Page 1808 - Politics
PoK govt asks archaeology dept to renovate worship places of non-Muslims
The government in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Monday issued directives to the archaeology department to renovate the worship places of non-Muslims, including Hindus. The officials were also directed to renovate a Hindu temple at the Madina Market, situated in Muzaffarabad city, the capital of PoK. The department was asked to contact the Hindu community in Pakistan to look after the temple after its renovation. It was also directed to establish state-of-the-art museums at Muzaffarabad and Mirpur, exhibiting historical antiques, and literature related to history. The government also sought report from the concerned official about Mughal Sarai (a guest house of Mughal's era) and said all the historical buildings and places will be restored and protected. It directed officials to launch an operation against the encroachments on historical buildings and land of archaeological sites and sought report to conserve theses sites and places after their renovation.
Third and final phase of panchayat polls on Jan 29
The third and final phase of the panchayat elections in Telangana will be held Tuesday amid tight security, the Telangana State Election Commission said Monday. The first ever polls for panchayats after the formation of the State in 2014 are being held in three phases. The first and second phaseswere held on January 21 and25 respectively. Polling will begin at 7 am and will end at 1 pm even as counting will be taken up from 2 pm the same day. Though 4,116 panchayats were scheduled to go to the polls in the third phase, 577 panchayats were declared unanimously, and elections to another ten cancelled due to other reasons, the State Election Commission (SEC) said. As many as 11,664 candidates are contesting for sarpanch posts in 3529 panchayats while 73,976 candidates are in the fray for 27,582 wards, an official communication from the SEC said, adding 8,959 wards were elected unanimously and polls for 118 wards would not be conducted for various reasons. Though the ...
BJP is not desperate for alliance: Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Monday countered the Shiv Sena's claim of being "the big brother" in the Sena-BJP alliance, saying his party is not seeking a tie-up desperately. He was speaking at the valedictory event of a day-long meeting of the state working committee of the BJP in Jalna. "BJP does want an alliance with the Shiv Sena but we are not desperate for it. We want the alliance as custodians of Hindutva and a strong force against corruption," he said. Several BJP ministers in the state have stated earlier that an alliance with the Shiv Sena, which has often been critical of the BJP-led government, is needed to keep anti-Hindutva forces at bay. The Sena had said last January that it would go it alone in all future elections. Earlier Monday, Sena's chief whip in Parliament and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said his party is the "big brother in Maharashtra and will continue to be so". "There is no proposal from the BJP to form any alliance with the
Sibal, Puri lock horns on liberalism at JLF closing debate
Veteran Congress leader Kapil Sibal and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri locked horns at the Jaipur Literature Festival's closing debate on the proposition "Do liberals stifle debate" here on Monday.
Indian-origin campaigner launches new anti-Brexit drive
An Indian-origin campaigner who mounted a successful legal challenge to prevent British Prime Minister Theresa May triggering Brexit without Parliament's approval on Monday launched a new "Lead Not Leave" initiative as the March 29 deadline for the UK's exit from the European Union nears. Gina Miller has joined hands with two peers in the House of Lords Lord Saatchi and Baroness Kennedy to call for the UK to remain in the EU and lead inter-governmental discussions on restructuring the 28-member economic bloc. "No one could have foreseen the political chaos which is paralysing our nation. It is deeply worrying that we are now facing the impending prospect of a 'No Deal', with the serious harm that this would inflict particularly, on the most vulnerable in our society," said Miller, born Gina Nadira Singh in British Guiana (now Guyana) to Guyana's former Attorney-General Doodnauth Singh. "It is time to take a step back from the brink, to think differently to end the divisions, to ...
Many senior BJP members expected to join AAP: Raghav Chadha
Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) leader Raghav Chadha Monday claimed that several BJP leaders in South Delhi constituency were eager to join his party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Two BJP leaders from the seat, former councilor Dharamveer Awana and Raju Nirmal, joined the AAP on Monday in presence of Chadha, who is also in-charge of his party for the seat. "Several senior and veteran members of the BJP in South Delhi constituency have been influenced by AAP's ideology and work and have expressed interest in joining the party," he said. Chadha, who in all probability will fight the Lok Sabha elections as AAP candidate from the South Delhi seat, claimed Congress was "non-existent" in the constituency. AAP's Rajya Sabha MP ND Gupta and party MLA from Badarpur Narayan Dutt Sharma hoped that joining of the two BJP leaders will help in strengthening of the party's organisation ahead of the upcoming elections.
Rahul promises minimum income guarantee for poor if Cong returns to power
Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced Monday 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. The announcement comes ahead of the Union Budget, the last to be presented by the Narendra Modi government before the polls due in later this year. It also follows the NDA government's decision to give 10 per cent quota to the economically backward section in the general category. "The Congress has decided to take a historic decision...The Congress-led government is going to give minimum income guarantee. This means, every poor person in India will have a minimum income. This means there will be no hungry, poor people in India (any longer)," Gandhi said. He was addressing a 'Kisaan Abhaar Sammelan' here to express gratitude to Chhattisgarh's people, particularly farmers, for voting the Congress to power in the state after 15 years. Asserting that he gets done what he says, Gandhi added the ...
Punjab BJP chief takes potshot at Navjot Kaur Sidhu, calls her 'migratory bird'
The Punjab unit of the BJP Monday took a potshot at former MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu for seeking Congress ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Chandigarh, and called her "migratory bird". "She had been an MLA from Amritsar and her husband is currently an MLA from there. Her husband (Navjot Singh Sidhu) had contested Lok Sabha polls from Amritsar. Why she now ran away from Amritsar and came to Chandigarh?" Punjab BJP Chief Shwait Malik said. "These people have been complete failure. Navjot Singh Sidhu was a failed MP and now failed minister (in the Congress government). Now the dark clouds loom large over their political career. I call her migratory bird who is now search of new destination," Malik told reporters here. Navjot Kaur Sidhu has staked claim to the Congress ticket for contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from UT Chandigarh. The former MLA from Amritsar (East) and former chief parliamentary secretary submitted her application to the Chandigarh Territorial ...
Pope lowers expectations for next month's sex abuse summit
Pope Francis has sought to lower expectations from his big sex abuse prevention summit next month. Francis told reporters returning from Panama on Sunday that he wants the February 21-24 meeting to essentially be a catechism class for bishops about sex abuse. He said he wanted to sensitize church leaders around the globe to the pain of victims, instruct them how to investigate cases and develop general protocols for the entire hierarchy to use. "Let me say that I've sensed somewhat inflated expectations," he said. "We have to deflate the expectations to these three points, because the problem of abuse will continue. It's a human problem." Francis' lowering of expectations will likely not go over well in the United States, where rank-and-file Catholics are withholding donations and demanding accountability from their bishops after the hierarchy's repeated failures to protect children were exposed again last year. The crisis began in early 2018 when the Argentine pope strongly defended .
Maha Cong expected to finalise LS names during 2-day meet
The Maharashtra Congress is expected to finalise its candidates for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections during the two-day parliamentary board meeting of its state unit beginning here Tuesday. The parliamentary board is expected to finalise a list of candidates from Marathwada, north Maharashtra, western Maharashtra Tuesday, party sources said. The process for Vidarbha and Mumbai will be taken up on January 30, they added. As per the party procedure, the board will discuss names submitted by the district committees, and then forward the names finalised to the All-India Congress Committee. They said seat-sharing talks between the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party as well as other parties is "almost finalised" and should conclude "soon", they said. As part of its poll campaign, Congress leaders will hold at least 50 meetings in February and would also reach districts of the state which could not be covered by its 'jan sangharsh yatra', they said. While .
Pb CM vows not to spare one who ordered Behbal Kalan firing
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Monday vowed not to spare any one found guilty of ordering police firing in Faridkot in 2015 at people protesting against desecrations of Guru Grant Sahib earlier and killing two of them. He also said the state's Special Investigation Team probing into the firing incident would soon find out who ordered the firing. Singh made the statement a day after the SIT arrested former Moga SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma, who led a police team which opened fire at protestors at Behbal Kalan, Faridkot in 2015 during the SAD-BJP government's term. The SIT arrested a former police officer yesterday. The officer in question must have been following orders and the SIT will identify those who issued the orders. They will not be spared at any cost, Amarinder said while addressing the gathering here. The SIT will submit its report to the court and whosoever found guilty, whether a police officer or a politician, will not be spared at any cost, the chief minister ...
Congress, CPI(M) to start seat sharing talks in Bengal after Left's Feb 3 rally: Sources
Discussions for seat sharing between the Congress and the CPI(M) in West Bengal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls are expected to start soon, sources in the two parties said Monday. They said the parties have already been holding informal parleys, but formal talks are likely to begin after the Feburary 3 rally of the CPI(M)-led Left Front at the Brigade Parade grounds here. "There have been informal talks but formally the talks are yet to begin. It will begin only after Left Front's rally at Brigade Parade ground. We are hopeful that all the issues can be resolved through talks between the two parties," a senior state Congress leader said. According to state Congress sources, the party is keen on fighting at least 18-20 seats including Raiganj and Murshidabad, which are the only two seats that CPI(M) won in the last elections in the state. These two seats are presently the bone of contention between the two parties, sources said. Both the seats have been strongholds of the Congress for
2018 a momentous year in India-China ties, says envoy Vikram Misri
The year 2018 was momentous for India-China relations during which the bilateral ties witnessed an all-round expansion covering political and economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and defence interactions, India's envoy to China, Vikram Misri, said Monday. Highlighting last year's Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Misri in his address at the reception to celebrate India's 70th Republic Day here listed a host of high level official visits that took place between the two countries. "The year just gone by was a truly momentous one for India-China relations. The Wuhan Informal Summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping in April marked an important milestone in our closer development partnership and was the high point during the year," he said. Modi and Xi met at Wuhan in April 27-28 last year in the first informal summit between the two leaders. It was conceived by both sides following the 2017 military standoff
'Overenthusiastic' police officer took decision on barring journalists from R-Day event in Srinagar: Officials
An "overenthusiastic" officer in the security wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police took the decision to bar some journalists with adverse reports against them from attending the Republic Day function here, leading to a chaos, officials said on Monday. After preliminary enquiry, it was found that the officer of the additional superintendent of police-rank prepared a list of journalists based on a CID report and directed his subordinates to bar them from the event, attended by several dignitaries on Saturday, they said. According to the officials, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) gives regular reports on the background of journalists, which includes their possible leanings towards separatists or any of their kin being associated with militant groups or being an overground worker. However, the journalists have always been allowed to attend government functions without any problem in the past, they said. The CID report, based on which the officer issued the direction, nowhere ...
Rahul's announcement of guaranteed minimum income 'historic': Chidambaram
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday termed as "historic" party president Rahul Gandhi's announcement that minimum income will be guaranteed to every poor if Congress returns to power, saying it will mark a turning point in the lives of the downtrodden. In a series of tweets, the former finance and home minister said 140 million people were lifted out of poverty between 2004 and 2014, when the Congress-led UPA was in power. "Congress president Rahul Gandhi's announcement at the farmers' rally in Chhattisgarh is historic and will mark a turning point in the lives of the poor," he said. Chidambaram said the principle of Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been discussed extensively in the last two years and the time has come to adapt the principle to the country's situation and the needs and implement the same for the poor. "We will explain our plan in the Congress Manifesto," he said. Chidambaram has been made the chairman of Manifesto Committee of the Congress for 2019 ...
For Cong, OROP means 'only Rahul, only Priyanka': Shah's jibe; Omar also takes a swipe at BJP
BJP chief Amit Shah Monday said for the Congress OROP means 'only Rahul, only Priyanka', using the acronym for 'one rank, one pension' scheme for military personnel to take a jibe at the Congress. Shah hurled the jibe at the Congress days after party president Rahul Gandhi's sister Priyanka Gandhi was inducted as the opposition party's general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh. The BJP president was addressing a "BJP Panna Pramuk Sammelan" at Hamirpur, also known as "Martyrs' Land" in Himachal Pradesh owing to a significant number of people from the district and adjoining areas joining the Army. Thanking Himachal Pradesh voters for ensuring victory of BJP candidates in all the four Lok Sabha seats in the hill state during the 2014 general elections, Shah said, "The Modi government implemented OROP for ex-servicemen in true sense." No one cared for soldiers for over 70 years but when the Modi government came to power, it implemented the OROP, he added. However, the Congress also ...
Left parties set for February 3 rally in Kolkata
With an eye on Lok Sabha polls, the CPI(M)-led Left Front is hoping to regain its lost ground in Bengal with a mega rally here next week. The rally is scheduled to be held at Brigade Parade Ground, the same venue where the ruling Trinamool Congress organized its mega opposition meet on January 19. As many as 24 political parties, including the Congress and major regional parties such as the SP, BSP and DMK, came together at the rally, vowing to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. The Left Front skipped the TMC rally, stating that the ruling party in the state was no better as it destroyed "democracy and institutions". "We will give the call to oust TMC in Bengal and the BJP at the Centre. The people of this country are fed up with the Modi government, they want a change," CPI(M) state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra said. The CPI(M)-led front is pulling all stops to ensure that the February 3 rally turns out to be a massive success. From flags, posters, slogans and ...
TMC won't be able to win a single seat from Murshidabad: Adhir
Senior Congress leader and MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Monday challenged the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) to win a single Lok Sabha seat from Murshidabad district and said the TMC and the BJP are two sides of a same coin. The bordering district of Murshidabad, used to be a stronghold of the Congress, has three Lok Sabha seats out of which two are presently with the Congress and one with the CPI(M). "I challenge the TMC to win at least one Lok Sabha seat in Murshidabad district. They can use all the force they have - be it the police or goons. But we will ensure that they are unable to win a single seat from the district," Chowdhury, a former Union minister, said. The TMC did not allow people to cast their votes during the last panchayat polls, but they will not be able to employ the same tactics again, he claimed while addressing a rally at Baharampur in Murshidabad district. The elections will he held under the central forces and the people would be able to cast their
Nearly 75% polling in Haryana by-election (Third Lead)
Nearly 75 per cent of over 1.72 lakh electorate on Monday voted in Haryana Jind Assembly seat's multi-cornered by-election in a contest equally vital for the BJP, INLD, Congress and the newly formed JJP. It was largely peaceful.
Gadkari exposed Cong, highlighted Modi govt's development work: BJP
With opposition parties taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Union minister Nitin Gadkari's comments at an event, the ruling BJP on Monday said the minister's remarks were aimed at exposing the Congress and highlighting the development work done by the central government. The clarification from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came a day after Gadkari said political leaders who sold dreams to people but failed to realise them got "beaten up" by the public, as the minister asserted that unlike them, he was a doer and delivered on his promises. Taking potshots at the government, opposition parties claimed that Gadkari's remarks were aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding that the minister himself was eyeing the top post. Asked about Gadkari's remarks, senior BJP leader and his cabinet colleague Prakash Javadekar told a press conference at the party office here that the former was targeting the Congress and exposing how the opposition party had damaged the ...