Page 2229 - Politics
TN CM inaugurates fish diagnostic centres, milk parlour
: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Wednesday inaugurated two diagnostic centres, one in the Fisheries University near here and the other in the Fisheries College and Research Institute in Tuticorin. The two centres were opened through a video-conferencing facility at the Secretariat. The diagnostic centres would help identify a fish that has been affected by a disease in the initial stage and offer measures to be taken to prevent the spread of the virus, an official press release said. Also, the Chief Minister unveiled a building that would house the sub-registrar (dairy development) office in Tiruvallur, near here, and also inaugurated an ultra-modern milk parlour at Nungambakkam here, the release said. All these facilities were set up at a cost of Rs 4.46 crore, it said. Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar, Milk and Dairy Development Minister K T Rajenthra Bhalaji, chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan and senior government officials were present on the occasion, it ...
MP polls: Several state ministers lost seats to Congress rivals
More than a dozen ministers from the erstwhile Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh lost the state assembly polls, results for which were announced on Tuesday. The Congress, which staked claim to form the government in the state on Tuesday night, also faced a few losses. Finance minister Jayant Malaiya was defeated by a small margin of 798 votes by Congress' Rahul Lodhi from Damoh assembly seat. Another minister, Archana Chitnis, lost to independent candidate Thakur Surendra Singh, a Congress rebel, by a margin of 5,120 votes from Burhanpur constituency. Former Bajrang Dal national chief and cabinet minister Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya lost the Gwalior seat to Congress' Pradhyuman Singh Tomar by a margin of 21,044 votes. In Bhopal (South-West), revenue minister Umashankar Gupta lost to Congress' P C Sharma by a margin of 6,587 votes. In Morena, health minister Rustam Singh bit the dust. Congress' Raghuraj Singh Kansana beat him by 20,849 votes. Minister Antar Singh Arya ...
Advani 'accepts' invite to AAP-dominated Delhi Assembly, upsets some BJP leaders
A section of Delhi BJP leaders has expressed reservations over party veteran LK Advani's reported acceptance of an invitation to join silver jubilee celebrations of Delhi Legislative Assembly, which is dominated by Arvind Kejriwal's AAP. Many leaders, on the condition of anonymity, said that Advani should abstain from the function. "The AAP leaders specially its chief Arvind Kejriwal are known to push their political agenda on almost any platform. Advani may inadvertently become their tool in this case," said a senior Delhi BJP functionary. The Delhi Assembly Speaker has invited Advani as the chief guest to the function held to mark the 25th anniversary of its first sitting. Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had told PTI that Advani accepted the invite for the function to be held on December 15. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari overruled objections of party leaders in the matter saying, Advani should join the function as he may succeed in ending "negativity" of the AAP dispensation. "I do not ...
Maratha quota: Harish Salve to argue for state in HC
Former Solicitor General of India Harish Salve will represent the Maharashtra government in the Bombay High Court which is hearing petitions against the decision to give 16 per cent reservation to the Marathas. Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil told reporters Wednesday that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, chief secretary D K Jain and he met Salve here earlier in the day. "After a detailed discussion, he agreed to represent the state government in the Bombay High Court," Patil said. The Maharashtra legislature last month passed a bill providing reservation in government jobs and education to the Maratha community following a long-standing demand.
Report: China could allow more access for foreign companies
A media reports suggest Beijing is scrapping its "Made in China" industrial policy criticised by the Trump administration in favour of one that allows greater access for foreign companies. The Wall Street Journal said Wednesday that the revised plan would play down China's bid to dominate manufacturing, and allow more outside competition. The US and China are locked in a trade standoff, though President Donald Trump agreed this month to postpone more US tariff hikes on Chinese goods for 90 days while negotiations continue. China's economy czar and US trade envoys discussed plans for talks on a tariff battle, the government said Tuesday, indicating that negotiations are going ahead despite tension over the arrest of a Chinese tech executive. The new program is expected to launch early next year.
RBI is accountable, government runs country: Shaktikanta Das
Declaring that he will uphold the "autonomy, integrity and credibility" of the RBI, newly-appointed Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday that the government is responsible for running the country and the central bank is also accountable.
Cong nominee becomes council chief; Furious JDS aspirant
Congress' Prathap Chandra Shetty was Wednesday unanimously elected Karnataka Legislative Council chairman, with a miffed aspirant for the post from coalition partner JDS Basavaraj Horatti accusing the Congress of using chief minister H D Kumaraswamy as a "rubber stamp". Furious over being left out "at the last minute", Horratti, who was the pro-tem Chairman, also alleged that the Congress party that is in alliance with JD(S) was not following the "coalition dharma". Four-time MLA from Kundapura and three-time MLC Prathap Chandra Shetty was elected, belying expectations that Horatti would occupy the post. Horatti, a former minister, along with Congress' S R Patil were considered as contestants until the grand old party sprung a surprise by nominating Shetty as its candidate. "Violating coalition dharma, feeling that they (Congress) have majority, they fielded their candidate...they did not listen to what party (JDS) leadership said," Horatti said claiming that his party ..
Sri Lanka Parliament passes vote of confidence on ousted PM
Sri Lanka's Parliament on Wednesday passed a vote of confidence on ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with 117 lawmakers from the 225-member Parliament voting in his favour.
Rahul to decide on Chhattisgarh chief minister
Like in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Congress President Rahul Gandhi will decide on the Chief Minister's name in Chhattisgarh after a meeting of the newly-elected Congress MLAs.
Trump notes Strasbourg shooting to press for US border wall
US President Donald Trump pointed Wednesday to the mass shooting at a Christmas market in France to bolster his demands for funding to build a US border wall with Mexico. Trump's tweet linking the issues came despite the fact that the suspect in Tuesday's attack in Strasbourg, France, is a native of the city with a criminal past and extremist views. A French prosecutor said the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar" -- Arabic for "God is greatest" -- before opening fire in a popular Christmas market in the city's medieval center, killing two people, leaving a third brain dead and wounding 12 others. Trump mentioned the attack only glancingly, using his first public comment on the incident to buttress his arguments for funding a US-Mexico border wall. "Another very bad terror attack in France. We are going to strengthen our borders even more. Chuck and Nancy must give us the votes to get additional Border Security!," he said. Trump clashed angrily with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and ..
Loan waiver promise tipped scales in Congress favour in MP
Congress president Rahul Gandhi's promise of a farm loan waiver if his party is voted to power in Madhya Pradesh seems to have helped it reap a rich harvest of votes and end 15-year-long wait for power. In the wake of Gandhi's populist promise made during campaigning for the November 28 polls, cultivators did not sell their paddy produce and stocked them to reap the benefit of the promised loan write-off, a farmer leader said Wednesday. This was done to avoid paying loan instalments to banks as sale proceeds would have been directly deposited in their accounts, he said. The Congess chief had promised loan waiver for farmers within 10 days of forming government in the state. Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing Federation, popularly known as MP Markfed, procured just 67,148 metric tonnes (MT) of paddy from farmers between November 15 and December 8, an official said. The paddy procurement was 4.30 lakh MT between the same period last year. The procurement carried ...
Cong's win in three states will change 'picture, fate' of country: Sidhu
Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu credited Congress's victory in three Hindi heartland states to party chief Rahul Gandhi and said the win will change the "picture and fate" of the country. Sidhu, who had gone to see chief minister Amarinder Singh at his residence, told reporters that now the farmers could talk about their rights. The party won assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. "The Congress's win in the three states will change the picture and fate of the country," he told reporters. He said even one win can change the picture and the Congress has registered three wins. "The win has opened the doors of prosperity for farmers, employment for youth and better days for the poor," he said. He said the polls were a "battle of truth" which have laid the foundation for a change on political front in the country in 2019. He, however, sounded a word of caution for the partymen and claimed the Congress will not become complacent despite the ...
Zoramthanga to be sworn in as Mizoram CM on Saturday
Mizo National Front (MNF) president Zoramthanga would be sworn-in as the chief minister of Mizoram at the Raj Bhavan here at 12 noon on Saturday, state protocol department officials said Wednesday. Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan formally invited Zoramthanga on Wednesday to form the next government after receiving the signed notification of the result from Election Commission officials who arrived here late in the evening, Raj Bhavan sources said. The Governor also dissolved the seventh state legislative assembly during the day to pave the way for the constitution of the eighth assembly, the sources said. The protocol department officials said it was not known whether all 12 members of the council of ministers would be sworn-in on December 15. The MNF returned to power in Mizoram by bagging 26 seats of the 40-member state legislature after a decade which saw the crumbling of the last Congress bastion in the north east. This followed the newly-formed unregistered Zoram Peoples Movement
C.Africa football boss held in France on war crimes charges
France on Wednesday arrested a former Central African Republic militia leader and key figure in the country's football hierarchy on war crimes charges, the International Criminal Court said. Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona, a former minister and leader of armed groups in the conflict-hit country, "has been arrested by the authorities of the French Republic", the Hague-based court said. Ngaissona was controversially elected to the executive board of the Confederation of African Football's general assembly in February. His spokesman said he was also Central African Republic's football chief. The ICC issued a warrant for Ngaissona for coordinating so-called anti-Balaka militias which emerged after civil war broke out in 2013 with the aim of defending Christian communities from mostly Muslim rebels. The warrant issued in December is for "alleged criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the western part of the Central African Republic," the court said. The .
Cong yet to decide on CM in Rajasthan, meets Guv to stake claim
A Congress delegation met Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh Wednesday evening to stake claim to form the government in the state but the party was yet to decide who should be the chief minister. Discussions spread over hours between AICC office bearers, sent to Jaipur from Delhi, and the newly elected MLAs failed to resolve an apparent division over picking former chief minister Ashok Gehlot or the state unit chief Rajesh Pilot. In its first meeting of the day, the Congress Legislature Party passed a one-line resolution leaving it to Congress president Rahul Gandhi to take a final call on leader of the CLP, who will go on to become the chief minister. The discussions with the AICC general secretary Avinash Pande and observer K C Venugopal continued till late evening, when it was apparently decided to put them on hold. Pande, Gehlot and Pilot were part of the delegation that left for a meeting scheduled earlier with Kalyan Singh. A Congress MLA said there could be another meeting of the .
PM trumps Rahul in wins from segments where they held rallies
BJP may have lost Madhya Pradesh but its star campaigner Prime Minister Narendra Modi fared better than Congress president Rahul Gandhi in getting more candidates elected from constituencies where they addressed poll rallies. BJP candidates won in six of the 10 constituencies where Modi addressed rallies in the last leg of campaigning, while Congress emerged victorious in four of the 10 seats where Gandhi campaigned during the same period. Modi addressed 10 public meetings in Vidisha, Jabalpur Cantonment, Mandsaur, Chhatarpur, Rewa, Jhabua, Chhindwara, Indore-3, Jaitpur in Shahdol and Gwalior East constituencies for the November 28 elections. The BJP won six seats: Jabalpur Cantonment, Rewa, Jhabua, Jaitpur, Indore3, and also Mandsaur, where farmers had clashed with police in June 2017. Six farmers had died and the Congress had launched a massive campaign against the BJP government. Gandhi addressed meetings in Bhojpur in Raisen district, Budhni in Sehore district, Ganj
Congress on recovery path, but challenges galore even after 3-state glory
With the Congress being seen on a path to resurrection post electoral successes in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, political pundits feel it is still faced with the twin challenge of building strong anti-BJP coalitions and strengthening its state organisations. Buoyed with electoral gains in these three states, the grand old party is now in power in a total of six states including Punjab, Karnataka and Puducherry, but the real challenge before the Congress is defeating the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and it is widely felt it would need help of other opposition parties for that. For the moment, the Congress has stemmed its electoral decline by sweeping Chhattisgarh and edging out the BJP in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, signalling its preparedness for 2019 elections which are building up as a "BJP-versus-all" battle. The fact that it just missed the majority mark on its own in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh underscores the continuing importance of bringing allies on ...
Lok Sabha business advisory committee recommends time to discuss bills
Even as the two houses of parliament were adjourned on Wednesday without transacting much business due to protests by members, the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Lok Sabha has recommended time for discussions on bills, including the one to replace the ordinance on triple talaq.
People not happy with BJP governments: CPI-M
The BJPs defeat in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh Assembly polls is a clear indication of the "peoples discontent and anger" over its policies at the Centre and states, the CPI-M said on Wednesday.
Goa minister hails TRS win,says it's boost to regional parties
A day after the BJP's poll debacle in three Hindi heartland states, GFP, an ally of the BJP-led coalition government, Wednesday underlined "supremacy" of regional parties by citing victory of TRS in Telangana. GFP leader and Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai also proposed that Goans adopt the "Telangana model of regional politics". K Chandrasekhar Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) swept the assembly polls by winning 88 out of 119 seats, results for which were announced Tuesday. While the Congress won 19 seats in the southern state, the BJP could bag just one seat. "The TRS' performance is a victory of regionalism. It is a landslide victory for a regional political outfit. I feel that Goans should also look at the Telangana model where it is completely about regional sentiments", he told reporters here. The GFP had won three out of four seats it had contested in 2017 Assembly elections. All three MLAs are serving as ministers in the Manohar Parrikar ...