Page 2174 - Politics
Harish Rawat accuses Uttrakhand govt of stopping all work in Gairsain
AICC General Secretary and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat Tuesday accused the BJP government in the state of stopping all development work in Gairsain. "Eight road construction projects for Gairsain were cleared by the previous government on which work has been stopped.A development corporation had also been created by us which has been closed by the present government," Rawat alleged at a press conference here. Rawat said an amount of Rs 57 crore was sanctioned by his government for establishing a secretariat at Gairsain but work on the project has also been halted. Construction of 500 residential houses in Gairsain started during his tenure which has also been stopped, he alleged. "Gairsain has fallen a victim to infighting within the BJP which is condemnable," he said. Accusing the state government of committing a sin by making an amendment to the Uttarakhand Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, Rawat said with the amendment to sections 143 and 154 of the act ..
Don't dictate to China: Prez Xi tells world at ceremony marking 40 years of economic reform
China will not heed to any dictation by others on what it should do or what it should not, President Xi Jinping asserted Tuesday as the Communist giant celebrated the 40th anniversary of its reform and opening-up policies that have transformed it from an impoverished country into a global economic powerhouse. But Xi's speech lasting over 80 minutes did not offer any indication of relaxation of the ruling Communist Party's firm grip on political power or concrete policies to tackle China's complex economic problems like slower growth and an ongoing trade war with the United States. President Donald Trump has demanded further reforms to the Chinese economy, including greater access for US companies and a clampdown on intellectual property theft. Xi's speech comes during a 90-day truce between Washington and Beijing while the two sides try to reach a compromise. At a grand ceremony held in Beijing's imposing Great Hall of the People, Xi praised the Chinese people's "hard work, wisdom and
Both Houses of UP adjourned on 1st day of winter session
The Uttar Pradesh Assembly was adjourned on the first day of the winter session on Tuesday after condoling the deaths of former chief minister N D Tiwari and BJP legislator Patel Ram Kumar Verma. The Legislative Council, too, was adjourned for the day after condoling the deaths of Tiwari and Union minister Ananth Kumar. As soon as the Assembly met in the morning, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath read the condolence messages. Leaders of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Congress and other parties also condoled the deaths. After observing a two-minute silence, the House was adjourned for the day by Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit. Tiwari died in New Delhi on October 18 at the age of 93 after prolonged illness. The veteran leader had served as a Union minister in several Congress governments and as the Andhra Pradesh governor. He had also served as the Uttarakhand chief minister. Verma, the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Nighasan constituency, died at a hospital in Lucknow on ...
UP govt accuses SP of doing little for farmers during its rule
The Uttar Pradesh government accused Tuesday the Samajwadi Party of doing little during its rule to help the sugarcane farmers. Speaking to reporters here at the UP BJP office, UP sugarcane development minister (independent charge) Suresh Rana said the opposition was accusing the Yogi Adityanath government of "agrarian distress" to vent out its frustration. "The opposition very well knows the various welfare steps taken by the Yogi Adityanath government for the farmers of the state. "Statistics tell the real story. In 2015-16 during the SP rule, sugarcane worth Rs 18,000 crore was purchased from the cane farmers in UP, whereas in the BJP government, the corresponding figures were Rs 35,500 crore (2017-18)," Rana said. The UP minister's statement assumes significance as the SP leaders had protested outside the UP Assembly this morning blaming the saffron party for the agrarian distress in the state. He added that as far as potato prices are considered, it was the BJP government which .
Congress running away from debate on Rafale: Law Minister
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said the Congress was running away from a debate on Rafale as its party chief Rahul Gandhi cannot look the BJP in the eye and tell the truth if such a debate was to be held in Parliament on the defence deal.
Ruling AL, oppn BNP unveil polls manifestos in Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Awami League and jailed ex-premier Khaleda Zia's BNP unveiled their manifestos ahead of the crucial December 30 polls on Tuesday, as the election commission ordered the deployment of the forces across Bangladesh to maintain law and order. Unveiling the ruling Awami League's election manifesto, Prime Minister Hasina asked voters to take a lenient view for any mistakes committed by her government during its two consecutive terms since 2009. The 21-point charter promised to put Bangladesh on a "highway to development". "We do not want a politics of division, violence, arson, obstruction or unrest. We want a democratic environment for a free and fair election. We want to ensure the participation of all to reach a national consensus," the 80-page manifesto read. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir released the manifesto in the of absence Zia, who is serving a jail term for embezzlement of
NDA govt creating real 'adarsh' society: Modi
Taking a jibe at the Congress and NCP over the Adarsh scam during their rule in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said his government is creating an ideal society through its public housing schemes. The erstwhile Congress-NCP government was rocked by the Adarsh housing society scam which related to alleged irregularities in construction of a high-rise in south Mumbai. Speaking at an event to lay the foundation stone for the Maharashtra government's Rs 18,000 crore mass housing scheme, Modi said the NDA government was working towards creating a broader, "adarsh" (ideal) society. "...this is not the Adarsh society which was the topic of discussion under the old government. We are creating the real adarsh society where a simple family's aspirations are getting realised," he said, in the speech that comes months ahead of the general elections. Modi said the NDA government was different from the previous UPA government in "sanskaar, sarokar and raftaar" ...
JD(U), BJP and RJD criticise Kamal Nath for comments on migrants; Congress hits back
Ruling NDA constituents JD(U) and BJP on Tuesday flayed the Congress over Madhya Pradesh's newly-appointed Chief Minister Kamal Nath's comments that locals in his state remain deprived of jobs due to migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh getting jobs there. Kamal Nath's statement also met with disapproval from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), an ally of the Congress in Bihar, which said such remarks should be avoided. However, the state unit of the Congress hit back, saying the Madhya Pradesh chief minister was talking about providing employment to the people of his own state and it should be a priority of those ruling Bihar as well. Soon after being sworn in on Monday, Nath had said in Bhopal, "Lot of industries are set up in which people from other states, like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, come to work. I do not want to criticise them, but the youth of Madhya Pradesh remain deprived." The Congress leader had said his government would provide incentives to industries that provide 70 per ..
Use of public transport would be 'major step' towards curbing pollution: Kejriwal
As the government has planned to introduce a fleet of 1,000 e-buses in the city, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday said greater usage of public transport facilities will be a "major step" towards curbing air pollution. Addressing a stakeholders' consultation on the proposed draft electric vehicles policy for Delhi, Kejriwal also reiterated his government has the "political will" to take "tough decisions" to cut down pollution. City Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said the AAP government plans to float tenders for the 1,000 electric buses shortly. On November 2, Gahlot launched an e-bus for trial, so that zero-emissions vehicles could be rolled out in the next five to six months. "The electrical vehicle policy being discussed today is a good step. And, greater usage of public transport would be a major step towards curbing air pollution. People started using Delhi Metro when it was introduced, and it is a very clean and efficient mode of transport," Kejriwal said. The ...
Cabinet expansion on Dec 22 as announced,Cong tells unhappy
Seeking to contain simmering discontent within the party over cabinet expansion, the Congress said Tuesday the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition ministry would be expanded on December 22 as announced. The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) met here at Suvarna Vidhan Soudha here, where the winter session of the state legislature is underway, amid discontent on a host of issues including the much awaited cabinet expansion. Party sources said during the meeting several legislators raised their concerns about development taking a backseat under the coalition government, and asked the party leadership to discuss it with the chief minister at the Congress-JDS coalition coordination committee meeting. Legislators alleged neglect of north Karnataka in developmental works and lack of proper representation in the cabinet, pointing out that the Legislative Council Chairmanship was denied to the region recently. Congress' S R Patil and JD(S)' Basawaraj Horatti from north Karnataka were ...
Punjab CM takes on Pannu for his 'liberation' remark
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) seeking Pakistan's help to 'liberate' Punjab from India exposes nefarious designs of the organisation and its nexus with Pakistani Army and Inter-Services Intelligence(ISI), Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said on Tuesday.In a hard-hitting reaction to the statement of SFJ's legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, Captain Singh said, "The cat is now well and truly out of the bag, and the truth of the deep-rooted connection between SJF and Pakistani Army is out in the open.""The statement has nailed SJF's lies that it is a peaceful movement to build momentum for a referendum on a separate state of Khalistan," said the Chief Minister, adding that it is more than evident now that the organisation, with the full support and backing of Pakistan Army and ISI, is striving to foment trouble in Indian Punjab."Through his statement, Pannu has made clear his intentions of going all out to force the secession of Punjab from India, with the backing of Pakistan Army and .
PDP, NC levelling baseless allegations against Guv adminstration: BJP
BJP Tuesday criticised People's Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) for levelling "base less allegations" against governor administration in Jammu and Kashmir. "Kashmir based so-called mainstream political parties, particularly PDP and NC, after miserably failing to convince people particularly of Kashmir on the poll boycott in civic bodies elections, have started criticising governor administration on baseless and misleading allegations", state Bharatiya Janata Party chief Ravinder Raina told reporters here. Raina said these parties are frustrated as the adminstration was successful in conducting the peaceful polls to civic bodies and panchayats in spite of their boycott appeals. He lauded the role of the Governor for working tirelessly and bringing in changes in law and legislations as also in administration to make it more people friendly and for resolving long pending problems and issues of the masses while at the same time assuring effective justice and ...
Turkish trade minister calls on Agri Min; discusses agri MoU
Turkish trade minister Ruhsar Pekcan Tuesday called on Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and discussed areas for extending cooperation under a pact signed between the countries. The two leaders talked about extending cooperation through greater interaction among government agricultural institutions, experts, scientists and agro businesses, an official statement said. Both the countries have agreed to prioritise the sectors for cooperation and also identify nodal officers so that progress can be made on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries, the statement added. An MoU was signed between India and Turkey based on which the first meeting of the Steering Committee was held in India in 2010. A Work Plan had also been prepared. In the meeting, Singh informed that India has achieved food security and become a net exporter of agriculture commodities under the Modi government. He further said that the government has resolved to double farmers' income by ..
SFJ seeking help to 'liberate' Punjab exposes its nexus with Pak Army
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said Tuesday a purported statement by a pro-Khalistan outfit, seeking support from Pakistan to "liberate" Punjab from India, has exposed its "nefarious designs" and nexus with the Pakistani Army and the ISI. The chief minister made the remarks after a section of media reported that US-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a separatist outfit, had allegedly sought support from the Pakistan government for 'Referendum 2020', a campaign to "separate Punjab from India". Attacking SFJ's legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the chief minister said, "The cat is now well and truly out of the bag, and the truth of the deep-rooted connection between the SJF and the Pakistani Army is out in the open." Amarinder Singh has also taken strong exception to SFJ's reported plans to hold a 'Kartarpur Sahib convention 2019', coinciding with the auspicious occasion of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism. The whole affair is a .
Ranking of states, UTs on startup development to be announced on Dec 20
The government will announce on Thursday the ranking of states and union territories (UTs) on the basis of measures being taken by them to promote startups, a government official said. "The work is completed for the ranking and we will release it on December 20," the official added. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), under the ministry of commerce and industry, was working on this exercise. The rankings are based on the initiatives taken to develop startup ecosystem for promoting budding entrepreneurs. The ranking framework covers seven areas of intervention and 38 action points including policy support, incubation centres, seed funding, angel and venture funding and easier regulations. So far 14,565 startups are recognised by the department. Out of this, maximum are from Maharashtra (2,787) followed by Karnataka (2,107), Delhi (1,949), Uttar Pradesh (1,201), Haryana (765) and Gujarat (764). These startups are from different sectors including IT services, ...
No vacancy for PM post next year: Ram Madhav
There is no vacancy for the post of prime minister next year, BJP leader Ram Madhav said on Tuesday and criticised DMK President M K Stalin for his "language" against Narendra Modi while proposing the candidature of Rahul Gandhi for the top post.
Bandh affects normal life in Mayurbhanj district
The 12-hour Mayurbhanj district bandh called by the BJP affected normal life as party activists blocked roads and picketed in front of government offices on Tuesday, police said. The BJP called the bandh to protest "apathy" of the Odisha government in health and education sectors in the district. The party claimed that the state government transferred 46 doctors from various government hospitals in Mayurbhanj district while 220 doctors posts are lying vacant. Vehicles remained off the road, shops and commercial establishments downed their shutter, educational institutes, banks and post offices were closed during the bandh, they said. The state government offices and courts were paralysed as BJP activists picketed in front of the collectorate in the district headquarters town of Baripada. The protesters disrupted vehicular movement on National Highways no 18 and 49.
Kamal Nath faces brickbats over MP youth quota, Rahul silent
Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday faced intense criticism from the BJP, SP and RJD for declaring that only those Madhya Pradesh industries can avail incentives that employ 70 per cent locals, claiming presence of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh migrants deprived local youth of employment opportunities.
Shah to meet Delhi booth in-charges on Sunday
Keeping an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP chief Amit Shah will hold a meeting with the party's over 12,000 booth in-charges of Delhi on December 23 as he aims for a repeat of its sweep in the last general elections. The meeting comes close on the heels of the BJP's dismal showing in the recently concluded assembly polls in five states. Delhi had elected BJP candidates to its seven parliamentary constituency seats in 2014, and Shah has often stressed on the need for the party to repeat its dominant show in 2019. Delhi BJP leaders said the event is being given top priority with the booth in-charges being issued bar-coded identity cards to ensure that they attend it without fail. There are a total of 13,816 polling booths across Delhi and so far over 12,000 booth in-charges have been appointed by the party. Party meetings of district and lower level booth incharges have been held. It is for the first time that a state-level interaction between the national president and the booth ..
India will never forgive Hafiz Saeed for his role in 26/11 Mumbai attacks: Syed Akbaruddin
India's permanent representative at the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin here on Tuesday said that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed is somebody whom India will never forgive for his "imminent role" in the deadly terror attacks that took place in Mumbai on November 26, 2011.Akbaruddin also added that only justice waits for the evil mastermind of 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind. "Hafiz Saeed is somebody India will never forgive or forget. What waits for him is justice. You can be certain, sometime or the other, justice will be met," Akbaruddin said in his statement."We will never forget his role as the evil mastermind of what happened in Mumbai," Akbaruddin added. India has provided a number of dossiers of evidence, maintaining that the bilateral relations cannot improve until Pakistan punishes all those involved in the crime.India has particularly been pushing for action against Saeed, who is roaming freely in Pakistan despite being declared an international terrorist. Prime ...