Page 195 - Politics
Governor's peace meeting in Bengal inconclusive
A meeting called by West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi with four political parties to create a harmonious situation in the state riddled by political violence remained "inconclusive" on Thursday.
PM Modi to chair 5th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog on June 15
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on June 15 (Saturday) chair the fifth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in keeping with the spirit of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sanka Vishwas'.Ministers of Defence, Home Affairs, Finance and Corporate Affairs, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, as ex-officio members; Vice Chairman, Members, CEO and senior officers of NITI Aayog; and few other ministers will be attending the event as special invitees to the Governing Council.Special invitees to the fifth meeting of the NITI Aayog include the National Security Adviser, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Minister of Jal Shakti and the Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.The council, which includes all chief ministers, lieutenant governors of union territories, several union ministers and senior government officials, reviews the action taken on the agenda items of the previous meeting and .
Niti Aayog's Governing Council to meet on Jun 15
The drought situation, farm distress and security concerns of Naxal-affected districts will be among the issues to be discussed at the fifth meeting of Niti Aayog's Governing Council to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Saturday. The agenda for the meeting also includes rain-water harvesting, aspirational districts programme and structural reforms in the agriculture sector, an official statement said. The meeting, to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, will be attended by chief ministers, lieutenant governors of union territories, several union ministers and senior government officials. This will be the first governing council meeting under the new Modi government. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, has refused to attend the meeting, saying it is "fruitless" as Niti Aayog has no financial powers to support state plans. Headed by the Prime Minister, the Governing Council includes ministers of Finance, Home, Defence, Agriculture, Commerce and Rural ...
Telangana: KCR chairs TRS Parliamentary Party meet
Telangana Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrashekar Rao chaired a meeting of TRS Parliamentary Party at Pragathi Bhavan on Thursday and discussed the strategy to be adopted in the ensuing Parliament session.In the meeting, TRS Parliamentary Party leader, party's Leader in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were elected unanimously.Senior MP K Keshav Rao was elected as the TRS Parliamentary Party leader, while Nama Nageswara Rao was elected as the party's leader in Lok Sabha and Keshav Rao in Rajya Sabha.In the meeting, it was also decided to appoint one deputy leader and whip each in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.B.B. Patil will be TRS party whip in Lok Sabha, while K.Prabhakar Reddy will be the deputy floor leader in the Lok Sabha. Banda Prakash Mudiraj will be the deputy floor leader in the Rajya Sabha and J.Santosh Kumar has been appointed as TRS party whip in the upper house of the Parliament.The details of election of parliamentary party leaders are ...
Manipur CM takes charge of Power, Works and Finance dept
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh Thursday took charge of key departments of Finance, Power and Public Works department, an official said. Earlier Deputy Chief Minister Joykumar Singh was in charge of the Finance department while the Power and Public Works department were with Th Biswajit Singh. A Cabinet meeting was held on Wednesday to discuss the financial crisis in the state as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a ban on all transaction of funds from the account of Manipur government with effect from June for having overdrawn in excess of arrangements agreed upon with the bank. The Cabinet has authorised the chief minister to take all necessary disciplinary actions to imbibe a culture of financial prudence and propriety in key state government departments, a release issued by the Chief Minister's secretariat said on Thursday. A thorough investigation of the sanction procedures and financial management would be conducted for all key departments. The ...
Pak must take action against terror, PM tells Chinese President
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said Pakistan must take concrete action against terrorism affecting India to create an atmosphere for peaceful bilateral relations, as the issue came up during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping here.
Mamata alleges BJP conspiracy in NRS Hospital incident
Ordering an inquiry into the whole series of events leading to an attack on two junior doctors at the state-run NRS Medical College and Hospital here, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the incident to create communal tension.
Boris Johnson tops first round of poll for British PM
Boris Johnson Thursday secured his position as the frontrunner in the race to succeed Theresa May as British Prime Minister as he won the highest number of votes in the first round of the leadership poll. The former Cabinet minister received 114 votes in the first round of a secret ballot of Tory MPs held in the House of Commons, followed by UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt in second place with 43 and environment secretary Michael Gove third with 37 votes. Three contenders Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey were knocked out of the race after failing to secure the minimum requirement of 17 votes. It leaves seven candidates in the fray for the second round of voting next week, including former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab in fourth place with 27 votes, home secretary Sajid Javid fifth with 23, health secretary Matt Hancock sixth with 20 and international development secretary Rory Stewart in last place with 19. The two most popular MPs from among the seven will be put to ...
Tribals protest against mining at C'garh mine ends: Official
The indefinite protest by tribals against iron ore mining in Bailadila hills range at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh has ended, a senior government official said. The Mines Ministry official said that NMDC which holds the mining rights in the Bailadila range area would prepare a report on the matter. Tribals from about 200 villages of Dantewada last week had launched the indefinite protest against mining in a hill revered as the shrine of a local deity. "The protest has ended and NMDC would be preparing a report on it," the official said. NMDC CMD N Baijendra Kumar along with senior officials is in Raipur, the official added. NMDC-CMDC Ltd, a joint venture of and NMDC and Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation, is developing the 10 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity Bailadila iron ore Deposit-13. The protest started after the joint venture awarded the operations contract to Adani Enterprises. The Congress government in the state on Tuesday halted the mining work at the ...
Hold RS polls on 2 Gujarat seats the same day: Congress
The Congress on Thursday demanded that the Rajya Sabha elections for two seats of Gujarat that fell vacant after BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani were elected to Lok Sabha, should be held on the same day.
Can't fathom Modi mania despite 'bad state' of the economy;
: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah Thursday said he was unable to understand the Modi mania, despite the "bad state" of the economy under the previous BJP regime led by him. The former Chief Minister alleged that the BJP won the Lok Sabha election raising emotive issues, rather than delivering on development. People of the country, including the media, have favoured Narendra Modi's five year government, despite low GDP growth, increase in unemployment and dwindling value of the Rupee, Siddaramaiah said. "...they have destroyed the country's economy...despite all this Modi, Modi, Modi- I don't know why?" Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, he said, "As the Prime Minister for five years, what did he do for economic development? Demonetization- what was its result? You (media) should ask BJP people." Stating that the economy can be brought back on track, the CLP leader said the BJP would not be able to do it. The Congress, which is is part of the ruling coalition in ...
Kerala CM sticks to stance over Thiruvananthapuram airport
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Thursday said the state government was not ready to hand over the Thiruvananthapuram airport to Adani group and told the state assembly he would convey that to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Adani group had, in February, won the bid to operate five out of six airports, including the Thiruvananthapuram airport, proposed for privatisation by the central government. The state government had earlier appealed to the Centre to reconsider its decision to lease out Thiruvananthapuram aerodrome for operation, management and development under the public-private partnership (PPP). "Without the co-operation of the state government, no private company can develop the airport properly," Vijayan told the Assembly. "Our stand is clear...that the airport cannot be handed over to private parties. Either hand it over to the state government or carry on with the current administration. Will meet the Prime Minister with regard to this matter during
Nama Nageswara Rao elected TRS floor leader in LS
Nama Nageswara Rao was Thursday elected floor leader of the TRS in Lok Sabha. Senior leader K Keshava Rao, a Rajya Sabha member, was re-elected as Telangana Rashtra Samithi Parliamentary Party leader. The unanimous election took place at a meeting of TRS Parliamentary Party chaired by TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, an official release said. B B Patil (MP from Zaheerabad) would be TRS partys Whip in Lok Sabha, while K Prabhakar Reddy (MP from Medak) would be the deputy floor leader in Lok Sabha. Banda Prakash Mudiraj would function as deputy floor leader in the Rajya Sabha. J Santosh Kumar would be TRS party whip in the upper House. TRS has nine members in the Lok Sabha and six members in Rajya Sabha. The details about election of the parliamentary party leaders have been forwarded to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi through a letter by the Chief Minister. The meeting discussed the partys strategy to be adopted in the ...
All-party meet called by WB Guv inconclusive
An all-party meeting convened by Governor K N Tripathi was held on Thursday to discuss steps to end political violence in the state. After the meeting, BJP state vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar said the governor gave some suggestions, but the TMC's representative said he needs to consult the party. The TMC was represented in the meeting by its Secretary General and state minister Partha Chatterjee. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned the Governor's decision to call a meeting on the law and order issue and declined to attend it. She alleged that the meeting was called at the behest of the BJP. "The governor could call people for a cup of tea or a peace meeting," the TMC supremo said, adding, "So I am sending a party representative there. He will go there, have a cup of tea and come back." Majumdar said the meeting proves that law and order situation has completely failed in the state. "The governor during the meeting gave few suggestions. We said we are ...
Wasn't surprised by PM Modi's resounding electoral victory: Pompeo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he knew Narendra Modi would be re-elected as India's Prime Minister and was not surprised by his landslide victory in the general election. Addressing a gathering here on Wednesday, Pompeo said he and his team were following the elections closely and were sure that Prime Minister Modi was a "new kind of leader" for the world's most populous democracy. "Just a few weeks ago, a truly historic election 600 million Indians voted in the largest exercise of the franchise in history. And they gave Mr Modi a huge mandate," Pompeo said at the 'India Ideas Summit' also attended by Google's Indian-American CEO Sundar Pichai and top corporate executives from India and the US. "Many observers were surprised by the result, but, frankly, I wasn't. I've been watching closely. My team at the State Department is watching closely. And we knew that the prime minister was a new kind of leader for the world's most populous democracy," he said. In the first ...
Maharashtra oppn in disarray, but monsoon session to be stormy
Putting behind drubbing in the just held Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, opposition parties are gearing up to aggressively take on the BJP-led government and highlight its "failures" during the monsoon session of the state legislature starting here from Monday. This will be the last session of the state legislature before the assembly polls which are likely in October. The BJP -Shiv Sena government, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, will complete its five-year term in October. Despite the opposition being in a disarray post the Lok Sabha polls, the three-week session is expected to be a stormy affair with the Congress-NCP combine seeking to put the Fadnavis government on the mat on corruption charges against Housing Minister Prakash Mehta and other key issues. The Congress-NCP combine fared poorly in Maharashtra in the just held Lok Sabha polls. The Congress won just one Lok Sabha seat in the state, while its ally the NCP emerged victorious in four ...
PM Modi holds 'extremely fruitful meeting' with Chinese President Xi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said he had an "extremely fruitful meeting" with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO Summit here and discussed the full spectrum of bilateral relations as they vowed to work together to improve the economic and cultural ties. This is the first meeting between the two leaders after Modi's re-election following the stunning victory of the BJP in the general elections last month. The meeting also comes a month after the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the powerful UN Security Council designated Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist after China lifted its technical hold on the proposal to blacklist him. "Had an extremely fruitful meeting with President Xi Jinping. Our talks included the full spectrum of India-China relations. We shall continue working together to improve economic and cultural ties between our nations," Modi tweeted after the delegation-level talks with President
Post LS polls defeat, Misa Bharti withdraws approval for projects
Misa Bharti, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, withdrew approval for projects worth Rs 15 crore sanctioned from her MPLAD funds soon after her defeat in the Lok Sabha election from Pataliputra seat, drawing criticism from political allies and adversaries alike. Reports had surfaced in the media that RJD chief Lalu Prasad's daughter, who got elected to the Upper House in July 2016, did not use her funds for the first couple of years of her tenure. Under the MPLAD scheme, a member of either House of Parliament gets Rs five crore every year for carrying out development works in his or her constituency. The reports also stated that ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Bharti splurged from her funds for rural Patna which the Pataliputra constituency covers. However, approvals for the projects were abruptly "withdrawn" after she lost the Pataliputra seat to sitting BJP MP and former Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav. Confirming the development, a Planning Department official told PTI on the ...
Shah says BJP yet to reach its peak, eyes power in Kerala, Bengal
The BJP may have notched up its best ever tally in the recent Lok Sabha polls but it is yet to reach its peak, its president Amit Shah asserted on Thursday, asking key party leaders to expand the organisation in new regions and bring more people into its fold. Chairing a meeting of the party's national office bearers and its key organisational representatives from states, Shah said the party will reach its zenith when it will be running governments in states like Kerala and West Bengal, among others. He also gave final touches to the party's membership drive, which will be launched soon with an aim to increase its members by 20 per cent, BJP general secretary Bhupender Yadav told reporters. Yadav said the schedule of the drive, whose in-charge will be former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and BJP vice president Shivraj Singh Chouhan, will be announced in a few days and that the party's organisational polls will follow the exercise. Dushyant Gautam, Suresh Pujari, Arun Chaturvedi and ...
SCO summit: PM Modi meets Xi Jinping, Imran Khan reaches Bishkek
On his first visit for a multilateral forum meeting after reelection, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in which both the sides discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations."Deepening friendship with China. PM @narendramodi's first meeting on the sidelines of the SCO Summit is with President Xi Jinping. Both leaders are discussing ways to further strengthen bilateral relations," PMO tweeted on the delegation-level talks between the two sides."Your birthday falls on June 15. On behalf of the people of India, I give my best wishes to you. After election results, I received your message and you congratulated me again. I am obliged. Together, we can move forward and work with each other in various areas in the coming days," Modi said in his opening remarks.Later, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, "Building on the momentum of high-level exchanges, PM ...