Page 1882 - Politics
Government sacks PNB executives for lapses in $2 billion fraud in first firings: sources
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government has sacked two executives of the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) for allegedly failing to prevent a $2 billion fraud, two sources said on Sunday, nearly a year after the country's biggest bank scam came to light and also dragged the government into the controversy.
Netanyahu visits Chad, expected to renew ties
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Chad on Sunday for what he called a "historic" trip, during which diplomatic ties with the African state were expected to be renewed. "I am now leaving on another historic and important breakthrough, to Chad, a huge Muslim country bordering Libya and Sudan," he told reporters before boarding the plane at the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. "There will be big news," Netanyahu said, hinting at the formal resumption of diplomatic relations between the countries that Chad had cut in 1972. His office later confirmed he had landed and was meeting with Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno in N'Djamena. Netanyahu has sought to improve ties with countries in the Arab and Muslim world and said he expected more such diplomatic breakthroughs soon. "There will be more countries," said Netanyahu, who is seeking re-election in April 9 polls while also facing the possibility of being indicted in corruption investigations in the coming weeks. The ...
Mamata's rally was aimed at saving democracy: Shatrughan Sinha
Firing a fresh salvo at the BJP leadership and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, disgruntled party leader Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday said the rally at Kolkata where he shared the stage with a host of opposition leaders was aimed at "saving Indian democracy from being ruined". The actor-turned-politician and Patna Sahib MP, who had rankled the party by his presence at the rally and speaking about "tanashahi" (dictatorship) prevailing under the leadership of Modi and Amit Shah as against "lokshahi" (democracy) that characterized the Atal-Advani era, sought to twist the knife with a couple of tweets. "What an amazing gathering and what a mammoth audience that came together in Bengal in lakhsto listen to and support this spontaneous show of solidarity in favour of a change parivartan!" exclaimed Sinha in his first tweet about the public meet which was organized by West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee. Leaders of 22 opposition ..
PM will visit Jammu soon to inaugurate Rs. 35,000cr worth projects: Ram Madhav
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Sunday informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon be visiting Leh, Jammu, and Srinagar to inaugurate various projects there.While addressing the media here, Madhav said, "The projects that were started are ready to be launched and inaugurated by the Prime Minister. Projects worth Rs.35000 crore will be inaugurated only in Jammu."With regards to the Lok Sabha polls, Madhav claimed that the BJP is ready for the assembly elections and the rally in Jammu will play an important role in that regard."We will launch our campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the Jammu. We are ready for assembly elections. It is up to the Chief Election Commissioner to decide the dates," he said.Elaborating upon the plans that the party had for the state, he claimed, "We had a roadmap for Kashmiri Pandits return during our government but that could not happen due to some security scenarios."Earlier this week, a notice was issued directing all ...
Prepare songs in regional dialects to popularise govt schemes: PM Modi to BJP cadre
Ahead of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged booth level workers of Maharashtra and South Goa to prepare an alphabetical list of government schemes and reach out to the people with songs in regional languages on the same."Prepare a list of the schemes floated by the Central government and the Maharashtra government on 1-100 or alphabetically from A to Z. Like A for Ayushman Bharat, B for Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, C for Clean Ganga Mission and so on that can be easily recalled and remembered," said Prime Minister Modi to booth workers from Hatkanangale, Kolhapur, Madha, Satara and South Goa via video conference.He also requested the BJP workers to prepare separate lists for all the state and Centre's schemes regarding farmers, women, and others and tell people about the benefits and the beneficiaries.During the interaction, the Prime Minister showed participants a video of an improvised version of the song 'Breathless' sung by Shankar Mahadevan, with .
Smriti Irani BJP's key face to take on opposition? (IANS Special, Lead)
Is Union Minister Smriti Irani BJP's 'go-to' person for countering the Congress?
Modi, Shah will break up country: Kejriwal
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah will break up the country if they return to power in the 2019 general elections.
Congress issues notices to 4 MLAs who skipped CLP meeting
The Congress in Karnataka Sunday issued notices to its four MLAs seeking explanation from them for their absence at the Legislature Party meeting, asking why no action should taken against them under the anti-defection law. The notices were sent to Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was dropped as minister in the recent cabinet rejig and is said to be extremely unhappy over it, B Nagendra, Umesh Jadhav and Mahesh Kumatahalli, Congress sources said. Exposing fissures in the party, the four lawmakers had skipped the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meet Friday, which was called as a show of strength against the BJP's alleged attempt to topple the party's coalition government with the JD(S) in the state. The absence of the four lawmakers posed no imminent threat to the seven-month-old Congress-JD(S) government in the numbers game, but suggested that all was not well within the Congress which is still wrestling with dissidence. In the notice issued to Jarkiholi, while seeking response from him for not
'Operation Shakti' in the vanguard of Congress march to LS polls (IANS Special - Part I)
A new age which requires new tools. The realities that the digital and social embrace has brought about makes one's position tenuous if you don't engage with it. The new rules of engagement are rigorous and involve technological interface.
New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) Is Union Minister Smriti Irani BJP's 'go-to' person for countering the Congress?
For a person who has had her own ups and downs in the government - from being the HRD minister when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister to being shifted to the less fancied textiles ministry - she appears to have emerged as BJP's swordarm to take on the Opposition, mainly the Congress, to convey the party's viewpoint on raging controversies.
MP leaders' death: BJP will come out on streets, warns Shivraj
In the wake of the death of two BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh recently, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan warned the Congress government in the state that if such incidents are not curbed, the BJP will "come out on the streets.""Government is taking this lightly. There seems to be a larger conspiracy behind this (BJP leader killed in Mandsaur). I demand a CBI inquiry. BJP leader was killed in Barwani, I warn the government that they stop such incidents otherwise BJP will come out on streets," Singh told ANI.Continuing his tirade against the Kamal Nath government, Chouhan said law and order has collapsed in the state and criminals are now "fearless.""Congress used to talk of change but what change is this? Murders have started here, there was one in Indore, then in Mandsaur where a BJP leader was killed, another BJP leader killed in Barwani. Criminals are fearless today. Law and order completely collapsed," said Shivraj.Manoj Thackeray, a BJP MLA from Barwani, was found dead .
Unaware of internal dispute in Cong: K'tka Dy CM Parameshwara
Karnataka's deputy chief minister G Parameshwara said he was unaware of what ensued between Congress MLAs Anand Singh and J N Ganesh on Saturday night.He expressed his ignorance about a reported fight between Congress MLAs Anand Singh and J N Ganesh."I've seen that (reports of a fight between Anand Singh and JN Ganesh) only through media. I was there till 8 o'clock yesterday and don't know what happened but once I come out, I'll definitely let you know," he told reporters here.Media reports suggested a quarrel took place last night between Singh and Ganesh, after which Singh was reportedly taken to the hospital for treatment.Without naming anybody, Parameshwara also said a Congress MLA has been hospitalised owing to illness.Earlier in the day, Congress leader DK Shivakumar termed reports of a quarrel as "fake news.""There is no fight. You saw all of them coming together and going together. It's fake news. The entire Congress party is united. I'm confident that even those who couldn't .
Every Opposition leader wants to become PM : Sambit Patra
A day after major regional satraps showcased their collective strength at the Trinamool Congress-led mega rally in Kolkata, BJP has dubbed the "grand alliance" as a coalition of "dealers" each of whom harboured the ambition of becoming Prime Minister."They have turned the chair of Prime Ministership into a bench, all of them want to sit on. Mamata Banerjee wants to sit on one end and Mayawati wants to occupy the other end while Mulayam Singh Yadav also wants a seat and so on," Sambit Patra, BJP spokesperson, told reporters at a press conference in Hyderabad on Sunday."These people who never wanted to see each other are now sharing a dais. They have constructed a dais of confusion and are shouting from its rooftop," Patra said.He said that the battleground has been set for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and it will be a fight between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the corrupt leaders."It is a battle between confusion and clarity. BJP has leadership and policy while the opposition lacks
'Huge explosion' in Syria capital causes fatalities: monitor
A "huge explosion" near a military intelligence office in Damascus Sunday left a number of dead and wounded, a war monitor said, after state TV reported early indications suggested a "terrorist act". "The explosion took place near a security branch in the south of the city. There are some people killed and injured but we could not verify the toll immediately," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. It was unclear if the blast was caused by a bomb that was planted or a suicide attack, according to the monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside the country. It said that shooting followed the explosion. Syrian state television earlier reported that a blast had been heard around the southern highway in Damascus. "First reports suggest a terrorist act," the broadcaster said. The state outlet did not provide any more details on the incident. Syria is locked in a civil war that has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since a brutal ...
Government sacks two PNB executives for alleged lapses in $2 billion fraud: sources
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Government has sacked two senior executives of the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) for allegedly failing to prevent a $2 billion fraud, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Sunday, nearly a year after the country's biggest bank scam came to light.
'Remove BJP' campaign gets a boost with Kolkata rally but challenges remain (News Analysis)
The "BJP hatao" campaign of opposition parties got a major boost at the Kolkata rally convened by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but the idea of a "mahagathbandhan (grand alliance)" continues to be a challenge over the absence of a common face to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
My statement on backing Congress over-stretched: VHP leader
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Working President Alok Kumar on Sunday said his statement that his organisation would consider backing the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls if it includes the construction of Ram temple in its manifesto was over-stretched.
AAP to contest all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab: Kejriwal
Despite a virtual split in the leadership of its Punjab unit, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, party leader Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday.
No inclination towards Congress: VHP
Vishva Hindu Parishad's (VHP) international working president Alok Kumar on Sunday said that the Hindu outfit is not going to support Congress or any other political party.The statement comes after media reports suggested that the VHP would support Congress if the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya is on the party's election manifesto.In this regard, Kumar told ANI: "In the last few days we have met various MPs of different parties to seek their support on Ram Janmabhoomi legislation. We will request all political parties to include support to the Ram Janmabhoomi issue in their manifesto and the parties who do it, we will welcome and thank them. But, it does not mean we will support the parties. Not the least, Congress."Kumar had reportedly said earlier that if the Congress party includes the construction of Ram Mandir in its election manifesto, they may consider backing the party. However, he clarified that the outfit had no inclination towards the Congress. "We would prefer ...
General category quota will get NDA 10 per cent more votes: Paswan
The measure for 10 per cent general category quota will boost the BJP-led NDA's vote share by 10 per cent, paving the way for Narendra Modi's re-election as prime minister, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said Sunday, asserting that people will reject the opposition's proposed grand alliance due to its inherent contradiction and instability. The BJP ally and Lok Janshakti Party president said the Modi government's priority to long-term development policies over "populist" programmes may have caused at times some resentment in a section of society but people will vote for the prime minister's "strong and stable" leadership in Lok Sabha elections. He, however, hinted that the government will come out with a bevy of schemes in the run up to the election, saying that the ruling alliance has learnt its lessons from its loss in the recent state elections and that there are many arrows in the quiver of Prime Minister Modi. The BJP lost power to Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and ...