Page 1881 - Politics

Mahagatbandhan alliance of namdars, negativity, instability: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hit out at opposition parties, terming the 'mahagatbandhan' a grouping of corrupt, negativity and instability and accusing them of misleading the people.

Vikramarka to be Leader of Opposition in T'gana Assembly

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka was Sunday recognised as the Leader of Opposition in the Telangana Assembly. An announcement to this effect was made by Speaker Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy in the House. AICC president Rahul Gandhi appointed Vikramarka as the CLP leader on Friday. A meeting of Congress MLAs, MLCs and MPs Thursday passed a resolution unanimously authorising Gandhi to decide on the CLP leader. Congress is the main opposition in the 119-member assembly with 19 seats. TRS had returned to power in the December 7 elections by winning 88 seats. Vikramarka, who has been representing Madhira (SC) constituency since 2009, had served as the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly in undivided Andhra Pradesh. Prior to that, he was Congress' Chief Whip in the Assembly. Vikramarka had also served as the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC). He headed the party's campaign committee during the recent Assembly elections.

Minister says UK faces 'political tsunami' if Brexit halted

Britain's trade minister says the country will face a "political tsunami" if the government does not deliver on voters' decision to leave the European Union. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that "failure to deliver Brexit would produce a yawning gap between Parliament and the people, a schism in our political system with unknowable consequences." The Brexit process has been deadlocked since Prime Minister Theresa May's EU divorce deal was rejected by Parliament last week. Some lawmakers are pushing for the UK to delay its departure, scheduled for March 29, until politicians can agree on a way forward. May is due to report to Parliament Monday on how she plans to alter the rejected deal. There are few signs she plans to make radical changes.

Army to get new batch of K-9 Vajra Howitzers in one month, says Defence Minister Sitharaman

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a ride in the K-9 Vajra howitzer, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the Army would get a fleet of 10 more Howitzers in the next one month.The K-9 Vajra is one of the two new howitzers to have been inducted into the Army after a gap of more than 30 years in the shadow of the Bofors gun scandal."The induction of the gun into the Army was a big achievement after a gap of 30 years... in the next month, the Army will receive a new batch of these guns," Defence Minister Sitharaman said in reply to an ANI query.This is one of the fastest deals in terms of the time taken.Larsen & Toubro had won Rs 4,500 crore contract to supply 100 units of the K9 Vajra-T 155 mm/52 calibre Tracked Self-Propelled gun systems to the Indian Army in 2017.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Armoured Systems Complex of Larsen and Toubro in Gujarat, the first private facility in the country where the K9 Vajra self-propelled ...

All corrupt political families have ganged up against PM Modi: Ram Madhav

All corrupt political families have ganged up against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav here on Sunday.Referring to the show of unity by regional titans on a common platform in Kolkata on Saturday, Madhav said: "All corrupt political families have ganged up against Prime Minister Modi."Madhav, who was addressing media persons here, said: "In the rally of Kolkata, they accepted that they have come together but do not have any plan."Top leaders of as many as 20 parties joined Kolkata rally organised by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee where they stressed the need for working unitedly to defeat the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha elections.Madhav also informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would soon be visiting Leh, Jammu, and Srinagar to inaugurate various development projects there."The projects that were started are ready to be launched and inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi. Projects worth Rs 35,000 crore will be inaugurated in Jammu ...

Protest in Tehran over US detention of journalist

Iranians demonstrated outside the Swiss embassy in Tehran on Sunday to protest against the detention of an Iranian-American journalist in Washington.

Afghanistan's Ghani to contest upcoming presidential election

Incumbent Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Sunday registered with the Election Commission to contest the presidential poll slated for July 20.

BJP MLA says Mayawati 'worse than a transgender', draws strong criticism

An MLA from the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh Sunday came under severe criticism from allies and opposition leaders for calling BSP chief Mayawati a "blot on womankind" and "worse than a transgender". The Mughalsarai MLA made the controversial remarks at a rally on Saturday while referring to the infamous incident when Mayawati was assaulted by Samajwadi Party workers in a Lucknow guest house in 1995. "Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati sold her dignity for power and joined hands with those who disrespected her... She is a blot on womankind. Cannot say if she can be counted among men or women, she is worse than a transgender person," Singh alleged. Condemning her remarks, Union minister and Republican Party of India president Ramdas Athawale told a presser in Lucknow on Sunday that such personal comments should not be made. Bahunjan Samaj Party (BSP) leader S C Misra said on Twitter BJP leaders have "lost their mental balance after the BSP-SP tie-up" which, he said, threatened

Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates TN Defence Industrial Corridor

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday inaugurated the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor in the Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu, with various private and public sector industries announcing an investment of around Rs 3100 crores.The Defence Minister spoke about various initiatives for the industry to engage with armed forces and co-create the best in defence technologies through the flagship 'Make in India' program.She stated that development of these corridors will not only help in accelerated growth and regional industry agglomeration but will also facilitate a well-planned and efficient industrial base which will boost defence production .This will be the country's second defence industrial corridor after the first one was launched in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh August last year.Both the corridors were announced in the last Union Budget as part of measures to build an indigenous defence production ecosystem.The Tamil Nadu corridor has six nodes at Trichy, Salem, Hosur,

Indian, Pakistan armies clash on LoC

Indian and Pakistani troops traded fire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Sunday.

Modi to visit J&K on Feb 3: Ram Madhav

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jammu and Kashmir on February 3 to lay the foundation stone for and inaugurate various projects in all three regions of the state, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said on Sunday. He said Modi will lay the foundation stone for and inaugurate projects worth Rs 35,000 crore and Rs 9,000 crore in Jammu and Kashmir, respectively, during his visit. "The prime minister is visiting the state next month and will visit Leh, Jammu and Srinagar. He will address a mega rally in Jammu in which over two lakh people are expected to turn up," Madhav told reporters here. He said Modi will lay the foundation stone for AIIMS, IIM, IIT, Jammu-Akhnoor road, Shahpur-Kandi road, Sunderbani college and IIMC in Jammu during his visit. The prime minister will also inaugurate an engineering college in Kathua and the Jammu ropeway project, he added. Responding to a question, the BJP general secretary said, "We tried to take forward many projects being part of the previous .

BJP's Look East strategy for 2019: Modi may contest from Kolkata or Puri

Narendra Modi contesting from Puri may create enthusiasm in the party in Odisha and adjoining states -- quite equal to what he had been able to generate in Uttar Pradesh and north India in 2014

FIEO seeks govt, RBI intervention in resolving exporters' banking issues

Exporters body FIEO has sought immediate intervention of the government and RBI to resolve issues related to payment mechanism for Iran and flow of credit to push shipments. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said that a clarity is required on product coverage under rupee payment mechanism to Iran. "Exporters have pointed out that UCO bank branches are not clear about products, which can be exported under such mechanism. The main problem is related to Engineering and Chemical products," Gupta told PTI. He said that the understanding of trade is that if the end use of product is not under the sanctioned list, or exports is not to the Iranian government, it should be allowed for exports under the Rupee Trade Mechanism. "A clarification will help exporters to take such orders and push for quantum jump in our exports to Iran," he said. He also said that banks have expressed their inability to handle documents of exporters for shipments to Central

BJP to start next level of agitation on Sabarimala issue: PS Sreedharan Pillai

Hours after calling off its hunger strike, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said it will continue its protest over the Sabarimala temple issue.Speaking to ANI, Kerala BJP state president PS Sreedharan Pillai said his party will resume its agitation again over the issue."After the hunger protest, BJP will begin the next level of agitation on the Sabarimala issue. The party will begin an interaction drive with people for the next two weeks as part of the agitation," he said.The statement from Pillai came just a few hours after Mahila Morcha, the women wing of the BJP ended their 14 days hunger strike .The BJP is demanding withdrawal of prohibitory orders at the Sabarimala shrine and cancellation of cases charged against party leaders, who participated in the protests and strikes. They are also demanding stringent action against those officers for allegedly manhandled devotees while on a pilgrimage.A couple of weeks ago, violent protests also broke out across Kerala after Bindu ...

Rahul Gandhi to undertake 2-day visit to Amethi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is slated to undertake a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Amethi from January 23.Along with Rahul, UPA Chairman Sonia Gandhi will also arrive at the Fursatganj airport on January 23, from where both the leaders will leave for their respective constituencies (Amethi and Rae Bareli).During his two-day visit, the Gandhi scion will participate in several party programmes and a meeting of the district vigilance and monitoring committee.On 23 January, the Congress president will pay tribute to the memorial located at Nahar Kothi to honour slain soldiers at 11:20 in the morning. At 11:30 am, he will hold a meeting with village heads of Tiloi Vidhan Sabha and will meet the relatives' of late senior Congress leader Shiv Pratap Singh.At 12 noon Rahul will take a tour of Paraya Namaskar village.On 24 January, Rahul is scheduled to interact with the public at Bhuvemau guest house in Rae Bareli. He is also expected to pay a visit to some villages of ..

Mauritius PM to attend Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas

Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth arrived in India Sunday morning.During his week-long official state visit, Jugnauth is scheduled to participate in the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas 2019 in Varanasi.The Mauritian Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and other cabinet leaders. He will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind during the course of his visit.

BJP has alliance with 125 crore people, while opposition parties' alliance is all about corruption, nepotism, says PM Modi

Terming the show of strength by opposition parties in Kolkata on Saturday as "an alliance among the corrupt," Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the BJP had "an alliance with 125 crore people" of the country."This 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance of opposition parties) is a unique type of alliance. This alliance is between the 'Naamdaars.' This alliance is all about nepotism, corruption, scams, negativity, instability, and inequality. This is a very unique merger," said Prime Minister Modi while addressing the BJP's booth level workers of Maharashtra and Goa through video conference."They have formed an alliance with each other. We have formed an alliance with 125 crore countrymen. Which alliance do you think is stronger? Most leaders at that stage in Kolkata were either sons of the influential people or were trying to set their own children in politcis. They have money power while we have people's support," he said.Underscoring the importance of 'Mera Booth, Sabse ...

Government which can't run schools, hospitals must go: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday attacked the Punjab government for handing over government health centres to the private sector, saying a government which cannot run its schools and hospitals has no reason to be in power.

There will be anarchy if there is no Modi: Javadekar

Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday said there was no alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that there would be "anarchy" in his absence. Taking a dig at the Opposition rally organised by Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Saturday, Javadekar said the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls would be fought on issues like -- whether people want a "mazboot" (strong) or a "majboor" (weak) government. "Looking at yesterday's rally in Kolkata, where all the Opposition parties came together, it was evident that all these parties want to drive out Modi, but who is the alternative? "They cannot present an alternative, so the condition in the country is like if there is no Modi, there will be anarchy," the Union human resource development minister told reporters here. Referring to the coalition rules of I K Gujral, Chandrashekhar and H D Deve Gowda in the past, he said people suffered during the days of those "weak governments", while on the other hand, the ...

Car bomb blast in Northern Ireland; no injuries reported

Northern Ireland politicians are condemning a car bombing outside a courthouse in the city of Londonderry. The device exploded Saturday night as police, who had received a warning, were evacuating the area. There are no reports of injuries. The Police Service of Northern Ireland posted a photograph of a vehicle in flames and urged the public to stay away. More than 3,700 people died during decades of violence before Northern Ireland's 1998 peace accord. Most militants have renounced violence, but some Irish Republican Army dissidents carry out occasional bombings and shootings. Uncertainty about the future of the Irish border after Brexit is adding to tensions. John Boyle, who is mayor of the city also known as Derry, said violence "is the past and it has to stay in the past.