Page 2234 - Politics
HC imposes Rs 1 L cost on govt for failing to build new court complex
The Bombay High Court Wednesday imposed a cost of Rs one lakh on the Maharashtra government for failing to construct a new district sessions court complex in Sangli district within the prescribed time-frame. A division bench of Justices A S Oka and M S Sonak directed the government to pay the amount to the Sangli Bar Association in a month. "The association shall use this amount for setting up a permanent fund to provide legal aid to poor and needy litigants and for holding literacy camps in villages," the court said. The bench passed its judgement in a petition filed by the association challenging the government's decision to only construct one wing of the sessions court and refusal to construct 'B' wing of the court. After the petition was filed in 2015, the state government issued a resolution on August 1, 2016, approving construction of both the wings and made budgetary allocation for the same. While 'A' wing of the court was to be constructed by August 2017, 'B' wing was to be ...
KCR: The little known Congress foot soldier who became mascot
K Chandrasekhar Rao, who led his party to a power-packed performance in Telangana assembly polls that left the opposition in tatters, was today elected unanimously the leader of the TRS legislature party. Set to become the chief minister of India's youngest state for a second time, Rao's has been an enviable political journey. From living a life of near anonymity as a Congress foot soldier to becoming the mascot of Telangana pride who brought the then mighty Congress down to its knees and wrested statehood, he has navigated the choppy waters of politics with the adroitness of a masterful oarsman. With the emphatic victory of the TRS, the party he founded with the sole aim of realising the decades-old dream of a separate Telengana, Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao, 64, has reinforced his position as the tallest leader of the youngest state of the Indian union. The victory in the assembly elections, the first in Telangana after its formation in June 2014, might well act as a
Pawar says poll results mark 'beginning of change', hits out at Modi
The Assembly poll results in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh mark the "beginning of a change", NCP chief Sharad Pawar said Wednesday, dubbing the outcome as "rejection" of the BJP-led government's policies. He also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "personal attacks" on the Gandhis, saying it "did not behove" the person holding highest office to speak so. Pawar, who turned 78 on Wednesday, said his party would support the Congress and also suggested the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to join the opposition's fold ahead of the 2019 general polls. Referring to the constant criticism of Rahul Gandhi by the BJP, the former Union minister said people did not like the Congress chief being "ridiculed" and called as Pappu by the ruling party. Pawar said the results also showed that people accepted Gandhi as the Congress president. Asked whether Gandhi will be the opposition's joint candidate for the prime minister's post in the 2019 Lok Sabha .
India's sugar package purely domestic issue, has not distorted global trade: Commerce Min
India has informed the WTO that its sugar package is purely a domestic issue and has not distorted international trade in the commodity, the government said Wednesday. A number of questions on India's sugar policies has been raised in the WTO Committee on Agriculture from time to time by various members including the EU, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, and Russia, Union Minister C R Chaudhary said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. He said that recently, Australia submitted a communication to WTO on India's measures to provide market price support (MPS) to sugarcane, stating that New Delhi has provided this support vastly in excess of the limits allowable under the global trade rules. India is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which frames rules for global exports and imports. In November 27 meeting of WTO Committee on Agriculture, India informed the members that various measures have been taken to address the concerns related to unpaid sugarcane dues of farmers .
BJP's vote share slumps, but not all go to Congress
The BJP may have lost three key states to Congress, but its vote share has not shifted entirely to the grand old party as some other players have reaped the gains. Interestingly in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP's vote share is higher than that of Congress, whereas in Rajasthan it is just marginally less. While comparing the vote share of the recent assembly elections with 2014 general elections, the BJP's loss is bigger, as it had virtually swept all the three states by winning 62 of the 65 Lok Sabha seats. In Telangana and Mizoram, it is the regional parties who have come out with flying colours, a post-2014 trend clearly visible in many states with sizeable presence of non-BJP and non-Congress parties. Political pundits said this trend indicates that the regional satraps might play key roles in 2019 general elections for which attempts are already underway by non-BJP parties to put a united front against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bid for a second term. For Chhattisgarh, the latest ...
Govt fielding ally from TN to disrupt Parliament: TMC
The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday alleged that the government was fielding its "ally" from Tamil Nadu to stall Parliament proceedings after both the houses faced adjournments due to protests by AIADMK and DMK members over the Cauvery issue. While the Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice in the pre-lunch period, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day. "Opposition parties, including Trinamool, keen to discuss all issues in #Parliament We want Parliament to run and hold this Govt accountable. However, BJP fielding its 'ally' from TamilNadu to disrupt proceedings," tweeted Derek O' Brien, Trinamool Congress' Parliamentary Party leader in the Rajya Sabha with a hashtag 'MatchFixing'. He, however, did not specify which party he was referring to as the ally. In the Rajya Sabha, Tamil Nadu's two main political parties - the AIADMK and the DMK -- staged protests on the Cauvery river issue. In the Lok Sabha, opposition members protested on various issues including the Rafale deal, construction of
Cong discusses next CM, supporters throng party office
Supporters choked roads to the Rajasthan Congress headquarters on Wednesday as the party celebrated its victory in the assembly polls and held discussions there to pick the state's next chief minister. Similar crowds of party workers and supporters were witnessed a decade ago when the Congress got the mandate to form the government in 2008. Ashok Gehlot was picked as the chief minister then by the party. This time also he is a frontrunner for the post along with the Pradesh Congress Committee head Sachin Pilot. The Congress Legislature Party met in the morning and passed a single-line resolution leaving the final decision to party president Rahul Gandhi. Meetings between office bearers from the All India Congress Committee and individual MLAs continued inside even after this. Amid these consultations at the Sansar Chandra Road office, some Sachin Pilot supporters shouted slogans outside. A large number of policemen were deployed outside the party office. After Gandhi takes a call on ..
Suspense continues over Rajasthan CM
Who will be Rajasthan's new Congress Chief Minister? The question remained unanswered on Wednesday as the first round of meeting of newly elected MLAs failed to decide on a leader.
BJP lost in three states due to 'anti-farmer' stance: Odisha Cong
The state Congress unit said Wednesday the BJP lost three state polls due to its "anti-farmer" stance and predicted a similar fate for the ruling BJD in Odisha as it is "insensitive" to peasant's problems. The Congress was poised on Wednesday to form governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. The assembly poll results show that the process has begun for the Congress to ascend to power, Odisha PCC president Niranjan Patnaik told reporters here. Results of the assembly election in the three states amply prove that farmers' problems and issues pertaining to the farm sector played a major role in the voting, he said. "Congress will bounce back to power both in Odisha and at the Centre as people are unhappy over the anti-farmer approach of BJD and BJP," he said. "Political parties and governments which are insensitive towards the issues of farmers are bound to face defeat in the next elections," Patnaik said. The OPCC president described BJD and BJP as "two sides of the same
Election losses in Hindi heartland worry BJP in UP
With three major states in the Hindi heartland slipping out of its hands, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is worried in Uttar Pradesh where even party insiders complain about poor governance and growing lawlessness.
Seven of 15 Muslim candidates fielded by Congress win Raj assembly polls
Seven out of 15 Muslim candidates fielded by the Congress won the Assembly elections in Rajasthan. In 2013, not a single Muslim candidate from the Congress had won the election. Amin Kagzi won from Kishanpole seat, Rafiq Khan from Adarsh Nagar, Zahida Khan from Kaman, Danish Abrar from Swai Madhopur, Shaleh Mohammad from Pokaran, Amin Khan from Sheo and Hakam Ali Khan from Fatehpur. Kagzi, Zahida, Abrar, Shaleh and Amin Khan had also contested the 2013 Assembly elections, but had to face defeat amid a BJP wave. In 2018 Assembly elections which were held on December 7, the Congress emerged as the single-largest party in Rajasthan, winning 99 seats. It's ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won one seat for a total of 100 seats -- the required number to form government. The BJP got 73 seats. The only Muslim candidate fielded by the BJP - Yoonus Khan - lost the election to Congress's Sachin Pilot in Tonk constituency. Of 73 elected legislators of the BJP, not a single Muslim face will represent .
Will direct farmers' resentment against BJP in 2019 polls:Cong
Against the backdrop of the BJP's defeat in three Hindi heartland states, the Congress in Maharashtra feels that it can channel the "agrarian distress" and "anger" over the lack of jobs against the ruling BJP, in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections due next year. Maharashtra sends the second largest chunk of MPs (48) to Lok Sabha after Uttar Pradesh (80). At the same time, Congress leaders are also aware that they have to first put their own house in order before facing the BJP in polls. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had registered its worst performance when it won only two seats. The Congress, which was in power for three consecutive terms in alliance with the NCP from 1999 until 2014, could win only 42 of 288 seats in the state assembly polls held in October last year. According to political observers, public unrest over unemployment and "agrarian crises" is more acute in Maharashtra than in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan--the Hindi heartland ...
Twitterati on a roll over poll results: From 'Pappu pass ho gaya' to 'BJP gets triple-talaq'
Election results may be good or bad for those politically-inclined depending on their party affiliation, but Twitterati across the spectrum are having a field day with catchy one-liners, jokes and memes all around, ranging from 'Pappu pass ho gaya' to the 'BJP gets triple talaq'. A good number of jokes are also targetted at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who had campaigned extensively for the BJP during the elections. Several viral memes take a swipe at his numerous 'name-changing' ideas and one of those shows the firebrand leader telling Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he would change the meaning of 'defeat' to 'victory'. Another meme showed Adityanath, who had talked about changing the names of cities like Hyderabad during his election campaign, suggesting changing the name of Congress party itself to the 'BJP'. But, a tweet said it was time for Adityanath himself to again become 'Ajay Singh Bisht', his earlier name. Divya Spandana of the Congress party's social ...
Over 2 lakh Indian nationals repatriated in last four years, Lok Sabha told
More than two lakh Indian nationals have been repatriated by the government from different parts of the world in the last four years, the Lok Sabha was told Wednesday. Out of the 2,08,186 Indians, about 16,821 Indians were rescued from the troubled areas in Ukraine, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and South Sudan, Minister of State at the External Affairs Ministry V K Singh told the Lok Sabha in response to a question. He also said that 7,198 Indian nationals were saved from punishment from May, 2014 to May this year and the major countries where such assistance was rendered include the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Maldives, Iran, Cote d'lvoire, Saudi Arabia and Belarus.
Poll results destroyed 'Modi magic theory': Yashwant Sinha
Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday said the election results from three key states have destroyed the "untenable theory of the Modi magic" and hoped that the saffron party's debacle would propel the opposition parties to bond better for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP has lost three of its bastions - Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan - to the Congress in the just-concluded assembly polls. In Mizoram and Telangana, the party won one seat each. Sinha, who has been vocal with his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also suggested two alternatives for defeating the BJP in the general election. "A national-level pre-poll alliance of all opposition parties, including the Congress, should be formed to put up a one-to-one fight against the saffron party and stop division in anti-BJP votes. "If the first option does not succeed, there should be a nationwide pre-poll alliance of regional parties with possible adjustment with the Congress, where ever that is ...
LS adjourned for the day amid opposition protests
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Wednesday without transacting much business amid unrelenting protests both by the opposition and NDA's ally Shiv Sena.
TDP will be rendered irrelevant after LS polls: K T Rama Rao
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) would be rendered irrelevant post the Lok Sabha elections next year, a key Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leader claimed Wednesday. K T Rama Rao, son of TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and considered number two in the party, also claimed that the TRS would win 16 of the total of 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state next year. "....some parties will be rendered irrelevant post April 2019 (after Lok Sabha elections)," he told reporters when asked about both the TDP, led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and the TRS being "in touch" with the JD(S). Naidu had recently met JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda as part of his efforts to forge a broad anti-BJP front, while KCR had met him a few months ago to pursue his proposal to promote a non-BJP, non-Congress federal front. "Today we have proven our worth in Telangana (by winning the Assembly elections) and I am very, very confident that we will also go back to Delhi again with 16 Members of ...
Vyas quits as advisor to J&K Governor
B.B. Vyas on Wednesday resigned as advisor to the Jammu and Kashmir Governor after his appointment as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Forward Block MLA in Telangana defects to TRS
Within 24 hours of his election to the Telangana Assembly, the lone legislator of the All India Forward Block, K. Chandar Patel, announced that he is switching loyalties to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
Dam Safety Bill introduced in Lok Sabha
The Dam Safety Bill, 2018 that aims to provide a robust legal and institutional framework under Central and state governments for the safety of dams, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid protests by opposition and Shiv Sena members.