Page 203 - Politics
Cancelled 2 govt deals that involved Rs 300 crore kickbacks: J-K Governor
In a startling claim, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Wednesday said Rs 300 crore would have changed hands as kickbacks, had he not cancelled two deals between the state government and private companies after taking charge last year. He claimed that the prevalence of corruption was more in Kashmir than in the rest of the country as "the ruling elite was itself involved" in it. "As far as corruption is concerned, after I came here, I cancelled two deals in which Rs 150 crore each was agreed upon (as kickbacks). I spoke to secretaries and they admitted that such a thing had happened. Very powerful people were involved," Malik told a press conference here, without providing details of the deals. He claimed that some of the people involved in these cancelled deals were so powerful that they had "direct approach up to the prime minister". On one of the deals, Malik said, "I asked the PM if I had the permission to cancel this deal or I will sign on the paper and will not continue
TN Chief Minister calls on Governor
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Wednesday called on Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan here. A brief official release termed the meeting as a "courtesy call" on Purohit by the chief minister. The meeting is the first after the recent Lok Sabha polls where the ruling AIADMK could win only one out of the 38 seats. Palaniswami was accompanied by Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar and Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan. The meeting also comes at a time when there are renewed calls from various quarters for a speedy decision by the Governor on the September 9, 2018 recommendation of the state cabinet for release of all seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The Cabinet has recommended the release of the convicts under Article 161 of the Constitution, which relates to the power of the Governor to grant pardons and to suspend, remit and commute sentences in certain cases. The seven-V Sriharan alias Murugan, T Suthanthiraraja alias Santhan, A G ...
Donald Trump Jr meets with US senators for fresh grilling
Donald Trump Jr returned to Congress Wednesday to face questions likely to focus on his contacts with Russians, as the president's eldest son insisted he has "nothing to correct" from his 2017 testimony. The 41-year-old will testify behind closed door for up to four hours before members of the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of the Republican-led panel's two-year investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Trump Jr, who helms the Trump Organization collection of businesses that was run for decades by his real estate billionaire father, faced a barrage of questions as he strode into the hearing room, including whether he was going to alter his testimony from two years ago. "No," he said quickly, before adding: "Nothing to correct." Trump Jr will undoubtedly face scrutiny for his role in arranging a Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 that included a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. "If it's what you say I love it," .
IMA Jewels case: Congress MLA Roshan Baig alleges conspiracy
After an SIT team was formed to investigate the IMA Jewels case, Congress MLA R Roshan Baig on Wednesday urged Karnataka Chief Minister to refer the investigation to the CBI for speedy progress.Baig was allegedly accused by IMA Jewels founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan of taking Rs 400 crore from him and not returning the money.The Karnataka legislator however refuted the allegation and termed it a "total conspiracy.""This is a total conspiracy against me. My heart is clean," he said."I welcome state govt's decision to constitute an SIT, apart from it I've suggested the CM refer the case to CBI for speedy progress, Baig added.The case came to light when investors protested outside the IMA Jewels showroom in Shivaji Nagar on Tuesday after they received an audio clip purportedly recorded by the IMA managing director.The man in the purported clip that surfaced on social media threatened to commit suicide claiming that he is "tired of bribing corrupt politicians and bureaucrats"."If someone is
Assault on doctors in Kolkata: IMA asks state units to stage protests on Friday
In the wake of a reported assault on doctors at a hospital in Kolkata, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has directed the members of all its state branches to stage protests and wear black badges on Friday. In a communique to all its state presidents and secretaries, the IMA has asked them to organise demonstrations in front of the district collectors' offices from 10 am to 12 noon on Friday and hand over a memorandum addressed to the prime minister to the collectors in every district. The Delhi Medical Association (DMA) has also urged its members to observe a "Black Day" against the brutal attack on Thursday. "The state branches are expected to release a press statement on Friday expressing solidarity with the resident doctors and condemning the violence. The statement also should emphatically demand a central Act on violence against doctors and hospitals," the communique said. Simultaneously, all the local branches and individual members of the IMA will send an appeal to the ...
FIF terror funding case: NIA makes 5th arrest from Delhi airport
The NIA on Wednesday arrested a resident of Gujarat's Valsad from the Delhi airport in connection with its investigation into the Pakistan-based Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) terror funding case.
K'taka Ponzi scheme fraud: 7 directors held, SIT formed
Seven directors of a firm at the centre of an alleged financial fraud that left thousands of investors in the lurch here were apprehended Wednesday even as a 11-member special investigation team was formed by the Karnataka government to probe the case. The seven were picked up from different locations, highly-placed sources in the police told PTI. Earlier in the day, the state government announced the setting up of the 11-member SIT, days after owner of IMA Jewellers Mohammed Mansoor Khan went absconding after allegedly threatening to commit suicide in an audio clip. Police, who have registered a case against IMA Jewellers and Khan, said they have formed teams to trace him. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy tweeted on Wednesday, saying the SIT would be headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police B R Ravikanthe Gowda. The other members of the team are Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) S Girish, Additional Commissioner of Police of the Central Crime Branch Balaraju and ...
South African president under investigation over graft allegations
The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is under investigation by the country's anti-corruption watchdog over a 500,000 rand (USD 35,000) donation to his campaign fund from a company facing extensive graft allegations, the presidency said Wednesday. Ramaphosa, who was re-elected last month, has staked his reputation on fighting corruption in a nation smarting from the graft scandal-tainted tenure of his predecessor Jacob Zuma. But his party has continued to face wideranging corruption claims against senior figures and even the president himself. The inquiry against him centres on opposition complaints over a payment from Bosasa, a company that corruptly won huge government tenders under Zuma's tenure. According to the South African presidency, the country's ombudswoman Busisiwe Mkhwebane has issued Ramaphosa with a notice to respond to allegations that he violated the executive ethics code. "It is served on an individual when they are implicated in an adverse or detrimental manner
Pakistan to open its airspace for PM Modi's VVIP flight to Bishkek: Minister
Pakistan Wednesday said it will "specially" open its airspace for the flight of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bishkek to attend the SCO summit, even as India decided not to use the Pakistani airspace for the VVIP aircraft. In New Delhi, the External Affairs Ministry said Prime Minister Modi's VVIP aircraft will fly over Oman, Iran and Central Asian countries to reach the Kyrgyz capital for the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit from Thursday. Pakistan's Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said an application to seek opening of the airspace was received by the Aviation Division from the Indian High Commission on Monday. The minister said in a statement that Prime Minister Imran Khan after holding consultations with all stakeholders directed to open the airspace for Prime Minister Modi's flight, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. The aviation minister said the Pakistani airspace will be "specially" opened for Modi's overflight to Bishkek as a "goodwill gesture". The ...
Oppn alliance will take on BJP-Sena with full might: NCP
The alliance of opposition parties will contest the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls with full strength, aiming to dislodge the BJP-led government from power, NCP leader Nawab Malik said Wednesday. Malik, chief spokesperson of the NCP, a key opposition party, said the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls have separate equations and added the anti-NDA parties will highlight the "failures" of the BJP-led government in the state ahead of the elections, due in September-October. "We will contest the elections with all our might through the alliance, highlighting the failures of the BJP- Shiv Sena government to dislodge it from power," Malik said. The grand alliance led by the Congress-NCP combine faced drubbing in the general elections in Maharashtra. The NCP won four seats in the state, while the Congress had to settle with just one constituency. On the other hand, the BJP won 23 Lok Sabha seats, while the Shiv Sena emerged victorious in 18 constituencies in the state, which ...
BJP open to offering deputy speaker's post to friendly party
The BJP is open to offering the post of deputy speaker in the Lok Sabha to a friendly party but it has not taken a final decision on the matter, sources said Wednesday. The saffron party is likely to finalise its decision next week when the first Parliament session begins from June 17 after the Modi government assumed charge for the second time. There have been reports that the BJP may offer the deputy speaker's position to the YSR Congress or the BJD, two parties which are not members of the ruling National Democratic Alliance but are seen to be favourably disposed to it. The YSR Congress, which has stormed to power in Andhra Pradesh under Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, and the BJD, whose president Naveen Patnaik has led the party to victory in the recent Odisha assembly polls for a fifth straight term, have studiously refrained from joining the opposition camp. The Shiv Sena, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has also staked its claim on the post. The BJP has refrained from making any ..
Amid rumblings for single leader, AIADMK to stick to dual mode
Amid rumblings for a single leader to head the party, the ruling AIADMK on Wednesday said status quo will prevail and Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam will jointly continue to steer the outfit. Senior AIADMK leader R Vaithilingam and State Ministers D Jayakumar and K T Rajendra Balaji said it has been decided that the present arrangement which gave full powers in the party to Palaniswami and Panneerselvam will continue. A party resolution, meanwhile, greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his poll win and for taking over as the premier for the second consecutive term. The AIADMK also expressed its happiness for the opportunity to the party to second the candidature of Modi for the Prime Minister's post at the NDA meet. After deliberating on the question of leadership for about two hours at a specially convened meet here, the party vowed to win the civic polls that are expected shortly and start working for it immediately. "The dual mode of ...
Boy dies of Ebola in Uganda as virus spreads from DRCongo
A five-year-old boy who tested positive for Ebola in Uganda has died, a health ministry official said Wednesday as two of his family members also tested positive for the virus after a visit to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organisation confirmed on Twitter that Uganda has now recorded three cases of Ebola, in the first spread across the country's porous western border with the DRC where more than 2,000 cases of the highly contagious virus have been registered. Uganda's health ministry said on Tuesday that a woman of Congolese origin, who is married to a Ugandan, had gone with her child and four other family members to take care of her father in the DRC, who later died of Ebola. "The boy who tested positive for Ebola in Kasese yesterday passed on last night in the isolation unit," a health ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The minister for health (Ruth Aceng) will be briefing the country about the death of the boy and arrangements to ..
Results of local bodies bypoll reflect state govt's work: Sachin Pilot
After the Congress bagged eight of the 16 seats in 10 districts of Rajasthan in the local bodies bypoll, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot said the state government was working for the welfare of all sections, which reflected in the election results. "The faith people have shown in the Congress shows that the party is working on development policy and people are benefitting from welfare schemes," Pilot, who is also the state party chief, said in a statement. He added that the independent candidate who won from Rawatsar was of the Congress ideology while the one who emerged victorious in Gajsinghpur was supported by the party. The Congress bagged eight seats while the BJP emerged victorious on five in the bypoll, results of which were declared Wednesday. Three wards were won by independent candidates. Polling to 16 wards of Alwar, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Bundi, Churu, Dholpur, Hanumangarh, Jaipur, Karauli and Srigangnagar was held on June 10. The Congress won in Khairthal, Behror, ...
Yechury lauds DMK-led secular alliance's LS performance
The CPI(M) Wednesday lauded the DMK for forming a successful alliance for the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu but lamented such an understanding did not develop among the secular democratic forces in many other states. The party would spearhead the fight against the challenges posed by the BJP rule in the coming days, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said. "I would like to congratulate the DMK and M K Stalin (DMK president), not only for the victory, but also for the efforts made to bring together all secular democratic forces into a common understanding and contest the elections," he said. Such an understanding, unfortunately, did not develop in many other states, Yechury added. While the BJP alone won a whopping 303 seats across the country in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the party was decimated in Tamil Nadu. The DMK-led alliance, which included the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), won 37 of the 38 seats that went to the polls. Sharing his assessment on the poll outcome, ..
Amnesty International denied permission to hold press briefing in Srinagar
Authorities here Wednesday refused permission to Amnesty International to hold a briefing on alleged misuse of the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA), which provides for detention of a person up to one year without trial. An Amnesty spokesperson said the authorities had not given permission to the human rights organisation for holding a press briefing on the subject. "We have been told that we have been denied official permission to hold the event, citing 'prevailing law and order situation'," the spokesperson said. Later, the organisation issued a press release on the matter. "The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) circumvents the criminal justice system in Jammu and Kashmir to undermine accountability, transparency and respect for human rights," the Amnesty International India alleged in the statement. The human rights NGO claimed it analysed case studies of 210 detainees, who were booked under the PSA between 2012 and 2018. The Amnesty International India called on the ...
WB Violence: Governor convenes meet of political parties
West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi has called for a meeting of four major political parties in context with the reported post-poll violence in the state.The meeting is scheduled to be held on Thursday at the Raj Bhavan.Partho Chatterjee (TMC), Dilip Ghosh(BJP), SK Mishra (CPIM) and SN Mitra (Congress) will also be present.This comes after the Kolkata Police earlier on Wednesday baton charged BJP workers at Bepin Behari Ganguly Street here, while they were protesting political killings in the state.The ruckus broke out when BJP workers were marching towards Lal Bazar, raising slogans against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government. In order to control the situation, police also used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the crowd.The BJP has made deep inroads into the Trinamool Congress territory by winning 18 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, restricting the TMC to only 22 seats against 34 the party had won in 2014 national polls. The Left Front stands totally ...
Over 100 people booked for posting vile comments against CM
The Kerala government has slapped cases on 119 people forposting objectionable comments on social media against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, since he took charge three years ago. A reply document that has been uploaded on the Legislative Assembly website shows that cases have been registered against 12 state government/semi-governmental employees and one central government employee. Though the question was raised by Indian Union Muslim League leader M K Muneer during the 2019 January Assembly session, the reply from the chief minister, who also holds the Home portfolio, was uploaded on the website recently. It also shows that other than government employees, 106 people also have cases registered against them for the objectionable comments. "Cases have been registered against three persons for abusing the Opposition Leader through social media," the document said. It shows that the police got a total of 11 complaints against those who posted objectionable contents and
President rule in JK to be extended for 6 more months
President's rule in Jammu and Kashmir will be extended for six more months beginning June 20 and the Union Cabinet Wednesday gave its nod in this effect, Union minister Prakash Javedkar said. A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its approval for the extension of the central rule which has been continuing in Jammu and Kashmir since June 20, 2018. "Yes, it has been decided," Javadekar told reporters when asked whether the Cabinet gave its nod to extend President's rule in Jammu and Kashmir. After the Union Cabinet's nod, President Ram Nath Kovind will sign the proclamation for imposition of President's rule in the state and it will come into effect on June 20, a home ministry official said.
Pak's rich people could pay more tax
Pakistan on Wednesday said the government was ready to tax rich people more, insisting that in other countries the upper class pay higher taxes. Addressing a press conference a day after the government announced the budget, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Hafeez Shaikh said that the average tax rate of Pakistan is 11-12 per cent, which is "one of the lowest in the world." "If we have to offend some people for this (increasing tax rate), then we are ready to do it," he said. The tax target for this year has been set at Rs 5,550 billion, which many experts believe will be difficult to meet. He defended the tax target for 2019-20, saying "Pakistan's people, especially the rich, will have to be sincere with the country and will have to pay taxes." He addressed the post-budget conference to clarify queries of media regarding the Rs 7022 billion budget announced on Tuesday. He said more social safety nets and public sector development had been increased. We also need to pay loans. .