Page 2224 - Politics
LS adjourned for the day amid ruckus over Rafale, Ram temple (Third Lead)
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Thursday after two brief adjournments during Question Hour amid unrelenting protests by the opposition, which raised the Rafale deal among other issues, while NDA ally Shiv Sena demanded an ordinance to pave the way for the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya at the earliest.
Gehlot to be Rajasthan CM
Veteran Congress leader Ashok Gehlot appears to have pipped Sachin Pilot in the race for Chief Minister in Rajasthan.
Second Canadian may have been detained in China
A second Canadian may have been detained in China in a potential act of retribution that threatens to intensify the diplomatic row between Washington, Beijing and Ottawa following the arrest of Huawei's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in Vancouver.
Mizoram Polls: Lowest winning margin 3 votes, highest 2,720
The lowest winning margin in the just-concluded Mizoram Assembly election was only three votes while the highest was 2,720. Lalchhandama Ralte of the Mizoram National Front (MNF) won the Tuival seat with a victory margin of only three votes. Ralte had secured 5,207 votes while his nearest rival, sitting Congress legislator R L Pianmawia bagged 5,204 votes. Pianmawia had demanded a recounting of votes which was accepted by the Election Commission of India. But the recounting also found that the winning margin was only three votes. Election to 40-member Mizoram Assembly was held on November 28 and counting of votes took place on December 11. The highest winning margin in the state Assembly election was 2,720 votes. Sitting MNF legislator Lalruatkima retained his Aizawl West-II seat defeating his nearest Congress rival Lalmalsawma Nghaka by a margin of 2,720 votes. Lalruatkima had secured 7,626 while Nghaka scored 4,906 votes. Mizoram Chief Minister and Congress candidate ...
73 of Telangana MLAs have criminal past: ADR
As many as 73 out of 119 newly elected MLAs in Telangana have declared "criminal cases" against themselves, claims the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a watchdog."Out of 119 MLAs analysed during Telangana Assembly elections as many as 73 MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves, which is a five per cent increase as compared to 67 MLAs or 56 per cent in 2014 Assembly," said the ADR in a report released here on Thursday.The report further revealed that around 40 per cent or 47 of the sitting MLAs of Telangana have also declared to have serious criminal cases against them including cases related to attempt to murder, crime against women and so on. In 2014, under this category, Telangana Assembly had 46 MLAs or 39 per cent.ADR, which was established in 1999 by a group of professors from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, aims at improving governance and strengthening democracy by continuous work in the area of electoral and political reforms. The ...
Global spy campaign targeting nuclear, defence companies identified
Researchers at cybersecurity major McAfee have discovered a new global spy campaign targeting nuclear, defence, energy and financial companies.
It's advantage Gehlot in Rajasthan CM race
Two-time chief minister Ashok Gehlot appears to be emerging as the favourite for the chief minister's post in Rajasthan, after party chief Rahul Gandhi held hectic deliberations with senior leaders including him. It is advantage Gehlot, sources said, after he came out of Gandhi's residence. Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot is also a strong contender for the post. However, Gehlot looks set to return as chief minister of the western state for the third time. Gandhi also held a separate meeting with Pilot, prior to meeting Gehlot.
Madhya Pradesh CLP to meet at 4 p.m.
The newly elected Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh will meet at 4 p.m. in the Pradesh Congress Committee office on Thursday to choose their Legislature Party leader, party officials said.
Mizoram Assembly will have no woman MLA
The Mizoram Assembly will not have a single woman legislator as all the 15 female candidates lost in the November 28 election in the state where women outnumber men in the voters' list. Of the total 209 candidates, 15 were women -- the highest ever to have contested the assembly polls in the state so far. Of the 7,07,395 electorates, around 6,20,332 voters had cast their votes on November 28, of whom 3,20,401 were women. Political analysts attributed the failure of women to win the assembly election to the Mizo society being strictly patriarchal and the major political party's refusal to field women candidates. The Mizo National Front (MNF), which bagged 26 seats in the 40-member House, had not fielded a single woman candidate. The BJP, which won only one seat, had put up the maximum number of women candidates at six. The 'Zoramthar' a religious-based group had fielded five women candidates. The People's Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram (PRISM) and the National ...
Gandhi holds individual meetings with Rajasthan CM hopefuls Gehlot, Pilot
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Thursday held one-on-one meetings with Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, the two chief ministerial aspirants in Rajasthan, before taking a final call on who would head government in the desert state. Gandhi also held deliberations with the party's central observer K C Venugopal and party in-charge of Rajasthan Avinash Pande and took inputs from them to ascertain the views of the Congress' newly elected legislators on the matter, sources said. The Congress president gave separate hearings to both Pilot and Gehlot, one representing the young face of the party and the other, the old guard. The individual meetings lasted around 10-15 minutes each and neither Gehlot nor Pilot talked to the media after the meeting. There has been hectic lobbying for the top post and both leaders have staked their claims for the post of chief minister, sources said. Pilot's supporters raised slogans outside Gandhi's office. They vociferously voiced their demand on Wednesday ...
KCR sworn-in, returns as Telangana CM for second straight term
TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao, who led his party to a massive victory in the December 7 assembly elections, was sworn-in Thursday as the chief minister of Telangana for a second straight term. KCR, as Rao is popularly known, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor E S L Narasimhan at a simple ceremony on the lawns of Raj Bhavan here. Along with Rao, party MLC Mohammed Mehmood Ali, who was deputy chief minister in the previous TRS government, took oath as a minister. Rao was unanimously elected leader of the TRS Legislature Party by the newly-elected MLAs Wednesday. In the December 7 elections, the TRS won 88 seats in the 119-member assembly, trouncing the Congress-led 'Praja Kutami', which ended up with a tally of 21. The BJP won just one seat in the state.
K Chandrasekhar Rao takes oath as Telangana CM
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao took oath as the Chief Minister of Telangana on Thursday. It will be his second inning as the state chief minister.Governor ESL Narasimhan administered him the oath of office and secrecy at the Raj Bhavan.Rao is likely to set up his Council of Ministers in a day or two.TRS emerged victorious in the Telangana Assembly elections on Tuesday, bagging 88 seats in the state assembly of 119-member.Rao, commonly known as KCR won from Gajewal constituency by over 50,000 votes while TRS candidate Talasani Srinivas Yadav, a minister in Rao's last government won from Sanath Nagar constituency by 30,217 votes.Prajakutami, an alliance of the Congress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) won 21 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged only one seat. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won 7 seats.On December 7, single-phase elections were held in Telangana, wherein 73.2 per cent voter turnout was recorded.
BJP MPs meet, pay homage to Vajpayee
The BJP Parliamentary Party met here on Thursday and paid tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Union Minister Ananth Kumar.
Oppn continues protests in LS, RS; both Houses adjourned
The proceedings in both Houses of Parliament were adjourned on the second consecutive day Thursday amid continued protests by opposition parties on several issues, including alleged corruption in the Rafale jet deal, construction of Ram temple and Cauvery river water. Thursday was the third day of the Winter session. While on day one, both the Houses were adjourned after paying obituary to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Union minister Ananth Kumar and some sitting members, the second day on Wednesday saw protests by the opposition. While the Lok Sabha was adjourned Wednesday without transacting much business, the Rajya Sabha had passed a bill amid noisy scenes. The Rajya Sabha Thursday was adjourned for the day without transacting any business following protests by Tamil Nadu parties inside the well over the Cauvery river issue. No sooner had the House paid its respects to the nine persons who laid down their lives 17 years back when terrorist attacked the ..
Amid suspense over next Rajasthan chief minister, preparations on at Raj Bhawan for oath taking
With the Congress expected to announce the name of next Rajasthan chief minister within the next few hour, preparations have started at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur for the oath-taking ceremony. Workers were seen cleaning and colouring the walls of Raj Bhawan located in the city's Civil Lines area. Though it's not clear when the ceremony will be held, Raj Bhawan officials don't want to leave anything for the last minute and started working on preparations from Wednesday itself. Meanwhile, Election Commission officials met Governor Kalyan Singh Thursday to apprise him of the election results, a spokesperson at the Raj Bhawan said. Amid hectic lobbying for the top post, party president Rahul Gandhi said the names of the chief ministers would be declared soon. Sources said that the decision would be taken Thursday itself. State Congress chief Sachin Pilot and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot are contending for the post. Congress has won 99 seats and BJP 73 seats in the Assembly elections ..
Shiv Sena asks ally BJP to bring ordinance on Ram temple
The Shiv Sena Thursday demanded that the BJP bring an ordinance for construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in the Winter Session of Parliament, accusing its ally of forgetting its core issue of Hindutava. Sena leaders were seen holding placards in the aisle of the House demanding early construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Shiv Sena leader in the House Anandrao Adsul said, "The BJP got clear majority but even then it did not take an initiative to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya. We demand that government bring an ordinance on the issue". Last time when the BJP was in power it could not do anything on the temple issue citing coalition compulsions but this time it has got a clear majority, even then it has done nothing, he said. The BJP has "forgotten" its core issue of Hindutva which was also the main reason for the Sena-BJP alliance, Adsul said, recalling that BJP veteran L K Advani took out the Rath Yatra in 1992 in support of the Ram temple. Sena chief Uddhav ...
Lok Sabha adjourned for the day after repeated disruptions
The Lok Sabha was Thursday adjourned for the day following protests by opposition parties over various issues, including alleged corruption in the Rafale deal and Cauvery river water. Besides opposition members, ruling BJP's ally Shiv Sena also held protests in the House demanding law for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhaya. Speaking in the House, party leader Anandrao Adsul said the BJP got full majority but "forgot" Hindutava, which was the main reason for the alliance between the two parties. BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi raised the issue of rape of women by their acquaintances and demanded speedy trial in these cases. Only Adsul and Lekhi got an opportunity to speak in the House which saw members of the AIADMK, TDP and Congress raise slogans in support of their demands. As the protests continued, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan asked members to allow the House to function but in vain. The House was then adjourned for the day. Earlier as soon as the Question Hour began after paying
PM Modi pays tribute to those killed in 2001 Parliament attack
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid floral tributes to the 14 security persons who lost their lives in the terrorist attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001.On the 17th anniversary of the attack, Prime Minister Modi had tweeted, "We salute the valour of those who were martyred during the dastardly attack on our Parliament on this day in 2001. Their courage and heroism inspire every Indian."Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, BJP chief Amit Shah, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad were among others who paid homage to those killed in the attack.On December 13, 2001, in a horrific incident, five heavily-armed terrorists belonging to terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), stormed the Parliament complex in New Delhi and
TDP MPs protest outside Parliament House for special status to Andhra
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Members of Parliament on Thursday staged a protest outside the Parliament House, demanding 'special category status' for Andhra Pradesh.As a part of the protest, scores of TDP leaders were seen walking with placards and festoons through the streets displaying various reasons and factors as to why Andhra should be given a special status.Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA government at the Centre and the TDP have been at loggerheads for the past couple of months over the issue.The demand to bring Andhra Pradesh under the Special Category gained momentum after the region split into two states. Telangana, which is India's youngest state, was carved out of Andhra in 2014. Andhra Pradesh's capital Hyderabad, also a rising IT hub with the majority of jobs, was also shifted to Telangana.At present, as many as 11 states-Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Mizoram-have been ...
Rahul to announce MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan CM names
Amid intense negotiations, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that he will soon announce the names of Chief Ministers for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.