Page 1918 - Politics
Punjab to spend Rs 1,500 cr on improving rural, urban infra: Amarinder
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Wednesday said a sum of Rs 1,500 crore would be spent on improving rural and urban infrastructure in the state. Making the announcement during pre-budget consultations with his party MLAs from the Majha region, along with the top brass of his government, the chief minister assured the elected representatives that the paucity of funds would not be allowed to come in the way of development in both the rural and urban sectors. The chief minister said that out of the Rs 1,500 crore, Rs 1,000 crore would be spent on improving rural infrastructure while Rs 500 crore would be used for urban infrastructure, to ensure the best civic amenities to the residents. The pre-budget meeting to elicit the views of MLAs from Majha region on budget proposals to ensure holistic development of their respective assembly segments was held here, according to an official spokesperson. The state government has chalked outa four-phased programme of consultations with ...
Pence: US will ensure 'ISIS does not rear its ugly head again'
Vice President Mike Pence said the United States would fight to ensure the defeat of the Islamic State movement but reiterated plans to pull troops out of Syria after an attack there killed US service members. "We'll stay in the region and we'll stay in the fight to ensure that ISIS does not rear its ugly head again," Pence told a gathering in Washington of US ambassadors stationed around the world.
5,802 registration for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: Sushma Swaraj
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said the number of registration for the 2019 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas has gone up with the tally at 5,802 registrations, attributing it to shifting the dates to January 21, instead of January 9.
Pb Cong chief denies being behind cases against Abohar families
Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar Wednesday hit out at SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal for presenting before the media two families which had accused the Congress leader of getting "false cases" lodged against them for supporting the BJP. Jakhar lashed out at the SAD chief saying that Sukhbir Singh Badal has brought sheer dishonour to his party post of president by siding with alleged victims. "Sukhbir has made totally baseless allegations against me, Jakhar told mediapersons here. Akali Dal on Tuesday had presented two Abohar families, which alleged that false cases were registered against them at the behest of Jakhar for not supporting the Congress in the 2017 assembly polls. The families of Mohinder Bathia and Satish Satija had alleged that false cases were being registered repeatedly against them solely because they had supported the BJP candidate from the Abohar constituency in 2017. The SAD president had said the party would also move the Punjab and Haryana High Court to seek an .
Congress capable of fighting Lok Sabha elections in UP on its own: Ghulam Nabi Azad
Congress on Wednesday said that it is capable of fighting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh on its own.Congress leader and in-charge of party's Uttar Pradesh Affair Ghulam Nabi said, "Congress party is capable of contesting the Lok Sabha elections on its own. People love the Congress party and want that it should contest the election on its own and form the government."He said that Congress is the 133 years old party that has worked for the upliftment of poor, youth, farmers, women and every section of the society."We have support of every section of the society. The Congress party has worked for farmers, youth, development of women and for every section and class of society," he said.Ignored by SP and BSP, the Congress on Sunday announced to contest all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh on its own in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and aim to emerge as the largest party like in 2019 General Elections.
India summons Pakistan mission official, protests civilian's killing in J&K
The government on Wednesday summoned an official of the Pakistan High Commission and lodged a strong protest over the killing of a civilian in Sundarbani sector in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this month in unprovoked firing by Pakistani forces from across the border.
Maharashtra to set up sports academy for police force
The Maharashtra government along with the Centre will start a dedicated modern sports academy to train sportspersons from the police department so that they can compete at national and global levels, said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Wednesday. He said the state government is also committed to general welfare of the police force. Fadnavis was speaking at the opening ceremony of '31st Maharashtra State Police Sports competition' here. The state government seriously stands behind the police department and its welfare related to housing and education of their children, among other things, said Fadnavis, who also holds the Home department. The government has taken several decisions for the benefit of police personnel and will come out with more such measures, he said. Fadnavis said international standard sportspersons should come out from the police department and for this good training facilities will be provided to them. "I want to assure that the state government along
J&K special status tampered with whenever NC is not in power: Omar
Former chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said Wednesday Jammu and Kashmir's special status was "tampered" with whenever his party remained away from power in the state. "The basic structure of the state was entirely obliterated by the opportunistic forces that got a field day because of our absence. From 1953-1974, 37 amendments were made to the state constitution, making a pale shadow of what it used to be before 1953," Abdullah said at a party convention in Beerwah constituency of central Kashmir's Budgam district. The former chief minister said the very identity of the state was "facing an onslaught from all sides" and the severity of the situation demanded a strong mandated government of his party that would put up a strong front for safeguarding the special status. Abdullah said coalition governments in J&K had proved "detrimental" to the state's interests, saying the need of the hour was to have a strong nucleus to carry forward the agenda ..
I am personally in touch with every MLA: KC Venugopal
Amid the ongoing high octane drama in Karnataka, the state Congress In-charge KC Venugopal on Wednesday said that every Congress MLA is with the party and he is personally in touch with each one of them. He added that a massive protest would be held against BJP in Karnataka on Thursday."I told you that every congress MLA is with us. I am already in touch with everybody, you should now expose the BJP plan," he said while interacting with media persons."Why you are not asking anything to BJP. It is a national blame for them, ruling party is doing things like this," he said slamming the BJP."Every day they (BJP) are trying to destabilise the democratic government, is it a part of democracy? Tomorrow we are holding massive protest against BJP throughout Karnataka for their misdoing," he said."Let the BJP take their MLA safely to Karnataka," Venugopal added.Earlier in the day, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had said the Congress MLAs who are in Mumbai are constantly in touch ...
Karnataka government would fall due to its internal contradictions: BJP
The BJP on Wednesday said that it was "watching" the developments in Karnataka and asserted that people of the state would heave a sigh of relief if the JD-S-led alliance government falls due to its "internal contradictions".
Punjab govt to release development funds for each assembly constituency
The Punjab government will release funds to the tune of Rs 4 to 6 crore for development of each assembly constituency, state Cabinet Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said on Wednesday. The decision comes ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. "We will release development funds in the range of Rs 4 to 6 crore for each assembly constituency in Punjab," Bajwa said here. Punjab has 117 assembly constituencies. Bajwa said the decision for releasing funds for the development of the state was taken by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in a pre-budget meeting with the Congress MLAs here. "The funds will be given to the respective deputy commissioners who will then disburse funds according to the project proposals of the legislators," he further said. The rural development minister said the funds will be disbursed by January 30. He said the development work could not be carried out for the past few months because of the Panchayat elections which were held last month. Meanwhile, the chief ...
Govt manufacturing data, producing films, creating awards to hide its failures: Ahmed Patel
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Wednesday alleged that the government is manufacturing data, producing films and creating awards in a desperate bid to hide its failures. His remarks come a day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for receiving the Philip Kotler Presidential award, saying he wanted to "congratulate" him on winning "the world famous" prize that had no jury and had never been given out before. "Desperate to hide their own failures, the government is reduced to manufacturing its own data, producing its own films, and creating its own awards," Patel said in a tweet. Congress leaders have also slammed the movie 'The Accidental Prime Minister', starring Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh, as BJP's propaganda against their party. The Congress has also been accusing the BJP of coming out with false data to present a rosy picture of the economy which they claim has been adversely affected by the government's policies. The ...
US service members killed in ISIS-claimed attack in Syria
US service members were among those killed Wednesday in a fiery explosion at a market in the northern Syria town of Manjib, the US military officials said. US-led coalition Operation Inherent Resolve did not mention how many service members were killed. Prior to Wednesday's attack, only two US service members had been killed in action in Syria since the start of the campaign in 2014. "US service members were killed during an explosion while conducting a routine patrol in Syria today. We are still gathering information and will share additional details at a later time," according to a tweet from the spokesperson for the Operation Inherent Resolve. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, at least 15 people, including a US serviceman, were killed in the rare attack in Manbij. It said the cause of the explosion was a suicide bomb outside a restaurant. "The President has been fully briefed and we will .
UN authorises monitoring of Yemen cease-fire in key port
The Security Council has voted unanimously to authorise a UN mission to monitor implementation of a cease-fire and the withdrawal of rival forces from Yemen's key port of Hodeida. The British-drafted resolution adopted Wednesday gives a green light for up to 75 UN monitors to be deployed for six months to oversee implementation of the cease-fire and redeployment agreement between Yemen's government and Houthi Shiite rebels signed in Stockholm on December 13. The council previously agreed to the 30-day deployment of monitors and the UN said last week about 20 are on the ground. The Stockholm agreement, if fully implemented, could offer a potential breakthrough in Yemen's four-year civil war, which has brought the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of starvation and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Following are the top
Following are the top stories from the southern region at 2130 hrs MDS9 KL-BISHOP-NUNS Kochi: Four of the five nuns who led an agitation against rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal in Kerala are directed to leave their convent in Kottayam district in compliance with a transfer order issued last year, sources here say. MDS10 KA-GOVT-BJP Bengaluru: Accused by the Congress and JD(S) of trying to destablise their government, Karnataka BJP claims the ruling coalition is hiding its inability to keep its house in order by 'unnecessarily' targeting it and their 'unnatural' alliance is responsible for the ongoing political turmoil. MDS14 AP-TDP-YSRC Amaravati: The Telugu Desam Party calls Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy 'Modi's puppets' and dubbed the proposed Federal Front as a 'puppets front'. MES7 TN-KODANAD-RADHAKRISHNAN Kanyakumari: Union Minister for State and BJP leader Pon Radhakrishnan alleges a hidden political .
French envoy to lead 78-member delegation to Vibrant Gujarat summit
French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler will lead a 78-member French delegation to the Vibrant Gujarat Summit on January 18. The French embassy said the delegation will include 34 French companies with expertise in the agri-food industry, aviation, banking and finance, energy, infrastructure, IT, telecommunications and waste and water management. The ninth edition of the three-day investment summit begins on January 18. The French embassy said Ziegler will lead the 78-member French delegation to the summit. "As a partner country of the summit and being amongst India's leading foreign investors, France is committed to working with Government of India and the government of Gujarat. French companies are expected to sign three MoUs during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit," the French embassy said. It said the group of French delegates this year is a mix of companies with established footprint in Gujarat and those with advanced technical expertise keen to partner with Indian entities.
Host of oppn leaders to take part in Mamata Banerjee's Kolkata rally
A host of opposition leaders will participate in West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's mega opposition rally in Kolkata on January 19, which will not be attended by the Left parties. According to sources, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is yet to decide on whether its chief Mayawati will attend the Trinamool Congress (TMC) rally that will also be attended by former JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav. The Congress will be represented by its leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who has been deputed by the party leadership at the joint opposition rally, as neither its chief Rahul Gandhi or UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will be in attendance. Kharge will be headed to Kolkata from Mumbai, where he has some meetings with Congress leaders on the same day. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is likely to reach Kolkata a day earlier on January 18. He will be present at the opposition rally, which is expected to be a show of opposition unity ahead of Lok Sabha elections. The Left parties, which
Dikshit takes charge as Delhi Cong chief; Tytler presence at event sparks controversy
Three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit Wednesday took charge as the president of the Delhi Congress at a ceremony which was marred by controversy over the presence of Jagdish Tytler, an accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Rival parties were quick to attack the Congress over Tytler sitting in the front row at the event, alleging that the incident had exposed the "anti-Sikh" face of the party. However, Dikshit backed Tytler saying he was a Congressman and slammed the BJP and the AAP for looking at things in a "narrow way". "It's a very narrow way of looking at things. After all he is a Congressman. The Congress has not shunted him out and he has not gone away from the party. So, why make an issue out of a non-issue," she told PTI. Tytler, who remains sidelined in the party, was seated along with other party leaders including Dikshit on the stage where the function took place at the Delhi Congress office here. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the incident exposed the Congress's .
Morocco to be partner country in Vibrant Gujarat Summit
With over 50 delegates cutting across different sectors, Morocco will participate in "Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019" as a partner country, the Moroccan Embassy said on Wednesday.
AAP seeks Khaira's disqualification from Punjab Assembly
AAP leaders met the Punjab Assembly Speaker Wednesday, seeking disqualification of Sukhpal Singh Khaira as an MLA days after the rebel legislator formed his own party. A delegation of AAP leaders, led by Leader of Opposition Harpal Cheema, met Speaker Rana K P Singh and submitted a letter, saying that Khaira had voluntarily given up the Aam Aadmi Party membership and started his own party. He had thus made himself liable for disqualification from the assembly under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, Cheema wrote. "It is therefore requested to you that given above the mentioned facts and circumstances and following the spirit of the Constitution of India, the membership of Sukhpal Singh Khaira from the Punjab Assembly be terminated forthwith and he be stripped off all the rights and privileges with immediate effect," he said. The Speaker told reporters action will be taken as per the rules. The Bholath MLA had quit the AAP on January 6, six months after he was ousted from the post .