Page 2225 - Politics
PM pays tribute to several BJP leaders, security personnel killed in 2001 Parliament attack
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday paid tribute to several BJP leaders, including former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who died in August this year, and to security personnel killed in the 2001 Parliament attack 17 years ago. Addressing the first parliamentary party meeting of the BJP in the Winter Session, Modi, however, skipped any direct mention of the recent state poll results in which the party suffered a big setback by losing power in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. He also paid tribute to his cabinet colleague Ananth Kumar and party MP Bhola Singh, sources said. The prime minister told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs that living up to the ideals of Vajpayee, who died on August 16 this year, would be the biggest tribute to the party's stalwart. On December 13, 2001, five gunmen stormed the Parliament complex and opened indiscriminate fire.
Meghalaya HC judgement unacceptable: Owaisi
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday termed as unacceptable the judgment of Meghalaya High Court that India should have been a Hindu nation.
Mizoram polls: Cong to review poor electoral performance
The Congress, which suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Mizo National Front (MNF) in Mizoram, will review its performance in the just-concluded assembly polls at a meeting on January 18, a party leader said Thursday. All party candidates will be asked to attend the brainstorming session that will deliberate on the reasons for the debacle of the Congress in the election to the 40-member House, Mizoram Congress spokesperson Lallianchhunga told PTI. In the assembly election results declared Tuesday, the Congress managed to bag only five seats compared to the 34 it had won in the 2013 assembly polls. It came a poor third behind the MNF, which won 26 seats and the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), which won eight seats and is a new entrant in the state poll scenario. Liberal liquor policy, advent of the ZPM and anti-incumbency factor were believed to be reasons due to which the Congress government in the Christian-majority Mizoram, the party's last bastion in the northeastern .
Haley says Trump's 'unpredictable' nature helped her get job done at UN
Indian-American Nikki Haley, the outgoing US ambassador to the UN, has said she used President Donald Trump's "rhetoric" and "unpredictable" nature to get the job done at the world body. In October, Haley announced that she was leaving the post by the end of the year. Haley has served nearly two years in the post. Although some have speculated that Haley, 46, may challenge Trump in the 2020 presidential election, but she has said that she will support the president. "He (Trump) would ratchet up the rhetoric, and then I'd go back to the ambassadors and say: 'You know, he's pretty upset. I can't promise you what he's going to do or not, but I can tell you if we do these sanctions, it will keep him from going too far,'" Haley told NBC. "I know all of it," she said in response to a question about the president's bombastic statements in public and on Twitter. "But I'm disciplined enough to know not to get into the drama," she said. At the United Nations, "I was trying to get the job done,"
LS adjourned twice
The Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed two brief adjournments during the question hour as the opposition created ruckus over several issues, including the Rafale deal and demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh.
How real is the 'TruModi' bromance? (Book Review)
Book: Open Embrace: India-US ties in the Age of Modi and Trump; Author: Varghese K. George; Publisher: Penguin Random House India; Price: Rs 599.
Potential CM candidates in Rajasthan, MP arrive in Delhi to meet Congress chief
Amid hectic lobbying in the Congress for the top posts in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, party president Rahul Gandhi Thursday held deliberations with central observers and MLAs at his residence and said the names of the chief ministers would be declared soon. Gandhi met the party's observers -- K C Venugopal for Rajasthan and A K Antony for Madhya Pradesh early morning along with the state unit in-charges and later met the contenders. "Yes, you will see a chief minister soon...," he said when asked about when the decision will be taken. "We are checking, taking inputs from different people in the party, we are taking inputs from MLAs, workers. We are getting a comprehensive answer to what the Congress party and others feel," he told reporters outside Parliament as the race for the top post in the three states hots up within the party. The potential chief ministers in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were earlier called in from Jaipur and Bhopal for last minute discussions ...
Violence must be shunned by all: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday paid her homage to those killed in the 2001 Parliament attack, saying "terrorism and violence achieve no purpose". On the 17th anniversary of the attack, Banerjee took to Twitter to state "violence must be shunned by all". "Today is the 17th anniversary of the attack on Indian Parliament. My homage to the people killed on that day and sympathies to those who were injured in the line of duty. Terrorism and violence achieve no purpose, and must be shunned by all," Banerjee tweeted. On December 13, 2001, five gunmen stormed the Parliament complex and opened indiscriminate fire. Five Delhi Police personnel, a woman Central Reserve Police official, two Parliament watch and ward staff, a gardener and a camera person were among those who killed in the attack.
Winter Session: Congress moves adjournment motion over Rafale, demonetisation, RBI
The Congress has moved adjournment motions in the Lok Sabha over the issues of Rafale deal, the tussle between the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India, and demonetisation.Congress Member of Parliament Ranjeeta Ranjan has given the adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha over the RBI issue and demonetisation, while the party MP Sunil Kumar Jakhar has moved one over Rafale deal.Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh has given a Zero Hour Notice in the Rajya Sabha over sealing in Delhi.The Winter Session of Parliament, which will have 20 sittings, began on Tuesday but the first day was adjourned without transacting any business as a tribute to some sitting members who passed away during the inter-session period.Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has agreed to hold debates on some of the issues under Rule 193, which do not entail voting, sources said.The Central government has been at the receiving end of the Opposition's wrath over Rafale jets deal, RBI tussle and the government's move
Taking inputs from party leaders on new CMs: Rahul Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that inputs are being taken from different people in the party and a decision on the names of new chief ministers will be taken soon."We are taking inputs from different people in the party. We are taking inputs from MLAs, from workers. You will see a Chief Minister soon," Gandhi told reporters here.Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Kamal Nath and party's campaign committee in-charge Jyotiraditya Scindia are front-runners for the top post in the state. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and state-unit chief Sachin Pilot are the front-runners for the coveted post in Rajasthan. In Chhattisgarh, four leaders are eyeing the top slot including Bhupesh Baghel and TS Singh Deo.Senior Congress leader TS Singh Deo and one of the Chief Minister hopefuls, who won from Ambikapur assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh, said, "We can't make the conclusion of confidential discussion public. MLAs are given the right that they can express ...
State results to have no impact on LS polls: Paswan
BJP ally and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan Thursday asserted that the saffron party's loss in the recent state poll results would have no impact on the Lok Sabha elections and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the ruling NDA to victory in 2019. The Lok Janshakti Party president attributed the BJP's loss in three states it ruled to the "anti-incumbency". Despite the anti-incumbency, the BJP's vote share in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan was almost equal to the Congress, which emerged victorious, he said. "These verdicts will have no impact on the Lok Sabha elections. The National Democratic Alliance is intact and it will retain power at the Centre in 2019 under Modi's leadership," the Dalit leader told PTI in his first comments after the results were declared on Tuesday. The BJP suffered a big blow as it lost power in all the three states it ruled. The Congress won convincingly in Chattisgarh, less so in Rajasthan and edged out the saffron party in a cliffhanger in Madhya ...
Gehlot, Pilot in Delhi as Rahul to pick new Rajasthan CM
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress chief Sachin Pilot reached New Delhi on Thursday to meet party President Rahul Gandhi, who will finalise the name of the new Chief Minister.
Mekedatu issue: Pondy assembly to hold special session on
The Puducherry government would convene a special assembly session Friday to adopt a resolution urging the Centre to withdraw its permission given to Karnataka government to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for its proposed dam across river Cauvery in Mekedatu. Speaker of the Assembly V Vaithilingam reconvened the session in response to the pleas made separately by the DMK (an ally of the ruling Congress) and the opposition AIADMK and it is likely that the session would be held for a day, official sources said. Legislators R Siva of DMK and A Anbalagan of AIADMK had presented letters to Speaker recently seeking a special session to condemn the Centre's decision to grant permission to Karnataka for preparing a DPR. Raising apprehensions that construction of a dam across Cauvery would curtail availability of water for the lower riparian states including Puducherry, they demanded scrapping of the move. The Central Water Commission had last month given its go-ahead ..
Lok Sabha adjourned briefly
The Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly on Thursday following protests by members of various parties demanding JPC on the Rafale deal, Ram temple in Ayodhya and justice for farmers of the Cauvery delta. Members belonging to the Congress, Shiv Sena and AIADMK trooped into the well shouting slogans. Members belonging to the AIADMK raised slogans demanding justice for Tamil Nadu farmers living along the Cauvery delta. As the pandemonium continued, Speaker adjourned the House for 10 minutes.
US Senate advances vote on ending military support for Saudis in Yemen
The US Senate sent a fresh warning to President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia Wednesday by greenlighting a vote that could end US military support for Riyadh's war in Yemen. Anger at the human cost of the war, as well as outrage over the killing of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, have prompted a harder line in Congress about the US military's role in backing the Saudi-led coalition fighting to bolster the Yemeni government against Huthi rebels. That mounting anger may prompt a separate measure in the coming days accusing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of direct involvement in the journalist's killing -- in line with the reported conclusions of the CIA, whose director Gina Haspel briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday. That would be a direct challenge to Trump, who has sought to cast doubt on the crown prince's involvement in the killing and has stressed instead the importance of US trade and military ties with the kingdom. The ...
Lok Sabha adjourned briefly
The Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly on Thursday after opposition parties created ruckus over different issues.
Leaders pay homage to Parliament attack victims
Leaders from across the political spectrum, including President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his predecessor Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, on Thursday remembered and paid homage to the victims of the 2001 Parliament attack.
Official: N. Korea leader unlikely to visit Seoul this month
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's return visit to Seoul appears unlikely to take place this month, a senior South Korean official said. Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in had agreed on Kim's visit to Seoul "in the near future" following their September summit in Pyongyang. Moon later said that Kim would come "within this year." Kim's possible trip to Seoul has been the focus of media attention in South Korea in the past two weeks. The presidential Blue House on Thursday quoted senior presidential adviser Yoon Young-chan as saying in a text message to local reporters on Wednesday that Kim's visit this year was "difficult." Yoon said Kim's trip early next year was still possible. Experts say Kim is reluctant to come because of stalled nuclear negotiations with the United States and worries about security arrangements in the South. If Kim does visit Seoul, he will become the first North Korean leader to do so since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The Koreas are divided by the .
Canada says entrepreneur feared detained in China
A second Canadian man is feared detained in China in what appears to be retaliation for Canada's arrest of a top executive of telecommunications giant Huawei. The possible arrest raises the stakes in an international dispute that threatens relations. Canada's Global Affairs department on Wednesday said Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur who is one of the only Westerners to have met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, had gone missing in China. Spavor's disappearance follows China's detention of a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing earlier this week. "We have been unable to make contact (with Spavor) since he let us know he was being questioned by Chinese authorities," Global Affairs spokesman Guillaume Brub said. "We are working very hard to ascertain his whereabouts and we continue to raise this with the Chinese government." Spavor is a fluent Korean speaker with longstanding ties to the North through his company, Paektu Cultural Exchange. He was instrumental in bringing NBA player Dennis
Amit Shah to chair meeting on defeat in assembly elections
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah will chair a meeting at party headquarters in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the defeat in recently held assembly elections in five states and to plan the agenda for the 2019 General Elections.The state presidents and in-charges of BJP will be present in the meeting which will start at 2 pm and is likely to continue for seven hours.Congress registered a resounding victory over the BJP in Chhattisgarh and with the help of independent candidates, garnered the numbers to form the government in Rajasthan after having prevailed in 99 out of the 200 assembly seats.Following a nerve-wracking finish in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress emerged as the single largest party with 114 elected candidates as opposed to their rival's 109 and roped in seven legislators from BSP (2), SP (1) and independent candidates (4), to cross the halfway mark.In Telangana, however, K Chandrashekar Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has left behind the ...