Page 1787 - Politics
Pay Rs 25,000 to contest Lok Sabha polls: AIADMK
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has announced that party workers who are willing to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, can apply after paying Rs 25,000.The workers have been asked to apply from February 4-10. All 40 constituencies (39 Tamil Nadu and 1 Puducherry) have been listed.AIADMK had won 37 seats in the 2014 General elections and fielded 40 candidates.BJP emerged as the single largest party in the last general elections with 282 seats followed by Congress (44) and AIADMK (37).
Venezuela's Guaido urges 'more sanctions' from EU: German media
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido called on the European Union Wednesday to level "more sanctions" against President Nicolas Maduro's government, in an interview with German daily Bild. "We need more sanctions from the EU, like those decided by the USA," Guaido said. "We live in a dictatorship and there must be pressure. More and more people are being murdered," he said according to the German-language article. "There's no doubt that the regime is totally corrupt... (Maduro) is a dictator." Venezuela, an oil-rich but economically devastated country, was plunged into uncertainty last week when Guaido, the 35-year-old head of the National Assembly, proclaimed himself "acting president". Maduro's reelection last year was disputed by the opposition, and criticised internationally -- but the socialist leader has until now retained the loyalty of the powerful military. Germany said last Friday it was ready to recognise US-backed opposition leader Guaido as Venezuela's interim ...
Leaders in TN, Puducherry pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi
: Leaders in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry remembered freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi on his 72nd death anniversary Wednesday. Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister K Palaniswami, deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and Minister paid floral tribute to a decorated portrait of Gandhi near his statue on Kamaraj Salai here, an official press release said. Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on this day in 1948. At a separate event, Palaniswami administered an oath against untouchability at the Secretariat coinciding with the death anniversary. The event was attended also by state government officials, including Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanthan and the Secretariat staff. In neighbouring Puducherry, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy paid homage to Mahatma at his memorial Territorial Speaker V Vaithilingam, Deputy Speaker V P Sivakolundhu, Ministers, MLAs and heads of different organisations and officials garlanded the Mahatma's statue on the beach road. Students of ...
Bid to block Manik Sarkar's convoy in Tripura
A group of "unidentified miscreants" had blocked the highway in Tripura's Dhalai district to stop Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Manik Sarkar from attending a party meet, a senior police officer said Wednesday. The protestors, around 20 in number, raised slogans against Sarkar on Tuesday on National Highway-8 in the district, asking him to "go back", he said. "The miscreants, who had lifted the highway blockade after police intervention, gathered outside the CPI(M) office at district headquarters Ambassa later in the day to lodge their protest," Superintendent of Police Sudipta Das said. Sarkar was convening a meeting of party workers at Ambassa, he said. The reason behind the protest wasn't clear as yet, but it seems the agitators did not have any political affiliation, Das said, adding that the group dispersed as soon as the police arrived. Condemning Tuesday's incident, the CPI(M), in a statement, termed it as "an attack on the democratic rights of ...
Kerala govt sending wrong message to police fraternity: Congress on inquiry against IPS officer
Congress on Wednesday came out in support of ACP Chaitra Teresa John after she got a clean chit in the departmental inquiry set up against her for raiding CPM office in Trivandrum."I feel this (inquiry against John) will give a wrong message to the police that if they take action against CPM then they will be punished. It is the duty of the police to work impartially," Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala told ANI.The Kerala government had ordered a departmental probe against her after she came to the CPM office at midnight on January 24 in search of some accused in a case. However, the inquiry report against John stated that she had not committed any error and that she took action within the legal framework.Kerala police chief Loknath Behera was instructed to conduct the investigation by the state government.
YSR Congress launches campaign to highlight unfulfilled promises
Andhra Pradesh's main opposition YSR Congress Party on Wednesday announced the launch of the second phase of a campaign to highlight unfulfilled promises of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
AIADMK invites applications from candidates for LS polls
The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu Wednesday invited applications from prospective candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, setting in motion its election work. Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha segments while Puducherry has one. According to a statement from AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam and Joint Coordinator K Palaniswami, the application forms will be available from February 4 to February 10. Those seeking an election ticket can pay a sum of Rs 25,000 towards application cost, they said. Palaniswami is Tamil Nadu Chief Minister while Panneerselvam is his deputy. AIADMK leaders have been of late exuding confidence of repeating the party's performance of winning 37 of the 39 seats in the 2014 polls, albeit fought under the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who passed away in December 2016.
Is Gandhi irrelevant today? (Book Extract) (Exclusive to IANS)
This might seem to be a silly question since Gandhi is exalted as Bapu ("the Father of the Nation"), revered as the glorified Mahatma ("the Great Soul"), and memorialized as Indias greatest martyr, who was assassinated on January 30, 1948, and gave his life for Indias freedom and independence. Nevertheless, large groups of powerful Indians do not really think that Gandhi is relevant for India.
Rahul should not politically capitalise on courtesy visit to Parrikar: Goa minister
Congress president Rahul Gandhi should not try to take political advantage of personal meetings, said Goa Minister for Animal Husbandry Mauvin Godinho in reference to his meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday."One should realise that when you come to enquire about a person's health, it should be limited to that. He should not try to capitalise that and say something on the contrary. When meetings take place one-on-one between two people, so many things can be said about each other," Godinho told ANI.Subsequent to his meeting with the Goa Chief Minister, Rahul at a rally in Kochi said that Parrikar "clearly denied" any involvement in the new Rafale fighter jet deal "orchestrated" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "benefit" Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani."Friends, the ex-Defence minister clearly stated that he has nothing to do with the new deal that was orchestrated by Mr Narendra Modi to benefit Anil Ambani," Rahul said.Expressing his reservations to Rahul's ...
Maduro 'ready to negotiate' with opposition, calls for early parliamentary polls: RIA
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said he was prepared to hold negotiations with the US-backed opposition and added he would support early parliamentary elections, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday. "I am ready to sit down at the negotiating table with the opposition so that we could talk for the good of Venezuela," Maduro told the Russian state news agency in an interview in Caracas. Last week the oil-rich but economically devastated Latin American country was plunged into uncertainty when the US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself "acting president". The United States, a dozen Latin American countries and Canada have recognised Guaido as interim president, while China and Russia -- Venezuela's two main creditors -- have urged non-interference. In the interview with RIA Novosti, Maduro also said he would support early parliamentary elections. "It would be very good to conduct parliamentary elections at an earlier stage, it would be a good form of political ...
Brexit deal not open to renegotiation: EU leaders
European leaders moved quickly Tuesday to reject an attempt by Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May to re-open talks on the Brexit divorce deal, as British lawmakers voted to demand changes. When May signed the withdrawal agreement in November, both she and the other 27 EU leaders hailed it as the only way to avoid Britain crashing out of the bloc on March 29 without a plan. But the embattled British premier failed to sell the agreement to her own parliament, which on Tuesday voted to send her back to demand that the deal be stripped of the "Irish backstop", a clause created to keep the border open with Ireland. May's call got short shrift from EU Council president Donald Tusk, who called round the other 27 EU capitals to coordinate a response and issued a firm statement ruling out renegotiation. "We continue to urge the UK government to clarify its intentions with respect to the next steps as soon as possible," Tusk's spokesman said. "The Withdrawal Agreement is and remains the best .
Amnesty urges travel sites to ban Israel settlement listings
Amnesty International on Wednesday urged online travel sites to ban listings from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The London-based rights group's report, titled "Destination: Occupation," said rental sites Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor are driving tourism to settlements that most of the world considers illegal. Airbnb announced last November that it would remove West Bank settlement listings but has yet to implement its decision. The company says it is working to identify the "precise boundaries" of areas subject to the policy. Amnesty called on Airbnb to immediately implement its ban and to extend it to east Jerusalem, which Israel captured along with the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast War. The Palestinians seek these lands for a future independent state. On Twitter, Israeli Cabinet Minister Gilad Erdan called the Amnesty statement "an outrageous attempt to distort facts, deny Jewish heritage & delegitimize Israel." The World Jewish Congress said it ..
Over 100 vacancies in Goa courts: Minister
As many as 108 posts are lying vacant in different courts of Goa following the state government's decision in 2016 to ban fresh recruitments, law minister Nilesh Cabral admitted on Wednesday. The minister, however, claimed that non-recruitment of new staff members in various ranks had not hampered the functioning of courts in the state as workforce was deployed on a temporary basis to make up for the gaps. Cabral said this in the state Assembly while responding to a question tabled by Congress member Philip Neri Rodrigues, who expressed concern that the shortage of staff may affect the functioning of various courts. The minister said the ban was imposed in 2016 on all recruitment processes in government departments and grant-in-aid institutions. "Now, the government has lifted the ban and it will take about six months for fresh appointments," he said. Another Congress member Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco told the House that around 100 staff members will be retiring by ...
People's Conference adopts 'apple' as its poll symbol
The People's Conference, led by separatist-turned-mainstream politician Sajad Gani Lone, has adopted "apple" as its party symbol in Jammu and Kashmir. "Apple will be the symbol of JKPC. A symbol of economic power," Lone took to Twitter to announce it on Tuesday night. The former Jammu and Kashmir minister thanked party leader and former MLA Mohammad Abbas Wani for suggesting "apple" as the party symbol. "My thanks to Mr Abbas Wani ex MLA Gulmarg. He conceptualised Apple as our party symbol. His idea that our symbol should signify economic power," Lone added. The People's Conference had won two Assembly seats in the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir polls. The party has grown since November last year as several disgruntled leaders from the People's Democratic Party (PDP), the National Conference (NC) and other parties joined it. Lone is pitching his party as a regional alternative to the PDP and the NC.
PM Modi is Ram, Rahul is Ravan, Priyanka is Shurpanakha: BJP MLA
Hours after a poster depicting Rahul Gandhi as Lord Ram was spotted in Patna, a BJP legislator has called the Congress president "Raavan" and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra "Surpanakha"- the demons from Hindu epic Ramayana.Surendra Singh, BJP MLA from Rohaniya constituency of Uttar Pradesh, said that the Congress party is like a broken ship and thus, can't win in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. "We all know that before Ram and Ravan fought in Lanka, Ravan sent his sister Shurpanakha. It looks like (in upcoming Lok Sabha elections), Rahul will play the role of Ravan, while as Ram, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making India proud across the world," Singh said on Tuesday.Last week, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was appointed as Congress party's general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh, an important battleground in general elections. "Prime Minister Modi is Ram and Ravan is Rahul Gandhi, who has brought his sister Shurpanakha (Priyanka Gandhi) into politics. People can think that Ram has
Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar takes charge as Vice Chief of Naval Staff
Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, AVSM, VSM assumed charge as Vice Chief of the Naval Staff on Wednesday.An alumnus of National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla in Pune, he was commissioned into the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy on July 1, 1982.He is a graduate of Defence Services Staff College in Wellington and has attended the Army Higher Command Course at Mhow as well as the Expeditionary Operations Course at Quantico, Virginia, USA.The Admiral has held various challenging Staff and Command assignments during his distinguished naval career spanning more than three decades.After having completed his specialisation in Navigation and Direction at Kochi in 1989, he served as the Navigating Officer of Indian Naval Ships Beas, Nilgiri, Ranvir and Vikrant.
AP CM calls for protests on budget day; says Centre 'cheated' state
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Wednesday said February 1, the day the central government will present the budget in Parliament, will be a "black day" for the state, and called for protests. In his daily teleconference with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders, Naidu said the Centre had cheated the state in the last five budgets. "February 1 is a black day for the state. The BJP-led government at the Centre has discriminated against the state at every step. Unless the BJP is trounced at the hustings, justice will not be done to Andhra Pradesh (AP)," the chief minister said. He asked his party cadre to observe peaceful protests by sporting black badges and showing black flags when the Centre presents the budget for 2019-20. Referring to reports in China Global Times, a newspaper in China, Naidu said failures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government were being publicised even in China. "The country has been pushed into chaos under Modi's rule. There is ...
Venezuela's Maduro says would support early parliamentary polls: RIA
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said he would support early parliamentary elections in his crisis-hit country, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday. "It would be very good to conduct parliamentary elections at an earlier stage, it would be a good form of political discussion," Maduro told the Russian state news agency in an interview in Caracas.
Massive search ops in J-K's Samba ahead of PM's visit
A massive search operation is being conducted along the Indo-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district for the second day Wednesday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state on February 3. The Army, police and other security force continued the search operation in Basantar river area in Ramgarh sector besides other border hamlets, officials said. The operation was launched following reports of suspected movement in border areas of Ramgarh sector, they said. "A suspicious movement was noticed post Monday midnight by alert Army troops in Samba sector," an Army officer said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jammu and Kashmir on February 3 to lay the foundation stone of a host of projects, including the AIIMS project at Vijaypur area of Samba district.
UP ministers took dip in Sangam to wash off their sins: Rajbhar
Uttar Pradesh minister and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar Wednesday took a dig at his cabinet colleagues for taking a dip in the Sangam, saying they had gone there to wash off their sins. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his ministerial colleagues took a dip in the Sangam on Tuesday after holding a cabinet meeting in Allahabad. "The ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government had gone for a holy dip at the Sangam on Tuesday for washing their sins...going back on promises made to the public is also a sin and the ministers have tried to wash it through a dip in the Sangam," Rajbhar said. Rajbhar also referred to Union minister Nitin Gadkari's statement on people punishing those failing to fulfil their promises. Rajbhar, who had stayed away from cabinet meeting, alleged that corruption in the present government was four times more than what it was during the SP and BSP governments. To a question on the Centre seeking permission to return the acquired land ...