Page 1895 - Politics
TRS will be decisive force at Centre: K T Rama Rao
Expressing confidence that the TRS would be a decisive force at the Centre, its working president K T Rama Rao Friday claimed that neither the BJP nor the Congress were in a position to get a comfortable number of seats in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Addressing a party gathering here, he said the UPA was not a position get more than 100-110 Lok Sabha seats and the ruling NDA would also not get more 150-160 seats. "That means, even if the Congress and the BJP come together, they cannot reach the magic number of 273," he said. He said the the Congress, on its own or as the UPA, was not in a position to win more than 100 or 110 seats and the BJP had nothing on the ground, it was the 'Build up Jateeya (national) Party'. "The NDA and the UPA both are not in a good situation. The way political developments are taking place... the day is not far when the TRS would be a decisive force, an important force, in Delhi," he said. Noting that the BJP lacked support on the ground, he said the ...
BJP govt failed on all fronts: Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu alleged on Friday that the Modi government had failed on all fronts and had been misusing all the constitutional institutions of the country. "The BJP government has failed on all fronts and they have been misusing all the constitutional institutions of the country," Naidu said after reaching here to attend West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's mega Opposition rally on Saturday. "We (Opposition parties) have joined hands to save the country and the democracy," the Telugu Desam Party chief said. When asked about the form of an Opposition alliance that the country would witness in the days to come, Naidu said, "Tomorrow is an important day for national unity as all the Opposition parties have come together and this meeting will set a new agenda for 2019.
Agenda for Lok Sabha elections would be set up by opposition: Chandrababu Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu who reached Kolkata on the eve of mega opposition rally by the Mamata Banerjee led TMC, said that except one or two opposition parties, who are neutral or have some reservations all the opposition parties are uniting together against BJP. He said that the meeting of the opposition parties in Kolkata will set a new agenda for the upcoming Lok-Sabha elections."Except one or two opposition parties who are neutral or have their own reservations all parties are coming together. Ultimately this meeting will set up new agenda for 2019 general elections," said Naidu.He said that NDA government has betrayed the nation. "The NDA government has betrayed the nation and has failed on all fronts , misused all institutions and constitutional bodies. We are coming together to protect the nation," he said.He said that Mamata Banerjee and other leaders are experienced and focused and are capable of deciding the future course.
Trying to bring 33% reservation for women in Congress-ruled states: Sachin Pilot
Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Friday said that Congress will take forward the demand of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislature and try its best to bring it in all Congress-ruled states.Addressing the media here, Pilot said: "Congress promised 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislature in its manifesto. A Cabinet meeting was held and we have planned how take a step forward in this direction. If not across India, we will try our best to bring it in all Congress-ruled states."Criticising the Centre for not giving proper attention to this matter, Pilot said: "BJP government brought in so many constitutional amendments in five years but their dual face came out in this matter.""UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi continuously wrote to them in these five years but they (Centre) didn't implement it because they never intended to," he added.Earlier, Punjab Vidhan Sabha passed a resolution .
Vikramarka Mallu appointed as Congress' Telangana chief
Congress leader Vikramarka Mallu was appointed as the party's Telangana-unit chief on Friday."The Hon'ble Congress President Shri Rahul Gandhi has appointed Mr Vikramarka Mallu as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Telangana," a statement from the Congress General Secretary Ashok Gehlot read.In a meeting on Thursday, Congress lawmakers from the state passed a resolution, authorising Rahul Gandhi to appoint a CLP head.As the Congress has 19 MLAs in the 119-member Telangana Assembly, Mallu will also assume the role of Leader of Opposition.
AP govt plans to issue new certificates valid for life
The Telagau Desam Party (TDP)-led Andhra Pradesh government is planning to introduce new date of birth, caste and place of birth certificates, which will be valid for life.In a secretaries' meeting at the secretariat here on Friday, Chief Secretary Anil Chandra Punetha asked officials to issue necessary government order within fifteen days. He said that the new life-long valid certificates are being issued in order to spare students the inconvenience of issuing new certificates every year.The chief secretary said that the date of birth certificate should be issued for life-long valuation as there would be no change and the income certificate should be issued for every four years as it is subject to change.Punetha asked officials to place the necessary files before the cabinet meeting on January 21 for approval. Secretary of Information and Public Relations Ramanjaneyulu hailed the decision, saying that the decision of the state government would provide great relief to people.The Chief
Trump lashes out at Pelosi for planning trips amid shutdown
President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for planning an official trip to Brussels, Egypt and Afghanistan amid the ongoing historic partial government shutdown in the country.Taking a jibe at the Congresswoman, who has vehemently opposed to the border wall funding issue, the President added to his statement that even if a wall is successfully built on the southern US-Mexico border, the workers would still have easy access to come and work in the US soil.The US President took to Twitter, as saying: "Why would Nancy Pelosi leave the Country with other Democrats on a seven-day excursion when 800,000 great people are not getting paid. Also, could somebody please explain to Nancy & her "big donors" in wine country that people working on farms (grapes) will have easy access in!"On January 10, Trump announced that he would be not participating in the World Economic Forum meeting, scheduled to take place in Davos, Switzerland, from January 22 to 25, amid ..
BJP trying to destabilise coalition govt in Karnataka : HD Kumaraswamy
Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP for allegedly destabilising the coalition government in Karnataka.Kumaraswamy, who arrived at Kolkata on the eve of mega opposition rally by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, said: "In a meeting held in Delhi recently, Prime minister Narendra Modi spoke about weeding out corrupting and cleaning the country but what BJP is doing in Karnataka is contrary to the PM's claims.""The Prime Minister requested the citizens to support his cause but in Karnataka, the BJP is offering money to Congress MLAs to poach them. Where the money is coming from?" asked Kumaraswamy.He said that after some days the country will get a proper leader for its development."You wait for some time, you will get a proper leader for future development of this country," said Kumaraswamy."At this juncture all the party leaders should leave their personal agenda and come together to save the ...
Kolkata metro beefs up security in wake of TMC mega rally
Anticipating heavy rush of commuter in the wake of TMC mega opposition rally at the Brigade Parade Ground on Saturday, the Kolkata Metro, which operates under the Ministry of Railways, has beefed up its security arrangements by deploying additional forces apart from the regular contingent.As apart from the regular daily deployment additional RPF Personnel including officers and staff are roped in for strategic deployment at all stations to tackle any untoward incident.Also, commandos will be deployed at Dum Dum, Esplanade and Maidan Stations. On the other hand, dog squad will also be deployed. Women RPF personnel would also be deployed in adequate numbers at various stations.The rally will see opposition unity ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Fight against TMC will continue: Bengal Congress
With Congress chief Rahul Gandhi extending his support to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's mega Opposition rally, the West Bengal Congress said Friday their fight against the "misrule" of the Trinamool Congress would continue as the high command had not asked them to stop it. Earlier in the day, Gandhi extended his support to Banerjee for her 'United India Rally' here on Saturday. "Our party president Rahul Gandhi has extended support to the anti-BJP platform. Our fight against the BJP and TMC in Bengal would continue. The party high command has not asked us to stop it," state Congress president Somen Mitra said. Gandhi is likely to skip Mamata's rally and the Congress has deputed its leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, to represent the Grand Old Party at the event. In a letter to Banerjee, the Congress chief commended the "great people" of Bengal, who had "historically been at the forefront of defending our ideals".
Vikramarka appointed leader of Congress in Telangana Assembly
Senior Congress leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka was appointed leader of the Congress in the Telangana Assembly on Friday. The Congress issued a media release in Delhi at night about party chief Rahul Gandhi appointing Vikramarka as the leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP). A meeting of Congress MLAs, MLCs and MPs was held here on Thursday and they passed a unanimous resolution authorising Gandhi to decide on the CLP leader. Vikramarka, a post-graduate, is now set to be the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly as the Congress is the main opposition with 19 MLAs in the 119-member House. Vikramarka, who has been representing Madhira (SC) constituency since 2009, had served as the deputy Speaker of the Assembly in undivided Andhra Pradesh from 2011-2014. He was the party's chief whip during 2009-2011. He 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.
Political parties in favour of holding simultaneous polls in J&K
Almost all the political parties in Jammu and Kashmir were in favour of holding the assembly elections along with the general elections in 2019, the state's CEO was informed on Friday. The representatives of the state's recognised political parties had met Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Shailendra Kumar during the day and suggested several ways to improve the electoral process and ensure smooth and transparent polling. The group included Raman Bhalla and Usman Majeed from Congress, Harshdev Singh from JKNPP, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat from JKPDP, Yudhveer Sethi and Rajinder Sharma from BJP and Sheikh Bashir Ahmed from National Conference. The CEO held wide ranging discussions with the political leaders and briefed them on the preparedness of the authorities for the smooth conduct of parliamentary as well as assembly elections. Seeking their cooperation to ensure complete transparency in the electoral process, the CEO urged the leaders to make optimal use of online facilities of various services
Jaitley calls newspaper report on Rafale jet 'fudged arithmatic'
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday described as "fudged arithmatic" a newspaper article on the Rafale fighter jet deal which had said the 36 aircraft signed by the Modi government cost 41 per cent more per aircraft than what was provided in the deal negotiated by the UPA government.
Bhatti Vikramarka appointed Telangana CLP leader
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday appointed Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka as the leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Telangana.
Trump to meet N Korean envoy Kim Yong Chol: White House
US President Donald Trump is meeting Friday with North Korean envoy Kim Yong Chol to discuss negotiations on the country's pledge to denuclearize, the White House said. The meeting in the Oval Office at the White House was due at 12:15 pm (1715 GMT), Trump's spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. "They will discuss relations between the two countries and continued progress on North Korea's final, fully verified denuclearization," she said.
BJP only using Ayodhya issue for votes: BSP leader
Senior Bahujan Samaj Party leader Satish Chandra Misra alleged on Friday that the Bharatiya Janata Party was not interested in building a Ram temple and was only trying to use the Ayodhya issue to get votes ahead of the general election. "The BJP is not interested in making Ram temple. It's only trying to use it to get votes ahead of (the) Lok Sabha polls. They are dividing gods in the name of caste. This only shows their frustration," Misra told reporters after arriving here. The BSP leader is in the city to take part in the Trinamool Congress' mega Opposition rally on Saturday.
Mamata's anti-BJP rally draws political who's who, set to kickstart opposition campaign for LS polls (Preview)
The stage is set for a mega anti-BJP rally at the historic Brigade Parade ground here on Saturday, that would virtually kick-start the opposition's campaign and is likely to provide the contours of a federal front ahead of the coming general election.
Modi should answer where his party getting money to poach Cong MLAs: Kumaraswamy
Questioning Narendra Modi over his claims of fighting corruption in the country, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy alleged that on one hand, the prime minister was talking about fighting corruption and, on the other, his party was trying to poach Congress legislators by using money. "What you have been watching for one week, (is) how the BJP is trying to destabilise the stable government in Karnataka. I want to put one question to the honourable prime minister: Recently, during his party meeting, he (Modi) said he wanted to remove corruption and clean the country. For this, he requested citizen of the country to support him. "But what's going on in Karnataka? Which money they (BJP) are offering to Congress MLAs to support them? From where the money is coming?" Kumaraswamy asked. When asked about four Congress MLAs missing from the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting in Karnataka, Kumaraswamy said, "Nothing will happen, they will also come and join us." Four dissidents ...
Modi govt gave 'windfall' to Dassault Aviation by paying more per aircraft: P Chidambaram
The Modi-led government has compromised national security by denying to the Air Force the 7 squadrons (126 aircraft) that it desperately needed and gave a "windfall" to Dassault Aviation by paying more per aircraft, said Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday.Addressing a press conference here, Chidambaram fired a fresh salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said: "Rafale deal is a windfall for Dassault. That is the gift that the NDA government has given to Dassault and that is why I said that Dassault is laughing all the way to the bank....The windfall to Dassault was a deliberate decision of NDA government, which is highly questionable.""If the government had hoped that it had succeeded in giving a quiet burial to the Rafale aircraft deal controversy, it was wrong. We had said so immediately after the judgment of the Supreme Court. The controversy is very much alive and, this morning, it acquired a new dimension," he added.The Congress leader further said that ever since .
Nation first, people next and self last for BJP, says Rajnath Singh
Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) works on the motto of the nation first, people next and self last, said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday, adding that not political interest but public interest matters to his party.Addressing a public rally at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh on the occasion of death anniversary of N T Rama Rao, Singh said: "BJP works on the motto of the nation first, people next and self last. One thing that matters the most to our party is public, not political interest. All schemes of our government were formed after considering each and every section of the society."Praising the efforts of Telugu Desam Party's founder-president N T Rama Rao, the Union Home Minister asserted: "NT Rama Rao was not only a legendary figure in Andhra Pradesh but he was the pride of the nation. He was a national hero. Today on his death anniversary, I want to tell him that all his dream would be fulfiled under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP will protect the pride ..