Page 1796 - Politics

Sena minister says he will take on Maha BJP chief in LS poll

Shiv Sena leader and junior minister in Maharashtra Arjun Khotkar said Tuesday that he will contest Lok Sabha election against Raosaheb Danve, the state unit president of the ally BJP, from Jalna seat. Khot's announcement came even as his party is giving mixed signals as to whether it would form alliance with the BJP for the coming polls. "The BJP government is arrogant, hence I have decided to contest the Lok Sabha election against sitting MP Raosaheb Danve. I have got the nod from Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray," Khotkar told PTI. Khotkar, the minister of state for textile, animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries, represents the Jalna assembly constituency at present. "When BJP's state-level meeting was being held in Jalna yesterday, police were beating up a farmer's family in the same district. This shows the party has no sympathy for farmers and their woes," he said. Asked whether he would back down if the BJP and Sena formed alliance, Khotkar said, "I am

Mann to take over AAP Punjab chief on January 30

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Bhagwant Mann will take over the reins of the party's Punjab unit on January 30, it was announced on Tuesday.

Modi shielding CVC: Congress over refusal to act on complaint

The Congress on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of protecting Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) K.V. Chowdary following the Centres refusal to act against him for allegedly closing a probe into a Rs 7,000-crore scam.

Only Modi's leadership can thwart Pak misadventures: Shah

BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday dubbed the proposed "mahagathbandhan" (grand alliance) of opposition parties as "helpless" and asserted that his party would retain power after the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as only Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership could thwart any misadventure by Pakistan. In a stinging attack on the Congress, he blamed the four generations of the Gandhi family for poverty still prevailing in the country. "Four generations of Rahul baba's (Congress chief Rahul Gandhi) family were in power, but the country is still fighting against poverty. The BJP government is working for the welfare and development of the poor, tribals and Dalits," Shah told a BJP workers' meeting here in Odisha's Cuttack district. He claimed that the nation's mood was very clear to return Modi to power and appealed to the people of Odisha to be part of this by electing a large number of MPs of the saffron party from the state. Shah hit out at the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the state,

Maha CM's office now under ambit of Lokayukta

In a significant move, the state Cabinet Tuesday decided to bring the office of Maharashtra Chief Minister under the jurisdiction of Lokayukta. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Talking to reporters after the meeting, state Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan said that apart from the chief minister, ministers and Opposition leaders will also be brought under the ambit of Lokayukta. "This is a very good initiative to ensure corruption-free governance," he said. The Lokayukta is an anti-corruption ombudsman organisation in the States which mainly helps people publicise corruption among the politicians and government Officials. Many acts of the Lokayukta have resulted in criminal or other consequences for those charged. Maharashtra was the first state to introduce the institution of Lokayukta through The Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act in 1971. In another decision, the council of ministers approved a grant of Rs .

BJP wants alliance with Sena to provide steady govt: Munde

Amid the uncertainty over its alliance with the Shiv Sena, the BJP Tuesday said it wants to join hands with the Uddhav Thackeray-led party as they share a common ideology and can provide a steady government. "We do want the alliance with Sena only because of our common ideology. We can offer a steady government through such an alliance," BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde said here. "But if someone does not want to join hands, then we are ready to face the elections on our own," she said in response to a query. The Shiv Sena had Monday said it would always be the "big brother" in an alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra, and added that no such proposal had been received from the latter. However, countering the Sena's claim of being the "big brother", Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while speaking at the valedictory function of a day-long meeting of the state working committee of the BJP in Jalna, hit back saying his party was not seeking a tie-up ...

With Priyanka, Congress goes '2G' to '3G', will do more scams: Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday ridiculed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's entry into active politics as "the entry of third G" in Congress and claimed that with her, the party will now indulge in more scams than before.

BJP, CPI-M dividing people: Rahul

In what's seen as the launch of the Congress-led UDF's election campaign in Kerala to the Lok Sabha polls, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed both the BJP and the CPI-M for dividing the people.

Govt plea to return undisputed Ayodhya land to original owners important decision: BJP

The BJP on Tuesday indicated that the central government's plea in the Supreme Court to return excess land around the disputed site in Ayodhya to its original owners could pave the way for construction of Ram temple in the holy city of Uttar Pradesh. The government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court seeking its permission to return the excess or superfluous land around the disputed Ram Janambhoomi Babri Masjid site to original owners, including the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas. Addressing a press conference at the party office here, Senior BJP leader and union minister Prakash Javadekar said the government has taken an important decision to return the undisputed land to its original owners, who he added, wanted to "build Ram temple" there. The Narendra Modi-led government is not touching the land under the title dispute, pending in the apex court, Javadekar said. Asked about the Congress questioning the timing of the government decision, coming weeks before the Lok Sabha elections, Javadekar .

FTA with India, US difficult at the moment: Pakistan PM's top aide

Pakistan concluding a free trade agreement with India as well as the United States is difficult now and a deal with New Delhi will depend on improvement in political relations, a top adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan has said. The comments of Abdul Razak Dawood, Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Commerce, Textile and Industry came on Monday in response to questions on the possibility of free trade agreements with the US and India. When asked to comment on the reported statement by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham that the US may offer Pakistan a Free Trade Agreement if Islamabad renders full support and cooperation to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table for a dialogue to end the 17-year brutal was in Afghanistan. "Pakistan is doing a great job.... But when we talk about the FTA with the United States it is very difficult as it will take five to seven years," Dawood said. Pakistan's ties with the US remains uneasy over Islamabad's failure to curb terrorist ...

Government's decision will pave way for construction of Ram temple: BJP

The BJP on Tuesday called the government's decision to move Supreme Court seeking its nod for giving a part of the 67 acres of undisputed land to Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas "important" and said it will pave the way for construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya.

US-China tensions spike as Washington slaps charges against Huawei (Third Lead)

Tensions between the US and China flared up on the eve of their crucial parleys to end their bruising trade war after Washington slapped a series of criminal charges against Chinese telecom company Huawei and its detained top executive Meng Wanzhou, infuriating Beijing that decried the move as "unjust repression".

China says US sanctions will harm Venezuelans

China warned on Tuesday that US sanctions against Venezuela's state oil company will hurt the livelihoods of ordinary people and complicate the situation in the crisis-hit country. The sanctions announced Monday hit PDVSA just as embattled President Nicolas Maduro faces a challenge from opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has won the backing of the United States and other Western nations. "We oppose unilateral sanctions," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing. "Historical experience has proved that external interference or sanctions will only complicate the situation and will not help solve practical problems," Geng said. The sanctions "will lead to a deterioration of the people's livelihoods in Venezuela, and (those who imposed them) should be responsible for the serious consequences," he said. China is a key financial back of the Venezuelan government. Asked on Tuesday whether China still recognises Maduro as president, Geng repeated that ...

UAE files WTO complaint over Qatar goods ban

The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it had filed a complaint to the World Trade Organization after Qatar banned UAE goods, the latest escalation in hostilities between the Gulf neighbours. An official statement carried by the state-run WAM news agency said Qatar was in "flagrant violation" of WTO rules, after Doha had already sought WTO arbitration over a blockade imposed by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in June 2017. The UAE and its allies have accused Doha of supporting both Islamist extremists and Shiite Iran, Saudi Arabia's main rival. Qatar denies the accusations. In May, Qatar ordered all shops to remove goods originating from the four Arab states in retaliation against the boycott. Qatar filed a complaint to the WTO in August 2017 saying it was the victim of an "illegal siege" perpetrated by the Saudi-led bloc. The four Arab states' measures include trade and diplomatic boycotts on Qatar, which accuses Riyadh and its allies of seeking regime change in Doha. The row

HSP hits out at Chamling for comments against Bhutia

The Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP) Tuesday condemned Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling for blaming footballer-turned politician Bhaichung Bhutia and other opposition parties for delay in reservation of Assembly seats to the tribal Limboo and Tamang communities in Sikkim. "The HSP strongly condemns Chamling's statement in which where he has accused Bhaichung Bhutia and other opposition parties and groups for their role in delay in allocation of assembly seats for Limboo and Tamang communities," HSP spokesperson Biraj Adhikari said. Bhaichung Bhutia and HSP, of which he is a working president, is only seven months old in Sikkims political landscape and as such has no role in delay in reservation of assembly seats for Limboo and Tamang communities or any other festering problem in the past, he said. Charging the chief minister with seeking to deflect attention from his government's "failure" to deliver representation to Limboo and Tamang communities in the state legislature ...

Fernandes' guidance was of great importance: Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Tuesday said former union minister George Fernandes had played an important role in shaping his political career and guiding him. Kumar has announced a two-day state mourning following the socialist leader's demise . Fernandes, a lifelong socialist despite his political adventurism that included Cabinet posts in two ideological opposite governments where he ousted Coca-Cola in 1977 and oversaw the Kargil war in 1999, died Tuesday. He was 88. Kumar recounted the important role Fernandes had played in shaping his political career with the formation of the Samta Party in the 90s which was constituted to challenge Lalu Prasad, who was heading the Janata Dal government in the state. "His guidance has been of great importance to all of us. It shall be our endeavour to live up to his expectations while we have the opportunity to serve the people," said a teary-eyed Kumar who, was accompanied by party colleagues such as JDU state president Vashishth Narayan ..

Former Guj CM Vaghela joins NCP in presence of Sharad Pawar

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela was Tuesday inducted into the Nationalist Congress Party here in the presence of its chief Sharad Pawar and made the party's national general secretary. Pawar said NCP will use Vaghela's political experience and mass following in Gujarat as well as for the party's national development. "When democracy is under threat in India under BJP rule, I have decided to join the NCP to fight against BJP and strengthen the hands of anti-BJP forces," Vaghela said after joining Pawar's party. When queried whether he would fight the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, Vaghela said it was for his party to decide. Speaking on the occasion, Pawar said, "I have asked Vaghela to not only concentrate on Gujarat but also contribute towards national development of NCP. He will be national general secretary of the party. In Gujarat we want to strengthen anti-BJP forces and by bringing in Vaghela, we have tried to do that." His entry into the NCP can ...

Proposed minimum income guarantee will benefit 2 crore poor

The Congress in Maharashtra Tuesday said the minimum income guarantee proposed by party president Rahul Gandhi will directly benefit at least two crore poor people in the state. Addressing a rally in Chhattisgarh Monday, Gandhi had announced that his party would ensure "minimum income guarantee" for every poor person in the country if it is voted to power in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Maharashtra Congress unit president Ashok Chavan Tuesday hailed the promised measure as "historic and revolutionary". "The Congress had enacted the MNREGA scheme which gave employment guarantee to poor people in rural areas. Congress never indulged in 'jumlas' (false promises). The party has always acted on its poll promises," he said while pointing out the case of Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh where the grand old party implemented its poll promise of a farm loan waiver, immediately after assuming office in December last. Chavan, a former chief minister of Maharashtra, also ..

Mumbai, the city which moulded Fernandes, catapulted him on national scene

George Fernandes was born in Mangalore, but it was Mumbai which shaped him as a fiery union leader and made him famous as the "giant killer" who defeated Congress stalwart S K Patil in the 1967 Lok Sabha elections. Recalling the veteran socialist's association with the city, CPI leader Prakash Reddy told PTI Patil, who represented the Bombay South Lok Sabha seat, was then called the "uncrowned king of Bombay". Mumbai at that time had a tradition of strong labour movement in the industrial sector, civic body and small businesses known as 'gumasta', he said. Fernandes stood up for the workers of the civic body, BEST (Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport) undertaking and gumasta workers and fought for their rights. He made a name for himself among the labour class in the 1960s, Reddy said. "Patil was a very powerful leader. He was invincible. George said S K Patil can be defeated and decided to contest against him. He got the backing of the labour," the CPI leader ...

Have started preparations for minimum income guarantee to poor: Ashok Gehlot

Welcoming Congress president Rahul Gandhi's announcement of minimum income guarantee to poor, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Tuesday said he has already started preparations about the scheme. Gehlot said that the country is capable of providing such a guarantee to its citizens. "This is a historic announcement. I have started preparations from today that how this scheme can be implemented, how this should be implemented and what model should be there for the implementation," Gehlot told reporters here. He said that the governments formed by the Congress in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are fulfilling the promises made by Gandhi ahead of the state polls. "Whatever promises he made during assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, we are fulfilling them, be it farm loan waiver or allowance to unemployed youths. The announcement of minimum income by Gandhi is historic," he said. "Everything is possible if a government has willpower," he ...