Page 2190 - Politics

AAP leader to attend Gehlot's swearing-in

In a sign of thaw in the relations between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Ashok Gehlot as Rajasthan chief minister. Singh confirmed that the Congress invited the party to attend Gehlot's oath-taking ceremony. "The invitation was for party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. I will attend the function on his behalf," Singh told PTI. The AAP, which runs the Delhi government and is the main Opposition party in Punjab, often attacks Congress leaders in these states. Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken is a regular critic of the Kejriwal government on various issues. The bitter rivals are understood to have been in touch to explore the possibility of an electoral alliance for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. AAP sources said backchannel talks were currently on between the two parties. However, there is no official word on the alliance between them. The buzz got traction after Kejriwal had, for the ..

Nepal, China agree to strengthen bilateral ties

Nepal and China have held talks on a range of issues and the two countries have agreed to boost their bilateral ties in areas of infrastructure development, trade, investment and energy. Nepal's Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi called on China's State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Beijing on Thursday and they reviewed the status of bilateral cooperation, said a statement issued by Nepal's embassy in Beijing. The two sides held substantive and fruitful discussions on the entire gamut of Nepal-China relations, a Nepalese media report said. "Both sides underlined the need to further enhance bilateral relations through close and productive engagements in areas of mutual interest, including connectivity, infrastructure development, trade, investment and energy." the embassy statement said. Following the foreign secretary's meeting with Wang, the 12th Nepal-China Bilateral Consultation Mechanism meeting was also held, it said. Bairagi and Kong Xuanyou, Vice ...

Congress appears to be projecting Supreme Court as a 'liar': PM

In his first publicoutburst against the Congress after the Rafale deal verdict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday alleged the party was trying to project Supreme Court as a "liar" and was letting down the defence forces. Addressing a rally at Rae Bareli, Modi termed the previous defence deals by the Congress government as "tainted" and dubbed Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrochi and alleged middle man Christian Michel as "uncles" (of Congress). He said the opposition partywas "aligning" with forces that do not want to see India'sdefence forces becoming strong. Citing a couplet from Ramcharit Manas, Modi said there were some who only accept "lies" and share these with other people. "For these very people, the defence ministry, the defence minister, officers of the Indian Air Force, government of France, are all lies...now the Supreme Court also appears to be a liar to them," Modi said in his 50-minute address, of which nearly 30 minutes were dedicated to the Rafale deal. Asked ...

Stalin proposes Rahul Gandhi's name for PM

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin on Sunday proposed Congress president Rahul Gandhi's name for the post of Prime Minister, saying the Congress chief has the ability to defeat the "fascist" Narendra Modi government.Addressing a public rally here, Stalin said: "From the soil of Tamil Nadu, I propose the name of Rahul Gandhi for the prime ministerial candidate. I propose we will install a new Prime Minister in Delhi. He has got the ability to defeat the fascist Modi government."Furthermore, Stalin claimed that in the last five years, India has lagged behind by 15 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. "If we give another chance to him, surely the country will go 50 years back. PM Modi is behaving like a king. That is why we have all come together to safeguard the democracy and the country," he added.Continuing his tirade against the Prime Minister, Stalin said Prime Minister Modi was a 'sadist' who was suppressing democracy and governance in various ...

Prayagraj's new airport complex proof of rapid economic development: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the new airport complex at Prayagraj's Bamrauli airport is a testament to 'rapid economic development' India has witnessed under the BJP-led Central government.Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the complex earlier on Sunday, which includes a new terminal and four aircraft parking bays. The complex, which has been constructed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at the cost of Rs 169 crore, will allow the Bamrauli Airport, located on the outskirts of Prayagraj, to handle more passenger flights ahead of next month's Kumbh Mela.Addressing a gathering, Prime Minister Modi said, "Maybe this is the first-ever Kumbh Mela where people will be able to arrive by land, water, and air. This is proof of the rapid economic development the country is undergoing currently. The country's middle class is growing. Their purchasing capacity is also increasing".While saying that India's aviation sector has become one of the fastest growing in the world, ..

Akbaruddin Owaisi named AIMIM floor leader in Telangana Assembly

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi on Sunday was elected as floor leader of the party in the Telangana Legislative Assembly.The decision was taken at the AIMIM's executive committee meeting, which was held earlier today under the leadership of party president Asaduddin Owaisi at the party headquarters in Darussalam.Akbaruddin, a five-time MLA, won from the Chandrayangutta Assembly seat in the recently-concluded assembly polls in Telangana.The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) emerged victorious in the December 7 elections, bagging 88 seats in the 119-member Assembly. Second in the race was Congress which achieved 19 seats, followed by the AIMIM, which won seven seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to win only one seat.TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao took oath as the chief minister of Telangana on Thursday and appointed his son and Siricilla MLA KT Rama Rao as the working president of the party on Friday.

Army chief begins four-day visit to Tanzania, Kenya on Monday

Army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat will begin a four-day visit to Tanzania and Kenya beginning Monday with an aim to explore new areas of military cooperation with the two key African nations, officials said. The Army chief will be accompanied by a high-level delegation which will interact with senior military and political hierarchy of both countries primarily to "enhance" and "energise" the bilateral defence cooperation, they said. "The visit to the African countries aims to give impetus to the military-to-military relationship with Tanzania and Kenya which has been nurtured over the years," the Army said in a statement. In Tanzania, Gen. Rawat will visit key military establishments including the country's National Defence College. He is scheduled to meet Defence Minister Hussein Ali Mwinyi and Chief of Tanzanian Defence Forces Gen. Venance S Mabeyo among others.

PM's termination done in 'good faith', reinstated him to uphold democracy: Lanka President Sirisena

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, who on Sunday reappointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister after sacking him from the job nearly two months ago, said his move to terminate the premier was done in "good faith" and the reinstatement was done to uphold parliamentary traditions and democracy. On October 26, Sirisena ousted the United National Party (UNP) leader and installed former rival and ex-strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, 73, in his place, a move which plunged the island nation into a constitutional crisis. However, Rajapaksa resigned on Saturday after two crucial Supreme Court decisions made his efforts to cling to premiership untenable, paving the way for the return of 69-year-old Wickremesinghe who had refused to step down asserting that his sacking was illegal. "I did everything after consulting very senior lawyers and former chief justices. I acted in good faith and I will be remembered in the history for this," Sirisena, 67, said addressing Wickremesinghe and his ..

Rahul's desperate bid for immoral equivalence between Rafale and Bofors: Jaitley

Amid the row over the Supreme Court verdict in the Rafale case, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday attacked the Congress, saying "every word said against the government has proved to be false" and asserted that the audit review of Rafale was pending before the CAG.

Stalin proposes Rahul as next Prime Minister

DMK President M.K. Stalin on Saturday proposed Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the next Prime Minister.

Nearly 70 pc voters cast votes in five MCs, two municipal committees in Hry

Braving cold, nearly 70 per cent voters exercised their franchise in elections to five municipal corporations and two municipal committees in Haryana on Sunday, officials said. Polls were held amid tight security arrangements and passed off peacefully, they said. The five municipal corporations where polling was held were Hisar, Karnal, Panipat, Rohtak and Yamunanagar and the two municipal committees were Jakhal Mandi in Fatehabad and Pundri in Kaithal. The polling began at 7:30 am and ended at 4.30 pm. State Election Commission officials said that while exact poll percentage figures were being tabulated, as per information available at around 7 pm, nearly 70 per cent voters cast their vote. Heavy polling was recorded in the two municipal committees of Jakhal Mandi (89.5 per cent) and Pundri (over 82 per cent). Likewise, poll percentage varied between 60 and 65 per cent in the five MCs, with maximum being reported from Yamunanagar. "Polling remained 100 per cent peaceful. No untoward .

AIMPLB says it will move court if ordinance is brought for Ram temple construction

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) Sunday said it will move court if the Centre brings an ordinance for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya or the "triple talaq" bill is passed in the Rajya Sabha. At the meeting of the working committee of the AIMPLB, the board also urged the Centre to ensure that no inflammatory statements are made regarding the Ayodhya issue and urged the Supreme Court to take cognizance of such remarks, secretary of the board Zafaryab Jilani said. After the meeting, senior member of the board Qasim Rasul Iliyaas said, "The Centre has brought an ordinance on triple talaq. Its duration is of six months. If it is made into a law, then we will challenge this in the Supreme Court." "This ordinance was prepared without any consultation with the Muslim society... we will urge the secular parties not to allow its passage in Parliament." The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, proposing to make instant triple talaq illegal has been ...

Mamata not to attend Kamal Nath's swearing-in

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Congress leader Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh chief minister, official sources said Sunday. There was, however, no reason cited for Banerjee not going to Bhopal for the swearing-in ceremony on Monday, an official of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi will be representing the party at the event, which the Congress intends to showcase as a picture of Opposition unity. "I have been directed by the party chief (Banerjee) to be present at Monday's swearing-in programme," Trivedi told PTI. Asked whether he was carrying any message for the function, Trivedi said, "There is no message as such. My going there is a message itself." The Congress has invited leaders from across the political spectrum. Apart from party chief Rahul Gandhi and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Bahujan Samaj

PM Modi in Prayagraj: Cong tried to tame, weaken judiciary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a scathing attack at the Congress for allegedly considering itself above every institution and the people of the country.Hitting out at the Rahul Gandhi-led party, Prime Minister Modi, while addressing a gathering at Andwa on Sunday, alleged that the Congress destroyed every agency that did not work according to them."The party that has ruled the nation for the longest duration of time has always considered itself above the law, judiciary, every agency and even above the nation. This party destroyed every agency that didn't work according to them," he said.Taking a jibe at the recent reaction of the Congress on the Supreme Court's verdict on the Rafale deal, he said that one should "Stay alert and safe from such people and parties.""Their actions and conspiracies are proving it again and again that they (Congress) consider themselves above the country, democracy, judiciary, and public. Two days ago, we saw another example of it (Rafale ..

Rahul Gandhi brought immoral equivalence between Rafale, Bofors: Jaitley

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday alleged that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was trying to bring an "immoral equivalence" between the Rafale fighter jet deal and Bofors scam."Rahul Gandhi has the burden of a stigmatised legacy which was tainted by Bofors. He was desperate trying to bring an 'immoral equivalence' between Rafale and Bofors. But Rafale did not have middlemen, no kickbacks and obviously no Ottavio Quattrocchi," Jaitley wrote on Facebook.Continuing his tirade against the Congress president, he asserted, "As a political opponent Rahul Gandhi's opposition to the deal was a desperate attempt. It was the UPA government which had shortlisted the Rafale as it was technically the best and the cheapest. PM Modi in an Inter-Governmental agreement struck a deal with the French Government to further improve the terms and conditions including the prices on which the UPA had agreed."Jaitley further claimed that the judgement of the Supreme Court has been delivered after ..

BJP to move court against denial of permission for 'Rath Yatra' in West Bengal

BJP will approach the high court against the denial of permission by West Bengal government to hold 'Rath Yatra' in the state, said Dilip Ghosh, party's state unit president, on Sunday."The court's door is open for us. We will again appeal in the single bench of West Bengal High Court against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee," he said."We tried to convince West Bengal government and held talks with TMC on the orders of the court. But they refused to accept our request for Rath Yatra," added Ghosh.Ghosh was also critical of the three-page response from the state government issued on Saturday, which stated that the permission for the 'Rath Yatra' was denied considering that the move could cause a chaotic situation across the state by disrupting the movement of traffic."Since West Bengal government has accepted the fact that Rath Yatra cannot happen here as there will be law and order problem in the state, then what is the duty of the police administration? This proves that there is a ...

Rafale deal: Manoj Jha to move privilege motion is RS against Attorney General

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Member of Parliament (MP) Manoj Jha on Sunday announced that he is moving a privilege motion in the Rajya Sabha against Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi for allowing the Centre to present factually wrong affidavit before the Supreme Court in the Rafale deal case.While urging the government to constitute a Joint parliamentary committee (JPC), Jha told ANI: "It is a misrepresentation of facts and a JPC should be constituted at any cost."Jha further said there is no question about the quality of Rafale fighter jets, but raised qualms on the government's choice of "certain people for the deal.""The government is obviously trying to hide something serious. It even shows criminal intent as you cannot blame the typist for typo errors", he added.The apex court on December 14 dismissed all the petitions seeking probe into the Rafale deal stating that it was "satisfied" with the central government's decision-making process, thus delivering a favourable judgement for the

Will not allow destruction of country's institutions: Rahul

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Sunday lashed out at the BJP government at the Centre saying he will not allow "destruction" of institutions of the country like the Supreme Court and the Reserve Bank of India. The BJP government believes "only one idea should run India", Gandhi alleged at a public rally organised by his party's southern ally, the DMK. The meeting was attended by opposition leaders including TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Gandhi was addressing the rally after participating in an earlier event for unveiling late DMK president M Karunanidhi's statue at the party's headquarters Anna Arivalayam here. Training his guns on the Narendra Modi government, Gandhi accused it of targeting institutions of the country, besides the culture of India. "We are not going to allow the destruction of the idea of India. We are not going to allow the destruction of institutions, the supreme Court, Reserve Bank of India, Election Commission of India," he ...

Bangladesh marks 1971 war victory; honours Indian soldiers

Bangladesh on Sunday honoured 12 Indian war veterans as it celebrated the country's 'Victory Day', marking its emergence as an independent nation following the 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged the nation to work together for the prosperity of the country as people celebrated the 47th anniversary of the day the nation won its freedom after nine months of bloodshed and struggle, bdnews24.com reported. The Bangladeshi government posthumously honoured 12 Indian Armed Forces personnel for sacrificing their lives during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. In his message to the country, President Hamid said: There is no alternative to working together, irrespective of political party or philosophy, if we want to offer our people the advantages of the freedom earned by the sacrifice of millions of martyrs. I urge the people of the country to contribute more from what they have to propel the country towards prosperity and realising the ...

Army chief to visit Tanzania, Kenya

Army chief General Bipin Rawat is scheduled to visit Tanzania and Kenya from December 17-20 where he will interact with military and political leaders of both the countries, officials said on Sunday.