Page 2365 - Politics

Cong seeks re-polling on booths hit by long hours of EVM snag

The Congress in Madhya Pradesh Wednesday sought re-polling in booths where, it claimed, EVMs remained out of order for three hours during the assembly elections. State Congress president Kamal Nath said he had spoken to Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat and MP Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao in this regard. "I had telephonic talks with CEC O P Rawat and Chief Electoral Officer Kantha Rao and sought re-polling in those polling booths where EVMs remained non-functional for three hours," he told told reporters after voting concluded. However, the former Union minister did not specify the number of booths where the Congress has sought re-polling. The senior Congress leader alleged that BJP leaders tried to influence the elections and showed half a dozen audio and video clips, which according to him, established wrongdoings. When contacted, Rao said the Congress has lodged complaints regarding malfunctioning of EVMs with the respective presiding officers. "The observers will ...

Putin defends 'lawful' seizure of Ukrainian ships

President Vladimir Putin insisted Wednesday that Russian forces had the right to seize three Ukrainian ships at the weekend, as Kiev lashed out at Moscow for failing to release its sailors. In his first extensive remarks since the confrontation at sea on Sunday, Putin said it had been orchestrated by Kiev as a "provocation". He said the Ukrainian ships had entered Russian territorial waters and refused to respond to requests to stop from Russian patrol boats. "What were they (Russian forces) supposed to do?" Putin said when asked about the incident at an international investment forum in Moscow. "They were fulfilling their military duty. They were fulfilling their lawful functions in protecting Russia's borders. They would do the same in your country." Moscow and Kiev have traded angry accusations since Russian navy vessels fired on, boarded and captured the three Ukrainian ships off the coast of Crimea. After warning of the threat of "full-scale war", Ukrainian President Petro ...

S Africa prosecutors drop graft case against Zuma allies

South African prosecutors said Wednesday they would withdraw graft charges against some allies of former president Jacob Zuma due to lack of cooperation from Indian officials. The national prosecuting authority (NPA) had alleged that USD 20 million (17.2 euros) of public money meant for poor dairy farmers in Free State province was syphoned off to the wealthy Gupta family, originally from India, and their associates. The eight accused included a nephew of the three Gupta brothers, who are at the centre of allegations that Zuma oversaw a web of corruption while in power, with the Guptas awarded fraudulent government contracts. The other accused were former Gupta employees, the dairy director and three government officials. The three brothers were not charged. "The investigators were working with Indian officials to gather information... the process has been slow, so information is not forthcoming as quickly as we had hoped," NPA spokesman Phaladi Shuping told AFP. The Gupta brothers ...

Harsimrat lauds Modi, says Kartarpur Corridor will be harbinger of peace

Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday said the Kartarpur Corridor will be a "peace corridor" to end bitterness between India and Pakistan.

Former Gujarat BJP MLA joins Congress

Former Gujarat BJP MLA Lalji Mer on Wednesday joined the opposition Congress. Mer, a Koli community leader, was inducted into Congress in the presence of the party's state unit chief Amit Chavda, state Congress in-charge Rajiv Satav and Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Paresh Dhanani here. Mer was a Member of the Legislative Assembly from Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad district between 2012 and 2017. The BJP did not give him the ticket again in 2017 polls. Mer had left the Congress and joined the BJP ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. He fought the Lok Sabha election on BJP ticket in 2009, but lost to Congress candidate Somabhai Patel, also a Koli leader. Talking to the media Wednesday, Mer claimed that BJP and its government were anti-farmer. "This government works only for the rich. I am leaving BJP with a heavy heart. As an MLA, I made several representations to the government about the problems of farmers. But I only received assurances," he claimed. On Tuesday, ..

Javadekar slams Sidhu for showering praise on Imran Khan

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday criticized Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for showering praise on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during the Kartarpur Corridor ceremony in that country.

Plea in HC against Firhad Hakim's appointment as Kolkata mayor

A CPI(M) councillor Wednesday filed a petition before the Calcutta High Court challenging the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill 2018, which was passed in the West Bengal Assembly recently. The amended act, to which the governor has given his assent, enables a person, who is not an elected councillor, to be made the mayor of a corporation. The person would have to be elected within six months to continue in the post. The amendment facilitated the taking over of Firhad Hakim, who is not a councillor, as mayor of KMC. Hakim is a minister in the West Bengal cabinet. Claiming that a stranger cannot be elected mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and the assembly does not have the authority to change laws governing the election of a mayor to a civic body, CPI(M) councillor Bilkis Begum filed the writ petition, her lawyer Shamim Ahmed said. The councillor prayed for the nullification of the amendments, claiming that the amended act is unconstitutional, The ...

Pak has altered demography of PoK: Army Chief

Pakistan has altered the demography of PoK and the identity of Kashmiris on that side has been systematically eroded, Army Chief Bipin Rawat said on Wednesday. He disapproved of suggestions about sending back security forces "to barracks" whenever there is "a little bit of peace" in Kashmir, saying it will give terrorists time to revamp their networks and asserted that there was a need to maintain sustained pressure "to control the situation". Rawat, who was delivering the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Lecture, also expressed concern over allowing funeral processions of terrorists, saying they glorify militants as martyrs and are "possibly encouraging more people to join the terrorist ranks". Referring to PoK, Rawat said, "Pakistan has very cleverly changed the demography of so-called Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan. So, one is not very sure who is an actual Kashmiri. "Is he is a Kashmiri or a Punjabi who has come in there and occupied that area. People from Gilgit-Baltistan

RJD creates ruckus over 'misuse' of CBI; 5 party MLCs suspended

Opposition RJD legislators led by Rabri Devi Wednesday created ruckus in the Bihar Legislative Council over demand for immediate discussion on the "political misuse" of CBI, following which five of its MLCs were suspended for the remaining two days of the winter session. Suspension of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) members for "disrespecting the chair" further infuriated the party legislators, who later sat on a dharna inside the state's Upper House. Congress, an ally of the RJD in the 'mahagathbandhan', joined them in the agitation inside the House and also lent support to their dharna. The RJD has nine MLCs in the 75-member Bihar Legislative Council, while Congress has a strength of three. The ruling JD(U) has 32 members, while its ally BJP has 22 MLCs. The Lalu Prasad Yadav-led RJD had raised the issue of "political misuse" of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) vociferously in the Legislative Assembly too, resulting in the disruption of the House during the day. Leader of the ...

Farmers begin foot march to Kolkata against 'agrarian crisis'

Thousands of farmers on Wednesday began a foot march programme organised by the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) from Singur in Hoogly district towards Kolkata, protesting the alleged agrarian crisis in the state. Around 10,000 farmers and agricultural workers of AIKS, the CPI(M) farmers' wing, kick-started the 'Singur to Raj Bhavan Abhijan', to highlight the "series of crisis" engulfing the sector in West Bengal. State secretary of Kisan Sabha and senior CPI(M) leader Amal Haldar alleged that the TMC government has been neglecting agrarian issues, and without addressing the root cause of the problem, it is organising festivals across the state. "Our rally will be joined by 40,000 others from various parts of the state, who will also conduct rallies and campaigns on November 28 and 29 to draw attention to the serious problems faced by farming communities here," Haldar said. The campaign is part of the all India 'Kisan Mukti March'. AIKS general secretary Hannan Mollah said

TRS is 'B team' of BJP, Sangh Parivar: Rahul Gandhi

The TRS is the "B team" of Sangh Parivar and the BJP, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Wednesday and claimed the aim of K Chandrasekhar Rao's party and the AIMIM is to ensure that his party is not able to defeat the BJP at the national level. Sharing dais with TDP boss and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for the first time after forging a four-party alliance, he told a poll rally in Telangana's Khammam that all promises made at the time of the bifurcation of AP would be fulfilled after a coalition of anti-BJP parties comes to power at the Centre. The Congress president described the Khammam rally, also attended by its other alliance partners for the Telangana elections-- CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti - as "historic" in state and national politics. "First we will fight against Narendra Modi's B team (the TRS) and after that we will beat the A team (the BJP-led NDA)," he asserted. "The name of TRS is not Telangana Rashtra Samiti, it's Telangana Rastriya Sangh ...

Ranpise moves breach of privilege motion against Patil over

Congress legislator Sharad Ranpise on Wednesday moved a breach of privilege motion against Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil for not tabling the report of the State Backward Class Commission (SBCC) before the Maharashtra Legislative Council. Citing constitutional provisions, Ranpise said that tabling the report along with government's statement as to whether it has accepted or rejected its recommendations was mandatory. However, senior Sena legislator Anil Parab objected, saying that before moving a breach of privilege motion, the member has to seek prior permission of the Council chairman, and at least seven members have to support the motion. Ranpise's motion did not meet these conditions, Parab said. Ranpise said Patil committed a breach of privilege of the members of the house, misleading them by contending that there was no need to table the report. Chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar said he will decide whether to admit the motion or not after seeking a reply from the ...

PIL challenges plan to rename Ahmedabad as Karnavati

The Gujarat High Court Wednesday asked a petitioner, who has challenged proposed renaming of Ahmedabad as Karnavati, to find out from the state government if there was any further development in this regard. A division bench of acting Chief Justice Anant Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav was hearing a petition filed by Hetvi Sancheti. The court asked her to find out what steps the government has taken for the proposed renaming. Sancheti has sought the court's intervention to prevent the government from renaming the city, contending that its existing name holds significance as a "cultural heritage of the people of Ahmedabad". The name Ahmedabad is "deeply embedded in the cultural identities of Amdavadis irrespective of creed, caste and religion," she said, claiming that the renaming is being undertaken with the "ulterior motive of vote-bank politics". The UNESCO has nominated Ahmedabad as a World heritage City, the petition pointed out. The government, while talking about its willingness

Former NCP MP Nivedita Mane, son join Sena

Former NCP MP Nivedita Mane and her son Dhairyasheel resigned from the party Wednesday and joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of party chief Uddhav Thackeray at his residence 'Matoshree' here. A Sena source said that Dhairyasheel, a former Zilla Parishad member, may contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Hatkanangale constituency. Nivedita Mane has twice represented the Ichalkaranji Lok Sabha constituency in the past. "There were reports that (Swabhimani Paksha's) Raju Shetti was the candidate of the grand alliance of Congress, NCP and other parties from Hatkanangale and so Dhairasheel would not get a chance," the source said.

Clearly told Pak media, Kashmir belongs to India: Harsimrat Kaur Badal

Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday said that she has clearly told the Pakistan media that Kashmir belongs to India and there is "no scope" of negotiation on this issue.Speaking to scribes soon after crossing the border at Wagah, Badal said, "I have clearly told their media (Pakistan media) that Kashmir is a part of India and will stay that way. There is no scope of negotiation on this."She along with Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri crossed Atari-Wagah border to return to India. The two ministers came back on Wednesday evening after attending the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor in Pakistan earlier in the day.Sharing her experience about the visit, Badal said, "Politics must be left aside on Kartarpur issue. As much as our visit is concerned, neither Pakistan invited us nor we have any friend or relative there but it was Baba Nanak's invitation which took us there for the first time. It ..

EVM faults are Congress' excuse for defeat: Chouhan

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the Congress making hue and cry over the alleged faulty electronic voting machines (EVM) was nothing but an excuse they have readied for their imminent defeat in the assembly polls, for which the voting took place on Wednesday.Chouhan's comments come in the wake of a number of Congress leaders including Jyotiraditya Scindia and the party's state unit chief Kamal Nath complaining of faults in the EVMs, which surfaced on the Election Day.In reply to questions pertaining to the EVM issue, Chouhan said, "It is an excuse they are cooking up for their defeat in the polls. When they can't pin the blame on anything else, they hold EVMs responsible. This only indicates that they have accepted defeat in advance."According to media reports, hundreds of EVMs and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines had to be replaced by the Election Commission across the state due to technical snags, leading to hours of delay in ...

SAD, BJP slam Sidhu for 'disobeying' CM

The Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP on Wednesday slammed Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for "disobeying" Amarinder Singh on visiting Pakistan despite the chief minister telling him to reconsider his decision. Sidhu had crossed over to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border on Tuesday to take part in ground breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor. The opposition parties said Sidhu had no right to be in the cabinet when he could not stand with his chief minister on a particular issue. "It is quite strange that Sidhu is disobeying his chief minister. If he cannot respect the feelings of his CM then he should not be in the cabinet. If you disagree with your boss, then you have no right to be under the chief minister's command," Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said here. Amarinder Singh on Tuesday had said he had asked Sidhu to reconsider his decision on going to Pakistan for the ground breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor. The chief minister had ..

Pakistan a strategic distraction, China the real threat: Ex-Army officer

Noting that Pakistan is a mere strategic distraction for India's security while China possesses the real threat, retired Lieutenant General of Indian Army, Prakash Menon, on Wednesday said India must comprehend China's real political objective to deal with its threat.

Age no bar: Centenarian, nonagenarian, octogenarians cast

Enthusiasm for voting among super seniors was on full display Wednesday in Madhya Pradesh where a centenarian, nonagenarian and an octogenarian couple came out to exercise their franchise in the assembly polls. An elderly voter came to a polling booth in the state riding a horse, drawing attention of other voters and onlookers. Mahobai Uikey (104), helped by her son, cast her ballot at a polling station under the Nepanagar assembly constituency in Burhanpur district. The tribal woman, who was beaming with joy after coming out of the polling booth, she had never missed a chance to cast her ballot. The centenarian was born on January 1, 1914 in Burhanpur, said Returning Officer Radhashyam Mandloi. Kamla Bharani (99) came on a wheelchair to cast her vote. The nonagenarian, helped by her family, exercised her franchise at a polling booth in Tilak Nagar, Indore. "I have exercised my franchise ever since India achieved independence. I am happy this around, too, for having participated in a .

Cong, CPI(M)-led Left Front launch protest against WB TMC govt

Even as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is playing a major role in bringing anti-BJP leaders on one platform for the general polls next year, two prominent opposition parties-Congress and the CPI(M))- have for the last two months launched a strong protest over TMC government policies both in and out of the state Assembly. There have been several instances when the opposition Congress and CPI(M)-led Left Front had jointly tried to bring in No-Confidence motion both against the Assembly speaker Biman Banerjee and the TMC government. During the ongoing winter session of the Assembly, the Congress and the Left had boycotted the House proccedings till November 22 after they were not allowed to raise the issue of alleged starvation deaths in the state. Then again since this Monday, they jointly staged a walkout from the house on various ocassions after they were not allowed to raise various issues inside the house. Legislators of the two parties had staged a noisy ...