Page 2332 - Politics

J-K Raj Bhawan's fax machine still broken: Omar Abdullah

The Jammu and Kashmir Raj Bhawan's fax machine, which was at the centre of a political drama last month, made news again after NC leader Omar Abdullah claimed his attempt to send a letter to Governor S P Malik Sunday failed as it was still not working. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister was trying to fax a letter to Malik expressing the National Conference's (NC) concerns over reports of changes proposed to the procedure of granting permanent residence certificates in the state. He shared the letter on Twitter. "I'm trying to fax a letter to jandkgovernor but the fax machine still isn't working. The operator who answered the phone says the fax operator is on holiday as it's a Sunday. Will attempt again tomorrow in the meantime am forced to put the letter out through social media," Abdullah said in a tweet. "J&K Raj Bhavan needs a new fax machine urgently," he said, retweeting a post from November 21. The Jammu and Kashmir Raj Bhawan's fax machine made headlines last month

Pope lights candle for children of Syria

Pope Francis lit a candle at the Vatican on Sunday for victims of conflicts around the world, and in particular the children of war-torn Syria. "Advent is a time of hope. Right now, my hope is for peace for the children of Syria, tormented by a war that has lasted eight years," he said after the Angelus prayer. "I am lighting a candle along with the many Syrian children and believers across the world who are lighting theirs," he said, as he put match to wick in the window of the papal apartment, which overlooks Saint Peter's Square. "Let these flames of hope dispel the shadows of war!" the pontiff said. "May the flame of hope also reach all those who are victims of conflicts and tensions around the world, near and far". The "Candles for Peace in Syria" Christmas initiative was launched Sunday by Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity. The tall candle, which rocked slightly in the wind on the papal windowsill, was decorated by a local craftsman from the Bab Touma quarter of ...

High voter turnouts in MP, C'garh reflect people's trust in BJP governments: BJP leader

Buoyed by the high voter turnouts in the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh polls, a BJP leader Sunday said it reflected people's trust in the governments led by the party in their respective states and exuded confidence that the saffron party will romp home in three of the five poll-bound states. "It is indeed very good to see that the people of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have voted in large numbers. This proves that the people of these states have reposed their faith in the respective BJP governments. "They are still enthusiastic about the good work done by the governments in their states and hence, they have gone out in such large numbers to cast their votes," Uttar Pradesh BJP general secretary Pankaj Singh told PTI here on the sidelines of the party's "Kamal Sandesh Yatra". "I am confident that the BJP will register (poll) victories in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan," he said. The polling percentage in Chhattisgarh was 76.35, while in Madhya Pradesh, it was ...

Modi to address election rally in Hyderabad tomorrow

: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address an election rally at Lal Bahadur Stadium here Monday to give a fillip to BJPs poll campaign, party sources said. "He will be landing at Begumpet Airport. He will address a public meeting and return to the national capital in the evening," BJP Telangana units chief spokesperson Krishna Sagar Rao said. This is Modis second visit to poll-bound Telangana. He had addressed meetings at Nizamabad and Mahabubnagar last week. Modi, in his campaigns, had lacerated Telangana's ruling TRS and the Congress for perpetuating "family rule" and pursuing "vote bank" politics that harm development like "termites". Calling the two parties two sides of the same coin, Modi had recalled caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's "apprenticeship" with the Congress and claimed that they were playing a "friendly match" in the assembly polls. BJP chief Amit Shah, on his part, has so far addressed about 10 election meetings in Telangana and requested ..

If anyone is obstructing ram temple, it's Cong: Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Sunday accused the Congress of obstructing construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya and charged the Rahul Gandhi-led party and TRS with indulging in Muslim appeasement. "If anyone is creating obstruction in the way of construction of a grand temple in the birthplace of lord Ram, it's Congress, Congress," he said, addressing a BJP election rally in Sangareddy. "We should all make efforts to understand the intention of the Congress party," he said. Adityanath said BJP is for good goverance, development, and wants to fufil the model of "Ram Rajya" in the country. Addressing another election rally at Tandur town of Vikarabad district, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister hit out at Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM. "If BJP forms government in Telangana, I can tell you that Owaisi will have to run away just like Nizam was compelled to run away from Hyderabad. BJP will give security to all but will not allow those who spread anarchy", he said. He accused ...

IOA to discuss IOC's diktat on not awarding world events to India

The Indian Olympic Association, in its annual General Body Meeting here on December 22, will discuss its parent body IOC's diktat to not award any world event to the country in the wake of the controversy involving a Kosovo boxer. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had asked all its member federations not to grant any world event to India involving Kosovo after the country denied visa to a boxer from the European nation for the AIBA Women's World Championships held here last month. Kosovo could not participate at the boxing event after their sole representative Donjeta Sadiku was refused visa by the Indian government, which doesn't recognise the European country. The IOC has asked all the IFs to get a written undertaking from the Indian authorities for equal participation before allotting the country any world event involving Kosovo. One of the items of the agenda of the GBM reads: "Participation of sporting delegations and athletes in international sports events - principle of

India will host G20 Summit in 2022: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India will host the G20 Summit in 2022, the year the country will celebrate the 75th Independence Day.

Airstrike kills 10 civilians in eastern Afghanistan

Afghan officials say an airstrike has killed at least 10 civilians in the eastern Paktia province bordering Pakistan. Shausta Jan Ahady, a former provincial council member, says women and children were among those killed late Saturday. He says local residents displayed the bodies and protested on Sunday. Provincial government spokesman Abdullah Hsrat says the airstrike killed four insurgents and that an investigation has been launched into the allegations of civilian casualties. In a separate incident in the southern Helmand province, an airstrike killed the Taliban's shadow governor and two of his guards, according to provincial government spokesman Omar Zwak. There was no immediate comment from the Taliban, who control nearly half the country and run a parallel administration. It was not immediately clear who carried out either airstrike.

Modi, Rahul to campaign in Raj

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi will campaign in poll-bound Rajasthan in the next couple of days. The prime minister will address public meeting at Jodhpur on December 3 and in Hanumangarh, Sikar and Jaipur on December 4, a BJP spokesperson said. The Congress president will tour the state on December 4,during which he will address public meetings at Malakhera of Alwar district, Surajgarh of Jhunjhunu district and Salumber of Udaipur district, a Congress spokesperson said. Polls to the 200-seat assembly is due in the state on December 7 and counting will be done on December 11.

Sunil Arora takes charge as CEC, seeks support for 2019 polls

Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Sunday assumed charge as the 23rd Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), a day after O.P. Rawat demitted the office, and sought support from "all the stakeholders" for conducting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

MEA officials to be questioned by parliamentary panel on political crisis in Sri Lanka

Top officials of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will brief a parliamentary panel on India-Sri Lanka relations, and they may be questioned on the current political crisis in neighbouring island nation and its impact on New Delhi, sources said Sunday. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, which is headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and has the party chief Rahul Gandhi as a member, is scheduled to be briefed by the top officials of the ministry on December 14, according to a notice issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. Sources said the panel is expected to be briefed by Foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale along with other senior officials. The members will definitely question the ministry officials about the ongoing political crisis in Sri Lanka, as the stability in the island nation is in India's interest especially from the security point of view, a source said. Members of the panel are also keen to know China's expanding footprint in Sri Lanka and ..

India-Pakistan friendship will solve Kashmir issue: Farooq Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Lok Sabha member, Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said the day India and Pakistan become friends, Kashmir issue would be resolved automatically.

Pak can seek India's help if it cannot handle fight against terrorism alone: Rajnath

Home Minister Rajnath Singh Sunday said Pakistan can seek India's help if it cannot handle the fight against terrorism alone. He asserted there have not been any major terrorist related incident in the country in over four years of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. "I want to ask the Pakistani prime minister (Imran Khan) that if in Aghanistan, a fight can be carried out against terror and Taliban with the help of the US, then, Pakistan can seek help against terrorism from India if it feels that it cannot handle it alone," he said. Addressing a press conference here, Singh said Jammu and Kashmir was not an issue as it was an integral part of the country. "The issue is of terrorism, and Pakistan can discuss it," Singh said. The Home Minister also accused the Congress of creating a crisis of distrust in politics and claimed there was a difference in their words and deeds. "I do not want to claim that terrorism has stopped, but no major terrorist incident has happened in the country ..

Harsimrat urges Pak PM to take action against Qureshi over 'googly' remark

Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday asked Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to take action against the country's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi for his remarks at the Kartarpur corridor last month where he said that Pakistan trapped India by "bowling a googly" on opening the route, thereby hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community.Calling the remarks as "disgusting", Harsimrat wrote on her Twitter handle, "I urge Pakistan PM @ImranKhanPTI to take action against his minister for hurting sentiments of Sikhs and peace efforts by equating attendance at a function at Sri Kartarpur Sahib with trapping India by bowling a googly. Nothing can be more disgusting than this."She underlined that no politician should be allowed to "play with religious sentiments" while reiterating Prime Minister Khan's commitment to peace with India, which should not be a "hollow promise.""@ImranKhanPTI ji no one should be allowed to play with religious sentiments. Your ...

NC to oppose any change in procedure to grant PRCs: Omar Abdullah

National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Sunday said his party would oppose any move aimed at changing the procedure for granting permanent resident certificates (PRCs) in Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah described the reported directions of Governor S P Malik-led state administrative council (SAC) in this regard as "an attempt to distort the demography of the state" and "detrimental to J-K's special status". Earlier, senior BJP leader Kavinder Gupta had said the state administration was contemplating to simplify the procedure for grant of PRCs and a timeline should be fixed for its issuance under the Public Services Guarantee Act. "We are obligated to write to you at a time when you are mulling changes to the permanent resident certificate rules. Our party, the National Conference, is of the opinion that this is an attempt to distort the demography of the state and finds it detrimental to J-K's special status," Abdullah said in a letter to the governor. Asserting that the .

More Punjab ministers hit out at Sidhu over his jibe on Amarinder Singh

More Punjab ministers Sunday condemned Navjot Singh Sidhu over his jibe at Amarinder Singh demanding he apologise to the chief minister and "learn how to respect elders", even as the former cricketer's wife said his statement was being twisted and taken out of context. On Saturday, three ministers -- Rural Development and Panchayat minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Revenue and Rehabilitation minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria and Sports Minister Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi -- had called for Sidhu's resignation from the state cabinet. On Sunday, state's Women and Child Development and Transport Minister Aruna Chaudhary said Sidhu's remark was "unforunate" and "uncalled for". "What Navjot Singh Sidhu said about Capt Amarinder Singh is unfortunate. Such things should not have been said by him," she said. Amarinder Singh was in the Army and served as a captain during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. Chaudhary said, "Capt Amarinder Singh is our undisputed leader. He is captain of the party in ..

Capt Amarinder is like father to Sidhu: Navjot Kaur

Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu on Sunday said that her husband has always considered state Chief Minister Captain Amarinder as his father.Kaur's response comes close on the heels of three Punjab ministers demanded her husband's resignation following his remark against the Punjab Chief Minister. Navjot Singh Sidhu on November 30 had mocked Captain Amarinder Singh when reporters asked about his visit to Pakistan despite the Chief Minister disapproving it.Local Bodies and Tourism minister in Captain Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government, Sidhu at a press conference in Hyderabad had said, "My captain is Congress president Rahul Gandhi. He sent me everywhere (Kartarpur Corridor). Rahul is also the captain of our captain (Punjab Chief Minister)."Speaking to ANI, Navjot Kaur said, "Navjot ji has repeatedly said that Captain Sahab is like his father. We have always made it clear that Captain Sahab's respect and honour is above everything. Sidhu's ...

It's a fight between 3 captains: Swaraj on Sidhu's Pak visit, Amarinder Singh remark

Punjab Congress minister Navjot Singh Sidhu's series of controversial statements including the recent comment on Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has opened a pandora's box. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj declined to get dragged into the quagmire saying the fight is between the three captains, Pakistan's cricket captain Imran Khan, India's military captain Amarinder Singh and Congress captain Rahul Gandhi.Swaraj while addressing a press conference here on Sunday said: "This is a fight between three captains. One is a cricket captain (Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan), one is a military captain (Captain Amarinder Singh) and another one is a Congress captain (Rahul Gandhi). I don't want to comment more on this."Lashing out at Rahul for questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's knowledge about Hinduism, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader dismissed the Congress leader's claims saying that the party is diverting people's attention since they don't have an agenda in ...

Poll temperature shoots up in poll-bound Telangana

Poll temperature has shot up in Telangana with the ruling TRS, the Congress and the BJP pulling out all stops to woo voters ahead of the December 7 Assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi who have already addressed campaign meetings are returning to the country's youngest state tomorrow to address public rallies in what is seen as a "final push". Caretaker Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhar Rao has been on a vigorous campaign trail in the past few days seeking a second term for the party, and has been unsparing in his attack on Modi, Rahul and TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The TRS is going alone in the poll to the 119-member Assembly, as also is the BJP. Campaigning ends on Wednesday. The Congress has forged "Prajakutami" (People's Alliance) with the TDP, the Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) headed by professor M Kodandaram, and the CPI. Both the BJP and the Congress have ...

Omar expresses concern over proposed changes in PRC procedure

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday expressed concern over the proposed changes in the procedure for issuing permanent resident certificates (PRCs) in the state.