Page 2337 - Politics
Cong delegation meets EC, demands more caution around strong rooms
Raising concerns over the security of EVMs, the Congress moved the Election Commission on Saturday, demanding adequate measures to ensure free and fair results during counting of votes polled in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh elections. While a delegation of senior Congress leaders met the poll body and raised concerns over the security of EVMs inside strong rooms, party spokesperson Manish Tewari later held a press conference and said Electronic Voting Machines have been found in hotel rooms in Chhattisgarh. He sought a probe into the issue. Senior party leader and treasurer Ahmed Patel offered suggestions to the poll body separately for holding a free and fair counting of votes. Tewari alleged that the BJP was resorting to malpractice as it feared defeat in these two states. "Now what were EVMs doing in hotel rooms? After an election is over, an EVM is supposed to be kept in the strong room. Rather than the strong room, it was found in a hotel room. On one hand, the Election ...
G20 expected to back trade body reform ahead of Trump, Xi talks
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Global leaders were expected to back an overhaul of the world body that regulates international trade disputes at a summit on Saturday, delegates said, ahead of high-stakes talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping aimed at defusing a trade war.
Sidhu faces flak over jibe at Amarinder, 3 Punjab ministers call for his resignation
Three Punjab ministers Saturday called for Navjot Singh Sidhu's resignation from the state cabinet over his jibe at Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, a fallout of the controversial politician's recent trip to Kartarpur in Pakistan. The row over the trip escalated in the state even as Sidhu backtracked on his claim that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was involved in his decision to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kartarpur corridor. Get your facts right before you distort them, Rahul Gandhi Ji never asked me to go to Pakistan. The whole world knows I went to Pakistan on Prime Minister Imran Khan's personal invite," Sidhu tweeted. A day earlier in Hyderabad, Sidhu had mocked Capt Amarinder Singh, when reporters asked him about going to Pakistan despite his disapproval. "Rahul Gandhi is my captain. It is he who sent me to Pakistan. Rahul Gandhi is the captain of the captain (Amarinder Singh) also," Sidhu had then said. Reacting to this, the Punjab ministers said if Sidhu, who ..
Guterres hails Bush as leader who supported UN with dedication
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Saturday condoled the death of former US President George HW Bush, saying the American leader served the United States with distinction and supported the United Nations with dedication. Bush was the 41st president of the US and the father of George Bush, who was the 43rd president. He died Friday night at his home in Houston at the age of 94. His death was announced by his office and came less than eight months after the passing of his wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush. "I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of former President George Herbert Walker Bush, a leader who served the United States with distinction and supported the United Nations with dedication," Guterres said in a statement. Guterres recalled that beginning with his posting as US' Permanent Representative to the UN in 1971 and continuing through his appointment as the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the South Asia Earthquake Disaster in 2005, Bush worked productively with ...
Parrikar meets BJP MLAs; he is recovering well, says Minister
Even as the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court is hearing a petition seeking public disclosure of ailing CM Manohar Parrikar's health status, BJP MLAs who met Parrikar at his private residence on Saturday, said that the former Defence Minister was "recovering well" and in a position to carry on his professional duties.
KCR's son threatens to hit back at Naidu in Andhra
With Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu campaigning aggressively against Telangana's ruling TRS in Hyderabad, the latter on Saturday warned that it will hit back by taking the fight to his state.
Minor reshuffle in Odisha bureaucracy
Odisha government Saturday effected a reshuffle in bureaucracy and posted senior IAS officer Ashok Meena as the Principal Secretary in Finance department, official sources said. Meena, a 1993 batch IAS officer and principal secretary, General Administration & Public Grievance, succeeds 1987 batch IAS officer Tuhin Kanta Pandey, who has been posted as the Principal Resident Commissioner in New Delhi in place of Vipin Kumar Saxena. Similarly, a 2002 batch IAS officer Girish SN, Managing Director of Odisha State Cooperative Bank, has been posted as special secretary, General Administration. Additional secretary, Planning & Convergence, Debendra Kumar Jena has been posted as the Managing Director, Odisha State Cooperative Bank, the sources said. The reshuffle was made a day after the state government effected a minor reshuffle in the top bureaucracy on Friday.
Adityanath to campaign in Telangana on Sunday
As the campaigning in Telangana enters the final phase, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other top BJP leaders will address election rallies in the state on Sunday.
Congress team meets EC, claims conspiracy and poll violations in MP, Chhattisgarh
Days after Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh voted to elect their new assemblies, a Congress delegation on Saturday met the three-member Election Commission alleging a conspiracy to distort election results in the two states, expressing "grave concern" over the safekeeping of EVMs.
Congress and its workers confused about Rahul Gandhi's caste and religion: Sushma Swaraj
"Both Congress and its workers, remain confused regarding the caste and religion of their party president Rahul Gandhi," said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj while addressing a press conference here on Saturday.
Complaint against Raj Babbar for 'derogatory' words against Modi, Shah
The Bharatiya Janata Party lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Congress leader Raj Babbar on Saturday for allegedly using "derogatory words" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah. Addressing a rally in Udaipur on Friday, Babbar had reportedly said two people from Gujarat were running a gang in Delhi to "kill" the poor people. The BJP has lodged a complaint with the commission demanding strict action in the matter, the party said in a statement.
Bush Sr. was a great statesman and friend of India: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday condoled the passing of former US President George H.W. Bush, calling him a leading statesman and a votary of strong relations with India.
PM Modi meets EU leaders, discusses on strengthening joint effort to counter terrorism
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel here and discussed ways to strengthen the India-EU relations, including joint effort to counter terrorism in all forms. India and EU had vowed to step up cooperation in effectively dealing with terrorism, extremism and radicalisation during the India-EU annual counter terrorism and political dialogue held in Brussels in November. Both the sides had agreed to find ways to enhance cooperation to counter violent extremism and radicalisation as well as to deal with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats. "PM @narendramodi held a meeting with President of @EU_Commission @JunckerEU & @eucopresident Donald Tusk on margins of #G20Summit. Discussion focused on strengthening India-EU relations, including joint effort to counter terrorism in all forms," External Affairs spokesperson Ravish Kumar ...
Bush steered US through epoch-making end to Cold War with pragmatism (Obituary)
George Herbert Walker Bush, who deftly steered the US through the epoch-making upheaval that ended with the end of the Soviet Union and the emergence of his country as the dominant world power as President from 1989 to 1993, died a day earlier in Houston.
Sulking RLSP leader Upendra Kushwaha targets BJP leadership
After his "ultimatum" to the BJP for finalizing seat-sharing among NDA constituents in Bihar by November 30 went unheeded, Union minister and RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha on Saturday fired a fresh salvo at the BJP leadership, saying a person who heads towards doom loses his reasoning. Kushwaha claimed he was not given an appointment by BJP chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The president of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) when on to recite a stanza in Hindi composed by poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, "Jab nash manush par chhatha hain, pahle vivek maar jatha hain" (as a person heads towards doom he loses his reasoning). He was talking to reporters in Motihari, headquarter of East Champaran district, where he is expected to make a big announcement at a public meeting on December 6. The party is holding a two-day brainstorming session at Valmikinagar on December 4-5 in West Champaran. " I do not know why neither Shah (Amit) nor Modi (Narendra) gave me an appointment.They ...
Czech PM accused of 'conflict of interest' in leaked EU report
A key opinion by the EU's legal service has found that embattled Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has a conflict of interest between his role as head of the Czech government and his business dealings. The finding, seen Saturday by AFP, will heap further pressure on Babis, a billionaire premier who survived a no-confidence vote in Czech parliament last week called in connection to previous allegations of EU subsidy fraud. In the confidential report dated November 19, EU lawyers concluded that Babis's connections were in breach of EU law and could lead to the Czech government being asked to return EU subsidies. However European Commission lawyers said that according to EU law it was, for now, up to national authorities to initially handle such conflicts. The accusations centre on EU funds paid out to Babis' sprawling Agrofert food and chemicals conglomerate in 2018 but the lawyers looked as far back as 2013 when the billionaire first officially entered politics. Lawyers from the bloc's
Behara gave "clean chit" to Modi, Shah in Ishrat Jahan case:
Stirring up a controversy, Congress State president Mullappally Ramachandran has alleged that DGP Loknath Behara, a former senior NIA officer, had given "clean chit" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah in cases relating to the Gujarat riots and Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter. Ramachandran, who had served as minister of State for Home Affairs for five years in the Manmohan Singh cabinet in 2009, made the allegation at a meeting of the Youth League in Vatkara in Kozhikode district last night. Reacting to the allegation, BJP Rajya Sabha MP, V Muraleedharan told PTI "if Behara had done anything wrong as Ramachandran has claimed, why was no action taken?" .. which means, he supported the wrongdoing when he was a minister." "Besides, by revealing an official secret, he had now breached the oath of office," Muraleedharan said. Ramachandran said as a Union minister for five years, he had gone through several files. This included "those relating to ...
Elections cannot be won on false promises; Raman Singh to Rao
: Alleging that the TRS government in Telangana has failed to fulfill its promises, Chhattishgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Saturday reminded TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Raothat elections cannot be won on false assurances. Addressing an election rally in support of BJP's Khairatabad assemblyconstituency candidate Chintala Ramachandra Reddy here, he said he had interacted weith people in some villages and towns and found they were not provided with two Bedroom Hall Kitchen houses as promised and there were no proper arrangements to purchase the crop of farmers. "Over 4,500 farmers have committed suicide in the state and farmers are not getting Minimum Support Price for their crops. The poor haven't got two BHK houses and there is no development of the rural and urban areas," he alleged. There was a need to undertake developmental works, Singh said. "I can only say to Chief Minister (Rao), who just kept on making promises... four years have passed since he made the ...
2 soldiers killed in accidental blast along LoC
Two Army personnel were killed and as many injured in an accidental blast along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, an officer said. A landmine exploded near the anti-infiltration obstacle system when an Army column was on patrol duty along the LoC in Akhnoor sector of Jammu district late this afternoon, the officer said, quoting preliminary information. Two personnel were killed and as many injured in the explosion. The condition of one of the injured is stated to be critical, the Army spokesperson said. Further details are awaited, he added.
Iranian official says oil-for-goods deal planned with South Korea
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran and South Korea are working to set up a mechanism to barter South Korean goods for Iranian oil exports, an Iranian trade official was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA on Saturday, as Tehran seeks ways to sidestep U.S. sanctions.