Page 1722 - Politics
Japan cancels port call by warship in South Korea amid row
Japan announced Tuesday it has canceled a port call in South Korea by its main warship during a multilateral naval exercise as relations between the two Asian neighbors fall to their lowest level in recent years. The Defense Ministry said it will not send the helicopter carrier Izumo to Busan in southern South Korea in April. The ministry said it plans to participate in the rest of the exercise and hopes that bilateral ties will improve. The exercise also involves Southeast Asian nations and will be held in waters between South Korea and Singapore. Japan and South Korea, both key allies of the United States and close economic partners, are locked in disputes involving alleged military provocations as well as wartime history. Japan also canceled a warship dispatch to an international fleet review hosted by South Korea in October after Seoul asked Tokyo to remove the Japanese navy's "rising sun" flag that many South Koreans consider a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression. Japan in ...
Britain's May to meet EU leaders Thursday on Brexit
EU president Jean-Claude Juncker will meet Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday, the EU said, as Brussels and London seek ways to save the Brexit deal. Plans for Britain to leave the bloc on March 29 under a withdrawal agreement signed last year were thrown into doubt when British lawmakers rejected the accord. Brussels is now waiting for May to formally request renewed talks, while warning that the agreement itself can not at this stage be reopened for discussion. "Our position remains clear, and has been expressed several times," Juncker's spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters at his daily briefing Tuesday. "A series of votes has taken place in the British parliament, upon the basis of which the prime minister will come to explain what comes next," he said. "We will receive her with pleasure," Schinas said. "While the commission's position is clear, we are waiting to see what the prime minister has to say." May will visit Juncker at the commission's Berlaymont ...
Mamata ends dharna
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday ended her dharna, which she had started on Sunday night after the CBI's attempt to arrest Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar.She said she will take her fight against the central government to Delhi next week.Addressing a gathering here, Mamata said: "This dharna (Save the Constitution) is a victory for the Constitution and democracy, So, let us end it today. When we started this dharna, we consulted all the political parties and after that they extended their full support."Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who was present on the occasion, said, "We will not stop here, we will continue it till they stop this harassment. NDA government wants to divide India, we want to unite India."A full-blown face-off between the Mamata Banerjee government and the Centre erupted after a CBI team moved to arrest Kumar. However, CBI officials were unceremoniously denied entry to the Kolkata to cop's residence and then ...
'Modi wave' in Valley triggers laughter storm on Twitter
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose a Sunday to tour the scenic Dal Lake in Srinagar. But much to the embarrassment of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a video of him waving at the empty lake gave many Twitteratis an occasion to poke fun at the Prime Minister and some to score a political point.
Want hardworking Cong workers to get ticket for LS polls, no one from my family will contest: Pilot
Asserting that hardworking Congress workers should get ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot Tuesday said that no one from his family will be fighting the polls. "We want good, loyal and hardworking workers get chance and winnable candidates contest elections. The party has given such a big post to me and if I do advocacy for ticket to my family members today then what will happen to the party workers?" Pilot told reporters when asked whether any of his family members would be contesting the polls. The state Congress president also said that the BJP's dual standard on women's reservation has been "exposed" and despite five years of rule, the government did not do anything on the issue. Pilot said Congress governments will implement women's reservation wherever they are in power. "BJP should clarify its stand on women's reservation," he said.
Rahul forms Cong committees in states ahead of Lok Sabha polls
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will lead the Congress's poll campaign in Punjab and former chief minister Digambar Kamat will lead it in Goa in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Congress President Rahul Gandhi formed various committees for Punjab, Goa, Puducherry and Gujarat ahead of the general election due this summer. Former Gujarat legislator Siddharth Patel, who is son of former state chief minister Chimanbhai Patel, has been made the campaign committee chief in Gujarat. He also led the party's campaign in the state in the 2017 assembly election, but had himself lost the assembly election. In Punjab, state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar is the chairman of the Pradesh Election Committee, which has other senior leaders, including Amarinder Singh, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Preneet Kaur and Pratap Singh Bajwa as its members. The campaign committee for Punjab includes Ambika Soni, Shamsher Singh Dullo, Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Ashwani Kumar, Manpreet Singh Badal and Navjot Singh ...
BJP's attempts to poach ruling MLAs will fail:Cong K'TKA chief
The Congress' Karnataka unit chief Dinesh Gundu Rao Tuesday continued his tirade against the BJP for its alleged 'Operation Lotus' to poach ruling party MLAs and asserted that the saffron party would not succeed in its attempt. Speaking to reporters at Hubballi, Rao said the coalition government would complete its tenure. "They (BJP leaders) have been saying the budget will not be tabled or passed as the government will collapse. They tried to poach our MLAs and now they are targeting them," he said. He claimed that a few days ago a Congress MLA told him that he received a phone call from a BJP leader telling him that the "delivery" (cash) was ready and he has to collect it. "You can see how desperate the BJP is to topple the government. No political party has ever stooped so low when compared to BJP. However, this Operation Lotus will flop completely.They will lose face again. Thrice they attempted and now this is their fourth attempt. Yet they have not learned any ...
SC says Centre hell bent on not allowing Assam NRC process to go on
The Centre is "hell bent" on stalling the Assam NRC work, the Supreme Court said Tuesday while rapping it for seeking suspension of the process during upcoming Lok Sabha polls citing non-availability of security forces. The apex court got irked when Attorney General K K Venugopal submitted that the process be suspended from the last date of submission of nomination papers till two weeks after the date of upcoming elections in view of the fact that 167 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), engaged in Assam NRC work, would be sent to other parts of the country to maintain law and order during polls. "We are sorry to say this. The MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) is hell bent upon not to carry on the NRC process and it is destroying entire efforts being made by this court," said a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranan Gogoi and Justice R F Nariman. The bench, which reiterated that it would not extend the deadline of July 31 for finalisation of NRC, also directed that 3,457 state
National Women's Party to contest all 26 LS seats in Gujarat
Newly-formed National Women's Party (NWP) Tuesday announced to contest all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat in upcoming elections. Since the party's main objective is to get 50 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, it will field women candidates on 13 seats and may field male nominees on the rest seats in Gujarat, NWP chairperson Dr. Swetha Shetty said. Shetty was here to launch Ahmedabad unit of the party and appoint office bearers for Gujarat. "We demand nothing less than 50 per cent reservation for women in Parliament. That is why we will give half of the tickets, that is 13, to only women candidates. Rest 13 Lok Sabha seats are open for male candidates having similar ideologies like ours," she told reporters. Shetty said the NWP would contest 283 Lok Sabha seats across the country. She said the NWP was launched in December last year in Delhi, and has a member base of over 3 lakh. The doctor-turned-activist said the NWP is already registered with the Election .
Shilpa Shinde joins Congress
Bigg Boss season 11 winner Shilpa Shinde joined the Congress party here on Tuesday.Shinde was inducted into the Congress in the presence of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Sanjay Nirupam and other party workers.Speaking to ANI, the 'Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai' actress said she has joined the party with an intention of helping people, and not for the sake of promotion."I have not joined the party for promotion, I have definitely joined the party to reach somewhere from where I can do something for the people. I can't do it only by speaking, so I have not joined for election promotions but for doing something better," she said.When asked about her choice of joining the Congress, Shinde said, "Till now, Congress has run the government. A change was needed so we saw that too. It is important for parties to ensure that everything goes smoothly and everyone remains in peace and only the Congress can run the government peacefully.""Congress doesn't indulge in casteism and ...
PM Modi, Amit Shah have corrupted BJP: Andhra CM Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, has become a corrupt party. Addressing the state assembly, Naidu said, "This is not the BJP of old times. This is the BJP of Modi and Shah, this is a corrupt BJP. The NDA government has cheated the farmers. We will never do that. We are working for the development of agriculture."Taking a potshot at the central government over the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, the chief minister said the outlay in the scheme equates to "mere peanuts" for farmers with nominal income. The scheme entails paying Rs 6,000 per annum to farmers owning up to two hectares of land."Farmers in Andhra Pradesh's Rayalaseema region own land up to 6 hectares but have nominal incomes. For such persons, the outlay in the scheme is mere peanuts. We are giving Rs 2,000 per month as pension for such farmers," Naidu said.The Telugu Desam .
MHA wants action against Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, writes to West Bengal government
Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday shot off a letter to West Bengal, asking the state government to initiate disciplinary action against Kolkata Commissioner Rajeev Kumar for "indiscipline and violation of service rules."As per well-placed sources, the MHA, which is the cadre controlling authority for Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the country, in the letter to West Bengal Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De, has cited "indiscipline behaviour and violation of All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968/AIS (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969" as a reason for initiating action against the officer.The face-off between West Bengal and the Centre, which looks all set to snowball into a major political issue, brings back into focus the Centre-state relations and rights, which have always been a debatable issue. The letter also cites that as per the information received by the MHA, Rajeev Kumar sat on a "dharna" along with some police officers with West Bengal Chief Minister ..
India, New Zealand hold 2nd round of consultations
India and New Zealand held a second round of Foreign Office Consultations here on Tuesday, where discussions were held on issues of "mutual interest".The meeting was led by Secretary (East) Vijay Thakur Singh, on behalf of India, and New Zealand's Deputy Secretary (America & Asia Group), Ben King."2nd round of #IndiaNewZealand Foreign Office Consultations were held in Delhi today, led by Secretary (East), Vijay Thakur Singh & Deputy Secretary, America & Asia Group @MFATgovtNZ, Ben King. Both sides exchanged views on bilateral, regional & multilateral issues of mutual interest," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.Bilateral relations were established in 1952 between India and New Zealand, while both the countries are also Commonwealth nations. Around 1,80,000 Indians live in New Zealand, out of which over 30,000 are Indian students.Wellington has previously identified India as a priority country in its "Opening Doors to India" policy, .
Shiv Sena continues to maintain suspense on alliance with BJP, says 'wait and watch'
Poll strategist and JD (U) vice president Prashant Kishor met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray here on Tuesday, triggering speculation that the meeting was planned to discuss the strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday chaired a meeting with 21 MPs and senior leaders reportedly to elicit their views on a possible pre-poll alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra for the general elections. However, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut termed the meeting with Kishor as a "courtesy meeting" and claimed that strategy was not discussed as the Shiv Sena forms its own poll strategy."Prashant Kishor is a vice-president of JD (U). This was a courtesy meeting and not a political visit. JD (U) is a part of NDA just like the Shiv Sena. A discussion took place which will go forward. Just wait and watch," Raut said after meeting Kishor in Mumbai.Earlier, there had been speculation that the Shiv Sena might go solo in the Lok Sabha elections. "We have enough strength to ..
Mamata blames BJP of shelving its helicopter deal, Naidu reminds Centre of federal structure
Turning the table, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday blamed BJP of obstructing her party's campaign and accused it of putting pressure on a helicopter company not to provide her party with a chopper.Alleging that a company which was scheduled to provide helicopters to her party, has backed out under pressure, she said: "We had an agreement with a company for procuring two helicopters during the elections. We had also made an advance booking as per our agreement and the party had also paid advance for the same.""However, it is very sad," she further revealed, "that while the agreement was signed on January 15, they (the company) informed on February 1 that they will not be able to provide a helicopter. How will democracy work like this, how will elections be conducted?"Addressing the media from her ongoing dharna site at Kolkata's Metro Channel, the Chief Minister said that her party will bring up the issue to the Election Commission's notice after elections are ...
Ruckus in UP assembly, MLAs throw paper balls on Governor
Chaos prevailed in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday amidst slogan shouting by Opposition MLAs who threw paper balls at Governor Ram Naik as he addressed the joint sitting of both the Houses on the first day of the Budget Session.While the Governor's speech focused on the government's policies, Opposition members disrupted it, raising the issue of farmers' loan waiver.Opposition members waved placards at the Governor, unrelentingly shouted slogans and soon they reached the Well of the house.The Governor, however, continued reading his speech amidst the din.State Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came down heavily on the MLAs of opposition parties including Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress, and termed the SP members as "goons"."The conduct of the legislators of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress is undemocratic and unconstitutional. Such behaviour and conduct weakens the democracy and undermines its institutions," said the Chief Minister. ...
WB government indulging in unconstitutional, undemocratic acts: UP Chief Minister Adityanath
A 'Sanyasi' like me was denied permission to set foot on the soil of West Bengal as TMC government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is indulging unconstitutional and undemocratic acts, said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday."I came to pay respects to the land that gave us our national anthem. However, this government is indulged in undemocratic and unconstitutional activities. They don't believe in the Constitution. That is why a 'Sanyasi' and 'Yogi' like me denied the permission to step onto the soil of Bengal," he told ANI en route to Purulia district.Chief Minister Adityanath was denied permission yet again to land his chopper in West Bengal following which he landed in Jharkhand's Bokaro and travelled to Purulia by road to address a public rally. On the denial of permission to land in West Bengal, Chief Minister Adityanath asserted that the 'undemocratic' West Bengal government was one that cannot last for long."I can only say that Mamata Banerjee's ...
UK believes IS captive Cantlie is alive: Minister
John Cantlie, British photo-journalist who was taken hostage in Syria in 2012 and featured in a number of Islamic State (IS) terror group's propaganda videos, is believed to be alive, UK Security Minister Ben Wallace said on Tuesday.
Cong-JDS govt braces for story budget session from Wednesday
Amid alleged renewed attempts by the opposition BJP in Karnataka to destabilise it, the ruling Congress-JDS coalition government, which is beset with dissidence, is gearing up for a stormy budget session of the state legislature commencing here from Wednesday. The eight-day session will begin with Governor Vajubhai Vala's customary address to the joint sitting of the legislature. The BJP is likely to corner the government on a host of issues including the administrations handling of the drought situation in the state, cash allegedly seized from a clerk working at a minister's office, among others. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to present his coalition governments second budget on February 8. Expressing doubts about budget presentation on February 8, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister R Ashoka has claimed that 20 to 25 disgruntled MLAs of the alliance were out of reach of their leaders and the coalition
Russia to increase range of new missiles, create ground launchers
Russia plans to increase the range of missiles being developed and create ground-based launchers for its Kalibr long-range missiles and long-range hypersonic missiles, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.