Page 185 - Politics
Jagan meets Shah, raises special status for Andhra
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and raised the issue of special category status for his state as well as amicable settlement of all contentious issues with neighbouring Telangana.
Oil tanker attacks echo Persian Gulf's 1980s 'Tanker War'
Mysterious attacks on oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz this week show how one of the world's crucial chokepoints for global energy supplies can be easily targeted, 30 years after the US Navy and Iran were entangled in a similarly shadowy conflict called the "Tanker War." While the current tensions are nowhere near the damage done then, it underscores how dangerous the situation is and how explosive it can become. The so-called "Tanker War" involved American naval ships escorting reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf and the strait after Iranian mines damaged vessels in the region. It culminated in a one-day naval battle between Washington and Tehran, and also saw America accidentally shoot down an Iranian passenger jet, killing 290 people. US estimates suggest Iran attacked over 160 ships in the late 1980s confrontation. "We need to remember that some 30% of the world's crude oil passes through the straits," said Paolo d'Amico, the chairman of the oil ..
Maha govt transfers IAS officials
The Maharashtra government Friday transferred a few Indian Administrative Service officials. According to an order by the state's General Administration department (GAD), 2001 batch IAS official Nidhi Pandey has been made managing director of the Mumbai-based Shivshahi Redevelopment Project Limited, while 2003 batch official VN Kalam has been appointed as development commissioner (unorganised labour). RV Nimbalkar, a 2007 batch IAS official, at present additional commissioner in the Pune Municipal Corporation, has been posted as chief executive officer, Slum Rehabilitation Development, Pune. CK Dange, a 2010 IAS official, has been made joint secretary, General Administration department, while Sushil Khodwekar, 2011 batch IAS, is now deputy secretary, School Education and Sports department.
China summons US envoy over Hong Kong human rights bill
China Friday summoned a top American diplomat here and lodged a diplomatic protest objecting to a proposed bill that threatens to remove Hong Kong's status as a US special trading partner, amid massive street protests in its autonomous territory against an extradition bill. China's Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng summoned Robert Forden, the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Beijing, and lodged the protest over the proposed bill, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Le said China will not accept foreign forces meddling in Hong Kong affairs, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. Hong Kong has been witnessing massive protests since June 9 with over a million people taking to the streets opposing the proposed extradition bill over fears that it would allow China to round up opponents to face trial on the mainland China, where the courts are under the Communist Party control. China's warning came a day after US lawmakers reintroduced proposed legislation to ..
India to become 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024: Hardeep Singh Puri
India is set to become a five trillion dollar economy by 2024 and is likely to overtake the UK this year to become the fifth largest economy in the world, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Friday. The Union minister for housing and urban affairs was speaking at the national council meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) here. "We are a 2.8 trillion dollar economy. We are moving from this to 3 trillion dollar economy and 5 trillion dollar economy by the time the next elections take place. "This year we are likely to overtake the UK to become the fifth largest economy in the world. I have absolutely not doubt that by 2030 we'll be a 10 trillion dollar economy," Puri said. Puri, who also holds the portfolio of civil aviation, said this sector has tremendous potential to grow. "The civil aviation sector has tremendous potential to grow. We need to provide domestic carriers a level playing field and make sure we reclaim the lost space," he said. In the urban space, he
Man held on sedition charge for FB post over power cuts in C'garh
A 53-year-old man has been arrested and charged with sedition in Chhattisgarh for allegedly spreading rumours on social media over power cuts in the state, police said Friday. The accused identified as Mangelal Agarwal was arrested Thursday evening under IPC sections 124 A (sedition) and 505 (1) (2)(intent to incite) following a complaint filed by Chhattisgarh State Power Holding Company Limited (CSPHCL), a police official said. Agarwal was produced before a local court Friday and remanded to 5-day judicial custody. The police action sparked condemnation with the opposition BJP accusing the state government of trying to suppress freedom of expression. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel later stepped in and directed the police to withdraw the sedition charge against Agarwal., according to a state government release. On June 12, the power company lodged a complaint with City Kotwali police station in Rajnandgaon town that a video had gone viral on social media in which an unidentified man ..
TRS, BJP blame each other on Nizam Deccan Sugars Ltd
: Blaming the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for the liquidation of Nizam Deccan Sugars Limited, Nizamabad MP D Arvind Friday said he would extend support to any new investor or promoters coming forward to revive the NDSL units. "As an MP of Nizamabad district, I assure that I will extend all my support toany new investor or promoters coming forward to revive the NDSL units," the BJP MP said in a press release. "Wewill also help motivate and bring confidence among the farmers to cultivatethe sugar cane needed for the units. Our government being at the Centre, I will try to get the maximum support for this cause and for farmers of thisregion," he said. The National Company Law Tribunal recently ordered liquidation of NDSL as it was left with no choice as the investors backed out and the state government also did not come out with resolution plan within the stipulated time. Arvind said the TRS Government did not make concrete efforts for the revival of the ..
BJD plans to form bloc with JD(U) and YRS Congress for special category state status demand
To push its demand for special category status for Odisha, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is planning to join hands with the YSR Congress and the JD(U) in Parliament and raise their voice unitedly. The chief ministers of Odisha, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh -- Naveen Patnaik of BJD, Nitish Kumar of JD(U) and Y S Jaganmohan Reddy of YSR Congress -- have been demanding special category status for their respective state. The BJD, JD(U) and the YSR Congress have substantial presence in Lok Sabha with 12, 16 and 22 members respectively. While the JD(U) is part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the BJD and the YSR Congress are not aligned with any bloc. "Though the idea is in nascent stage, we are in favour of making a move with other parties in order to make impact in Parliament," BJD Parliamentary Party leader and Puri MP Pinaki Mishra told PTI. Mishra said it is better to raise the demand in a big way in Parliament along with the MPs of both YSR Congress and JD(U). "All ...
If you are in Bengal you have to speak Bangla: Mamata
Stating that there is a need to bring Bengali forward, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said those coming to the state must speak the language.Blaming BJP of perpetrating violence, the TMC chief also said that she will not allow West Bengal to become like Gujarat."I respect all states. When I go to Bihar, UP, and Punjab, I speak in their language. If you are in Bengal you have to speak Bangla. We have to bring Bangla forward. I will not tolerate criminals who stay in Bengal and roam around on bikes. I will not let Bengal become like Gujarat," Banerjee said while addressing party workers here."In Gujarat, riots happened. People were killed in large numbers," she added.Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, Banerjee claimed that he spent "maximum time" in Bihar and West Bengal."Gandhiji is from Gujarat. When India got independent, he was in Bengal. He was trying to stop riots between Hindus and Muslims. Gandhiji spent maximum time here and in Bihar," she said.Alleging that BJP is .
Goa CM meets Amit Shah, Union HRD minister
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant Friday said he met Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' and held discussions on the upcoming IIT and NIT projects in the state, besides Goa University. He said he had invited the Union Human Resources Development minister to inaugurate a government college campus at Pernem. Sawant also tweeted about his meeting with Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah against the backdrop of the NITI ( National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog meet in New Delhi. "Called on Shri @AmitShah ji, Union Home Minister and BJP National President in New Delhi today" Sawant tweeted. Sawant is scheduled to return to Goa on June 16.
B D Dhalia appointed INLD's state unit president
Indian National Lok Dal president Om Prakash Chautala has appointed retired IAS officer B D Dhalia as the party's new state unit chief. Continuing with the exercise of reorganising the party, Dhalia replaces Ashok Kumar Arora, who had stepped down from the post after the INLD received severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls. The INLD has made Arora as the party's senior vice president. Over the past few years, Dhalia, considered as a close confidant of former chief minister Chautala, has held various positions in the party. Abhay Singh Chautala, MLA from Ellenabad will remain as the secretary general of the state unit. For the past six years, he has been shouldering the responsibility of the day-to-day affairs of the INLD in the absence of Om Prakash Chautala, a party statement said here Friday. Om Prakash Chautala is serving a jail sentence in connection with the teachers recruitment scam. M S Malik, former DGP Haryana, has been appointed chairman of the Policy and Programme ...
Indonesian opposition demands annulment of polls
The legal team of Indonesias opposition leader on Friday demanded the annulment of the April general elections due to alleged irregularities.
Disgruntled LJP leaders launch new outfit, allege party now a 'private limited company'
A group of disgruntled leaders of Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP announced launch of a new outfit, accusing the leadership of reducing the party to a "private limited company." Paswan played down the development, saying "let them go". Led by Lok Janshakti Party national general secretaries Satyanand Sharma and Anil Kumar Paswan, and Treasurer Ramesh Chandra Kapoor, the rebel leaders announced the formation of LJP (Secular). They alleged that the LJP has limited itself to "giving tickets to outsiders with deep pockets and furthering the interests of the family that controls the party". Asked about it, Paswan, who is Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister, told reporters in Chennai, "It is good, let them go." He refuted the breakaway faction's allegations of corruption inside the LJP and said the party did its best in supporting Sharma in elections, but he could not win. "I have great regard for everybody. He (Sharma) lost two times. Last time all my party people were telling me to give ...
SCO Summit: India-Iran meeting shelved over scheduling issues
The meeting on Friday between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iran President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) summit here was cancelled due to "scheduling issues," as per sources."Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Iran President Hassan Rouhani in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, cancelled due to scheduling issues. The official banquet got delayed which disrupted the schedule of all the leaders," sources told ANI.The meeting was supposed to be held against the backdrop of the US sanctions on Iran as well as Tehran's partial withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA).The United States had also recently announced that no fresh sanction waivers will be issued to existing importers of Iranian oil, including India.The issue had come up during a meeting between former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif during the latter's visit to India last month. After the meeting, Swaraj had said
Assam CM meets Shah and Rajnath, discusses state's issues
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed various issues of his state with them.
Centre orders mandatory broadcast of serial titles, credits in Hindi, regional languages
In order to promote Indian languages, the Centre on Friday ordered all private TV channels to display the titles and credits of serials, which is broadcasted at the end or the beginning of program, in the regional languages too.The government is planning to extend its purview to cinema also, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a press conference here."At the end of the program or in the beginning there are titles, many times titles are given in English. In order to promote Indian languages, we are issuing an order to all TV channels to give those titles in the language in which they broadcast. In addition to Indian language if they want to give title and credit in English they are free to do so but the use of Indian language is mandatory," Javadekar said."So we are not restricting anything, we are actually adding the Indian languages. We are issuing such orders for cinema also," he added.The Union Minister asserted that the promotion of Indian ...
BJP to begin membership drive from July 6
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will begin its membership drive from July 6, the birth anniversary of its founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, and continue it till August 10. The saffron party claims to have 11 crore members at present.
Field narrows to six in race to become British PM
The field of contenders vying to become Britain's next prime minister narrowed to six on Friday when Health Secretary Matt Hancock withdrew from the contest. The 40-year-old, who is against leaving the European Union without a deal, pulled out saying he was not in a position to win following Thursday's first round of voting. Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, a Brexit figurehead who insists Britain must leave the EU in October "deal or no deal", topped the secret ballot of Conservative MPs by a landslide, winning 114 of the 313 available votes. Hancock came sixth out of the seven to make it through to a second round on Tuesday next week, when at least one more candidate will drop out. "I have decided to withdraw from the race and work out what is the best way to advance the values that I care deeply about," he told the London Evening Standard newspaper. "It is clear that I can't win from here," he said, having received 20 votes -- three more than the minimum threshold required to
UAE says Gulf tanker attacks 'dangerous escalation'
The United Arab Emirates said Friday that twin attacks on tankers in the Sea of Oman just weeks after four ships were damaged off the UAE marked a "dangerous escalation". "The attack against the tankers in the Gulf of Oman is a worrying development and a dangerous escalation," the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, tweeted after Thursday's blasts. Gargash also condemned a Yemeni rebel missile attack which wounded 26 civilians at an airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. He said the "blatant attack on civilians" was only the latest in a spate of rebel assaults "undermining the UN's political work and sending a message of continuing violence and hostility". These developments "must spur the international community to act to maintain peace and security in the region", Gargash said. "The responsibility for avoiding an escalation is collective." The two tankers, one Norwegian-operated and one Japanese-owned, were set ablaze in the Gulf of Oman off the ...
CM agreed to give one post in Maharashtra cabinet and 10 seats in state for upcoming polls: Ramdas Athawale
Union Miniarwe Ramdas Athawale on Friday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has reacted positively to his demands for one ministerial berth in the upcoming cabinet expansion and 10 seats for his party RPI in the Assembly polls later this year."I met the CM and demanded that at least one ministerial berth be given to Republican Party of India (RPI) in the upcoming Maharashtra cabinet expansion, I also demanded 10 assembly seats for RPI to contest in polls. The CM was positive to both of my demands," he said talking to reporters after the meeting.Athawale is the president of RPI which is a part of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra.He represents the state of Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament.Athawale also requested Fadnavis for a national memorial to be made at the site where Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar spent many years of his life and to increase the height of the national icon's statue to 350 meters."I requested to make a national ...