Page 2291 - Politics

Raje slams Sharad Yadav for body shaming her, says EC must take cognisance

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Friday demanded action against former JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav for body shaming her during an election rally, saying she felt insulted by his comments and the Election Commission must take cognisance. Yadav made the personal comments, calling Raje fat and asking people to give her rest, while addressing a rally in Alwar on the last day of campaigning in Rajasthan on Wednesday. I feel insulted. This is the insult of women," Raje told reporters in Jhalawar, adding that she was "absolutely shocked" and did not expect such a comment from an experienced leader. Raje, who is fighting for another term in office, said the leader who had close relations with her family could not control his language. It is important, the chief minister asserted, that the Election Commission takes cognisance of this and sets an example so people don't repeat such a thing in future. A video of Yadav was circulated on social media, with many labelling his comments ...

Merkel's party chooses successor to longtime German leader

Chancellor Angela Merkel's party is meeting Friday to elect a new leader who could help shape Germany's political direction for the next generation. A close ally of Merkel's and a one-time rival are considered favorites for the job to lead the center-right Christian Democratic Union. Merkel announced in October she would give up the reins in her party, though she has said she plans to remain chancellor until the end of the current term in 2021. However, it's possible elections could be called before then. Three high-profile contenders have spent the last month touring Germany to drum up support. Major German parties have tended to determine their leaders without a contest, and this is the first open competition for the CDU leadership since 1971. The outcome is hard to predict, and the race between the two favorites is expected to be close. Whoever wins will be favorite to run for chancellor in the next election, though that isn't automatic. The favorites are CDU general secretary ...

Govt calls all-party meet ahead of winter session of Parliament

The government has called an all-party meeting on Monday ahead of the winter session of Parliament to build a consensus for smooth functioning of the two Houses. At the customary session-eve meeting called by the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, the prime minister usually lists the government's agenda and seeks the opposition's support for smooth transaction of official business. This would be the last full-fledged Parliament session before the Lok Sabha polls. The results of the assembly elections, in which both the ruling BJP and the Congress have high stakes, are bound to cast a shadow on parliamentary proceedings. The results of polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram would be out on December 11, when the session begins. The government would push for the passage of the 'triple talaq' bill pending in the Rajya Sabha. It had promulgated an ordinance to make the practice of instant triple talaq a penal offence. The government also wants the Indian ...

Kerala Assembly adjourned as Oppn protests over Sabarimala issue

The Congress-led opposition UDF disrupted proceedings in the Kerala Assembly Friday, demanding discussion on the Sabarimala temple issue, leading to an early adjournment of the House. UDF MLAs entered the House carrying black banners and sought withdrawal of police restrictions at Sabarimala. Today's session, which began at 9 AM lasted only 18 minutes after Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan decided to adjourn proceedings due to Opposition protest. The Speaker told protesters that the matter was already taken up by the House earlier and the Chief Minister had given a reply. Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala had Thursday informed the House that three of his party MLAs were on a sit-in protest inside the Assembly complex over the Sabarimala issue and his party was ready for a compromise talk inside the Speaker's chamber. "We had yesterday informed the House that we were ready for a compromise talk with the government inside the Speaker's chamber. However, it seems like the ...

Politics played no role in Huawei exec's arrest: Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that politics played no part in the arrest of a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei, who was detained on a US extradition request. "I can assure everyone that we are a country (with) an independent judiciary," Trudeau told a tech conference in Montreal. "And they took this decision without any political involvement or interference." The prime minister declined to comment further on the case, citing a court-ordered publication ban sought by Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, arrested at the request of US authorities as she was changing planes in Vancouver. Earlier, Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan also stressed that Canadian police agencies "work independently" of the government. "We have a good judicial process in regards to the next steps. It'll take it's course," he added, dismissing concerns of a diplomat row with Beijing over the arrest. Canada's cyber security chief, however, said Ottawa was prepared for any ...

48 percent polling in Telangana by 1 p.m. (Fifth Lead)

Heavy polling was recorded in the Telangana Assembly election on Friday, with officials reporting 48 percent voter turnout by 1 p.m.

Telangana registers 23.4 per cent voter turnout till noon

Braving the morning chill in Telangana, around 23.4 per cent of electorates came out to cast their votes, choosing their favourite candidates for the Assembly on Friday.It was a pleasant surprise to see even ace Tennis star Sania Mirza turning up at Film Nagar Cultural Center in Hyderabad at around 12:15 pm today to cast her ballot.For the first time, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was installed across the region for smooth conduct of voting. After a person exercised his franchise on EVM, VVPAT attached to the machines displayed for seven seconds the choice made by the voter.In Telangana, the polling commenced at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. As many as 2.8 crore electors including 4.6 lakh differently-abled voters are eligible to vote at 32, 815 polling stations.A total of 1821 candidates including 139 women are in the fray.Telangana Rashtra Samithi is contesting in all 119 seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party is battling for 118 seats. The Congress led by its ...

42 per cent turnout in Rajasthan till 1 pm

Polling was going on at a brisk pace in Rajasthan Friday where nearly 42 per cent of the over 4.74 crore voters exercised their franchise till 1 pm. The polling began at 8 am and the voting percentage till 1 pm was 41.37 per cent, according to the Election Commission's website. 51,687 polling booths have been set up in 199 out of the total 200 assembly constituencies where polling is going on amid tight security. A senior police officer said polling was going on peacefully and elaborate security arrangements are in place. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot and other leaders were among those who exercised their franchise. Raje (Jhalrapatan), Pilot (Tonk), former chief minister Ashok Gehlot (Sardarpura) are among the 2,274 candidates in the fray. The election in Ramgarh constituency of Alwar district was put off following the death of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Laxman Singh. The results will be out on December 11, along with those from the ..

Pakistan doesn't want to be treated like hired guns: Imran Khan to US

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that his country would never share a relationship with the United States if the latter continues to treat the Islamic country as its "hired gun".In his first foreign interview to the Washington Post, the newly-elected Pakistan Prime Minister said that Islamabad would never accept money to fight someone else's war as it not only costs human lives but also puts the dignity of a country at stake."I would never want to have a relationship where Pakistan is treated like a hired gun - given money to fight someone else's war. We should never put ourselves in this position again. It not only cost us human lives, the devastation of our tribal areas, but it also cost us our dignity. We would like a proper relationship with the US," Khan said.Khan's statement came in the wake of constant allegations from the US officials that Pakistan has been harbouring terrorists in its soil.Clarifying that Pakistan had no role in the September 2001 attack on New ...

Cong to decide on Rajasthan CM after poll results: Pilot

The Congress will decide its Chief Ministerial candidate in Rajasthan after the Assembly election results on December 11, the party's senior leader Sachin Pilot said on Friday.Pilot, who is seen as a frontrunner for the Chief Ministerial post in Rajasthan, expressed confidence that the Congress would sweep the polls."We will sit and discuss this after our party gets a majority in the election," the 41-year-old Congress leader said when asked by reporters here about who would be the Chief Minister in case his party emerges victorious.He spoke to reporters after casting his vote here.Rajasthan, where 199 of 200 Assembly seats are at stake, went to polls on Friday. Polling in Alwar constituency has been postponed because of the demise of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate."On the day of the results, the Congress party, led by Rahul Gandhi, will form the government (in Rajasthan) and people will feel that it's their own government which has come to power," Pilot said.He said the BJP ...

Ex-Maoist ideologue votes in Telangana

Former Maoist ideologue and popular revolutionary balladeer Gaddar voted for the first time in his life on Friday -- in the Telangana Assembly elections.

Rahul, top Cong leaders condole Kishanganj MP's demise

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday condoled the demise of party MP and cleric Maulana Asrarul Haq Qasmi, who died of a heart attack at his village home in Bihar's Kishanganj district. A former state president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hindi and member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Qasmi had won the Kishanganj seat for the first time in 2009 Lok Sabha polls and went on to retain the seat five years later. He was 76. "Saddened to hear about the demise of Congress party's MP from Kishanganj Maulana Asrarul Haq," Gandhi said on Twitter. He expressed his deepest condolences to Haq's family. Other Congress leaders joined Gandhi in mourning the death of the leader. Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the country has lost a learned leader. Qasmi always espoused and fought to preserve secular values, he added. "I am deeply saddened by the demise of Mohammad Asrarul Haque, a senior Congressman and a popular leader from Kishanganj, Bihar, from where he was ...

Envoys of four countries, including Iran, present credentials

Ambassadors of Iran, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt and Brazil presented their credentials to President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Friday.

Israel's Netanyahu hails UN Hamas vote despite defeat

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday hailed majority backing in the UN General Assembly for condemning militant group Hamas even though a draft resolution failed to win enough votes to pass. The US draft won 87 votes in the General Assembly on Thursday compared to 58 against but fell short of a required two-thirds majority. Thirty-two countries abstained. "The draft condemnation of Hamas in the UN General Assembly received a sweeping majority by countries that stood against Hamas," Netanyahu said in an English-language statement. "This is the first time that a majority of countries have voted against Hamas and I commend each of the 87 countries that took a principled stand. "I thank the American administration and US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley for the initiative." Haley, who steps down from her post at the end of the year, has repeatedly accused the United Nations of having an anti-Israel bias. She has defended Israel in its latest confrontation with Hamas, the ...

Will come back to power with huge majority: KCR

TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao Friday exuded confidence that his party would come back to power in Telangana with a "huge majority." There is a "very, very positive" mood among voters towards the party, KCR, as Rao is popularly known as, told reporters at his native village Chintamadaka where he cast his vote in the Assembly polls. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) is going alone in the polls. The principal challenger to TRS in the polls is the 'People's Front' forged by Congress, TDP, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS). The BJP is also going alone. Counting of votes would be taken up on December 11. Assembly polls in Telangana were originally scheduled to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls next year. However, the Legislative Assembly was dissolved prematurely on September six following a recommendation made by the TRS government.

India abstains from voting on General Assembly resolution to condemn activities of Hamas

India has abstained from voting on a US-sponsored UN General Assembly draft resolution that would have condemned for the first time the activities of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza. The resolution 'Activities of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza' got 87 votes in favour, 58 against with 32 abstentions. The resolution failed to be adopted Thursday as it could not garner two-thirds support in the General Assembly. India was among the 32 countries that abstained from voting on the resolution which would have condemned Hamas for "repeatedly firing rockets into Israel and for inciting violence, thereby putting civilians at risk", and for its use of resources in Gaza to construct military infrastructure including tunnels to infiltrate Israel and equipment to launch rockets into civilian areas. The resolution had specified that further engagement by the UN Secretary-General, and the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, in efforts to de-escalate the ...

PM hopes India's effort to deny economic offenders safe havens abroad will show results

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday expressed the hope that that India's efforts to ensure that economic offenders who flee the country do not get safe havens abroad will show results. New Delhi has put forth some suggestions before the international community to ensure that people "who commit economic offences, those who are fugitives... should not get any sanctuary anywhere in the world", Modi said while addressing the 'Jagran Forum' organised by the Dainik Jagran media group here. "I am confident that our campaign will show results," he said. The prime minister said he put across New Delhi's stand before the strong economies at the recent G-20 meet in Argentina. The government is working to bring back people, including Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi, for their alleged involvement in bank scams. India presented a nine-point agenda to G-20 countries, calling for "strong and active cooperation" to comprehensively deal with fugitive economic offenders. Modi presented the ...

India among 32 countries who refrained from voting on anti-Hamas resolution

The resolution had specified that further engagement by the UN Secretary-General, and the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, in efforts to de-escalate the situation in Gaza

Rajasthan polls: Gehlot confident of Congress' win, predicts 50 seats for BJP

Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said that his party will win with an absolute majority and form government in the state."Certainly, the government will change this time. Congress will form government in Rajasthan with absolute majority. People of the state have the same sentiments. BJP will win around 50 seats," Gehlot told ANI.Earlier in the day, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje exuded confidence over the work done by her government, while adding, that she is sure, the people of Rajasthan will take cognisance of the initiatives taken by the state government and help strengthen the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).With polling underway in Rajasthan, the voter turnout in the state stood at 21.89 percent till 11 am.Polling began at 8 AM and will culminate at 5 PM. Elections are taking place at 51,667 polling stations where 4,74,79,402 people will cast their vote to decide the fate of 2000 candidates in the fray.

Kishanganj Congress MP Asrar Qasmi passes away, Rahul condoles

Veteran Congress party leader Maulana Asrar-ul-Haque Qasmi died on Friday following a heart attack. Seventy-six years old Qasmi was the Member of Parliament from Bihar's Kishanganj constituency.Congress party president Rahul Gandhi expressed grief over the demise of Qasmi, who was also a noted Islamic scholar.Condoling the bereaved family, Gandhi said that he was deeply pained to hear about the death of Maulana Asrar-ul-Haque Qasmi. "My thoughts are with his entire family," he wrote on Twitter.Qasmi, who was a founder member of the All India Milli Council and member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, won the Kishanganj seat in 2009 on Congress' ticket.In the 2014 general elections, when there was a strong 'Modi wave', Qasmi managed to retain his constituency by defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's Dilip Kumar Jaiswal.