Page 1724 - Politics
Iran rejects EU trade, anti-money laundering link
Iran on Tuesday ruled out linkage between a new EU mechanism to trade with Tehran bypassing US sanctions and an anti-money laundering bill. "Linking implementation of this mechanism... with the requirements of institutions such as the FATF is unacceptable," the foreign ministry said, referring to the international Financial Action Task Force. Iran is on an FATF blacklist drawn up to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorist groups, but the Paris-based organisation has suspended counter-measures since 2017 while Tehran works on reforms. EU leaders on Monday welcomed the bloc's new mechanism to trade with Iran but warned Tehran over its ballistic missile programme and regional policies while calling for it to implement reforms to comply with FATF demands. Britain, France and Germany created the system last week to allow firms to trade with Iran without falling foul of US sanctions. The foreign ministry, in its statement, welcomed the EU's "positive stances" but also ...
MP: Rahul Gandhi to address farmers rally in Bhopal on Feb 8
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address a farmers rally at the BHEL Jamboree Maidan here on Friday, the party's media cell coordinator Narendra Saluja said. Saluja termed it a "thanksgiving rally" where farmers would felicitate Gandhi for the farm loan waiver announced in the state after a Congress-led government under Chief Minister Kamal Nath took over. Gandhi, during the campaign for the MP Assembly polls in November last year, had promised a farm loan waiver if his party was elected to power. "All top Congress leaders from the state, including (CM) Kamal Nath ji, Jyotiraditya Scindia ji (AICC general secretary) and Digvijay Singh ji (ex-CM), will participate in the rally," he said. Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi claimed more than two lakh farmers from the state are likely to participate in the rally. The MP government had earlier said the Rs 50,000 crore farm loan waiver scheme titled 'Jai Kisan Rin Mukti Yojana' would benefit 50-55 lakh farmers. Under
Centre asks Bengal govt to take action against Kolkata Police chief for 'indiscipline'
In a move which may further escalate the tussle with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Centre Tuesday asked the state government to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar for "indiscipline" and violation of services rules. In a communication to the West Bengal Chief Secretary, The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that as per the information received by it, Kumar sat on a dharna along with some police officers with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Metro Channel in Kolkata, which is prima facie in contravention of the extant provisions of AIS (Conduct) Rules, 1968/AIS (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969. "In view of the above, the West Bengal government has been requested by MHA to initiate action against the officer and intimate the action taken in this regard," it said. The Home Ministry, which is the cadre controlling authority of the Indian Police Service officers, cited Kumar's "indisciplined behaviour"
Goa mining: PM Modi to meet delegation on Wed, says BJP leader
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will Wednesday meet a delegation of mining dependents and political leaders from Goa in New Delhi to discuss the mining issue, Goa BJP chief Vinay Tendulkar said. Tendulkar, a Rajya Sabha MP, said the delegation would comprise Union AYUSH minister Shripad Naik, South Goa Lok Sabha MP Narendra Sawaikar, besides himself. It would also have Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker Pramod Sawant, state Power Minister Nilesh Cabral, Independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar, MGP MLA Dipak Pawaskar and Goa Mining People's Front chief Puti Gaonkar, he added. Mining came to a standstill in Goa in March last year after the Supreme Court quashed 88 leases and banned the extraction of iron ore.
Prism urges Mizoram CM to convene all party meeting on
The Prism party Tuesday urged Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and Assembly Speaker Lalrinliana Sailo to convene an all party meeting on the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Bill. A press statement issued by People's Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram (PRISM) party here said that it has submitted letters to to the CM and speaker to call the meeting to ensure that the people of Mizoram, irrespective of political affiliations would have one voice against the Citizenship Amendment Bill. The statement said that the party had earlier made an appeal to Zoramthanga on January 15 last, but was yet to receive any response from the chief minister till date. United efforts of the people would be more effective than the fragmented voices of the political parties and civil societies, the statement said. The Mizoram cabinet on January 10 had described as "unfortunate" the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill by the Lok Sabha. The Cabinet meeting also decided .
Centre tells Bengal government to take disciplinary action against Kolkata Police chief
Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar faces fresh problems with the Centre on Tuesday asking the West Bengal government to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him for participating in a street protest with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, an action that comes on top of an unprecedented stand-off between the two governments for the last three days.
Saudi Arabia, coalition partners gave US-made weapons to al-Qaeda fighters, Salafi militants in Yemen: Report
Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners transferred US-made weapons to al Qaeda-linked fighters, hardline Salafi militias, and other factions waging war in Yemen, in violation of their agreements with the United States, CNN reported.The weapons have also made their way into the hands of Iranian-backed rebels battling the coalition for control of the country, exposing some of America's sensitive military technology to Tehran.Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, its main partner in the war, have used the US-manufactured weapons as a form of currency to buy the loyalties of militias or tribes, bolster chosen armed actors, and influence the complex political landscape, according to local commanders on the ground and analysts who spoke to CNN.By giving the military equipment to third parties, the Saudi-led coalition is breaking the terms of its arms sales with the US. A US Department of Defense official told CNN that an investigation has been launched into the issue.Previous CNN ...
Priyanka Gandhi gets room at AICC next to Rahul
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the newest fifth generation member of the Gandhi-Nehru family to plunge into active politics, will function from a room at the AICC headquarters here next to the office of her brother and party chief Rahul Gandhi as she prepares to take charge as General Secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh East.
TMC not in touch with us: Patnaik
Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said the CBI should do non-political jobs and that nobody from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had spoken to him on any issue, including the recent standoff between the central probe agency and the Kolkata Police. "No one from the TMC has been in touch with us for at least a year," Patnaik said, replying to reporters' queries during his tour to Koraput on whether TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had spoken to him on the Kolkata Police-CBI standoff. Earlier in the day, Banerjee reportedly said in Kolkata that she would consult Patnaik over the continuation of her dharna. The West Bengal chief minister has been staging a protest over the CBI-Kolkata police imbroglio in Kolkata since Sunday night. "Our party's statement on Monday had to do with events in our own state," Patnaik told reporters. The BJD had clarified that its statement on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was in relation to Odisha and the ..
West Bengal developments cause of concern for all: Akhilesh
Terming the developments in West Bengal a cause of concern for all citizens regardless of their political affiliation, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Tuesday wrote an open letter to the people urging them "protect and preserve" constitutional values and the institutions charged with upholding them. In an unprecedented development on Sunday, a number of CBI officers, who had gone to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with chit fund scam cases, were bundled into police jeeps, whisked to a police station and briefly detained. Hours after the incident, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee began a sit-in right in front of the Metro Cinema to protest "insults" she faced at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah and claimed the CBI knocked on the doors of Kumar without a search warrant. The Samajwadi party chief, in the letter released here, said, "The attack on the state of West Bengal is not only an attack on the values ...
President Trump to call for unity in State of the Union address
US President Donald Trump will focus on key issues like immigration, national security and trade and call for unity in a hugely divided Congress in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday as he begins the second half of his first term in the White House. Contrary to his aggressive tweets and his frequent lashing out against the opposition Democratic leadership, Trump intends to portray a picture of national unity in resolving the challenges being faced by the country, officials familiar with preparations for the State of the Union Address said on Monday. The annual State of the Union address is the keynote prime time speech by the president to the Congress in which he sets out his legislative agenda and national priorities for the next year and highlights his achievements to the American people. The speech on Tuesday night (7:30 am IST on Wednesday) will be Trump's third to a Joint Session of Congress. His initial appearance on February 28, 2017 was weeks after his ...
Guj: BJP flags off 'chariots' to seek views for poll manifesto
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Tuesday flagged off 26 'raths' (chariots) in the state to seek people's suggestions for preparing BJP's manifesto for the forthcoming Lok Shaba elections. These saffron-coloured motorised vehicles will travel to all 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state for a month to to gather views and suggestions in different ways from people. "Earlier, manifestos of all parties were prepared at the party headquarters. Now, we have decided to take this exercise a step further and invite direct suggestions from people," Rupani said. "This is for the first time in the country that we are asking people for suggestions that could be included in the party's 'sankalp patra' (manifesto)," Rupani claimed, adding that no other party has done this earlier. Notably, BJP president Amit Shah and senior party leader Rajnath Singh had on Sunday launched "Bharat ke mann ki baat, Modi ke saath", a month-long exercise to seek suggestions from 10 crore people ...
Yeddyurappa asks Deve Gowda to keep Cong-JDS flock together
Taking a dig at JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda, Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa Tuesday asked him to stop accusing the saffron party of trying to "destabilise" the Congress-JDS government and instead keep the coalition flock together. He was reacting to Gowda's comments that attempts were being made by the BJP's state unit to "destabilise" the government. This comes amid reports that disgruntled Congress lawmakers on the BJP's radar for poaching as part of its bid to topple the ruling coalition might keep away from the session beginning February 6. The former Chief Minister said, "Deve Gowda is the former Prime Minister of this country. If Congress-JD(S) keep their legislators together, where is the question of we (BJP) toppling (the government)?" "I would like to ask former Prime Minister Deve Gowda how is it fair to blame Yeddyurappa and BJP unnecessarily, unable to keep your legislators together," he added. Gowda had on Monday said he did not think Prime Minister ...
Virbhadra's son is Gen Secy in revamped 'jumbo' Himachal Cong unit
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress President Rahul Gandhi Tuesday formed a jumbo state Congress committee in Himachal Pradesh with former chief minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya being appointed as a general secretary. The committee under the new state Congress chief Kuldeep Singh Rathore includes 15 vice presidents, 18 general secretaries and 68 secretaries. Virbhadra and his wife Pratibha, a former MP, have been made permanent invitees to the Himachal Congress committee, along with other senior leaders from the state including former Union minister Anand Sharma and AICC secretary Asha Kumari. Congress Legislature Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri and senior party leaders from the state Vidya Stokes, Asha Kumari, Viplove Thakur, Kaul Singh Thakur, Dhani Ram Shandil, Kuldeep Kumar, G S Bali and Thakur Singh Bharmouri have also been made permanent invitees. Gandhi also gave his approval to appoint 17 new district Congress chiefs under the new PCC chief Kuldeep Singh ...
Cong, TDP, CPI, TJS may join hands for LS poll in Telangana
The general mood in the Congress, TDP, CPI and TJS seem to favour fighting the coming Lok Sabha elections together in Telangana like in the assembly polls last year, a leader of one of the parties said Tuesday. The four parties had formed the "Prajakutami" (People's Front) to take on the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) in the December 7 assembly election. "That seems to be the general mood right now", Prajakutami convenor and Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) President Prof.M Kodandaram told PTI when asked if the four parties would come together again for the Lok Sabha elections due by May. Leaders of the four parties would meet soon, he said. "We (TJS) met CPI (Communist Party of India) independently, spoke to them at length. Met a few Congress leaders but no concrete ideas or decisions. Generally exchanged ideas on current situation", Kodandaram said. The Prajakutami came a cropper in the election to the 119-member assembly in which the TRS returned to power with 88 ..
Heated exchanges between oppn, treasury benches in Lok Sabha
Acrimonious scenes were witnessed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday as agitated members of the Trinamool Congress, protesting alleged misuse of the CBI, and the treasury benches clashed when the Motion of Thanks on President's address was taken up for discussion. As BJP MP Humkmdev Narayan Yadav initiated the discussion, most the TMC members trooped in the Well and started shouting slogans. Despite requests from Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, they continued with their protest on the issue of CBI trying to question the Kolkata police chief in connection with the chit fund scam cases. When Yadav alleged that corrupt and anti-social elements were grouping together against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, most of the opposition members stood up and urged the Speaker to expunge the statement. As the verbal duel continued, Aparupa Poddar (TMC) and Veena Devi (LJP) made threatening gestures at each other. The situation was salvaged by senior members of the House. A visibly upset Speaker then ...
Maha CM, Union ministers meet Hazare: ask him to call off fast
Amid concerns over social activist Anna Hazare's health, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and two Union ministers Tuesday met the 81-year-old here and requested him to call off his fast. Hazare, who began his indefinite fast on January 30 over appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs, has lost around 4.30 kg weight in the last seven days, doctors said. Fadnavis reached Hazare's native Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagar district in the afternoon and held talks with him. Union ministers Radha Mohan Singh and Subhash Bhamre and Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan were also present. The chief minister requested Hazare to call off the fast. "Anna has expressed his disappointment with the Central and state governments over appointment of Lokpal and Lokayukta. If Fadnavis proposes something concrete, then only is there hope for a solution," an aide of the activist said. Hazare began his fast demanding appointment of Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states ...
SC refuses to change NRC deadline
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to relax the July 31 deadline for the publication of Assam's final National Register of Citizens (NRC) and disapproved the Centre's plea for putting the updation work on hold.
Mamata turns street fighter for cop she once refused to trust
During her days in opposition, Mamata Banerjee had accused an IPS officer of tapping the phones of political rivals of the ruling Left Front. A decade down the line, she is staging a dharna to protest the CBI's bid to question him. Meet Rajeev Kumar, the Kolkata police commissioner, known for his impeccable investigating and electronic surveillance skills, who was once a blue eyed boy of former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. Banerjee had then accused Kumar of snooping on telephonic conversations of opposition leaders, an allegation rejected by the then Left Front government. An IPS officer of the 1989 batch, 53-year-old Kumar, who holds an engineering degree in computer science from IIT Roorkee, is a native of Uttar Pradesh. During his impressive career, Kumar has held important positions including those of Joint Commissioner (Special Task Force) and Director General (CID). It was under his helmsmanship that the STF of Kolkata Police became a byword ..
Blow to Mamata Banerjee, moral victory for CBI: BJP on SC order in chit fund case
The BJP on Tuesday projected the apex court order directing Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar to make himself available before the CBI as a blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal and a moral victory for the investigating agency. The Supreme Court said Kumar would appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Meghalaya capital Shillong. The court also said no coercive steps, including the arrest of the Kolkata Police chief, will take place during the course of the investigation. Senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad welcomed the order and said it's a blow to the Mamata Banerjee government and a victory for the CBI. It also showed that nobody is above the law, including the police commissioner, he added. The Kolkata Police commissioner will appear before the CBI in Shillong as the environment is not conducive in West Bengal, Prasad said. Describing the order as a "slap on the face" of the Mamata Banerjee-led government, top ..