist gets killed in an encounter. But a security personnel performing call of duty doesn't receive a single word of sympathy," he said. "The people of Kashmir now have begun to see through this duplicity. Since elections are here they are trying to appease a certain constituency but this isn't going to work because the tricks of last election aren't going to work in this election," he added.Singh's comments come after Mehbooba reportedly lashed out at Indian Army officer Major Rohit Shukla earlier in the day, alleging that the Army officer 'tortured' a Jammu and Kashmir ..
Vice President bats for ethical, responsible leadership for building inclusive India
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has said that ethical and responsible leadership is the need of the hour, while underlining the need to ensure "hassle-free service to the last man living in the remotest part of the country.""Understanding the ground realities, interaction with common people and observing the changing aspirations of the youth are very important for the people aspiring to be in public life," he said.Naidu was interacting with students from the Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership promoted by Thane-based Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini (RMP) here on Wednesday.He also stressed upon the need for students perusing a career in public life to acquire a decent understanding of the role and responsibility of every institution and their importance in the functioning of a democracy that has more than 130 crore population with a different set of aspirations.The Vice President said that a clean government, clear vision and committed leadership were needed to transform the lives of ..
Bihar Hindustani Awam Morcha president, party's national spokesperson resign
State president of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), Virishan Patel, and national spokesperson Danish Rizwan resigned from the party on Wednesday.Speaking to ANI after resigning from the party, which is a part of the grand alliance or mahagathbandhan in Bihar, Patel said, "It is sad that I am the founder member of the party and now I am resigning. Recently, Mamata Banerjee was on an agitation against the Indian government and all allies of Mahagathbandhan supported that agitation but we opposed it. I feel that we are not following the decorum of being an alliance partner. Therefore I decided to resign from the party."The development comes months ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections which are scheduled to take place in April-May this year.HAM was launched by the former chief minister of Bihar Jitan Ram Manjhi after he left the Janata Dal along with some other leaders.In February last year, Manjhi joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led grand alliance after leaving the National Democratic .
Odisha govt remote-controlled by PM Modi: Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha on Wednesday of being "remote-controlled" from Delhi. Addressing a Congress rally in this steel city in western Odisha, he said the state was hit by the chit fund scam, in which many leaders of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) were involved, while the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre was stung by the Rafale scandal. The Odisha government was not operating from the state but was "remote-controlled" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it had readily extended its support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on measures like demonetisation, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and different issues in Parliament, whenever the prime minister desired, Gandhi said. Stating that the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which has a facility in Odisha, had suffered due to the Rafale fighter jets deal, he said the Modi government had deprived the youth of the state of a large ...
Bank of China's $300 million loan to Sri Lanka faces delay - government officials
COLOMBO (Reuters) - A $300 million loan offered by Bank of China to Sri Lanka is facing delays, government officials familiar with the negotiation told Reuters.
BJP won't stop till Mamata's misrule ends: Shivraj Chouhan
Senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan Wednesday lashed out at the TMC government in West Bengal calling it corrupt and said his party would not stop till the Trinamool regime was ousted from the state. Chouhan, who is the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, made a scathing attack at the TMC government for denying permission to the BJP for landing helicopters, resulting in cancellation of a number of public meetings, referring to which Chouhan said, "The more you (Mamata) try and stop us, more often shall we come to Bengal." Chouhan mocked the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance), calling it "Bina dhulhe ki barat" (marriage party without a groom). He also asked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been instrumental in bringing together opposition parties onto one platform, to name the PM candidate of the alliance. Chouhan, a BJP national vice-president, whose first meeting at Bahrampur in Murshidabad district was cancelled due to denial of permission for landing his
Priyanka Gandhi assumes charge as AICC general secretary
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Wednesday took charge as AICC general secretary and will helm the party's affairs in Uttar Pradesh East. She assumed charge after dropping her husband Robert Vadra at the ED office. She then met party workers. Priyanka was appointed as general secretary and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh east on January 23 by her brother and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Her office is adjacent to the room of her brother at the party headquarters at Akbar Road here. She will attend her first official meeting on Thursday. Rahul has convened the meeting of all general secretaries and in-charges of various states to plan the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections.
HAM Bihar chief quits party
Hindustani Awam Morcha's (HAM) Bihar chief Birshen Patel quit the party on Wednesday following differences with party President Jitan Ram Manjhi but said he remained with the Grand Alliance.
Thai election candidates change names for more votes
Fifteen candidates for election to the Thai Parliament have changed their first names to those of the former Prime Ministers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, to make them more recognizable for the election on March 24, a political party spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Priyanka drops Vadra at ED office, makes a political statement
Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday appeared to be making a political statement of strongly backing her controversial husband Robert Vadra when she dropped him at the Enforcement Directorate office when he came to face questioning in connection with a money laundering case filed against him.
Clear stand on quota at AMU, Adityanath tells opposition parties
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) to clarify their stand on the issue of members of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) not getting reservation benefits at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
Iran rebukes Trump's State of Union address
Iranian Foreign Minister on Wednesday denounced US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in which the Republican leader defended his country's sanctions against Tehran and accused the regime of sponsoring terror.
SDPI leader booked for performing skit on Babri Masjid demolition
Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) leader Attaullah Jokatte has been booked for allegedly inciting communal hatred by performing a skit on the Babri Masjid demolition during a party campaign, police said on Wednesday. The skit was performed near the Sayyid Madani dargah, near Ullal, on Monday as part of the SDPI's month-long programme "Babri Masjid Expo", demanding rebuilding of the Babri Masjid at its original site. Taking cognisance of the play staged, the Ullal police on Tuesday booked Jokatte, SDPI's Dakshina Kannada district president, under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) as he was the organiser of the programme and had taken permission for conducting the month-long campaign on his party's behalf. The events that culminated in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh were enacted in the 10-minute skit, which had the potential to incite communal hatred, city Police Commissioner T R Suresh ...
Anyone with qualification can enter politics; OPS on son's
AIADMK coordinator and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam Wednesday said his son has expressed keenness to contest the coming Lok Sabha polls and asserted that anyone with qualification and talent can enter politics. He was responding to AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran reportedly criticising him after it emerged that his son Ravindranath was a ticket aspirant for the elections. Pannerselvam's son, who heads a party wing in Theni district, had reportedly received an application in this connection recently at the AIADMK headquarters here. The ruling party has started issuing application forms to Parliamentary seat aspirants from the state since Monday. Speaking to reporters here, Panneerselvam said all primary members of AIADMK have a right to contest the polls. "Myself and party Joint Coordinator and Chief Minister K Palaniswami had earlier issued a statement saying those who want to fight the polls on behalf of AIADMK can apply. On that basis, he (Ravindranath) .
India, New Zealand hold second Foreign Office Consultations
India and New Zealand have reviewed the entire range of bilateral relations, including political, trade and economic ties, during the second Foreign Office Consultations.