Page 1888 - Politics
Ministers ready to resign to accommodate unhappy MLAs:
Senior Congress leader and Minister D K Shivakumar Saturday said all ministers in the party including him were ready to step aside from the cabinet in the interest of the party to accommodate those MLAs who aredissatisfied. "We are loyal soldiers of the party. When Dharm Singh government was there I was kept out of the government for political reasons...in the last regime I was MLA for sixthterm, Siddaramaiah could not include me in his cabinet (initially)," Shivakumar said. Speaking to reporters here, he said this time it was a coalition government, and several legislators, who were senior to him- V Muniyappa, Ramalinga Reddy, Roshan Baig, H K Patil - are not part of the government. "If need be, including myself, I'm telling you, we are ready to sacrifice for the party, for the workers, for legislators. Nothing is important. Party is important to us we want to bring back our party with flying colours," he said in response to a question. Shivakumar also said the ...
Upcoming polls an election to restore nation's faith in democracy: Sonia Gandhi
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi Saturday wished the opposition rally all the success and said the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be an election to restore the nation's faith in democracy and fight the "arrogant and divisive" Narendra Modi government. Sonia Gandhi and her son, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, decided to give the rally in Kolkata a miss, but had sent party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Abhishek Manu Singhvi in a show of solidarity to the gathering organised by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Kharge read out a message sent by Sonia Gandhi who wished the opposition rally all the success. "The upcoming Lok Sabha elections will not be ordinary one. It will be an election to restore the nation's faith in democracy, defend our secular ethos and heritage, and defeat the forces that are trying to sabotage the Constitution of India," she said in her message. Sonia Gandhi described the opposition rally as an "important attempt to galvanise leaders across the political ...
It was a gathering of 'rank opportunistic elements', says BJP on Mahagathbandhan rally
The BJP on Saturday described the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) rally in Kolkata as an assembly of "rank opportunist elements" where all opposition leaders have proved that their sole objective is to remove Prime Minister Narendra Modi and have no agenda for the country and its future."Those who could not see eye-to-eye have today come together. From their speeches, it was evident that their only agenda is to remove (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, which means they have no alternative agenda for India and no future road-map for the development of India," Union Minister of Law Ravi Shankar Prasad told ANI."Someone said in a very funny manner that our leader will be elected by the people of India, you have to name your leader to be elected by the people of India. Rahul Gandhi has PM ambitions, Mayawati has PM ambitions, Mamata Ji has PM ambitions and some regional players too," Prasad added.He further stated that India of 2019 is not the India of the 1990s, "where the longevity of the
Syria will be like 'Iraq on steroids' if US troops withdraw: Senator Lindsey Graham
United States Senator Lindsey Graham on Saturday said he hoped that US will not withdraw from Syria until it formulates a proper plan, otherwise, it would lead to complete chaos in the Middle East, which will be then be similar to an 'Iraq on steroids'.The US lawmaker further stated that the Donald Trump government would not initiate a complete withdrawal of troops until the Islamic State (ISIS) is entirely destroyed, Voice of America reported.Addressing a meeting here Saturday, Graham said, "The goal of destroying ISIS is not yet accomplished."The US Senator flew to Turkey on Friday to hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, apart from the country's defence and foreign ministers and intelligence chief, to discuss the process of US troop's withdrawal and ensure the safety of Syrian Kurds in the region after its withdrawal."I have long contended that there are elements among the Syrian Kurds that represent a legitimate national security threat to Turkey. Turkey's concern ...
BJP should prepare for culture of misusing central probe agencies: Akhilesh Yadav
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday warned the ruling BJP about leaving behind a culture of misuse of central investigative agencies and said it should be ready to face the same in future."When BJP realised that Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party were looking forward to a grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh, they alerted the CBI and started planning to win at least one seat in Uttar Pradesh. BJP is leaving behind the culture of misusing the central investigative agencies and it should be ready to face the same in the future" the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said at the mega opposition rally here led by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress.The CBI is probing Akhilesh's role in the illegal sand mining case in Uttar Pradesh during his tenure as Chief Minister, when he had also held the mining portfolio of the state for a year.The former UP chief minister spoke about the alliance formed by opposition parties to defeat the Modi-led government at the Centre in the ..
Show-cause notices will be issued to MLAs abstaining from CLP meeting in Karnataka, says Kharge
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that the party would issue a show-cause notice to two MLAs who did not attend the CLP meeting held in Bengaluru on Friday, asking for an explanation from them.Responding on four MLAs who did not attend the CLP meeting, Kharge told ANI: "First, we will issue a show-cause notice asking for an explanation. Then we will take some action after discussion with the party members. Out of four, two MLAs have responded while two have not contacted us so far. We will issue notices to the two who did not respond."Four Karnataka Congress MLAs on Friday abstained from the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, which decided to move rest of the 76 legislators to a resort. The meeting was convened by the party to assess whether its flock was intact amid speculation that some of the party MLAs had switched over to the BJP.The Congress, which shares power with JD-S, has 80 MLAs in the 224-member Assembly, including the Speaker. Accordingly, .
Parliament to decide on extension to military courts: Pak Army
The Pakistan Army has said that the country's parliament would decide about another extension in the tenure of the controversial military courts. The military courts were first set up in January 2015 for two years for speedy trial of militants after the 2014 Peshawar school attack that killed nearly 150 schoolchildren. Their tenure was extended for another two years in March 2017 and there is a debate in the country whether there should be another extension. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government of Prime Minister Imran Khan has shown willingness to give another term to the army-run courts but it needs the support of the opposition as the courts were created after an amendment in the Constitution which can be done by the support of two-third of lawmakers. Army spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said that military courts were formed by the parliament after a consensus that the criminal judicial system of the country was not effective in dealing with terrorism cases, Radio Pakistan ...
Opportunist elements came together to remove PM Modi: BJP on Opposition rally
Describing the united opposition rally organised by TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee as a gathering of "opportunist elements", the BJP Saturday said those who could not see eye-to-eye have come together with the sole agenda of removing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and without any roadmap for the future of the country. Asserting India of 2019 is not the India of 1990s, when the longevity of prime ministers ranged from several days to a few months, senior party leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the country needs "a mazboot sarkar and not a mazboor sarkar (strong government not helpless government)". Taking a dig at the leaders' gathering in Kolkata, Prasad said all of them have the ambition to become prime minister, and therefore their most difficult task is to announce their leader. Leaders of almost all opposition parties, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, BSP leader Satish Chander Mishra, DMK leader M K Stalin and Congress leader ...
PDP expels Altaf Bukhari for anti-party activities
People's Democratic Party (PDP) Saturday expelled businessman-turned-politician and former minister Altaf Bukhari from the party for anti-party activities. "Party today expelled Altaf Bukhari from the party for his anti-party activities," the party said in a tweet. The PDP said the party had been watching Bukhari's activities for some time and has expelled him from the basic membership of the party. "Party has been watching with concern the activities of Altaf Bukhari for quite some time and thereby (he) stands expelled from the basic membership of party," the party headed by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, said on Twitter. Bukhari won his maiden assembly election from Amira Kadal in 2014 and was a minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. He was, however, dropped from the cabinet by Mehbooba when she took over after Sayeed's death in 2016. Bukhari was then made minister for Education in February 2017 and went on to become the finance minister
Lokpal: Anna Hazare to go on fast from January 30
Social activist Anna Hazare Saturday said he would sit on a fast from January 30 at his village in Maharashtra from January 30 against the Narendra Modi-led government for the delay in appointment of a Lokpal at the Centre. The anti-corruption crusader claimed the government was resorting to excuses on the matter. He alleged that the Modi government, was not listening to the decisions of the constitutional bodies over implementation of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 and was trying to take the country towards "dictatorship." Hazare said in 2011 the entire country stood over appointing Lokpal and Lokayuktas in states after which the Lokpall Bill was passed. "In December 2013 law was made and Modi formed government in 2014. It was felt that Modi will appoint the Lokpal and implement the Lokpal Bill and a brake would be put to corruption in the country. He came to power in 2014...there was a need to only implement it, but five years have passed. Citing some or other ...
India, Nepal join hands to promote entrepreneurship
Aiming at bringing young Indian and Nepali entrepreneurs together and promoting them, a day-long conclave was held here on Saturday. Organised by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu in collaboration with Nepal-based business consulting agency Clock b Business Innovations, the conclave brought together 400 Indian and Nepalese start-ups, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists and high ranking government officials of the two countries, the organisers said. "Nepal has a huge population of more than 90 million youths who can serve as catalysts to push the country ahead towards attaining prosperity," Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri said during his inaugural address at the "Connect IN International Entrepreneurship Conclave". "Globalisation has largely benefitted disadvantageous groups in the developing world," he added. The organisers also selected six start-ups, five from Nepal and one from India, which pitched their ideas to investors, media and entrepreneurs from Nepal ..
Rahul to raise Rafale, farmers' issue at budget session:Kharge
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said Saturday that his party president Rahul Gandhi would raise issues relating to Rafale, farmers' distress, unemployment, demonetisation and interference into autonomous bodies like CBI by the Modi government in the budget session of Parliament. Kharge, while addressing a news conference here, said that the Parliament would resume on January 31 with President's speech. "Then the Parliament would initiate the budget session where our leader Rahul Gandhi will raise these issues," the Congress leader said. He said that the BJP government led by Narendra Modi was "destroying democracy" along with his aide Amit Shah. Kharge said that the fight in 2019 elections would be for freedom of speech and freedom of religion. "We re fighting for them. We will continue to fight for these," he said. On Karnataka, Kharge said that the alliance between Congress and JD(S) will continue, adding that one MLA, who was untraced, would ..
DMK latches onto Cong's spectrum pitch, calls BJP 'corrupt'
The DMK on Saturday backed ally Congress on its scam allegation against the Modi government in allocation of microwave spectrum in 2015 and said the spectrum issue which was used by the BJP to target the UPA has now boomeranged on it. Citing the Congress' allegation that the Centre allotted spectrum on "first-cum-first-service (FCFS)" basis negating rules and causing losses and the Rafale issue, the DMK accused the BJP-led central government of being "corrupt." Quoting the proverb "those who live by the sword die by the sword," DMK's organ 'Murasoli' said the BJP which claimed corruption in spectrum allocation vis-a-vis FCFS during UPA rule has followed the same norm now in microwave spectrum apportionment. "The BJP government has shunned a Supreme Court ruling of 2012 that spectrum should be made available through a market driven process and FCFS norm should not be used hereafter," the daily alleged. The main opposition party in Tamil Nadu also rejected Telecom Minister Manoj ...
BJP member takes oath as MLA in Speaker's Chamber
Telangana BJP MLA-elect T Raja Singh, who refused to be sworn-in in the presence of pro tem Speaker Mumtaz Ahmad Khan of the AIMIM, Saturday did so in the chamber of Speaker Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy. "Pocharam Srinivas Reddy ji (Speaker) gave me time today. (He) gave me opportunity. I have gone to his chamber and took oath (as MLA)," Singh told reporters. Raja Singh, MLA from Goshamahal in Hyderbaad, had earlier refused to take oath in the presence of Khan as his party AIMIM "speaks against Hindus" and its leaders do not say ' Bharat Mata ki Jai." He is the only BJP MLA in the newly-elected 119-member Telangana Legislative Assembly. Reddy was unanimously elected Speaker on Friday. The Assembly's inaugural session began on January 17 with Khan functioning as pro tem speaker. The ruling TRS had returned to power in December 7 assembly elections with a massive majority, winning 88 seats of the total 119.
Federal Front proposed by KCR taking shape, says TRS MP
: Telangana Rashtra Samithi MP K Kavitha Saturday said the federal front proposed by her father and Telangana Chief Minister and TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao at the national-level, was taking shape and her party will certainly play a major role. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Telangana Jagruthi International Youth Leadership Conference here, Kavitha said the TRS president had said India needs an alternative which is neither the BJP nor Congress because both these parties have been given ample opportunities by the people, which she alleged they have "not utilised." "In this context, Indian politics needs to change and TRS will certainly play a major role," she said adding the proposed federal front is taking shape. According to her, in various other organisations and other fronts which have been proposed, one does not agree with the leader being proposed by the other party, but the federal front is not proposing a leader as "we are saying an agenda, a ...
Bangladesh PM Hasina says govt will work for all
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said her government will work for all people irrespective of their political affiliations. She stated this while addressing a grand rally organised by her Awami League here to celebrate its comprehensive victory in the general election last month. The prime minister said the people could cast their votes spontaneously after a long time and thanked them for returning her party to power for a record fourth term in the December 30 polls, the Dhaka Tribune reported. Hasina said, "Although Awami League won the election, I can assure that our government will work for all". "United forces always win. This election has proved that," the Awami League chief said. She also thanked the law enforcement agencies for ensuring a fair election, and the Election Commission for holding free and fair polls. "I also want to thank all the political parties who participated in the election," she said. According to party insiders, government servants, ...
BJP tells Cong it would not destabilise ruling coalition
The BJP would not destabilise Karnataka's ruling coalition, party state chief B S Yeddyurappa said Saturday, as the state remained in the grip of political unrest with the Congress on tenterhooks to keep its numbers intact. As the Congress MLAs remained sequestered in a resort on the city outskirts fearing a poaching bid by the BJP, Yeddyurappa said he had asked all his party lawmakers camping at a hotel in Gurugram to return and tour the state's drought-hit areas. "We will not try to destabilise this government for any reason, let them not have that fear. We will work as the opposition," Yeddyurappa, whose party has been accused of having triggered the political crisis with its toppling game, said. "Let the Congress-JD(S) leaders not have any doubt about it," he said, a day after chinks in the ruling coalition was exposed with four MLAs skipping the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meet. As the fissures became evident, the Congress on Friday swiftly moved all its MLAs
Mamata calls for collective leadership, opposition unity to oust BJP regime
Calling for a "collective leadership" to oust the Narendra Modi regime from the Centre in the coming Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said all anti-BJP parties have to join hands for the sake of the nation.
Tejashwi charges Modi,Shah with hatching conspiracy against
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav Saturday alleged that BJP as part of conspiracy has set CBI and ED against his father Lalu Prasad and his family for not joining hands with them in their efforts to divide the country on communal lines. Addressing opposition parties rally here organised by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Yadav came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called him "manufacturer, wholesaler and distributor of lies." He lauded Banerjee for bringing leaders of various parties on one platform and urged all the leaders to keep standing together to oust the BJP government from power. Yadav said Banerjee always stood with his father (Lalu Prasad) in times of "dukh-sukh" (sorrow and happiness) and appealed to people of Bihar residing in West Bengal to provide her strength in her political fight keeping this in mind. "Modi ji is manufacturer, wholesaler and distributor of lies...he speaks one lie and give 10 more with it as gift," the RJD heir ...
AIMIM chief asks Pak to stop meddling in Kashmir affairs
Asking Pakistan to stop meddling in Kashmir affairs, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi Saturday said the valley was and will always be an integral part of India, even as he stressed the need to have a consistent policy for the region. The Hyderabad MP said whether it was the Congress or the BJP at the Centre, they have "no policy, no vision" to bring back normalcy in the Kashmir Valley. "I feel that there has to be a consistent policy on Kashmir which unfortunately is lacking," he said. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader was replying to a question during a panel discussion organised at the Telangana Jagruthi International Youth Leadership Conference which began here Saturday. Quoting a report, Owaisi accused the BJP-led central government of not doing anything for Kashmiri Pandits. He said he has not seen so many lives being destroyed with pellet guns in the last eight years. Owaisi said instead of having a policy for the region, the government was now aiming .