Page 2286 - Politics
Trump praises China talks; aides downplay friction over Huawei arrest
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday sounded an optimistic note about trade negotiations with China as two of his top economic and trade advisers downplayed friction from the arrest of a senior executive of Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies.
Congress set to form govt in Rajasthan, says Sachin Pilot
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) chief Sachin Pilot said Friday his party will form the next government in the state. He said that exit polls were encouraging and indicating towards the formation of the Congress government in the state with strong majority. Exit polls on Friday predicted a tight finish between the BJP and the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and a win for the opposition party in Rajasthan. "Our all leaders and workers toiled for the last five years and the party president Rahul Gandhi launched the election campaign in August. That all will deliver on December 11 when the election results are declared," Pilot told reporters here after the polling was over. "The public welcomed our 'Jan Ghoshna Patra' (Rajasthan Congress' election manifesto) and not only we exposed the Vasundhara Raje government but also held it accountable and presented an alternative to people. The exit polls are indicating towards strong majority of the Congress and the party ..
Rajasthan records 74 per cent turnout
Rajasthan recorded a turnout of 74 per cent in polling Friday, sealing the fate of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje whose Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping to return to power after a tough challenge from the Congress. The Election Commission said 73.85 per cent of voters exercised their franchise, a tally just short of the 75.23 per cent registered in the previous assemble elections. The police reported a few clashes among supporters but said polling across the 51,687 booths was largely peaceful. Special DG (law and order) N R K Reddy said ITBP jawans opened fire in the air to disperse a mob trying to enter a booth at a village in Alwar's Mundawar constituency. There were clashes and arson outside the booths in Bikaner and Sikar but polling remained unaffected, he added. At places in the border districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer, people walked miles through the desert to cast their votes. In Bundi district's Hindoli area, 102-year-old Kisni Bai was among the voters. Also in Bundi, Dhapu ..
ED raids Vadra's associates; Cong alleges 'vendetta' by Modi govt
The Enforcement Directorate Friday conducted searches against three persons linked to Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, for allegedly receiving "commissions" in defence deals and stashing illegal assets abroad, prompting the opposition party to accuse the Modi government of indulging in "vendetta" sensing defeat in state polls. While the Congress party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "is acting like a don", Vadra's lawyer Suman Khetan alleged that the ED officers did not show any search warrant and said premises of his client have been raided in a "brazen affront" to the rule of law and to the Constitution. This is for the first time that Vadra's associates have been linked to alleged commissions received in defence deals by the Enforcement Directorate. The raids that began around 12 noon were carried out at multiple premises in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru, they said. "The searches were carried out at the premises of two ...
Exit polls predicting win, no surprise for TRS: Party MP
The prediction of a win for the TRS made by exit polls in the Assembly elections held Friday in Telangana did not come as a surprise for the party as it has been expecting it, TRS MP B Vinod Kumar said. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief spokesperson Sravan Dasoju, however, cited instances when the exit polls had gone wrong. The TRS has been confident about the win as the TRS government delivered on governance, Kumar said. "It will be a landslide victory this time. It's (prediction of win for TRS by exit polls) not a news for us. Because, we were expecting it right from day one, from 2014 itself. Because, we are performing. We thought that definitely we will once again win the elections," he told PTI. Though the opposition alliance-comprising Congress, TDP, the CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti- called itself the 'People's Front', people are not with the coalition, he said. "It's not a surprise for us. We are with the people. They are not with the people though
Calcutta HC order on BJP yatras 'big win for democracy': Shah
The Calcutta High Court's direction to the West Bengal government Friday to take a decision on the schedule of the BJP's 'rath yatras' in the state by December 14 was described Friday as a "big win for democracy" by party's president Amit Shah. "Mamata didi's attempts to deny the BJP its legitimate right to undertake political campaign in the state to expose TMC' misgovernance has been thwarted by Court, which has asked Bengal administration to cooperate. Big win for democracy! BJP will soon set out on its Gantantra Bachao Yatra (save democracy yatra)," Shah tweeted after the court's order. The high court Friday came down heavily on the state government for not responding to letters of the BJP seeking permission for its 'rath yatras' in the state and directed top officials to take a decision on the processions by December 14. Earlier in the day, Shah had launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of "throttling" democracy in the state by not
Tight race between BJP and Cong in MP, Chhattisgarh; edge for Cong in Raj: Exit polls
Exit polls Friday predicted a tight finish between the BJP and the Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and a win for the opposition party in Rajasthan. They also predicted that the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi in Telangana will retain power, but forecast a hung assembly in Mizoram, where Congress is in power. Counting of votes for all five states is scheduled for December 11. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are all ruled by the BJP presently. While Republic TV-Jan Ki Baat gave 108-128 seats to the BJP and 95-115 to the Congress in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh, India Today-Axis said the saffron party could win 102-120 seats as against 104-122 for the Congress. However, the Times Now-CNX exit poll predicted a majority for the BJP in MP with 126 seats and gave the Congress a tally of 89 seats. On the other hand, ABP News exit poll said the Congress is likely to get a majority by bagging 126 seats. The BJP, it added, would get 94 seats. In the 90-member ...
Lanka crisis: SC reserves verdict on petitions against Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Friday reserved its verdict on a bunch of petitions against President Maithripala Sirisena's controversial decisions to dissolve Parliament and call for a snap election after sacking prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that triggered a major constitutional crisis in the country. The apex court heard 13 petitions for four days continuously and Friday's hearing was one of the longest sittings of the Supreme Court in the recent history, lawyers said. The island nation has been in a political crisis since October 26 when Sirisena removed Wickremesinghe and installed ex-strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place. Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered snap election. The Supreme Court overturned Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls. It also issued an interim order on November 13 annulling the gazette notification which made Sirisena's parliamentary sacking ...
Mamata 'scared' of BJP, throttling democracy in West Bengal: Amit Shah
Declaring that the BJP's growth in West Bengal has scared Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, BJP president Amit Shah Friday accused her of "throttling" democracy in the state by denying permission to three 'yatras' of his party. Shah's scathing attack came after the BJP had to postpone three 'rath yatras' in the state due to the Mamata Banerjee government refusing permission and the party failing to get any relief from the court. "We will definitely carry out all 'yatras', nobody can stop us. The BJP is committed to change in West Bengal. The 'yatras' have not been cancelled, just postponed," Shah said at a press conference. His party will follow the judicial process to get permission for them, he said. Shah's comments came a day after the Calcutta High Court refused the BJP permission to hold a 'rath yatra' in Coochbehar, following the state government expressing apprehensions of violence. Shah was scheduled to flag off the 'rath yatra' on Friday. The BJP also failed to get any ...
Govt names demonetisation-backer Krishnamurthy Subramanian as CEA
The government Friday appointed a new chief economic adviser in US-trained professor Krishnamurthy Subramanian - a widely known banking expert who had supported November 2016 shock demonetisation. A PhD from University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and currently an associate professor at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, Subramanian will replace economist Arvind Subramanian, who resigned from the post in June this year and left the country shortly thereafter. "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved for the appointment of Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Associate Prof. and ED (CAF), ISB, Hyderabad, to the post of Chief Economic Adviser," said a government notification. His appointment will be for a period of three years, it said. Krishnamurthy Subramanian has been a part of expert committees on corporate governance for market regulator SEBI and on governance of banks for the Reserve Bank of India. He had hailed the BJP-led NDA government's 2016 ...
'Incredible disillusionment' against Modi, says Sashi Tharoor
: Congress leader Sashi Tharoor Friday claimed that there was 'definitely' a perception of regime change at the Centre in view of what he called "incredible disillusionment' against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not delivering on his promises. Tharoor was in the city to read out a few excerpts from his book - 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister.' "There definitely is a perception of regime change at the centre.... There is incredible disillusionment against Modi. Many also have reacted to communal violence and cow vigilantism, saying that this is not we have voted for. They expected Modi to deliver on his promises, which he has failed in almost all of them," the Congress MP told PTI. Asked about the prospects of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, which went to the polls Friday, along with Telangana and Mizoram, he said he was quite confident of the party winning at the hustings as people were 'disillusioned' withModi's rule. Tharoor also said he did
TN Governor meets Modi, discusses issues of state
: Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit Friday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and held discussions with them on key issues. The Governor met Modi at his residence and discussed issues related to Tamil Nadu for 45 minutes, a press release from the Raj Bhavan said. Purohit held talks also with Rajnath Singh for 30 minutes on the issues, it added. The meeting comes a day after the Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to withdraw permission given to Karnataka for preparing a Detailed Project Report for a dam across Cauvery river at Mekedattu.
TDP to field candidates in Odisha polls
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has plans to field candidates in the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly polls to be held in Odisha next year. TDP's Odisha in-charge Rajesh Putra told reporters in Koraput that the TDP will field candidates in 52 Assembly constituencies and five Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. He said the TDP would like to focus in the southern region of the state where Telugu language is being spoken by the people. The districts where the TDP would field its candidates have been identified as Koraput, Rayagada, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam and Nabarngpur. Stating that the TDP has a stronghold in these districts, Putra said the party leadership feels that the dense population of Telugu people in these areas might be beneficial to the party. The TDP candidates are likely to contest from Koraput, Nabarangpur, Berhampur and Aska constituencies, he said, adding that another parliamentary constituency will be ...
Kudlow says does not see Huawei issue spilling into trade talks with China: CNBC
(Reuters) - White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC on Friday that he does not see the recent controversy surrounding China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd spilling into the trade talks between the United States and China.
Trump nominates ex Fox News journalist Heather Nauert as Haley's successor at UN
President Donald Trump Friday nominated chief State Department spokeswoman and a former Fox News journalist Heather Nauert as US' next envoy to the UN to replace the outgoing Indian-American Nikki Haley. Trump told reporters at the White House that "Heather Nauert will be nominated for the ambassador to the United Nations". "She's done a great job working with (Secretary of State) Mike Pompeo and others over at the state department," Trump said on the 48-year-old former TV journalist. "She'll be ambassador to the United Nations. She's very talented, very smart, very quick and I think that she will be respected by all," he said. In October, Haley announced that she was leaving the post by the end of the year. The 46-year-old former South Carolina governor has served nearly two years in the post. She is the first Indian-American ever appointed to a Cabinet position in any US presidential administration. Nauert is expected to be quizzed on her qualifications to be America's top diplomat .
Yogi's conduct unbecoming of both saint and politician: Kharge
Critcising Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's "Lord Hanuman is Dalit" remark, the Congress party on Friday said that the former is not fit for the role of saint and politician both.Accusing Adityanath of making "inflammatory and derogatory" remarks, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Being a 'Sadhu' and a Chief Minister he should set an example in the society so that people may say that if a saint becomes a politician then how much change happens in the society, but instead he calls God Dalit, indulge in politics of Ali and Bajrangbali such things create rift in the society."Kharge also blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi of advocating such statements saying, "Prime Minister Modi encourages such language but being a Prime Minister he should show statesmanship but unfortunately he is indulged in street fight type politics."Last week, while addressing a poll rally in Rajasthan's Alwar district, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said, "Bajrang Bali (Lord Hanuman) was a .
Turkey briefs US Senators on Khashoggi killing
Senators from the United States of America on Friday were briefed by Turkey's head of intelligence Hakan Fidan about investigations into journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death on Friday.Fidan's briefing comes amid calls by six US Senators to hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accountable for Khashoggi's death at Saudi Arabia's consular premises in Istanbul on October 2.Quoting sources, Al Jazeera reported that this could help the Senators in strengthening their case against the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, also known as MBS.Earlier, the United Nations Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet had pushed for an international inquiry to ascertain who is responsible for Khashoggi's killing.Speaking at a conference in Geneva on December 5, she had said: "I do believe it is really needed in terms of ensuring what really happened and who are the (people) responsible for that awful killing."Investigations into Khashoggi's killing are still going on in both Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Rahul newspaper interview paid news; take action action him, Cong: BJP to EC
The BJP Friday approached the Election Commission demanding action against the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi for his interview published in an English daily on Thursday, claiming it is a "shining example" of paid news. A delegation including Union ministers J P Nadda, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and BJP's media in-charge Anil Baluni submitted a memorandum to the poll panel enclosing a copy of the interview that was published from Hyderabad, saying "the reporting by way of an interview...is shining example of paid news." Addressing the media after meeting the poll panel officials, Naqvi said, "Just a day before the polling in Telangana and Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi through his interview, which was actually a paid news, tried to influence voters and electoral process also. It is a violation of electoral reforms." Naqvi further said that Gandhi in his interview cited a survey to claim that the Congress is winning and BJP is losing elections in all the five states. "This news (interview) .
Trump attacks Russia probe ahead of new Mueller reports
US President Donald Trump unleashed a series of attacks Friday on US Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team, with the prosecutor expected to release documents that could shed new light in the Russia probe. Repeating his regular dismissal of the probe as a "total witch hunt," Trump accused Mueller of political bias in an early morning tweetstorm alleging that the prosecutor had coerced false testimony from witnesses. He complained that investigators were ignoring Democrats' dealings with Russians and suggested his own deputy attorney general was "totally conflicted." Trump's tweets came with Mueller's team expected to file court documents related to two pivotal figures in their probe into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia to swing the 2016 election: former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the president's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen. "Robert Mueller and Leakin' Lyin' James Comey are Best Friends, just one of many Mueller Conflicts of Interest," Trump ...
Both TRS, Congress express confidence of win in Telangana
The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi and opposition Congress-led 'People's Front' Friday expressed confidence that they would win the Telangana Assembly polls. There is a "very, very positive" mood among voters towards the party, caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) told reporters at his native village Chintamadaka where he cast his vote in the Assembly polls. "...pro-incumbency government is again coming back with a huge majority without any doubt," KCR said. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is going it alone in the polls and so is the BJP. Polling concluded Friday in the 119 Assembly segments in the state. State congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the 'People's Front' , comprising the Congress, TDP, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti, would get over 80 seats in the 119-member House. Reddy, who spoke before the polling concluded, said the number could go up if the voting percentage was higher. BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao alleged that KCR ...