Page 2217 - Politics

BJP most grounded party, no question losing over arrogance: Fadnavis

Describing the BJP as a grounded " political party, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Thursday it did not lose the recent assembly elections in three Hindi heartland states due to its arrogance. Addressing a gathering at the Lokmat National Conclave, he said, "If we look at the character of Rajasthan, every five years the government changes." "The BJP got 38.8 per cent votes and the Congress got 39.2 per cent votes, so the Congress can't say people dismissed the BJP because they got just 0.5 per cent more votes," he said. On Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's remark that the BJP had become arrogant after winning in the 2014 general elections and lost the recent polls due to it, Fadnavis said the BJP is a "grounded" political party. "The BJP is a grounded party and we are not arrogant because we have come from ground so there is no question of arrogance because we are not big people," he said. On MNS leader Raj Thackeray's attack on the BJP over the recent poll loss, ...

No alliance with Congress without AIMIM on board: Ambedkar

Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar said here Thursday that he wants an alliance with the Congress for the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, but it will also have to include the AIMIM. Addressing a public rally, the Dalit leader also questioned appointment of Shaktikanta Das as the Reserve Bank governor. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh have already announced an electoral tie-up. Referring to the Congress' reservations about allying with the AIMIM, Ambedkar said the Congress-led UPA government, in the past, had asked for AIMIM support for the nuclear deal with the United States, but now it does not want the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party. "I was ready to talk to the Congress' central leadership but five months have passed and there is no message as to whom should we talk on the issue of alliance," he said. "There would be no alliance with the Congress without the AIMIM," said Ambedkar. Attacking the Rashtriya ...

Chidambaram terms Cong's victories in MP, Rajasthan 'tremendous achievements'

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram said the victories in the closely contested Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Assembly polls were "tremendous achievements" of the Congress, since it was done in spite of the BJP being in power in the two states and "out-spending" his party by a hundred to one. Addressing the Lokmat National Conclave, he said after the non-BJP combination wins a majority in Parliament in the Lok Sabha elections, a decision on who would be the prime minister will be taken. Asked about the issue surrounding Navjot Singh Sidhu and his visit to Pakistan against the backdrop of differences between him and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Chidambaram said the Congress has a place for both of them -- one who is "experienced and wise" and other who is "brash and enthusiastic". "We have welcomed the Kartarpur corridor opening and complimented both the governments. We want it to be built very quickly. These are small differences between a chief minister and one of his ...

Centre trying to interfere in working of statistics dept: Yashwant Sinha

Amid a raging row over the revised economic growth numbers, former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha on Thursday accused the NDA dispensation of trying to interfere with the system of collecting statistics, saying no previous government had ever done it. Interacting with reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia here, Sinha alleged that at times, statistics which "did not show the current government in a better light compared to previous ones, were withdrawn". "It is for the first time that we are witnessing a situation... though the government of the day is very fond of making history. But, for the first time in our system, a person like me, does not trust the statistics which the government puts up. It has never happened before," he said. The former BJP leader, who has been a vocal critic of the current Bharatiya Janata Party leadership and the government, said, worst things might had happened in the past. "But no government has ever tried to interfere with the

Mahmood Ali is Telangana's Home Minister

Telangana Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President K. Chandrashekhar Rao has rewarded Mohammad Mahmood Ali once again for his loyalty by inducting him into his cabinet and allotting him the Home portfolio.

TRS to raise host of issues in Parliament

TRS would raise a host of issues, including its demand for increasing reservations for STs and Muslims, in the ongoing winter session of Parliament. Pending issues, including releasing funds for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMs) in Telangana, division of high court between the state and Andhra Pradesh, would be pursued by the TRS MPs with the Centre, party MP A P Jitender Reddy told reporters. He was speaking after a meeting of TRS MPs with party president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao here. The BJP government at the Centre had not responded to the demand for increasing quotas to Muslims and STs, he claimed. The previous assembly had passed a resolution last year seeking hike in reservations.

Election depot torched, teen killed as DRC campaign heats up

Nearly 80 per cent of the equipment for staging the December 23 election in DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa, was destroyed when a fire ripped through a warehouse, as violence flared just 10 days before the vote. The blaze, which officials blamed on arson, was the latest drama of an increasingly tense election campaign ahead of the December 23 election when the country will choose a successor to President Joseph Kabila. Also Thursday, a teenager was shot dead in the central Kasai region as party faithful gathered ahead of a rally by Felix Tshisekedi of the UDPS, one of the leading opposition candidates. At stake in the election is the political stewardship of a mineral-rich country that has never known a peaceful transition of power since independence from Belgium in 1960. The shooting comes after a bloody week in which five other opposition supporters were shot dead as they gathered to welcome rival opposition candidate Martin Fayulu as he campaigned in the southeast. "A young man of 17 .

Woman journalist arrested for clicking pictures of protest against Nepal President

A woman photo journalist was arrested Thursday for clicking pictures of a protest in front of the President's residence here. The journalist, Barsha Shah, who was in police custody for three hours was later released in the afternoon. Shah was arrested while she was taking picture of the agitators who had gone to the Rashtrapati Bhawan to hand over a car model to President Bidya Devi Bhandari in a symbolic protest against the government's decision to purchase a Rs 180-million worth bullet-proof vehicle for her. The government's decision has drawn sharp criticism from the public. The Photojournalist Club Nepal, an umbrella organisation of photojournalists, condemned the arrest of Shah, a photojournalist associated with online news portal Deshsanchar.com, terming it as an attack on press freedom and democracy.

Wickremesinghe hopes Sirisena would honour SC's verdict

Sri Lanka's ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Thursday expressed hope that President Maithripala Sirisena would honour the verdict of the Supreme Court, which ruled that the dissolution of Parliament was "illegal". "We trust that the president will promptly respect the judgment," he told his supporters after a 7-member apex court bench unanimously ruled that the President cannot dissolve Parliament till it completes its 4 1/2 year term. "The legislature, judiciary, and the executive are equally important pillars of a democracy and the checks and balances that they provide are crucial to ensuring the sovereignty of its citizens," he tweeted. Wickremesinghe was sacked as prime minister on October 26 by President Sirisena, who installed Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place. Later, Sirisena also dissolved the 225-member Parliament and called for a snap election on January 5. Sirisena sacked the Parliament when it appeared that Rajapaksa would not be able to muster the support of 113 ...

Rahul huddles with Sonia, senior party leaders over Raj, MP CMs; Decision on Chhattisgarh on Friday

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Thursday held marathon consultations with senior party leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, to select chief ministers for newly-won Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, apparently stymied by a tussle between the old and the young guard in the party. Gandhi's official residence in Lutyens Delhi became a revolving door as the four main chief ministerial claimants and AICC observers for the three Hindi heartland states, which includes Chhattisgarh, made repeated visits to hold several rounds of discussions to help the party president untie the gordian knot. As party members and the media waited for a word to emerge, Gandhi put out a curious tweet: "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time," Gandhi said in the tweet, quoting Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, along with a picture of him flanked by Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath, the two top contenders for Madhya Pradesh. Decision on Chhattisgarh will be announced on Friday after Gandhi meets T S Singh Deo ...

B.P. Singh appointed FTII Chairman

Almost one-and-half months after Anupam Kher stepped down as the chief of the Film Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, the government on Thursday appointed B.P. Singh as the new Chairman.

BJP is thinking party which analyses its position even when it wins: Javedakar

Against the backdrop of the Bharatiya Janata Party's defeat in three states, senior leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said Thursday the BJP is a "thinking party" which analyses its position even when it wins, and introspection is a continuous process which it is doing. Addressing the Lokmat National Conclave here, he said the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will, in long run, "regret" ending ties with the BJP and the Congress would have fared better in Telangana had it not joined hands with Chandrababu Naidu. "The BJP's biggest quality is that we are a thinking party even when we win. Winning and losing is a reality and introspection is a continuous process which we are doing," Javadekar said. "What people think when they vote cannot be known. In Madhya Pradesh we got 30,000 more votes and in Rajasthan we got 1.5 lakh less votes but reality remains that we lost," he said. It is also a reality that the BJP is still the ruling party in 16 states, compared to 2014 when the party had ..

Rahul Gandhi defers to Friday decisions on Raj, C'garh CMs

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has deferred the decisions on chief ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh for Friday as he wants to hold further discussions with party leaders, Congress sources said. Gandhi held discussions with party leaders in Chhattisgarh Thursday to decide on the new chief minister for the state, the party sources said, but postponed the decision to Friday for holding wider discussions with the contenders. The Congress chief had earlier held a series of meetings with CM aspirants in Rajasthan -- Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot -- but no consensus emerged between the two and Pilot asserted his right for the top post. Pilot's supporters also shouted slogans in his favour outside Gandhi's residence here. While Gehlot is learnt to be leading the race for chief minister's post, Pilot is also putting up stiff resistance and is staking his claim. Gandhi held a late evening meeting with party's central observer Mallikarjun Kharge, who said that further deliberations will .

KCR returns as Telangana chief minister for second consecutive

K Chandrasekhar Rao, who steered his party TRS to a thumping victory in Telangana, took over the reins of the country's newest state for a second straight term Thursday. KCR, as Rao is popularly called, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor E S L Narasimhan at a low-key ceremony on the lawns of Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad. TRS MLC Mohammed Mehmood Ali, who served as deputy chief minister in the previous government, also took oath as a minister. Rao later allocated the Home portfolio to Ali, who had handled the Revenue portfolio in the previous government. KCR had Wednesday said he would go for expansion of the cabinet after five to six days. In September, the 64-year-old had dissolved the assembly and decided to go for early polls in a bid to de-link it from the national elections, a gamble which paid off well. His party wrested 88 seats, a two-third of the 119-member Assembly. The Congress, which formed a mega alliance of four opposition parties, was ..

BJP announces series of party meetings before 2019 polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold a two-day national council meeting -- the largest body of the party -- on January 11-12 here to chalk out its strategy for 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Congress's 'Hindutva' issues did not get them any electoral benefit: CPI(M)

The Congress' 'Hindutva platform' failed to get them electoral benefits and the party should have got a more decisive victory in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh given the discontent against the BJP and the anti-incumbency factor, the CPI(M) said Thursday. People had voted for Congress because they were punishing the BJP governments for their failure to address farmers' problems, create employment and protect livelihoods, it said. The party said given the depth of the popular discontent against the BJP and the anti-incumbency factor, the Congress should have been able to get a more decisive majority in both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. "One aspect is that in both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the Congress tried to borrow some issues from the Hindutva platform. However, raising such demands did not get them any electoral benefits. Because, people attracted to the Hindutva platform always prefer the original rather than a copycat one", the party said in an editorial of the forthcoming ...

Rahul holds consultations to decide Chhattisgarh CM

After holding consultations on Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met party leaders from Chhattisgarh to decide on the Chief Minister in the state.

Regret not acting on J&K interlocutors' report: Chidambaram

Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday said that he "regretted" not acting on the Jammu and Kashmir interlocutors report as the then Union Home Minister in 2011.

SAD targets Amarinder government for truncated Assembly session

Accusing the Congress government of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of making a mockery of democracy by reducing the winter session of Punjab Assembly to a single sitting, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday said the "non-performing government" was shying away from the session.

We should have acted on interlocutors' report on Kashmir: Chidambaram

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the UPA government should have acted on the report submitted by the three interlocutors on Kashmir in 2011 and he "deeply regrets" the way it was handled, as he underscored that talks are the "only way forward" to resolve Kashmir's problems. Speaking at Lokmat National Conclave, Chidambaram noted that bringing an amendment to Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and removing "inhumane" provisions will send a very powerful signal in Jammu and Kashmir. He termed the "muscular military" approach to Kashmir as the "biggest mistake" of the government and claimed it has only driven more youths towards militancy. Three Kashmir interlocutors, M.M. Ansari, Radha Kumar and Dileep Padgaonkar, were appointed by the Centre as part of its eight-point package for the state following the massive unrest in the valley in the summer of 2010 The report was submitted to the Union Home Ministry in 2011, when Chidambaram was the Home Minister. "I ...