Page 1721 - Politics
BJP attacks Mamata for stopping Adityanath from entering
The Jharkhand unit of BJP Tuesday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of disrespecting federalism and democracy by trying to stop her Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath from entering Bengal. The saffron party leaders further charged her with announcing an undeclared emergency in Bengal. Mamata Banerjee has proved that she does not respect federalism and democracy. She tried to stop Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from entering West Bengal. She has announced an undeclared emergency in Bengal as her words are law, BJPs Jharkhand unit spokesmen Praveen Prabhakar and Pratul Shahdeo told a press conference here. They claimed Banerjee appeared fearful of Adityanath and BJPs national president Amit Shah due to which she is not allowing them to enter Bengal, adding, The final countdown for her has begun as the people will throw her out in the elections. Their press conference came in the backdrop of Adityanath travelling to Purulia by road ...
Prashant Kishor meets Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray
At a time when the fate of the electoral tie-up between the BJP and the Shiv Sena is hanging in balance, political strategist and JD (U) leader Prashant Kishor Tuesday visited Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, and expressed a wish to join hands ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Both the Sena and the JD(U), which is headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, are members of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The Sena, which is part of the Central and Maharashtra governments, has been at loggerheads with the BJP. Kishor is credited with conceptualising and implementing innovative strategies like 'chai pe charcha' with Narendra Modi, who was the BJP's prime ministerial nominee at that time, that are said to have contributed to the BJP's stupendous victory in the 2014 elections. He is currently the vice president of the JD (U). "As part of NDA, we look forward to joining forces with you in Maharashtra to help secure victory in upcoming Lok Sabha elections & beyond. ..
Kamal holds meeting with party functionaries on LS poll
Actor-politician Kamal Haasan Tuesday held discussions with office-bearers of his Makkal Needhi Maiam on contesting the coming Lok Sabha elections. The two-day meeting, which began Tuesday at the party office in nearby Pollachi, is being attended by district, assembly constituency and Area in-charges of the party to get feedback and inputs, party sources said. In-charges from 11 districts including Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode, are participating in the meeting. Haasan has recently announced that his party would contest the Lok Sabha polls in alliance with like-minded parties.
Khandu suggests 6 NE airports be connected to ASEAN countries
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday suggested that at least six airports across Northeast be connected with ASEAN countries. Speaking at the second ASEAN-India Youth Summit being held at Guwahati, Khandu said that ASEAN region and Northeast have less aerial distance, so air service from at least six airports in NE with ASEAN countries could be started, an official release said here. Khandu said the summit should be held as a calendar event and in different locations across the Northeast. "Way forward to such summit is to build greater cultural exchanges and strengthen trade ties," he said. Speaking to the youth participants from ASEAN countries, Khandu requested them to visit different parts of Northeast to know the region better. Speaking at the event organised by India Foundation and Ministry of External Affairs, Khandu spoke on the cultural diversity and geographical vastness of Arunachal. He said Northeast is often mistaken as one cultural entity, .
Implement ePoS-enabled doorstep delivery of ration across country: Hussain to Centre
Delhi Food minister Imran Hussain has suggested the Centre to consider implementation of doorstep delivery of ration across the country citing various "irregularities and shortcomings" in the electronic point of scale (ePoS) system. In a letter to Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday, Hussain also complained against food commissioner of Delhi and sought his transfer. He said a trial run of the ePoS system during January-March 2018 had exposed several "serious irregularities and shortcomings" such as ration on fake cards, biometric authentication failure and multiple OTPs generated for fraudulent pilferage of ration. "May I, therefore, request you to consider implementing the ePoS enabled door step delivery of ration throughout India," Hussain wrote to Paswan. He said technology-led reforms are the way forward but not rectifying the "loopholes" that have been noticed in the course of implementation of the ePoS system will defeat the efforts at checking ...
Mamata ends sit-in, announces opposition programme in Delhi next week
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday ended her sit-in to protest against the CBI's attempt to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with its probe into the ponzi scheme scam after the "positive" apex court verdict.
Lamba is part of party: AAP
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday said Alka Lamba remains with the party, rejecting the claims of its Chandni Chowk MLA that she is being sidelined.
Enough space in world for both India and China to progress: V K Singh
There is enough space in the world for both India and China to progress economically, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said Tuesday and asserted that the boundary issue and development of ties should be dealt with separately. He said 2018 was a landmark year for Sino-India ties as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an informal summit in Wuhan with Chinese President Xi Jinping without an agenda that helped in understanding each other's perspective. "I know a lot of people criticised it because of linear thinking. My experience has been that agendas narrow down what you want to do... The aim of this summit was to achieve a personal relationship and to achieve an understanding of what each one wants, what are the red lines, what is it you can push, what is it you cannot push," he said at an event for launch of the book 'Sino-Indian Equation' by Brigadier Rajeev Bhutani. Singh, in his remarks at the event, advocated an approach to Sino-India ties in which the land boundary .
Tejashwi demands affidavit from Modi
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sign an affidavit promising that he would not seek help from any of the 23 opposition parties which the BJP has labelled as ""corrupt" and "thieves" to form a government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls. Yadav was among the opposition leaders who met Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her dharna site here and addressed the gathering there. He had also participated in the mega opposition rally called by Banerjee in the city on January 19. BJP national president Amit Shah had compared the opposition parties to a "band of thieves" and had alleged that they had looted the country's wealth by indulging in corruption. "Today all BJP leaders are saying that a band of thieves have joined hands to form the federal front (of opposition parties). I request you Modiji, Arun Jaitley ji, Amit Shah ji and Ravi Shankar Prasad ji to please sign an affidavit ..
Kashmir industry seeks strict steps to cap airfare surge in winters on Srinagar route
Commending Governor Satya Pal Malik for raising the issue of high air ticket prices on Srinagar route mainly during closure of roads, a Kashmir industry group has demanded more strict steps to curb exploitation of helpless travellers. Nasir Hamid Khan, the senior vice-president of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), said they had been raising this critical issue since long and has also given several suggestions to the government in this regard. The KCCI appreciates the warning issued by the governor's administration to the airlines over the exploitation of Srinagar-bound passengers by the airlines when the Srinagar-Jammu road gets closed, more stringent measures are required to effectively tackle the menace, he said. It appeared that vested interests were indulging in blatant opportunism and exploitation of helpless travellers, Khan said. "The current policy was discriminatory in nature with one passenger paying Rs 2,000 and another paying Rs 30,000 for the same journey, .
Fulfil poll promises: AAP's Pb unit chief Bhagwant Mann to Amarinder
Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday wrote to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urging him to fulfil the promises which his party made to the people of the state ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections. In his letter, Mann sought to remind Singh that the government led by him had "failed" to measure up to the aspirations of the people even after two years of assuming power. He said the Congress had made "tall promises" to various sections of the society including youth and farmers, but "failed" to fulfil them. The Sangrur MP later told reporters here that he has also urged the chief minister to give relief to the public by lowering power tariffs, which he claimed had been hiked on four occasions during the past two years. Mann lamented that "today every consumer in the state is paying electricity tariff more than what consumers in other states of the country are paying". The AAP leader said the electricity rate was much higher in Punjab than other states of the ...
Rahul, Priyanka rallies scheduled for Maha Cong LS campaign
The Maharashtra Congress plans to have at least two rallies each of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and the party's newly-inducted general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the state, a senior leader said Tuesday. Former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the Gandhi siblings' rallies will be scheduled after they give approval. Shinde is the Congress' campaign committee in charge for Maharashtra. He added that coordinators in each of the divisions have been asked to shortlist names of party leaders for campaigning. Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats.
SC refuses to defer NRC deadline any further
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to relax the July 31 deadline for publication of Assam's final National Register of Citizens (NRC) and disapproved the Centre's plea for putting the updation work on hold post-announcement of Lok Sabha elections by the Election Commission.
22-member French delegation to participate in BGBS
A 22-member French delegation to be led by its Ambassador to India will participate in the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) that will begin from February 7. Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler, Minister Counsellor and head of the regional economic department of the Embassy of France in India Jean-Marc Fenet, and Consul General of France in Kolkata Virginie Corteval, will be leading a 22 member French business delegation comprising of 14 French companies for BGBS, Embassy officials said. "In the occasion of the Bengal Global Business Summit with an important delegation of French companies. After our visit to Gujarat and Tamil Nadu in January, we are now showcasing in West Bengal our commitment to India," Ziegler said. Accor, Alstom, Bassetti, Capgemini, Decathlon and Schneider Electric company would participate in the BGBS. More than 600 French companies operate in India. Last BGBS received participation of over 4,000 delegates across India and 32 ...
Rajesh Ranjan urges govt not to celebrate Independence Day, Republic Day every year
Expelled RJD MP Rajesh Ranjan Tuesday urged the government not to celebrate Independence Day and Republic Day every year as it involves the money of the poor. He made the suggestion while participating in the debate on motion of thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha. He also demanded Bharat Ratna for social reformer Periyar E V Ramasamy, freedom fighters Veer Kunwar Singh, Bhagat Singh, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi and Lakshmibai.
Overseas stainless steel exporters, local importers misusing ASEAN-India FTA: ISSDA
Industry body ISSDA Tuesday raised concerns that exporters of stainless steel in several countries are colluding with some Indian importers to misuse the provisions of the ASEAN-India free-trade agreement. Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) also said the imports of stainless steel from Indonesia have jumped over eight-fold in one year. "Exporters of stainless steel in several countries are colluding with some Indian importers to misuse the provisions of Indian-ASEAN FTA rules," the association said. Exporters from ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are trying to avail preferential tariff under the free-trade agreement (FTA), it added. Import of stainless steel from Indonesia into India has grown to massive proportions from nearly 8,000 tonne in 2017-18 to 67,000 tonne in 2018-19, the body said. "Chinese investments in Indonesia are backed by Chinese government subsidies provided to expand in overseas markets. They are also
2019 polls very competitive, too close to call: Ruchir Sharma (IANS Interview)
The popularity graph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fallen drastically and what seemed a year ago as another wrestling match "with only one boxer in the ring" now seems a Lok Sabha election too close to call, says global investor and bestselling author Ruchir Sharma.
Cong MLA loses cool, gesticulates at BJP member inside House
Assam Congress MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi Tuesday lost his cool, shouted and angrily gesticulated at BJP legislator Numal Momin inside the Assembly after the ruling party member interrupted an argument between the opposition member and the Speaker. Tempers soared in the House during the Question Hour when Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami did not allow Kurmi to ask supplementary questions, that followed a comment by Momin. Kurmi wanted to ask a question about fund release to tea gardens after the reply of the minister concerned on MLA fund allocation for local area development. Goswami did not allow Kurmi to ask, saying that four supplementary questions have been raised instead of the stipulated two, and senior Congress member Rakibul Hussain already put forward a question to the minister. When Kurmi insisted, Goswami asked him to raise it later. As Kurmi kept speaking, Momin stood up and remarked that the Congress MLA has a tendency of disobeying the Speaker. Angered by this ...
Modi government derailed economy, danger to Constitution: Chidambaram (IANS Exclusive)
India's economy that had recovered from the damage caused by the 'Great Recession' of 2008, cruising at a growth rate of 7.5 per cent, has been derailed by the Modi government, says former Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram who feels that the damage done to the economy is as worrying as that done to the society.
Saudi Arabia sets up anti-corruption office
Saudi Arabia has set up an office to monitor state spending and expand the fight against corruption, Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.