Page 1732 - Politics
Tejashwi, Kanimozhi join Mamata's sit-in
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and DMK Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi arrived here on Monday evening to show solidarity with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her sit-in demonstration.
Japan, Germany want to curb Brexit's global economic impact
The leaders of Germany and Japan said Monday they will try to minimize the global economic impact from Britain's upcoming departure from the European Union and pledged to defend free trade in the face of rising protectionism. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Britain to avoid a no-deal Brexit. Last Friday, Japan and the EU ushered in a landmark trade deal that creates one of the world's largest free trade areas. Combined, the two sides account for almost a third of the world's economy. Abe said Japan and Germany would work together to keep the global economy growing. "In order to do so, we need to minimize the impact on the global economy from Brexit," Abe said at a joint news conference following their meeting. "We definitely hope (for Britain) to avoid a no-deal Brexit." Abe told Merkel that their countries' commitment and leadership in defending free trade is extremely important. Merkel suggested at the news conference that it's ..
Sealing of Indo-Bangla border in Assam going slow due to
Assam government Monday said sealing of the Indo-Bangla border in the state is going slow due to various reasons, including scarcity of funds to the implementing agency -- Central Public Works Department (CPWD). In a written reply to a query by AGP MLA Satyabrat Kalita, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said putting up of barbed fence along the international border between India and Bangladesh was being done by the Centre. "CPWD has informed that the work on their portion of 9.03 km are going slow due to difficult terrain, continuous rains and scarcity of funds," Patowary said on behalf of the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also holds charge of the Border Areas Development department. No work is going on at a 4.35 km stretch in Karimganj district as the Bangladesh government has sought reference pillar and the matter is being discussed between the two countries, he added. The minister informed that House that the total length of the ...
India seeks German investments in smart cities and airports
India Monday sought investments from German companies in areas including smart cities and construction of airports to increase economic cooperation between the countries. The issue, among others, was discussed during a meeting between German Minister of Economic Affairs, Digitalisation and Energy of North Rhine Westphaliamet Andreas Pinkwart with Minister of State of Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary here. India also expressed keenness to increase collaboration with Germany in areas such as smart cities, food processing, building airports, dairy sector and technology for green energy. Chaudhary said: "There is great opportunity for German investment in the 100 smart cities being created in the country and construction of airports which will rise to 400 by 2025 in the country under the UDAN project". The German side desired to look at opportunities and challenges for their companies in India and to get a better understanding of the start-up India programme and its current status, it .
Action will be taken if party MLAS violate whip:Cong KTK chief
Amid reports about threat to the Congress-JD(S) government ahead of the budget session, Congress' Karnataka chief Dinesh Gundu Rao Monday said action would be taken against legislators if they violate the whip. "If whip is violated, action will be taken in accordance with law. There is no second talk about it, but Im confident that all 80 MLAs will be on our side," Rao said. Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, he said "I'm confident that all MLAs will be on our side, few MLAs because of BJPs allurements or pressure or fear- two or three of them (MLAs) are bit quiet, but they too are now aware what BJP is (like)." The Governors address to the joint sitting of the state legislature on Wednesday will kickstart the budget session. According to congress sources, Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah will be hosting dinner for Congress ministers at his official residence on Tuesday evening, where a host of issues and strategy to be adopted by the party are likely to be ..
Feel betrayed by Bengal govt's move to stop CBI, it is trying to hide truth: Chit fund investors
The defrauded investors and agents of various chit fund companies Monday said they feel "betrayed" by the West Bengal government's move to stop CBI officers from interrogating the Kolkata Police commissioner and accused the Trinamool Congress dispensation of trying to hide the truth behind the multi-crore scam. Asim Chatterjee, a convenor of the Chit Fund Sufferers Forum, told PTI that the ongoing tussle between the state government and the Centre over CBI's attempt to question Kolkata Police chief Rajeev Kumar is not only condemnable but also an attempt to hide the truth. Another Forum convenor, Jayanta Haldar, said the outfit would soon organise a rally of defrauded investors of the chit fund companies in the city. "We will demand that all the culprits be arrested and the money be returned to the duped investors," he added. "I was both an agent and an investor of a chit fund company. I was duped of about Rs 30 lakh. Now when the CBI is trying to find the truth behind the scam the ...
Jharkhand govt to look into Journalist Security Act of other
Jharkhand government Monday said that it would look into the Journalist Security Act of other states before initiating the process for such an act in the state. "We will get the acts of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Haryana, look into them and then the process will be initiated," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Neelkanth Singh Munda told the state Assembly. He was replying to BJP MLA Biranchi Narayans question on whether the state government has any proposal to bring such an act in the face of demand by journalists to bring such an act for their security.
Two-day convention of BJP's OBC morcha in Patna from Feb 15
BJP president Amit Shah and Home Minister Rajnath Singh will be among the key leaders to speak at the two-day national convention of the party's 'OBC morcha' in Patna starting from February 15. The OBC (other backward classes) morcha chief Dara Singh Chauhan told reporters that about 10,000 party delegates, including its ministers and other leaders belonging to various backward castes, will attend the event, as the saffron party gears up for the Lok Sabha polls, expected in April-May. While Singh will deliver the inaugural address, Shah will be the main speaker in the convention's concluding session. Chauhan, who is a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, cited the grant of constitutional status to the OBC Commission as a historic decision of the central government to meet the demand of the community, which is divided into many castes and is estimated to be over 50 per cent of the country's population. He also referred to the Modi government's decision to set-up a committee to ...
Pak Army chief discusses Kashmir issue with top generals
After Pakistan's Foreign Minister angered India with two phone calls to Kashmiri separatist leaders, the country's Army chief on Monday chaired a Corps Commanders conference and discussed the Kashmir issue along with the situation at the Line of Control. Gen Qamar Bajwa's provocative move on the eve of the Kashmir Day came days after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi discussed the Kashmir issue with hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Following the foreign minister's phone calls, India summoned Pakistan envoy Sohail Mahmood and categorically told him that Qureshi's telephonic conversation with Mirwaiz was a "brazen attempt" to subvert India's unity and violate its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Qureshi's telephonic conversation with a separatist leader, India said, reflected the duplicity in Pakistani leadership's approach on ties with India. India has always maintained that the Kashmir issue is ...
I want to emulate Imran Khan and Kejriwal, says Faesal
Demanding a "political solution" to the Jammu and Kashmir problem, former IAS officer Shah Faesal on Monday told his first public meeting that he wanted to chart his own course in politics a la Imran Khan and Arvind Kejriwal.
Arunachal CM asks officials to weed out corruption, create
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday exhorted officials to work hard to root out corruption from the state. At an interactive session with the heads of departments and government officers at Pasighat in East Siang district, Khandu said the state along with Nagaland has earned a bad reputation for failing to contain corrupt practices, an official release said. "Those in position today must take the lead. We cannot expect things to get better later," the chief minister was quoted as saying by the release. Khandu also said that the state was eager to march ahead in all spheres and invited ideas from the officials on the matter. "Arunachal is a blessed land and has the potential to become one of the richest states in India. Looking after the welfare of 1.4 million people in the state should not be a Herculean task if there is a will to serve," the CM said. Calling bureaucrats the "main pillars of a government", Khandu said their selfless contribution is ...
Alka Lamba claims Kejriwal unfollwed her on Twitter, says finding hard to work in AAP
AAP MLA Alka Lamba Monday claimed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal unfollowed her on Twitter and said she was finding it hard to work in the party under the prevailing situation. In December, Lamba had claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party had asked her to resign for protesting an alleged proposal seeking to revoke former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's Bharat Ratna. The AAP had, however, rubbished her claims. "I have a strong feeling that the party does not need my services at all. But till I am an MLA, I will continue serving the people of my constituency," the Chandni Chowk MLA told PTI. The legislator said she has sent a message to the AAP leadership, asking them to clear their stand on her position in the party. Her message has been communicated to the party leadership through the organisation secretary of Chandni Chowk constituency. The MLA claimed she was removed from all official WhatsApp groups of the party and Kejriwal unfollowed her on Twitter on Sunday. "Such things, like removing
Whatever happened to Saradha scam probe in Assam, asks Congress
A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee confronted the CBI over the probe into multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam, the opposition Congress in Assam on Monday questioned the details of the probe regarding the Saradha scam in Assam.
Former West Bengal IPS officer joins BJP, says 'thugocracy' has replaced democracy in state
Former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh, once considered close to the Mamata Banerjee government but now facing criminal charges, joined the BJP Monday and alleged that "thugocracy" has replaced democracy in the state. She joined the party here in the presence of senior BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy. "There is no democracy in West Bengal. 'Crimocracy' and 'thugocracy' have replaced it," Ghosh told reporters. Vijayvargiya said her joining the BJP will strengthen the party. Sources said Ghosh was once considered close to the state's ruling dispensation but had a fallout later, adding that a case was also registered against her.
BJP's Shah, Naidu, Jagan put Andhra poll cauldron on high burner
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah's visit to Andhra Pradesh, the meeting of YSR Congress Party chief Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Monday have stepped up poll activity in the state.
'Do not think PM wants to destabilise coalition govt in Karna'
Senior JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda Monday said he did not think Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished to destabilise the ruling coalition in Karnataka, but sought to know whether BJP Chief Amit Shah was guiding the state unit to do so. "Whether the party President (Shah) is guiding them or...I dont think the Prime Minister wants to destabilisehe has got some responsibility," Gowda told reporters here. However, attempts were being made by the BJP's state unit under the leadership of its Chief B S Yeddyurappa, the JD(S) supremo alleged. "...BJP is a national party, if the state party (unit) is moving forward, in other words it means they have the permission of the central party. Speaking to reporters here, he said, "the state unit normally...the leader of the opposition and the party (state) president (Yeddyurapa) who was there for three days as Chief Minister, naturally he has been hurt, having lost the gaddi (seat) of Chief Minister in three days, so it is ...
TMC activists vandalized BJP office in Kolkata: Dilip Ghosh
The BJP has charged the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with vandalization of one of its offices in south Kolkata, an allegation denied by the state's ruling party. According to state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, the TMC activists, who were out on a rally as part of their statewide protest against CBI's attempt to grill Kolkata police chief, pelted stones at the saffron party's office in Bhawanipore area, while passing by it. "A scuffle broke out between the members of the two parties, following which the TMC workers overpowered the BJP men and vandalized the party office," Ghosh said, adding that the party has lodged a police complaint in the case. A local TMC leader, however, termed the allegation as "baseless". "It was the BJP workers who beat up the TMC activists," he said. TMC activists on Monday took out protest rallies, blocked highways and rail tracks and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah in various parts of West Bengal. They ...
HUA launches new app to book 5 Ashoka Road Bungalow
Holding wedding ceremonies and private parties in Lutyen's Delhi will now become easier as the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on Monday launched a mobile app to book its 5 Ashoka Road Bungalow. The launch of the mobile application named after '5 Ashoka Road' is a step towards ensuring the commitment of the government to provide speedy provisions of services to the citizens in a transparent and efficient manner, Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at the event. "To that extent the launch of this app is a facility which demonstrates the commitment of our government for providing minimum government and maximum governance to the citizens," he said. The minister said the app will enable an applicant to complete the entire booking process from anywhere, any time by using mobile phone. The procedure of booking has been made simpler with the provision of online payment and online cancellation. A person wanting to book the 5 Ashoka Road, which is popular as a wedding venue, can .
AIADMK gives guarded response to Mamata-Centre standoff
The ruling AIADMK Monday gave a guarded response to the standoff between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BJP-led Centre, saying the CBI has power to probe but it "has to adopt a certain framework for that". Senior AIADMK leader and Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said the CBI was doing its job to bring out the 'truth'. In a dramatic development Sunday, Banerjee sat on a sit-in protests in Kolkata after a CBI team made a failed bid to question city Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with chit fund scam cases. On Monday, Jayakumar said, "Whatever it be, the CBI has power.. (it can) probe anyone, enquire anyone. They are doing their job." However, the central agency has to "adopt a certain framework for that," he told reporters. "Whether they did it or not, it will emerge only in the court," he said. "There are provisions in the Constitution for everyone. If everyone functions within that framework of authority, there is no problem. Whoever violates ..
Minister gives two different figures for number of illegal
In a major embarrassment, a state minister made a goof-up in the written replies in the Assam Assembly by giving two different figures for the number of illegal foreigners detected. The issue was pointed out by BJP MLA Numal Momin as Point of Order immediately after the Question Hour and he urged the Speaker to take strict action against the "callous officials". Giving a reply to a query, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary said a total of 1,03,764 persons were declared as illegal foreigners from 1985 to August 2018. This question was raised by the ruling party MLA Binanda Kumar Saikia and was taken up for discussion during the Question Hour. In a separate query by Momin, Patowary gave a different figure and said 94,425 illegal foreigners were detected from 1985 to August 2018. In both the cases Patowary was replying on behalf of the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who holds charge of the Home and Implementation of Assam Accord ...