Page 1745 - Politics

UK prepares secret plans to evacuate Queen, if riots break out in London post-Brexit

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and other senior members of the royal family may have to be evacuated if the UK experiences riots as a result of a no-deal Brexit next month, a media report said on Sunday. The UK is set to exit the 28-member European Union (EU) on March 29. As the risk of Britain leaving the EU without an amicable withdrawal agreement continues to hang over ongoing negotiations, emergency proposals to rescue the royal family during the Cold War era have been "repurposed" in recent weeks to ensure their protection. The plans were originally intended to be put into action in the event of a nuclear attack from the erstwhile Soviet Union, 'The Sunday Times' reported. In the event of the UK and EU failing to agree a settlement before the Brexit deadline of March 29, the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, will be moved out of London to a secret location, which the newspaper said it has agreed not to disclose. "These emergency evacuation plans have been in existence since the

BJD, Cong two sides of same coin: Amit Shah

BJP president Amit Shah came down heavily on the Congress and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), terming them as "two sides of the same coin", and alleging that the two parties failed to ensure Odisha's development.Addressing the 'Adibasi Adhikar Samabesh' here, Shah dubbed the BJD as the 'B-'team' of the Congress."BJD is B-team of the Congress. They are two sides of the same coin. Neither Congress nor BJD was able to develop Odisha," he said.Taking a swipe at the Congress over the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), the BJP chief asserted that the scheme was also under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), but termed it as 'Dealer Broker Transfer'."In our tenure, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) ensures money is directly credited into the account of the beneficiaries. The Congress too had DBT yojana - Dealer Broker Transfer - where the money was credited into the accounts of the middlemen," Shah said.Sharpening his attack on the Congress, the BJP president said, "In 10 years, UPA claimed to have ...

60 per cent of UP vote share belongs to BJP, claims Maurya

Claiming that 60 per cent of the vote share in the state belongs to the BJP, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya Sunday said the SP-BSP alliance will have no effect on the electoral fortunes of the party in the upcoming general elections. "Sau mein satth hamara hai, baki sab batwara hai (60 per cent of vote share belong to the BJP and the rest to be divided among others)," Maurya coined a new slogan on BJP's vote share in the state while speaking at a function here, attended, among others, by Union Minister Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal. "Even if the Congress joins the SP and BSP, the BJP will eventually be victorious," he said. Maurya also took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for pursuing "soft Hindutva". "Thanks to our party works and the impact of our ideology, Congress president Rahul Gandhi went to Kailash Mansarovar, while SP president Akhilesh Yadav took a dip in Kumbh. Did Akhilesh Yadav had the dip during the 2013 ...

Congress with RJD will oust BJP from Bihar: Rahul

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday announced that the Congress will fight upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Bihar with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and will emerge victoriously.Addressing the 'Jan Aakansha' rally at Patna's Gandhi Maidan on Sunday, the Congress chief said: "I have said in Uttar Pradesh that the Congress party will not play at the back foot but at the front foot. Together with Tejashwi ji and Lalu ji, the Congress party will play at the front foot and we will hit a six."Rahul reiterated the Congress party's poll promise to waive off farmer loans in the country and provide a minimum income guarantee to every poor once the party forms a government after Lok Sabha elections.He said: "Prime Minister Modi has given crores of rupees to Ambani, Choksi. The Congress, if gets the opportunity to form the government, will grant minimum income guarantee to every poor."At the beginning of his speech, the Congress president asked the crowd to chant "Chowkidar chor hain", in ..

Mirage jet crash not setback for indigenisation: Sitharaman

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday accused the previous UPA government of doing "nothing" during its 10-year rule to upgrade Defence Public Sector Undertakings, two days after a Mirage-2000 crashed in Bengaluru during a sortie killing both the pilots. She also said the crash of the trainer aircraft after an upgrade under a programme being carried out by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Friday was "not a setback for indigenisation". "It is a fact that many things have to be improved in PSUs." Sitharaman said this to reporters in reply to a specific question on the crash and the reported statement of Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa, who was in Bengaluru on the day of the jet crash, that while indigenisation is important, it comes with a price. "It was not a setback. For 10 years, they (UPA dispensation) did nothing to upgrade the DPSUs, whether it was HAL or BEL," the defence minister said. She said the previous governments could have gone for capital investments in ...

India will break the back of terror in J&K: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that India will fight terror in Jammu and Kashmir with all its might and "break the back of terrorism".

Venezuela's Guaido urges military defections amid protests

Venezuela's opposition leader called on more members of the military to abandon the country's socialist government following the defection of a high-ranking general, while President Nicolas Maduro proposed holding early National Assembly elections that could potentially oust his challenger. Maduro's call for early legislative voting is likely to intensify his standoff with rival Juan Guaido, who heads the opposition-controlled National Assembly and is demanding a new presidential election. Guaido declared himself Venezuela's legitimate ruler on January 23, and has the support of Washington and most South American nations. Speaking from behind a podium decorated with Venezuela's presidential seal, Guaido told supporters he would keep his opposition movement in the streets until Maduro stopped "usurping" the presidency and agreed to a presidential election overseen by international observers. On Saturday, tens of thousands of Venezuelans joined opposition protests against Maduro in ...

Citizenship Bill vital: Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah on Sunday said that the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was "very necessary" and added that the government was working on building a consensus with stakeholders in the northeast.

Soon there will be a regime change in Bengal: UP deputy CM Dinesh Sharma

Comparing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Hitler, Uttar Pradesh's deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma Sunday said soon there will be a regime change in the state. Sharma said countdown has started and soon the Trinamool Congress government will be ousted from power. "It creates a lot of anger to see that a chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) can be 'Hitler-esque' in a democratic set-up," he said. "Definitely her countdown has started, and it seems that soon there will be a change of power in West Bengal," he added. Sharma's comments come after West Bengal government denied landing permission to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's chopper. He was suppose to address to BJP rallies in the state.

Politicians trade charges in Bihar over train mishap

Opposition leaders in Bihar on Sunday squarely blamed the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for the train mishap at Vaishali district where the Delhi-bound Seemanchal Express jumped the tracks killing six people. However, former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan hit back claiming that rail tracks across the country were under tremendous pressure because of "reckless increase in number of bogies" that took place while RJD supremo Lalu Prasad was the railway minister. "This government has misplaced priorities. It is trying to introduce bullet trains, running at very high speeds with the help of sophisticated technology. On the other hand, there is a crying need for proper upkeep of ordinary trains like the Seemanchal Express," Loktantrik Janta Dal leader and former Union minister Sharad Yadav told reporters here. Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi also held the Modi government responsible for the mishap and demanded a hefty compensation of "Rupees one crore ..

Protest by Endosulfan victims ends as LDF govt accepts demand

Five days after they embarked on an indefinite hunger strike here, mothers of endosulfan-affected children Sunday ended their agitation after the government agreed to include more victims in the list for compensation and rehabilitation. Endosulfan Peeditha Janakeeya Munnani (EPJM), earlier in the day marched to Cliff House, the official residence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as their talks with the government failed on Saturday. An embarrassed government was forced to hold fresh talks with the protesters following which the announcement was made by M V Jayarajan, private secretary to the chief minister. The two-hour long meeting chaired by Jayarajan and at the end of it, the chief minister joined and assured all help to the victims. "Those who were below 18 years of age in the 2017 Biological Plausible list of 1095 people will be included in the rehabilitation package. Kasaragod District collector will coordinate the process," ," Jayarajan told the media. Social Activist Daya ..

Rajnath wonders who'll run 'Mahagathbandhan' vehicle

Home Minister Rajnath Singh Sunday attacked the TMC government over the law and order situation in West Bengal and claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was now giving less time to the state as her eyes are fixed on forming a 'Mahagathbandhan'. On the upcoming Global Business Summit in West Bengal, he said in order to invite investors to the state, the Trinamool Congress government needs to improve the law and order situation. He claimed there were increasing attacks on police stations, besides activists and opposition parties. Singh alleged BJP candidates were prevented from filing nomination papers in the last Panchayat polls in the state and alleged that 'loktantra' (democracy) was getting replaced by 'lathitantra' (highhandedness of the state machinery). Describing the 'Mahagathbandhan', a proposed alliance of non-BJP opposition parties, as directionless, Singh said these parties had only one agenda in common and that was opposing the BJP at the Centre. Addressing a ...

Surgical strike showed India's new 'policy', 'tradition' to tackle terrorism: PM Modi

India's surgical strike across the Line of Control has shown the world its new policy (neeti) and tradition (reeti) in tackling terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday. In a stern message to those spreading terrorism and killing innocent youths, the prime minister said the country would give befitting response to every terrorist. "I assure all the youths of Jammu and Kashmir and the country that the government will give befitting response ('muhtod jawab') to every terrorist. We will break the backbone of terror in the state," he said addressing a function here. Paying homage to those killed while fighting terrorists, including Nazir Ahmed Wani and Aurangzeb from Jammu and Kashmir, Modi said heroes are those who live to fulfil dreams and the biggest cowards are the ones who kill others' dreams. "Today the whole country is angry to see the killings of innocent and armless Kashmiri youths. (These Kashmiri boys are targeted) because these youths want to live and fulfil their ..

After Mirwaiz, Qureshi telephones Geelani; discusses Kashmir issue

In yet another provocative move, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke to hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and discussed the Kashmir issue, the Foreign Office said here on Sunday, days after he made a similar phone call to a separatist leader that angered India. The Foreign Office in a statement said that Qureshi and Geelani discussed about an international conference to be held in London to "express solidarity with the Kashmiri people". "Foreign Minister QureshI spoke to the senior leadership of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference on telephone before his departure for London to attend international activities to be held there in connection with the Kashmir Day, the statement said. Qureshi on Tuesday telephoned Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and discussed with him Islamabad's efforts to highlight the Kashmir issue. India Wednesday summoned Pakistan envoy Sohail Mahmood and categorically told him that Qureshi's telephonic conversation with

New partners in LDF eye Lok Sabha seats

New members in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by the CPI-M want to contest the Lok Sabha elections, posing fresh headaches for the Marxists.

Maha: BJP's Mahajan, Cong's Vikhe Patil meet Hazare

Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan and senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil Sunday met social activist Anna Hazare who is on a hunger strike in his native Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagar, over 240 kilometres from here. Hazare, the face of the Lokpal movement, has been demanding the appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs at the Centre and in Maharashtra and resolution of farmers' issue. Mahajan, who came with a letter from Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, told reporters the CM had asked Hazare to withdraw his hunger strike as most of his demands had already been announced in the Union budget and considered by the Maharashtra government. Mahajan, the state's Water Resources minister and Jamner MLA, told PTI that he would be visiting Ralegan Siddhi again on Monday to hold talks with the anti-graft crusader. Shyam Asawa, a spokesperson for Hazare, said the latter had refused to give up his fast unless concrete steps were taken to implement his

Mayawati reviews party's preparations for Lok Sabha polls

BSP supremo Mayawati held a meeting on Sunday to review the preparedness of her party in various states for the upcoming parliamentary election. In an official statement, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) said, "Mayawati held a meeting to review the poll preparedness of the party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In this regard, intense review was done vis-a-vis Madhya Pradesh." Instructions were also issued to party workers to rectify shortcomings and focus on preparations for the election. Hitting out at the Congress, Mayawati said, "There is significant relief among the people after the BJP could not form government in Madhya Pradesh. However, the initial work done by the new (Congress) government has not generated much satisfaction among the people. The atmosphere of oppression is still prevailing.

Sudan's Bashir vows rural development as new protests loom

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday pledged to bolster rural development, as he seeks to face down anti-government demonstrations that have rocked cities and villages. The veteran leader has been on a charm offensive with rallies across the country in a bid to head off weeks of protests seen as the biggest threat to his 30-year rule. Addressing hundreds of villagers in North Kordofan state at a televised event he promised to bring clean drinking water to rural areas "across Sudan" and open a new hospital in the region. The speech came after he inaugurated a new 340-kilometre highway linking North Kordofan to Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum. "Building such a road in present economic conditions is not an easy thing to achieve," said Bashir, after being escorted to the stage by dozens of men on camels. "Along this road we will bring electricity to boost the region's growth." Hours later Bashir addressed another rally where he called on the country's young men and women to ...

Pope Francis urges "respect" for Yemen truce accord

Pope Francis on Sunday called for urgent "respect" for a ceasefire accord in Yemen to allow humanitarian aid through in the conflict-weary country. "I appeal to all parties concerned and to the international community to allow the urgent respect of established accords to ensure the distribution of food and to work for the good of the population," said the pope. "I am following the humanitarian crisis in Yemen with great concern," he added. The pope was speaking before embarking on a historic three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, the first by a pope to the Arabian peninsula. "The population is exhausted by the lengthy conflict and a great many children are suffering from hunger, but cannot access food depots. "The cry of these children and their parents rises up to God," he said calling on the gathering to pray for Yemen. Yemen's rebels have been locked in a war against government forces backed since 2015 by a Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE. The conflict has triggered

Unity of like-minded parties must for Lok Sabha battle: Rahul

Unity of "like-minded parties" was a must to defeat the Modi government in the Lok Sabha election, Congress President Rahul Gandhi declared on Sunday.