Page 1922 - Politics
Bengal Cong happy over Rahul, Sonia not attending TMC rally
The West Bengal Congress is "happy" that Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi will not attend Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's mega rally here on Saturday and wants Mallikarjun Kharge, who is expected to represent the party at the event, to highlight the alleged torture faced by its workers in the state, party leaders said on Wednesday. The West Bengal Congress wanted the party's national president and the UPA Chairperson to stay away from the January 19 rally, being dubbed as a mega opposition event by Trinamool Congress, and send another leader as Banerjee had also skipped the swearing-in ceremony of Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister last month and had instead sent party MP Dinesh Trivedi. Banerjee had said on Tuesday that Congress will be represented by Kharge, the party's leader in Lok Sabha, at the joint opposition rally being hosted by TMC. "We are happy that the party high-command has respected our sentiments. The sentiment of the state leadership was against Soniaji or ...
BJP's toppling game is to show that grand alliance will fail: Parameshwara
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday alleged that the BJP has a bigger plan behind the its moves "to topple" the coalition government in the state as it wants to show that any grand alliance against it at the centre will meet the same fate. The coalition government in Karnataka suffered the first major setback when two MLAs, an independent and a member of the Karnataka Pragnyavantara Janata Paksha, Tuesday withdrew support to the government. There was no immediate threat to the government with the withdrawal of support but speculation was rife that many other disgruntled Congress MLAs could follow suit by resigning from the Assembly, though the party has maintained that its flock is intact. "There is a bigger scheme in destabilising the coalition government in Karnataka because when we took oath, the oath ceremony was attended by most of the non-BJP friends and leaders. That was a kind of Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance)," Parameshwara told reporters on the ...
Selection Panel to meet on January 24 to decide on new CBI director
The Selection Committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi will meet on January 24 to decide on new CBI Director.The CBI is currently headed by an Interim Director M Nageswara Rao after the incumbent Alok Verma was shunted out on January 10.Kharge, only yesterday, wrote to the Prime Minister, saying the post of Interim Director does not "legally exist" as per the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act which governs the CBI and demanded immediate convening of the Selection Committee to chose a new CBI Director.The decision to remove Verma as CBI Director was taken at the January 10 meeting of the Selection Committee which was attended by the Prime Minister, Kharge and Supreme Court Judge Justice A K Sikri, who was representing the Chief Justice of India.Kharge, in his letter to the Prime Minister, had said the government should "establish its bonafide in fighting corruption" ..
Arunachal Pradesh: Gegong Apang resigns from BJP, cites disappointment with leadership
Arunachal Pradesh's former chief minister Gegong Apang resigned from BJP on Tuesday citing disappointment with the present day BJP leadership.In his resignation letter addressed to BJP president Amit Shah, Apang wrote: "I'm disappointed to see that the present day BJP is no longer following the principles of late Vajpayee Ji. The party is now a platform to seek power, it serves a leadership which hates decentralisation of democratic decision making and no longer believes that the party founded by, for and of the cadre is only seeking to capture power".Citing an instance from 2014 state assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh, he accused the BJP leadership of using every dirty trick of the trade to get to the power."From issues like grass-root delivery of government schemes to matters like Naga peace talks, Chakma-Hajong issue, amendments of citizenship bill, telecommunications and real-time digital connectivity to peaceful and cordial relations with neighbours like Bangladesh, Myanmar
J&K 'People's Governor' Malik's new year pledge: Intense outreach
Often dubbed as "people's governor" due to his easy accessibility to people, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik has made "intense outreach" his new year's resolution. "Of course, it will be a year for reaching out to the people of J&K, particularly youths (of Kashmir). I opened the Raj Bhawan for the people of J&K when I assumed the office of the governor of the state," Malik told PTI in an interview. Malik made the remarks in reply to a query on his new year's resolution. The governor said he would intensify his outreach to the people, particularly the youths of the valley and try to wean them away from the "vicious circle of terrorism and violence". "Our aim is not to kill militants. I want not even a single person (militant) be killed. We want them back to the mainstream," Malik said. "We want to create such a narrative that people do not get angry and take to guns. We are tightening the administration, so that there is no atrocity or injustice to any innocent ...
Telangana's pro tem Speaker sworn in
: Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh ESL Narasimhan Wednesday administered the oath of office to senior AIMIM MLA from Charminar assembly constituency Mumtaz Ahmed Khan as pro tem Speaker of the Telangana assembly. State Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and senior officials of the government were present during the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan. The pro-tem speaker would administer the oath to members of the assembly on January 17, when its four-day session begins. On the same day, the schedule for the Speaker's election would be announced following which the nomination process would commence, an official press release said. The announcement on the election result would take place the next day. Later, the assembly proceedings would continue with the newly-elected Speaker, the release added. Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh had said he would not take oath in the presence of Mumtaz Ahmed Khan, the pro tem Speaker, because the AIMIM allegedly speaks against the .
BJP blames Cong-JDS "unnatural" alliance for turmoil in Karnataka
Accused by the Congress and JD(S) of trying to destablise their government, Karnataka BJP on Wednesday claimed the ruling coalition was hiding its inability to keep its house in order by "unnecessarily" targeting it and their "unnatural"alliance was responsible for the ongoing political turmoil. State BJP General Secretary C T Ravi said the Congress leaders while claiming that none of their legislators were going to resign, are also accusing the BJP of horse-trading, and added that their statements were oxymoron in nature. "When we look at the ongoing political developments in the state, several suspicions arise about the Congress party's behaviour. It is unnecessarily blaming the BJP for it. "Other than misleading the people of the state, there was no other good purpose behind it," Ravi said in a statement. The "unnatural" alliance between the Congress and the JD(S) was the reason for all these developments, not the BJP, he said. Political turmoil has engulfed Karnataka following ...
AAP irrelevant, we want to win all 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi: Sheila Dikshit (IANS Interview)
Inducted as Delhi Congress President ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections, Sheila Dikshit says her target is to win all the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital.
Won't betray Assamese on citizen bill, says Sonowal
Amid the growing chaos over Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday reiterated that he is not going to betray the Assamese people.
UK MPs inflict biggest ever defeat to PM May over Brexit divorce deal
In a humiliating defeat for embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May, her divisive divorce deal with the European Union was overwhelmingly rejected by MPs, triggering a no-confidence motion against her government. May's bid to get the Withdrawal Agreement, struck between London and Brussels, was rejected by 432 votes to 202 - a majority of 230, the biggest defeat ever suffered by a British premier in modern history. Within minutes after the defeat of the Brexit deal in the House of Commons, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he has tabled a formal motion of confidence in the government, backed by other opposition leaders, which MPs would vote later on Wednesday. Corbyn described Prime Minister May's defeat "catastrophic" and said backing the "botched and damaging" deal would be a "reckless leap in the dark" for the UK. Britain is set to exit the 28-member European Union, which it joined in 1973, on March 29. With just over two months to go until the scheduled departure on March 29, .
Cong willing to give a few seats to other players in UP: Azad
Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad Wednesday dropped hints of accommodating more players as he said his party was willing to give a few seats to those who wanted to forge an alliance with the Congress for the Lok Sabha polls. Speaking to reporters here, he noted, "On two to four seats, there could be 'give and take', but at present, we are making preparations for contesting on all the 80 seats in the state". In a significant move, BSP and SP, part of Opposition's Grand Alliance, had recently announced their tie-up in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls, sharing 38 seats each and keeping the Congress out of the alliance. On reports that the Congress was kept out of the BSP-SP combine as it was "weak", Azad hit back, "When elections are held, it will be known who is strong and weak". The Congress had on January 13 declared that it will contest on all the 80 Lok Sabha seats from the politically crucial state on its own. The senior Congress leader also expressed hope ...
BJP will retain all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat: Mathur
The BJP Wednesday sounded confident about winning all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat in the ensuing general elections, a feat it achieved in 2014. The party's election in-charge for Gujarat, Om Prakash Mathur, said poll preparations have already started for an encore in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also BJP chief Amit Shah. "BJP fights every election as a challenge. No one believed us when we had said that BJP will win all the 26 seats in 2014 polls. "But, we won all the seats (in Gujarat). This time too, we are fully confident that BJP will win all the 26 Lok Sabha seats," he told reporters here. "Gujarat BJP unit had started the preparations for the 2019 polls immediately after winning the 2014 general elections. "We have already segregated 50,000-odd polling booths into clusters and started reaching out to voters," said the BJP vice-president. Besides achievements of the Modi-led government, development works of the BJP administration in ...
Karnataka Cong calls legislature party meet on Jan 18
The Congress has called a meeting of its Karnataka legislature party on January 18 amid efforts to keep its flock together as it accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading to destabilise the state government. Asserting that the Congress MLAs were "intact," the party leaders dismissed reports claiming that some legislator were ready to quit and said that there was no threat to H D Kumaraswamy-led government. "Congress Legislature Party meeting presided by CLP leader Siddaramaiah is scheduled for 3:30 pm on January 18 at the Conference Hall of Vidhana Soudha (state secretariat)," Siddaramaiah's office said in a statement on Wednesday. The meeting assumes significance following attempts by the Congress to reach out to its disgruntled MLAs, who are allegedly ready to jump ship to the BJP side. According to Congress sources, few ministers from the party have even offered to step down in the larger interest and to keep the coalition intact. The party leadership is also looking into the ..
Qatar's beIN slams Saudis with 'reveal all' piracy website
Qatar's beIN media group on Wednesday stepped up its war of words against alleged Saudi-backed piracy, launching a website exposing what it says is wide-scale theft of its programmes. The "reveal all" beoutq.tv website went live with the aim of holding the pirate operation to account, a statement said. "What started out as a concerted and targeted campaign against beIN has now morphed into the largest commercial theft that's ever been seen in the world of sport and entertainment," Tom Keaveny, beIN's managing director in the Middle East region, said in the statement. "This Saudi-supported plague of piracy represents an existential threat to the economic model of the industry." The website details programmes being illegally broadcast in more than 20 countries, a timeline of events and points the finger at several prominent Saudi figures under the headline: "The Saudi State-Supported Piracy of World Sport and Entertainment". BeIN has previously alleged that since August 2017 a vast and .
Our government stable, why BJP hiding its MLAs, asks Kharge
The Congress on Wednesday said the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led Karnataka dispensation is stable and claimed that the persistent efforts of the BJP to destabilise it have failed, leading to the saffron party indulging in spreading rumours of cracks in the government.
Russia says not 'gloating' over Brexit vote
Russia on Wednesday denied it was rubbing its hands or gloating after Britain's parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's deal on leaving the European Union. On Tuesday, British MPs voted massively against the withdrawal agreement signed by May and EU leaders, raising fears of a disorderly "no-deal" Brexit. Speaking in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted his country did not want to interfere in Britain's affairs and said Russia was prepared to deal with any scenario. "We will not say and are not saying anything about Brexit, even though some people are constantly saying and writing that Russia is rubbing its hands and gloating. Nothing of the kind," he told reporters. "We have always said -- long before the idea of Brexit took shape -- that a united, strong and most importantly independent European Union is in our interests," he added. "Let's see what happens. Naturally, we will be ready to cooperate both with the European Union and Britain if it all ends ...
Pope to attend all sessions of high-stakes abuse summit
(AP) Pope Francis has confirmed he will attend all sessions of his high-stakes sex abuse prevention summit next month that will include plenary meetings, witness testimony and a penitential Mass. The Vatican said Wednesday that the organizers of the February 21-24 meeting met last week in Rome and briefed the pope on their preparations. Francis tasked the former Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, to moderate the plenary sessions of the meeting. Francis announced in September that he was inviting presidents of bishops' conferences around the world to attend the summit amid a crisis in his papacy over his own botched handling of abuse cases and a new explosion of the scandal in the US, Chile and beyond. The meeting organisers have urged bishops to meet with victims before they come.
Former Arunachal CM Gegong Apang to participate in TMC rally
Former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang, who has resigned from the BJP, is likely to participate in the January 19 rally of the Trinamool Congress. "Gegong Apang will participate in Jan 19 rally. He has confirmed it," a TMC source said Wednesday. However, TMC leaders declined to comment on speculations that Apang is likely to join TMC on that day. Apang, who was chief minister of the Northeastern state for over 22 years, sent a two-page resignation letter to BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday. "I am disappointed to see that the present BJP is no longer following the principles of Raj Dharam but has turned into a platform to seek power, serves a leadership which hates decentralization of democratic decision," he wrote in the letter. In a show of strength ahead of the national polls, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called for a mega opposition rally in Kolkata on January 19, which is likely to see participation of lakhs of her ..
Odisha Cong working president resigns from party, to join BJD
In a major setback for the opposition Congress in poll-bound Odisha, its working president and Jharsuguda MLA Naba Kishore Das has resigned from the primary membership of the party. He has, however, not resigned from the membership of the Odisha assembly, election to which is slated to be held along with the Lok Sabha polls this year. Das, a two-time legislator, has sent his resignation letter to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is scheduled to visit the state on January 25. In the letter, Das apologised for resigning from the party. A copy of the resignation letter was also sent to Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Odisha, Jitender Singh. In the letter, Das said he will join the ruling BJD to take forward the developmental activities in his Jharsuguda assembly constituency. Das stated that he has resigned from the Congress following requests by voters of Jharsuguda who want the area to be developed. "I do
Sabarimala: CPI(M) hits back at Modi's comments, says PM speaking like RSS 'pracharak'
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his comments on the Kerala government over the Sabarimala issue, the CPI(M) Wednesday said though he took an oath on the Constitution, but he was speaking like a 'pracharak' of the RSS. The party said the Modi's comments on the issue were "atrocious and condemnable". "Mr Modi forgot that he had taken oath on the Constitution of India and he spoke as an RSS pracharak not as the Prime Minster. His statement constitutes a direct assault on the Indian Constitution and the Supreme Court," the party said in a statement. It said the state government was implementing the judgement of the Supreme Court, and the prime minister's statement has "dangerous implications for the future". "This means that any Supreme Court judgement which does not suit the interests of the BJP and RSS will be defied and the government seeking to implement it will be attacked by them. In the history of independent India this is an unprecedented situation. All those who ..