Page 1914 - Politics
Very difficult to say anything about alliance, AAP can defeat BJP in Delhi: Rai
It is "very difficult" to say whether an alliance with Congress will happen or not for upcoming Lok Sabha elections, senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said Thursday, and added that his party is able to defeat the BJP in Delhi. Rai, who heads AAP's Delhi unit, said his party has speeded up preparations on all the seven Lok Sabha seats, and announced formation of four frontal organisations for other backward castes (OBCs), resident welfare associations (RWAs), doctors and rural areas. "It is very difficult to say whether the alliance will happen or not. In the given situation, AAP can defeat BJP in Delhi and Congress is way behind (in the contest)," he said at a press conference. Commenting on the newly appointed president of Delhi Congress Sheila Dikshit, Rai said she was given farewell by the people "after ruling for 15 years" and bringing her back indicated that the party had limited choice for leadership. "The recent developments indicate that the Congress has not only lost its ground in .
Stalin to participate in Mamata's opposition party meet
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin will participate in the meeting of the opposition parties called by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee in Kolkata on January 19.On December 10, the Opposition parties held a crucial meeting in Delhi on the eve of Parliament's Winter Session and counting of votes for Assembly elections in five states, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed to remain unaffected.The BJP has maintained confidence by saying that despite the Opposition meet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is again going to retain the post with a clear majority in the upcoming 2019 General Elections.The previous meeting was called by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu, aimed at bringing all Opposition parties under a single umbrella to take on the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
China confirms Vice Premier Liu to visit U.S. for trade talks January 30-31
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the United States on Jan. 30 and 31 for the next round of trade negotiations with Washington, China's commerce ministry said on Thursday, confirming earlier reports of the planned talks.
EC team arrives in Bihar to review preparations for LS polls
An Election Commission (EC) team arrived in Bihar's capital Patna on Thursday on a two-day visit to review preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, an official said.
Kumbh Mela: President, first lady participate in 'Ganga pujan' at Sangam
President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Thursday visited Allahabad and performed 'Ganga pujan' in the Sangam area during the ongoing Kumbh Mela, officials said. The President and first lady Savita Kovind reached the Bamrauli airport on a special plane of the Indian Air Force around 9:30 am. They were welcomed by Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several cabinet ministers, the officials said. President Kovind and his wife participated in 'Ganga pujan' in the Sangam area along with the governor, chief minister, his deputy Keshva Prasad Maurya and Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh among others. Sangam refers to the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers.
First session of Telangana Assembly begins
The first session of the newly-elected Telangana Assembly began on Thursday with the legislators taking oath.
Falsehoods being manufactured to attack Modi government: Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday hit out at the opposition parties specially the Congress and the Left saying a new class of "compulsive contrarians" has emerged in the political system who "manufacture" falsehoods to attack the Narendra Modi government.
Gulab Chand Kataria appointed leader of opposition in Rajasthan Assembly
Senior BJP legislator Gulab Chand Kataria was on Thursday appointed the leader of opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly. Speaker C P Joshi informed the House that the BJP's proposal to appoint Kataria as the leader of opposition has been accepted. The 74-year-old Kataria is an eight-time MLA. He represents the Udaipur Assembly constituency.
May pushes for cross-party consensus after surviving no-confidence vote
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday called on MPs to "put self-interest aside" and "work constructively together" to find a way forward for Brexit, following her slim victory in a no-confidence vote.
Cong MLAs, MLCs urge Rahul Gandhi to nominate CLP leader
: Newly-elected Congress MLAs and MLCs in Telangana Thursday unanimously resolved to urge party president Rahul Gandhi to nominate their leader. The meeting was attended by AICC representative K C Venugopal, who spoke to party MLAs, MLCs and MPs on the matter. Venugopal said he would convey the legislators' views to Gandhi, who would take a decision as early as possible. "We took a unanimous resolution authorising the Congress president to nominate the new CLP (Congress legislature Party) leader of Telangana," he said. Congress won 19 seats in the 119-member house in the December 7 assembly elections. Meanwhile, the first session of the assembly after the polls began here Thursday with the newly elected members taking oath as MLAs. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was the first to take oath.
Jaitley accuses 'compulsive contrarians' of subverting democracy
Terming opposition parties as 'Compulsive Contrarians', Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday accused them of manufacturing falsehood and subverting democracy by weakening an elected government. Nations are built by those with positive mindsets and a national vigor, not by the 'Compulsive Contrarians', he said in a Facebook blog without naming Congress or other opposition parties. Jaitley, according to sources, is in the US for a medical checkup. "The Compulsive Contrarians had no qualms about manufacturing falsehood. They could concoct arguments even if they went against the general interest of the country. They could masquerade corruption as crusade. They could adopt double standards whenever it suited them, he said in a Facebook post titled 'The Compulsive Contrarian and his Manufactured Logic'. Citing the tirade mounted by political parties on host of issues including 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections and the Rafale defence deal, Jaitley said that the ...
Rajasthan MLA disrupts governor's address to House
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLTP) chief Hanuman Beniwal Thursday tried to disrupt Governor Kalyan Singh's address to the Rajasthan Assembly, vociferously raising the demand for procurement of moong beans from framers. Beniwal raised the issue as soon as the house assembled. Even as he continued raising the demand, the governor began his address. Singh congratulated the newly elected MLAs and carried on with the address, but Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal requested him to table the speech. The governor continued addressing the House for some more time, but he tabled the speech after reading a few lines. Beniwal criticised the governor for ignoring the parliamentary affairs minister's request which invited sharp reaction from Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore and others. The governor left the House after tabling the speech.
PM to interact with BJP's booth-level workers in Goa on Jan 20
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with BJP's booth-level workers from South Goa parliamentary constituency through tele-conferencing on January 20. Around 4,000 booth-level workers would attend the interaction to be held at a school ground in Margao town of South Goa, located around 35 km from Panaji, BJP Lok Sabha member Narendra Sawaikar told reporters on Wednesday. Sawaikar, who represents South Goa constituency in the Lok Sabha, expressed confidence that the BJP will retain both the parliamentary constituencies (the other being North Goa) from the state in the forthcoming general elections. "Goa has witnessed a big development push as the BJP has been at the helm at the Centre and in the state," he said. Various infrastructure works, including the construction of bridges, are among the highlights of the Union government's performance, he added.
Speaker Pelosi blocks Trump's symbolic State of Union speech
Raising the stakes in the US government shutdown standoff, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has blocked President Donald Trump from delivering the highly symbolic annual State of the Union address to the joint session of Congress even as a group of centrist Democrat and Republican lawmakers met him to find a way out of the impasse.
Indian-American Raja Krishnamoorthi 1st S Asian to serve on powerful committee on intel
Indian-American Democratic lawmaker Raja Krishnamoorthy has been appointed as a member of a Congressional committee on intelligence, becoming the first South Asian to serve in the powerful body tasked to strengthen America's national security. Krishnamoorthy, 45, who represents Illinois's 8th congressional district in the House, was chosen along with Congresswoman Val Demings of Florida, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York and Peter Welch of Vermont as the four new Democratic members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) for the 116th Congress. The HPSCI is tasked with overseeing the activities and budget of the 17 intelligence agencies of the US. Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi appointed Krishnamoorthi Wednesday. Pelosi said: "Our new members of the Intelligence Committee bring exceptional judgment, expertise and determination to our mission to honour that oath and, guided by the strong, principled leadership of Chairman Adam Schiff, ...
BJP fully committed to fulfilling youngsters' aspirations:PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said the BJP is fully committed to fulfilling the dreams and aspirations of the country's talented youngsters, as the party's youth wing launched its campaign for his return to power in the Lok Sabha polls. "I commend the energetic BJYM team for their #VijayLaksh2019 movement that will mobilise Yuva Shakti from all over India on a large scale for a strong mandate for the BJP.Our Party is fully committed to fulfilling the dreams and aspirations of our talented youngsters. #NaMoYuva," Modi tweeted. The prime minister's tweet came after Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) chief Poonam Mahajan launched a campaign of 17 different programmes aimed at connecting with young voters with the slogan 'Laksh hamara, Modi dobara" (Our aim, Modi again). The BJYM has named the exercise "Vijay Laksh 2019".
Trump administration to roll out new missile defence plan
The Trump administration will roll out a new strategy Thursday for a more aggressive space-based missile defence system to protect against existing threats from North Korea and Iran and counter advanced weapon systems being developed by Russia and China. Details about the administration's Missile Defence Review the first compiled since 2010 are expected to be released during President Donald Trump's visit to the Pentagon with top members of his administration. The new review concludes that in order to adequately protect America, the Pentagon must expand defence technologies in space and use those systems to more quickly detect, track and ultimately defeat incoming missiles. Recognising the potential concerns surrounding any perceived weaponisation of space, the strategy pushes for studies. No testing is mandated, and no final decisions have been made. Specifically, the US is looking at putting a layer of sensors in space to more quickly detect enemy missiles when they are launched, .
China to lay 1.3 million kms of roads by 2020 to help PLA: Pentagon
China has planned to construct about 1.3 million kilometers of roads and 26,000 kilometers of expressways by 2020 to bolster its military's ability to mobilise more expediently across greater spans of the country, the Pentagon has told the US Congress. The Chinese rail network has about 100,000 kilometers of track, 10,000 kilometers of which is high-speed track supporting trains running at up to 250 kilometers per hour, the Pentagon said in its 2019 'China Military Power' report. Beijing is initiating infrastructure projects and targeted funding allocations, it said. "Future transportation network improvements will bolster the People's Liberation Army (PLA's) ability to mobilise by moving higher numbers of units more expediently across greater spans of the country," it said. The PLA is the world's largest standing army. "China expects to build about 1.3 million kilometers of roads and 26,000 kilometers of expressways by 2020," the Pentagon said in its report to Congress. China is also
NIA carries out searches in UP, Punjab in connection with ISIS-inspired terror modules
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday carried out searches at seven places in western Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in connection with the investigation pertaining to ISIS-inspired terror modules, conspiring terror attacks in the country.NIA Inspector General of Police (IG) Alok Mittal told ANI that searches are presently underway at seven places after a few people were arrested for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to carry out terror attacks in the country.More details are awaited in the case.On December 26 last year, the NIA had busted an ISIS-inspired terror module, targeting important personalities including politicians and vital installations, by raiding 17 locations in Delhi and UP and had held 10 persons from whom cash, mobile phones, SIM cards, arms and ammunition including a rocket launcher were recovered.NIA had identified Mufti Mohammad Suhail alias Hazrath, son of Hafiz Ahmad, a native of Amroha, as the mastermind of the module."Vital installations, important ...
Youngest US Congresswoman to give colleagues Twitter lessons
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman to serve in the US Congress, is set to give her Democratic colleagues in the House of Representatives lessons on how to use Twitter in a more effective way.