Page 1852 - Politics
Delaying Brexit won't solve anything, May tells MPs
Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday told her MPs that moves to prevent the UK from leaving the EU will not "solve the situation" or rule out a no-deal Brexit in the future.
No proposal for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit India before elections: Officials
There is no proposal for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit India for the second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the next two months as speculated by a Japanese media report, highly placed sources said here Wednesday. Japanese publication Nikkei Asian Review on Tuesday carried a report titled "Xi plans India visit, as diplomatic chess with US intensifies". The story said, "Xi intends to visit India as early as February in a move seen at countering Washington's increasingly antagonistic trade policy and aggressive Indo-Pacific diplomacy." According to the report, Xi is expected to discuss with Modi measures to defuse border tensions as well as propose deals to expand imports of Indian farm products and increase cooperation in advanced technologies. "Xi hopes to visit ahead of India's general elections due by May. An Indian source said the visit would be in February at the earliest, but a Chinese source said it will be after China's National People's Congress in .
Plea in SC challenging appointment of Rakesh Asthana as DG, BCAS
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court Wednesday, challenging the appointment of former CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana as Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The petition, filed by advocate M L Sharma and likely to come up for hearing this week, said the appointment was in contradiction to the law and Asthana be suspended in view of the pending investigation against him. The Delhi High Court had on January 11 refused to quash the FIR lodged against Asthana on bribery allegations and set a 10-week deadline to complete the investigation. The government on January 18, however, appointed Asthana as director of the BCAS, India's regulatory authority for civil aviation security. The petition said Asthana was under investigation for taking bribes within his duty and his appointment is contradictory to the Classification, Control and Appeal (CCA) Rules 1965. It said: "Instead of suspension within the CCA rule-1965, Asthana has been promoted and appointed as ..
Smriti Irani's chopper fails to land in Bengal's Suri, BJP alleges conspiracy
Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani, who was scheduled to address a public meeting at Suri in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Wednesday, could not reach the venue after her chopper failed to land due to lack of daylight, a state BJP leader said, smelling a conspiracy by the state government.
West Bengal govt's approach towards women is 'disastrous': Maneka hits out at Mamata
Union minister Maneka Gandhi Wednesday lashed out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for not implementing key government schemes meant for women empowerment, saying the state government's approach towards women is "disastrous". In a series of tweets, the Women and Child Development Minister alleged that women in West Bengal are not getting the benefits of "significant programmes" like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, maternity benefit program Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana and One Stop Centre scheme. "It is disheartening to look at the current state of affairs in West Bengal, with regard to women safety and women welfare, under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. The state government's approach towards women is disastrous," she said in a tweet. "I am deeply pained to share that the state government has not implemented the key schemes of government meant for women empowerment," Maneka said in another tweet. She also said that shortly people will have an opportunity to elect a ..
Priynaka's appointment is Cong's admission of Rahul's leadership failure: BJP
The BJP Wednesday termed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's entry into active politics as an admission by the Congress that its president Rahul Gandhi has "failed" in providing leadership and said he has opted for family "crutches" after facing rejection from other opposition parties. Priyanka's appointment as the Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh, East, which marked her entry into the party's hierarchy, was used by BJP leaders to take a swipe at the president of the opposition party and also at its "family rule. BJP leaders chose not to target Priyanka even though they latched on to her appointment to target her brother and her party's "dynastic leadership", claiming that the party is family in their organisation while the family is party in the Congress. BJP leader and Union minister Piyush Goyal said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinks about the poor and provided them 10 per cent quota recently, in the Congress there is reservation for the members of only one family. Goyal's .
Assembly polls in J and K possible along with LS elections
The decks seem to have been cleared for holding Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir along with the Lok Sabha polls following a positive feedback received by the Centre from various agencies.
More than 70,000 cows died in Hingonia gaushala in last five years: Gehlot
Lashing out at the opposition BJP on the issue of cows, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said 74,016 cows had died in Hingonia gaushala in Jaipur during the previous government's five year rule. He accused the BJP of calling the Congress a party of Muslims but stated the Congress had won elections in the 'cow belt' of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. "Politics was done in the name of cows. As many as 74,016 cows died in Hingonia gaushala in five years. Congress was called the party of Muslims but the party won elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh," Gehlot said, in his reply to the debate on the governor's speech in the assembly. He said the Hindu community had realised the BJP raises the issue of Ram temple ahead of elections. The chief minister targeted the former Vasundhara Raje government "for weakening schemes like free medicines which were initiated by the earlier Congress government" and said his government will not discontinue any
While going out to vote, people will see Indira Gandhi in Priyanka: Shiv Sena
The Shiv Sena Wednesday said the Congress will benefit from Priyanka Gandhi's entry into politics as she has a good personality and possesses qualities of her grandmother Indira Gandhi. Priyanka formally entered politics with the Congress appointing her the general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, ending years of speculation and signalling the party's intent to go full throttle in the state ahead of the general elections. Talking to PTI, Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said the Congress has strong reasons to rejoice because Priyanka Gandhi, who was so far on the periphery, will now be a part of active politics. "The party will benefit from her good personality, her ways of presenting herself and her ability to strike a chord with the voters. She has the qualities of her grandmother," she said. "While going out to vote, people will see Indira Gandhi in Priyanka," Kayande added. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said Priyanka's formal induction into the party will enthuse party ...
Cong workers enthused, oppn says Priyanka's plunge will have no impact
If the Congress hopes to regain lost ground in Uttar Pradesh by bringing Priyanka Gandhi into active politics, political adversaries claim she will have no impact on the crucial state ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Her appointment Wednesday as Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East was dubbed a non-starter by the state BJP head Mahendra Pandey. "There is not even a one per cent challenge, Pandey said. This only proves that the Congress cannot rise above the family." Siddharth Nath Singh, spokesperson for the Yogi Adityanath government in the state, said the appointment is an admission that in the Gandhi family the dependence on Rahul is over". "This also means that Rahul Gandhi's fall is the rise of Priyanka Gandhi in Congress," he said. Opposition leaders said Priyanka Gandhi has to prove her mettle at the organisational level as she has so far remained confined to the twin constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli, represented by her brother and mother. Samajwadi Party ...
Priyanka's political plunge a historic moment: Digambar Kamat
Newly-appointed Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has "charisma" of her late grand mother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi, party leader Digambar Kamat said Wednesday. The former Goa chief minister has dubbed the development as a "historic moment" in the country's political history. In a significant move, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi appointed his sister Priyanka as the general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East. She will take over her new assignment from the first week of February. Addressing a press conference in Margao town, Kamat said a new wave of enthusiasm has spread across the party workers after Priyanka's formal entry into politics. "We welcome Priyanka and assure her all support and wish her all the best in carrying Congress' flag forward in the Parliamentary elections," he told reporters. "People see charisma and glimpses of Indira Gandhi in Priyanka, he said, adding that Priyanka's entry into politics ahead of Lok Sabha polls this year is .
Russia wheels out key missile in bid to save US arms treaty
Russia on Wednesday unveiled a missile system that Washington claims is in violation of a key arms control treaty, in a last-minute bid to counter US criticism and save the Soviet-era agreement. President Donald Trump has threatened to walk away from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF), with Washington claiming that Russia's 9M729 ground-based missile system violates the deal. Moscow has repeatedly denied the system contravenes the treaty and, to prove its point, on Wednesday showed off the missile at Patriot Park, a sprawling theme park near the town of Kubinka just outside Moscow. Standing next to the system, a Russian defence ministry official detailed the missile's features to assembled foreign media and foreign military officials. Russian defence and foreign ministry officials insisted the range of the missile system was allowed under the agreement. Mikhail Matveevsky, Russia's chief of artillery and missile troops, said its maximum range is 480 kilometres (300 ...
Erdogan in Moscow for talks with Putin on Syria safe zone
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold Syria talks in Moscow on Wednesday, with Turkey saying they will focus on Ankara's so-called "security zone" in northern Syria. The two leaders are on opposite sides of the conflict: Russia provides critical support to the Syrian government, while Turkey has backed rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Despite this, they have worked closely to find a political solution to the seven-year conflict. Russia and Turkey have agreed to coordinate ground operations in Syria following US President Donald Trump's shock announcement last month about pulling 2,000 American troops out of Syria. Erdogan said Monday he would discuss with Putin the creation of a Turkish-controlled "security zone" in northern Syria, suggested by Trump. The US-allied Kurds, who control much of the north, have rejected the idea, fearing a Turkish offensive against territory under their control. Moscow, a ...
Sitharaman slams Cong over EVMs hacking issue
Amid the row over a self-styled expert alleging that EVMs could be tampered with, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday hit out at the Congress for joining hands with elements in a foreign country who claimed that electronic voting machines could be hacked. She dared the Congress to step down from power in Madhya Pradesh where assembly elections were held recently. A self-styled cyber expert had days ago claimed that EVMs could be hacked and alleged that the 2014 general elections were rigged. To a question on Tamil Nadu Congress demanding an inquriy into claims that EVMs could be hacked following a hackathon in London recently, she told reporters here that "if they win, EVM is working properly, if they lose EVMs do not function properly, and that too in a foreign country." The Defence Minister attacked the Congress for what she termed pursuing the path of weakening democracy. "This is an effort by the Congress to weaken democracy." "The Congress party won the ...
Netaji's 122nd birth anniversary celebrations remind 'quality leadership'
Remembering freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 122nd birth anniversary, former West Bengal Governor and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Wednesday said today's "political leadership wears a crown of money" and people need to change it.
JPC on Rafale not needed, "it is not 2G or Bofors":Sitharaman
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday rejected the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into the Rafale deal, saying it was unlike the 2G Spectrum or Bofors issues where aspects like the money trail surfaced. "It is not needed," she told reporters here in reply to a question on the matter. Unlike the 2G issue, no institution like the Comptroller and Auditor General said anything against the Rafale deal, she said. The matter even reached the Supreme Court which expressed its satisfaction, be it process involved or the price, she told reporters here. Later, the issue was debated in Parliament as well when members of Opposition did not even bother to listen when the government answered them point by point, she said. JPC for issues like the 2G Spectrum or Bofors were set up in the past following aspects like money trail and related bank account in Switzerland published extensively by the media, she said. "However, it was not the case with Rafale where ..
Priyanka's appointment will strengthen party: Sachin Pilot
Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot on Wednesday said Priyanka Gandhi's appointment as AICC general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East will inspire party workers across the country. "It is a welcome development. This will boost party workers across the country. It has been a long standing demand of the workers to give her (Priyanka) an official role. "Until now, she chose to restrict herself to campaigning in Amethi and Raebareli but now as a general secretary, she will strengthen the party's Lok Sabha campaign in the next three months," he said.
Maharashtra Congress celebrates Priyanka Gandhi's political debut
The Maharashtra Congress on Wednesday celebrated Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra's political debut with many activists appealing to her to contest from Mumbai.
Priyanka Gandhi: A potent campaigner who can make a difference to the Congress (Profile)
An effective campaigner, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be fulfilling a long-cherished wish of Congress workers and injecting a new enthusiasm in the partys preparations for the coming Lok Sabha elections by making a full-fledged entry into active politics in the treacherous battleground of Uttar Pradesh.
JMM will take decision soon on alliance with Cong in Odisha:
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supremo Sibu Soren Wednesday said his party will take a decision soon on possible alliance with Congress in Odisha ahead of the upcoming Lok Saba and assembly elections. "JMM will take final decision on January 30 with regard to alliance with Congress in Odisha for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections," Soren said. He said this while addressing a public meeting organised by JMM at Bhatachhatar under Moroda Block in Mayurbhanj district. Without development of tribals, development of India will not be possible, Soren said adding that JMM will continue its fight for development and protection of rights of tribals.