Page 2346 - Politics
Bureaucrats seldom get recognition: V K Singh
Union minister V K Singh Friday lamented that civil servants in the country often do get recognition for their work easily. He said there were many officers who do tremendous work but still go unnoticed. Civil servants are those who have to take their own decisions and need to find their own ways so that they can deliver good results, the Minister of State for External Affairs said at an event organised by a publication to give away governance awards. If they get recognition after the results, then they feel good, he added. Minister of State for Culture K J Alphons said that he quit the civil services at the age of 52 but if he was reborn, he "would get into the IAS" again. "Civil service is the best job in the world and I am proud of it. It gives you the greatest opportunity (to do) what you want to do," he said.
Farmers take protests to Delhi; non-BJP parties join in show of unity
Leaders of about a dozen non-BJP parties closed ranks on Friday at a mega rally here by protesting farmers in a show of unity, as thousands of farmers marched through the streets chanting slogans to press for their demands like debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce. As Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI-M chief Sitaram Yechury and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and other leaders shared the stage and backed the demands, the farmers started their march towards Parliament from Ramlila grounds around 10.30 am amid heavy policy deployment, only to be stopped at the Parliament Street police station. "The farmers are not seeking a free gift from the government," Gandhi thundered at the rally in Jantar Mantar. The farmers had gathered from various states and camped at the Ramlila grounds overnight. Traffic in many parts of the capital was affected due to the march. National secretary of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) ...
Suu Kyi to be stripped of freedom of Paris award: Mayor's office
Paris city will strip Aung San Suu Kyi of her honorary freedom of the French capital over her failure to speak out against a crackdown on Myanmar's Rohingya minority, a mayor's spokeswoman said Friday. Mayor Anne Hidalgo decided to revoke the honour because of the "multiple violations of human rights recorded in Myanmar and the violence and persecution by Myanmar's security forces against the Rohingya minority," the spokeswoman told AFP. The move, which follows similar decisions by Glasgow, Edinburgh and Oxford, would make Myanmar's de facto leader the first person to lose the freedom of the French capital, a purely symbolic award. The move will be finalised by the city council at a meeting in mid-December, the spokeswoman said. Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, once feted as a democracy icon in the mould of Nelson Mandela for leading opposition to Myanmar's military junta, has fallen out of favour in the West over her inaction in the face of the crackdown on the mostly Muslim ...
Temples in Goverdhan reopen for pilgrims
Four major temples in Goverdhan, closed in protest against demolition of a temporary structure at the aarti sthal, opened Friday morning amidst chanting of vedic hymns, beating of bells and thunderous applause of hundreds of pilgrims. The Daanghati, Girraj Mukut Mukharbind, Hargokul and Laxmi Narain temples have been protesting the demolition drive called by the district administration, head priest of the Daanghati Temple Rameshwar Kaushik said. "The temples were opened keeping in mind emotions of the pilgrims," he said. He said, however, the indefinite protest will continue till firm assurance from the administration about not demolishing the aarti sthal. The temples were closed to protest the demolition of 12 shops and a temporary structure at the aarti sthal in Goverdhan. The NGT in a recent order had directed the administration to demolish 75 structures or face punitive action, District Magistrate Sarvagyaram Mishra had said.
Trump quarrels infuse tense G20 summit
G20 powers geared for summit talks on Friday in a deserted Argentine capital, after an incident-packed buildup dominated by controversies pitting US President Donald Trump against Russia and his combative stance on trade and climate change. With Buenos Aires on security lockdown, Trump along with the Russian and Chinese presidents were among the world leaders gathered against a backdrop of tensions surrounding also the Ukraine conflict and relations with Saudi Arabia. On the G20 margins, Trump scored one victory for his "America First" agenda with the signing of a successor to the North American free trade pact NAFTA, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Although the new pact inherits key features from the old one, Trump has declared it a victory for the US workers he claims were cheated by NAFTA and on Friday called it the most "modern and balanced agreement in history." "This is a model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever," Trump said at the signing ceremony in ...
India takes up with Ethiopian authorities detention of 7 Indians
Government has taken up with Ethiopian authorities the issue of reported detention of seven Indians, working in an Indian firm, by unpaid local staff of the company in the African country, official sources said. According to reports, seven Indian workers from infrastructure financing firm IL&FS have been detained since November 25 by unpaid local staff of the company which is involved in a number of projects in Ethiopia. The sources said India has taken up the matter on priority with both the Ethiopian authorities and IL&FS management with a view to resolve it expeditiously. "We are doing our best to ensure settlement of this matter," said a source.
LDF bags 21 seats, UDF 12 in local body polls in Kerala
: The ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala Friday bagged 21 of the 39 seats in the keenly fought bypolls to the local bodies. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) came second with 12 seats, the results of which were announced Friday. However, the BJP, which has led frenzied protests over the entry of women of all ages into Sabarimala, failed to make political dividends as expected and got only two seats. The November 29 bypolls were held in 27 panchayats, five block panchayats, six municipalities and one corporation spread across 14 districts that had fallen vacant due to various reasons. The Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political outfit of Popular Front of India, returned two candidates, while independents won two seats. The UDF, however, lost five wards but was able to wrest four different wards from other parties. One of its candidates in Pathanamthitta municipalitywas defeated by a rebel Congress candidate.
Need to work to strengthen UN counter terrorism framework: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said terrorism and radicalisation was the biggest challenges the world was facing and underlined the need for the BRICS and G-20 countries to work together to strengthen the UN counter terrorism framework to stop terrorist networks, their financing and movement. Addressing an informal meeting of the leaders of BRICS countries on the margins of the G-20 Summit in Argentina, he also asked the countries to work together against the economic offenders and fugitives, who said were posing a serious threat to the world's economic stability. "We all agree that terrorism and radicalisation are the biggest challenges that the whole world is facing today. They are not only a threat to peace and security, but also a challenge for economic development," he said. He urged all the countries, including BRICS and G-20, to work together in implementing the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and to strengthen the UN Counter Terrorism Framework to stop ...
Fractious G20 summit opens in Buenos Aires
G20 leaders including the presidents of the United States, Russia and China opened summit talks on Friday stalked by the deepest divisions in the group's 10-year history. Argentinian President Mauricio Macri convened the two-day summit in Buenos Aires, which was attended also by Saudi Arabia's beleaguered crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
'Sabarimala protests were against police high-handedness, not
: Former Union minister and lone BJP MLA in the Kerala assembly, O Rajagopal, Friday said that the Sabarimala protests were against the police high-handedness and not against the women's entry issue. "The protests at Sabarimala were not over the women's entry issue," he told a TV channel, adding that they were against the lack of basic amenities at the hill-top shrine. BJP state chief P S Sreedharan Pillai had earlier declared that they were halting the protests at Sabarimala and taking it to the front of the secretariat here, a move which the Opposition Congress has dubbed as a compromise between the ruling LDF and the right-wing parties. "The agitation in front of the secretariat is BJP's political protest. Shifting to the secretariat was part of intensifying the protest and not compromising,"Rajagopal said. Pillai had expressed similar views and said that the Sabarimala protests was against the CPI(M)-led LDF government and not against the Supreme Court decision, ...
Jammu outfit lauds Guv for repealing Roshni Act
A Jammu-based rights organisation has lauded Governor Satya Pal Malik for repealing the Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001, (commonly known as Roshni scheme). IkkJutt Jammu claimed that the scheme had caused a loss of Rs 25000 crores to J&K, was being misused to grab government land and had gave impetus to demographic changes in Jammu region. The State Administrative Council (SAC), which met here on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik, repealed the Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (vesting of ownership to occupants) Act, 2001, commonly known as the Roshni scheme. "November 28 is a historic day for Jammu and Kashmir and the repealing of Roshni Act is a splendid victory for the nation and those who were concerned by the the ongoing demographic invasion in Jammu," Chairman of the outfit Ankur Sharma said. Stressing that the organisation had on November 18 raised the demand to annul the scheme, Sharma said the ...
Trump says Russian business efforts 'very legal & very cool'
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday defended his decision to seek a business deal in Russia in 2016 even as he pursued the Republican presidential nomination, calling it "very legal" and "very cool" to keep running his business while campaigning.
Amnesty International stages protest outside Indian mission in UK
A group of from Amnesty International gathered outside the Indian High Commission here on Friday to protest against what they termed as a "crackdown" on the human rights group in India. The protesters carried placards reading "India: Stop the Crackdown" and "Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Don't Crush India's Charities" during the peaceful demonstration outside India House to mark the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. "As more people in India call for equality, accountability and justice, Prime Minister Modi's government is trying to silence human rights defenders and organisations," said Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK's Director. "Amnesty India speaks out for women's rights, has exposed the use of excessive force against defenceless people, and stood up for indigenous communities whose rights are being violated by large corporations. We stand in solidarity with our colleagues in India," she said. The protest follows the Enforcement Directorate raid on Amnesty ...
Ministry expansion: Cong-JDS panel to take call on Dec 5
The coordination committee of the ruling Congress-JDS coalition will meet here on December 5 and decide on the much-awaited cabinet expansion, its chief Siddaramaiah said Friday. Also, Siddaramaiah, a former chief minister, along with state Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao rejected reports about disgruntled Congress MLAs planning to skip the coming legislature session. Siddaramaiah, who is the Leader of the Congress legislature party, said Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will be invited to a CLP meeting likely to be held on December 8 so that the MLAs can take up issues concerning their constituencies. "We will expand the cabinet at the earliest. On December 5 we have called a coordination committee meeting, where we will discuss all issues - when to expand the cabinet... We will discuss in the meeting and take a decision," he told reporters here. His comments come a day after Rao said the JDS-Congress ministry would be expanded before the winter session of the ...
Shah slams Cong over Rajasthan land deal, points fingers at Vadra
BJP president Amit Shah alleged Friday that Congress president Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra made a huge amount of money through a land scam in Bikaner district, a charge refuted as baseless by the opposition party. Shah raised the issue at an election rally in Nagaur's district's Kuchaman town, referring to a newspaper report. The report said a firm got a big tax relief after it gave a loan to a company that bought land owned by Skylight Hospitality, which is allegedly linked to Vadra. Shah also addressed a meeting in Sujangarh in Churu district and took out a roadshow in Sriganganagar district, campaigning for the BJP ahead of the December 7 assembly polls in Rajasthan. At the rallies, he repeated that the BJP government will identify all illegal Bangladesh migrants and expel them one by one. Shah alleged the Nehru-Gandhi family's son-in-law had received a commission after a loan of thousands of crores was sanctioned to a big company. He wanted an answer from Rahul ...
Sixth phase of panchayat polls in J&K on Saturday
The sixth phase of panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be held on Saturday. Polling will be held at 3,174 polling stations 410 in Kashmir division and 2,764 in Jammu division from 0800 hours to 1400 hours during this phase, officials said. According to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Shaleen Kabra, 771 polling stations have been categorised as hyper-sensitive; 410 of those polling stations are in Kashmir division and the rest in Jammu division. Kabra said 7,156 candidates are in the fray for 406 sarpanch and 2,277 panch seats in the sixth phase. He said 111 sarpanchs and 1,048 panchs have been elected unopposed in this phase. He said there are 5,97,396 registered voters in sarpanch constituencies and 4,57,581 in panch constituencies going to polls in the sixth phase. "Photo voter slips have been distributed among voters to inform them of their polling station," he said. Kabra said 71.1 per cent polling was registered during Phase-5 polling on November 29. There was ..
Gabon's Minister of Foreign Affairs calls on Sushma Swaraj
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gabon Immongault Jean Eudes Regis met with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on Friday evening."Enhancing all-round engagement. EAM @SushmaSwaraj warmly welcomed Foreign Minister of Gabon Regis Immongault," Raveesh Kumar, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs tweeted.Gabon's Minister of Foreign Affairs is scheduled to emplane for his home country later today, wrapping up his three-day visit to India from November 28 to November 30.He previously met with India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu at the Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan on November 28, following which he called on the Minister of Steel Birender Singh at Udyog Bhawan on the same day.The central government had extended a line of credit worth USD 67.19 million in 2011 to rehabilitate and upgrade the broadcasting facilities of Gabon. Trade between both the nations is valued at USD 440.47 million, according to the Minister of Commerce and Industry.India and ...
2018 of utmost importance for bilateral relations between India, China: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 summit and stated that the year 2018 is of utmost importance for the bilateral relations of the two countries.Terming the Wuhan informal summit as the "milestone" for the two nations, the Prime Minister said that these meetings have given a new momentum to the growing relations between China and India.Recalling the meetings between the two leaders in Qingdao and Johannesburg, Prime Minister Modi said that the review meetings have helped maintain momentum and have simultaneously opened up new avenues for better relationship and cooperation."Today's meeting is the review of the development till date and a planning for closer development partnership in the future," asserted the Prime Minister.He further said that India is looking forward to welcoming Chinese President to India for another informal summit next year. "I believe that next year will be more fruitful for both the nations," ..
Terrorism, radicalism threat to world: PM Modi at G20 summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a three-day official visit to Argentina to attend G20 summit, stated that terrorism and radicalism are a threat to the world.Speaking at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Leaders' Informal Meeting at the sidelines of G20, Prime Minister Modi asserted that people involved in financial crimes are also a big threat and called on the world leaders to work together to curb out black money.The Prime Minister also noted that BRICS is "an engine of global growth" and the nations have to work together for the greater good."We have to talk in one voice for the interest of developing nations in the United Nations and other multilateral organisations. This is the reason we have come together for BRICS," Prime Minister Modi emphasised.Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, "In his first of the many engagements today, PM @narendramodi participated at BRICS Leaders' Informal Meeting on the margins of ..
Will ask voters to give majority to nationalist party: PM's
Global Indians for Bharatiya Vikas (GIBV), an organisation whose vice-president is Somabhai Modi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's elder brother, said Friday that it will appeal voters to ensure majority for a "nationalist party" in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Around 5,000 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and thousands of local youth will take part in this campaign across the country, Somabhai Modi told reporters here. "GIBV will soon start a campaign to ensure maximum percentage of voting in Lok Sabha elections," he said. "We will appeal voters to give an absolute majority to a nationalist party," he said. "We will not ask voters to vote for any particular party, but will ask them to vote for a nationalist party," Somabhai said when asked if they will canvas support for the BJP. "Our aim is to ensure over 70 per cent voting. We do not want horse-trading of MPs, so we will appeal people to give a clear mandate to one party," he said. While Somabhai Modi did not say that the ...