Page 187 - Politics
Antony declines to be Congress chief, Venugopal's no to new post
The crisis in the Congress is showing no signs of ending, with one of its senior-most leaders A.K. Antony turning down an offer to be the party President, a post which Rahul Gandhi is adamant on quitting in wake of the Lok Sabha electoral debacle.
"No animosity, no friendship": TRS on approach towards NDA
The TRS would give issue-based support to the BJP-led NDA government, a senior leader of the ruling party in Telangana said Friday, ahead of the commencement of the Lok Sabha session next week. "No animosity, no friendship", K Keshava Rao, who was retained as Parliamentary Party leader Thursday told PTI, when asked about the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led outfit's policy towards the National Democratic Alliance government. "Absolutely issue-based support; same thing (the stand adopted by TRS towards the previous NDA regime) will continue," the Rajya Sabha member added. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti had backed the NDA on demonetisation, GST and in the elections to the post of President and Vice-President during its last term. Chandrasekhar Rao Thursday shared his thoughts on the strategy to be adopted by party MPs in the Parliament session beginning Monday. The TRS had aimed to sweep the recent Lok Sabha elections in the newly formed state, repeatedly asserting it would win 16 ..
WH Press Secretary Sarah Sanders to step down
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders will step down from her position at the end of this month for a possible political future in her home state of Arkansas, US President Donald Trump has announced.
Pressure mounts on Hong Kong leader over extradition plan
Hong Kong's embattled leader faced mounting pressure on Friday to abandon a deeply unpopular plan to allow extraditions to China as key allies urged a rethink following unprecedented political unrest. The international finance hub was rocked by the worst political violence since its 1997 handover to China on Wednesday as tens of thousands of protesters were dispersed by riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Opposition to the extradition bill has united an unusually wide cross section of Hong Kong against the proposal and sparked huge rallies. The city's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam has so far refused to meet protester demands to withdraw or scrap the bill. But on Friday Lam found herself facing calls from within her own political camp to reverse course and tamp down spiralling public anger. Prominent pro-Beijing lawmaker Michael Tien openly called on Lam to postpone the bill. "She would gain points instead of losing points," he told reporters. "Nothing is ever too late. New
Maharashtra: Balasaheb Thorat appointed as leader of CLP
Congress on Friday appointed Balasaheb Thorat as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Maharashtra Assembly, replacing Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who has quit the Assembly and the party.Patil, who was Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, resigned as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) on June 4. Before that, he had stepped down from the post of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly in April.In a letter to Malikarjun Kharge, AICC General Secretary in charge of Maharashtra, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal stated that the party has approved a list of members to be appointed to the posts on the floor in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and Council.Besides Thorat, Vijay Namdeorao Wadettiwar as leader of the party in the Assembly, Mohd. Arif Naseem Khan as Deputy Leader and Baswaraj M. Patil Murumkar as Chief Whip.The party has also appointed Agda Chandya Padvi, Sunil Chhatrapal Kedar, Jayakumar Bhagwanrao Gore, Yashomati Chandrakant Thakur and Praniti ...
Disgruntled LJP leaders launch new outfit, say party now a 'private limited company'
A group of disgruntled leaders of Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP has announced launch of a new outfit, accusing the leadership of reducing the party to a "private limited company". Led by Lok Janshakti Party national general secretaries Satyanand Sharma and Anil Kumar Paswan, and Treasurer Ramesh Chandra Kapoor, the rebel leaders on Thursday announced launch of LJP (Secular), since their former outfit has limited itself to "giving tickets to outsiders with deep pockets and furthering the interests of the family that controls the party". However, state LJP president and Hajipur MP Pashupati Kumar Paras dismissed the development and said, "Sharma should have also disclosed that on the day he enacted the farce he was slapped with an order of expulsion from the party." "Sharma has been charged with indulging in anti-party activities at Jamui, parliamentary board chairman Chirag Paswan's constituency, in the Lok Sabha polls. All those who claim to be with him had been, in fact, expelled on similar
Section of Delhi Congress leaders speak up against party in-charge PC Chacko
A section of leaders in Delhi Congress have demanded replacement of its AICC in-charge PC Chacko in the wake of Lok Sabha poll debacle of the party in the national capital. Under the stewardship of Chacko, the Congress was engaged in long drawn discussion over pre-poll alliance with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which finally did not materialise but caused delay in announcement of party candidates in Delhi. Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit who opposed the alliance with the AAP was fielded along with other senior, well-known faces, like former president of the unit Ajay Maken, in the Lok Sabha polls but they suffered massive defeats in all seven seats. Chacko was made in-charge of Delhi Congress in November 2014. "Under leadership of Chacko the party has lost all the elections including the recent Lok Sabha polls as well as Assembly and MCD polls in 2015 and 2017. If Rahul Gandhi can think of resigning taking moral responsibility of the defeat, why should Chacko not also ...
Sonowal meets Shah, Rajnath, discusses Assam situation
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Friday met Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed with them various issues concerning the state. During the 15-minute meeting with the home minister, the chief minister briefed him about the prevailing situation in Assam, where the final list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be published on July 31. "It was a courtesy call and I have congratulated him on behalf of the people for being chosen as the home minister of the country. I have also briefed him about the prevailing law and order situation in Assam," he told reporters after the meeting with Shah. Sonowal is also believed to have discussed with Shah about the situation which may arise after the publication of the final list of the NRC. During his meeting with the defence minister, the chief minister discussed with him certain issues concerning Assam. Sonowal also met Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank during the day.
Fadnavis meets governor
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Friday called on Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao here ahead of the start of the monsoon session and amid talk of cabinet expansion. Official sources said the purpose of the meeting was "routine briefing" by the chief minister. The monsoon session of the state legislature is to begin from June 17. In the last few days, both Fadnavis and finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had said that the ministry will be expanded. Currently, there are 37 ministers including the chief minister, and Fadnavis can accommodate another five. A vacancy was created due to the death of BJP leader Pandurang Fundkar, then agriculture minister, in 2018. The portfolio is now being handled by revenue minister Chandrakant Patil. Deepak Sawant, then health minister, resigned earlier this year and the department is being looked after by Eknath Shinde, who is also the PWD minister. Parliamentary Affairs and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Girish Bapat resigned ...
BJP to start membership drive from July 6: Chouhan
The BJP will start its membership drive from July 6, party vice president Shivraj Singh Chouhan said Friday. The BJP may have notched up its best ever tally in the recent Lok Sabha polls but it is yet to reach its peak, its president Amit Shah had asserted on Thursday, asking key party leaders to expand the organisation in new regions and bring more people into its fold. At a meeting of the party's national office-bearers and its key organisational representatives from states, Shah had gave final touches to the party's membership drive to increase its members by 20 per cent, BJP general secretary. The drive will start from July 6, the birth anniversary of the party's founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
Gulf tanker attacks: Iran rejects US allegations
Iran on Friday "categorically" rejected the US' accusations linking Tehran to the attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
Regime and Russia bombardment kills 28 in northwest Syria: monitor
Regime and Russian air strikes and shelling killed at least 28 people including seven civilians in embattled northwest Syria, a war monitor said Friday, despite a ceasefire announced by Moscow. The civilians were killed in regime air strikes and shelling on the south of Idlib province and the north of Hama province Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Russian and regime air strikes also killed 21 jihadist and Islamist fighters in the same region the same day, the Britain-based monitor added.
CPI general secy Sudhakar Reddy likely to resign in July: Sources
CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy is likely to resign next month in the party's national council meeting, sources said Friday. In an earlier meeting to review the CPI's debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll, Reddy had offered to resign taking moral responsibility of the defeat. However, his offer was rejected by senior party leaders who said that the loss was a "collective responsibility". "He (Reddy), however, said that his health was not permitting him to continue and that he wanted to retire. A decision will be taken in the national council meeting to be held in July. He is likely to resign," a source in the party said. Asked about his resignation, Reddy did not deny it, but refused to speak on the matter. "What was discussed in the meeting is confidential party matter. A decision will be taken in the national council meeting to be held from July 19-20," he told PTI. The CPI managed to get only two seats in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls. Both the seats were from Tamil ...
SBI refuses to disclose communication from RBI, govt on electoral bonds, terms it 'personal info'
The State Bank of India has refused to disclose any communication it received from the government or the Reserve Bank of India on electoral bonds, terming it "personal information" and held in "fiduciary capacity". Responding to an RTI filed by Pune-based activist Vihar Durve who had demanded copies of all letters, correspondence, directions, notifications or e-mails received from the RBI or any government department between 2017 and 2019, the SBI said it cannot be provided by it. The bank cited two exemption clauses under the RTI Act to deny information -- Section 8(1)(e) which pertains to information held in fiduciary capacity and Section 8(1)(J) which pertains to personal information of a person which has no link to any public activity. "Information sought by the applicant cannot be disclosed as it is in fiduciary capacity, disclosure of which is exempted under Section 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005," the Central Public Information Officer of the bank said in his ...
Man held on sedition charge for FB post over outages in C'garh
A 53-year-old man was arrested on the charges of sedition for allegedly spreading rumours over power cuts on a social media platform in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, police said. The accused, identified as Mangelal Agarwal, was arrested Thursday evening under IPC sections 124 A (sedition) and 505 (1) (2), following a complaint filed by Chhattisgarh State Power Holding Company Limited (CSPHCL), a local police official said. On June 12, the power company had 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 was deliberately spreading rumours and false information in a bid to tarnish the image of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. In the video allegedly posted by Mangelal, a native of Musra village under Dongargarh police station area, on his Facebook account, he is heard saying, "The Bhupesh Baghel-led government and Madhya Pradesh government had allegedly colluded with ...
Nations supporting terror must be held accountable: Modi
With his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan listening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the countries which "promote, support and fund" terrorism must be held accountable.
Balasaheb Thorat replaces Vikhe-Patil as CLP leader in Maha
Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, an arch-rival of Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, was appointed as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in the Maharashtra legislature Friday. Vikhe Patil, a senior Congress leader, quit the post of CLP after his son Sujay joined the BJP and successfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Ahmednagar. Thorat and Vikhe-Patil have a long-standing rivalry in local politics of Ahmednagar district. A statement issued by the party also said that Vijay Waddetiwar, currently deputy leader of the Congress in the Assembly, has been elevated as the group leader. Mohammed Arif Naseem Khan will be the deputy leader in the lower house, it said. Basavraj Patil has been named as the chief whip. K C Padvi, Sunil Kedar, Jaikumar Gore, Yashomati Thakur and Praniti Shinde have been appointed as whips. In the Legislative Council, Sharad Ranpise will continue as the party's group leader. Ramhari Rupanwar will be the deputy leader, while Bhai Jagtap ...
Antony, Venugopal decline to take up Congress chief's post
Amid the persisting leadership crisis in the Congress, former Defence minister A.K.Antony and party General Secretary K.C.Venugopal have turned down the offer to take up the party President's post, sources said.
'Kargil Vijay Diwas' 20th anniv celebrations: 'Victory Flame' to be taken from Delhi to Dras
A number of events has been planned by the Army in Delhi and Dras in Jammu and Kashmir next month to mark the 20th anniversary of the 'Kargil Vijay Diwas', officials said Friday. The anniversary celebrations for this year will be spread over three days from July 25-27. "However, as part of the build up to the main event, numerous activities have been planned to be organised all over the country from the first week of July," an official said. The celebrations in the national capital begins on July 14 with the illumination of a 'Victory Flame' from the National War Memorial here, which would traverse through 11 towns and cities to finally culminate at Dras where the flame will be merged with the eternal flame at the 'Kargil War Memorial', he said. The torch relay team will conduct educational and patriotic talks and will interact with the prominent personalities and students in various educational institutes, the Army said in a statement. The events, include expeditions by the units, ...
Naqvi slams Cong for raising doubts over EVMs
Hitting out at the Congress for raising doubts over the use of EVMs in the Lok Sabha polls, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Friday said the grand old party is showing arrogance instead of introspecting the defeat in the elections. The 'EVM vilaap mandli' has become active again and while earlier they demanded tallying of VVPAT slips with EVM count, they are now looking for new excuses after there was no mismatch, the minority affairs minister said. The Congress is showing arrogance of a "feudal mindset", instead of introspecting the defeat in the Lok Sabha election and honouring people's mandate, he told reporters here. The Congress will continue with its arrogance and negativity until it realises the ground reality, he said. The grand old party has become a "brand new flop show" due to its "negative and frustrated politics", he claimed. If the Congress does not shun its "feudal politics", the party will face extinction, Naqvi said. His remarks came days after UPA chairperson Sonia