Page 24 - Politics

China officials cut costs as Xi says 'belt-tightening rules here to stay'

The term xiguan is "foreseeing that the financial situation is unlikely to fundamentally improve for a considerable period in the future," said Lu Xi

Will he, won't he? Buzz on Nitish Kumar's BJP return amid INDIA rift

Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself sounded more open to such a possibility in a recent interview

Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur worked to create a more inclusive society

Jan Nayak Karpoori Thakur ji's life revolved around the twin pillars of simplicity and social justice. Till his last breath, his simple lifestyle and humble nature resonated deeply with the people

Left trying to control INDIA bloc's agenda, will not accept it: CM Mamata

Amid the internal discord within the INDIA bloc in the state over seat-sharing, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee asserted on Monday that the Left is striving to control the opposition bloc's agenda, underscoring that no one confronts the BJP as directly as she does. Addressing an all-faith rally in the city, the TMC leader expressed her unwillingness to accept the Left Front led by CPI(M) controlling the agenda of the INDIA bloc meeting. "I suggested the name INDIA during the opposition bloc meeting. But whenever I attend the meeting, I find the Left trying to control it. This is not acceptable. I cannot agree with those with whom I had fought for 34 years," she said. Banerjee remarked, "Despite such insults, I have adjusted and attended the INDIA bloc meetings." In an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi being stopped in Assam from visiting the birthplace of Vaishnav saint Srimant Sankardeva, Banerjee remarked, "Just going to the temple isn't enough." She highlighted her

Who's who from business, cinema, politics, sports attend Ram temple event

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, business tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Lakshmi N Mittal, and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar were among India's crme de la crme who attended the grand consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Monday. While the list of invitees included about 8,000 names, the select list featured 506 A-listers, including prominent politicians, leading industrialists, top film stars, sportspersons, diplomats, judges and high priests. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family, steel tycoon Lakshmi N Mittal, telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal, Reliance Group head Anil Ambani, and Aditya Birla group chairperson Kumar Mangalam Birla and his daughter Ananya Birla were among some of India Inc.'s prominent faces that attended the ceremony. Bachchan flew into Ayodhya in a private chartered plane for the consecration of the 51-inch Ram Lalla idol. He was accompanied by his actor son Abhishek Bachchan. Actor Kangana Ranaut, who reached Ayodhya on Saturday, hailed the

Sena Vs Sena: SC seeks response of Maha CM Shinde on Thackeray group's plea

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other lawmakers of his group on a plea of the Uddhav Thackeray faction challenging Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's order declaring the Shiv Sena bloc led by Shinde as the "real political party" after its split in June 2022. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Thackeray faction, and sought response of the chief minister and other MLAs within two weeks. At the outset, the top court said the plea can be heard by the Bombay High Court as well. The senior lawyers for the Thackeray faction, however, opposed the idea and said the top court is more equipped to handle the case. Your Lordships have to decide it. If we go to the high court, then it will be delayed further, Sibal said, adding the speaker's decision had come in ...

'Nyay Yatra' to enter Bihar on Jan 29, Nitish may share stage with Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' will enter Bihar on January 29 and cover four districts in three days during which top INDIA bloc leaders may join him for public meetings, the party announced here on Monday. Addressing a press conference at the historical Sadaqat Ashram, the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters, senior leader and MLC Prem Chandra Mishra said that Gandhi will reach Kishanganj district from Siliguri in West Bengal, and after interacting with the public and a night halts, leave for Purnea a day later. "In Purnea, a big rally has been planned. Invites have been sent to our alliance partners like Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has agreed to come. In the event of his getting caught up elsewhere, the JD(U) president has assured that a senior leader will be sent to represent his party," said Mishra. An invitation has been extended to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, a staunch ally of the Congress, "who may attend the rally in Purnea, or at Katihar

CM Nitish Kumar reshuffles portfolios of 3 RJD ministers in Bihar govt

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar reshuffled his cabinet on Saturday night, in which portfolios of three ministers of his ally RJD were changed. Education Minister Chandra Shekhar, who has been hitting the headlines for different reasons, was made the Sugarcane Industries Miniter. Alok Mehta, who held the Sugarcane Industries and Revenue and Land Resources portfolio, was made the new Education Minister of the state, according to a notification. The Revenue and Land Resources Department was assigned to Lalit Kumar Yadav, who will continue with his existing responsibility of the Public Health and Engineering Department. Besides making controversial statements on different issues, Chandra Shekhar was reportedly involved in a tiff with the Education Department's Additional Chief Secretary KK Pathak.

Relatives of people killed in Cong rule opposing Nyay Yatra in Assam: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday claimed that those people in Assam whose relatives were killed during Congress tenure are opposing the ongoing 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', led by Rahul Gandhi, in the state. Addressing the passing out parade of the first batch of the five newly constituted Assam Police Commando battalions in Guwahati, Shah slammed the Congress alleging that people had to pay bribes to get jobs during its government. "Rahul Gandhi has recently started Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. I asked a few reporters here what happened in Assam. "They told me that at different places -- where injustices happened during their (Congress') tenure, thousands of Assam's youths were killed and Assam went into the grip of extremism -- the family members of those killed opposed this Nyay Yatra," Shah said. The Assam leg of the march began on January 18 and will continue till January 25. It will travel 833 km in 17 districts of the state. Shah said that there has been a huge change in t

Bal Thackeray did not use Hindutva to break parties, says Aaditya

Bal Thackeray did not use Hindutva to break other parties, his grandson and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said on Saturday in an attack on former ally BJP. Addressing party workers in central Mumbai, Thackeray said his party colleagues were being targeted by investigating agencies as the Shiv Sena (UBT) had held a press conference to highlight what he said was a wrong order by Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar in the case pertaining to disqualification of MLAs. Post the split in the Shiv Sena in June 2022 following a rebellion by Eknath Shinde, who went on to become chief minister, both factions had petitioned the speaker seeking disqualification of MLAs from the other side under anti-defection laws. Narwekar, in his order, held that Shinde's faction was the real Shiv Sena and did not disqualify any MLA from either camp. "Ravindra Waikar, Kishore Pednekar, Rajan Salvi are being hounded by probe agencies and are being given threats so that they join the Eknath .

Talks of alliance with Congress for LS polls in progress: SP chief Akhilesh

Talks of an alliance with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are in progress, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday. Talking to reporters at the SP headquarters here, he said several meetings have taken place in Delhi and more will be held soon. "We are in talks of an alliance with the Congress and a way will be found," said Yadav, whose SP, like the Congress, is part of the 28-member opposition INDIA bloc. The alliance, which also includes the TMC, the DMK and the AAP, was formed to take on the BJP in the general elections. Constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) are engaged in seat- sharing talks in different states. Yadav's remarks come a day after the SP and the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) reached a seat sharing agreement in Uttar Pradesh for the polls. "The INDIA bloc should be strong. The question is not about which party gets how many seats but about winnability," he ...

AIFB will hold talks with leaders of 'INDIA' bloc on seat-sharing

The All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) will hold parleys with the leaders of the INDIA Bloc on sharing seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, AIFB's vice president P V Kathiravan said on Saturday. A poll panel comprising senior leaders has been constituted today and it will commence the negotiations with the INDIA Bloc leaders especially DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, soon, he said. The panel would also engage other leaders of the alliance in the talks and on facing the poll, Kathiravan said in a release here. "We will urge the ruling DMK to allot us the Theni constituency where we are strong," he said. Meanwhile, the Central Committee of the AIFB which met here with its president Naren Chatterjee in the chair resolved to relieve G Devarajan from the post of national general secretary till a new general secretary is elected. Chatterjee will hold the additional charge of general ...

INDIA will disintegrate in Bihar, development to follow for NDA: Minister

Amid the JD(U)'s perceived unhappiness with the opposition INDIA bloc constituents, a key BJP-ally from Bihar Saturday claimed that the state's ruling combine is "100 per cent" certain to break and a "good development" for the NDA will follow the Ram temple consecration ceremony. Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party leader Pashupati Kumar Paras said differences between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD president Lalu Prasad have deepened. "Their alliance is 100 per cent certain to break. 'Kharmas' (a period considered inauspicious in Hindu belief) has ended. The idol of Lord Ram will be consecrated on January 22 in Ayodhya. An auspicious period has begun and whatever will happen will be good for the BJP-led NDA," he told PTI. The Dalit leader said the entire country, including Bihar, is immersed in the fervour surrounding the Ram temple, and the opposition has no hope in the elections. Asked if the issue will have an impact on Bihar, where the ...

SP, RLD announce alliance for Lok Sabha polls; latter gets 7 seats in UP

The Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal on Friday announced their alliance for the Lok Sabha polls, with the RLD saying that the other party will leave seven seats in western Uttar Pradesh for its nominees. SP president Akhilesh Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary announced the tie-up for the elections later this year on social media. "Congratulations to everyone on the alliance of RLD and SP. Let us all unite for victory," Yadav said in a post on X. Reposting this tweet, Chaudhary said, "Always ready to protect national and constitutional values. We expect all workers of our alliance to move forward together for the development and prosperity of our region." He also posted pictures of the two leaders shaking hands. An RLD spokesperson told PTI that the seat-sharing deal was finalised at a meeting between the two leaders. "The RLD will contest seven seats in western Uttar Pradesh," he said. But the spokesperson did not name the specific seats.

Moitra says she's hospitalised, urges HC to direct authorities not to evict

Citing medical reasons, expelled Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday urged the Delhi High Court to restrain the authorities from evicting her from the government bungalow on cancellation of allotment following her expulsion. The Trinamool Congress leader, who has challenged a notice by the Directorate of Estates (DoE) to vacate the government accommodation, pleaded not to throw her out of the premises for the time being as she is a single woman and is undergoing treatment at a hospital here. Justice Girish Kathpalia, who heard the counsel for Moitra and DoE at length, said he will dictate the order today. Senior advocate Brij Gupta, representing Moitra, submitted she has undergone a surgical procedure and is admitted to a private hospital. Doctors have advised her bed rest, the lawyer said and urged the court to give her some time to vacate the bungalow, preferably four months. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma and central government's standing counsel Anurag ...

Trinamool's Mahua Moitra gets eviction notice to vacate govt bungalow

The Directorate of Estates on Tuesday issued a notice to evict former TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha last month, from her government bungalow, sources in the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said. The Trinamool Congress leader has been asked to vacate the bungalow immediately, which had been allotted to her as an MP, they said. "Since the eviction notice was issued to her (Moitra) on Tuesday, a team of officials from the directorate of estates will now be sent to ensure that the government bungalow is vacated at the earliest," a source told PTI. The TMC leader, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 8 last year, was earlier asked to vacate the house by January 7 after her allotment was cancelled. On January 8, the DoE had issued a notice seeking her reply within three days as to why she had not vacated her government accommodation. Another notice was also issued to her on January 12. On January 4, the Delhi High Court asked the TMC leader

My actions based on SC guidelines: Speaker on Uddhav tirade against ruling

Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Tuesday defended his decision to recognise Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena, and asserted that his actions were based on the guidelines provided by the Supreme Court. He spoke to the media here immediately after Thackeray, at a press conference, attacked his January 10 ruling on disqualification petitions filed by both Shinde and Thackeray camps against each other's MLAs following a split in the party in June 2022. The speaker also justified his decision not to accept the undivided Shiv Sena's amended constitution of 2018. The party had then informed the Election Commission only about Uddhav Thackeray being the party chief but not submitted the amended constitution, he said. In his ruling, Narwekar held that the Sena's 1999 constitution was the valid one for deciding which faction was the real Shiv Sena. "My actions were based on the Supreme Court's guidelines," he said. Rules framed by a party should not

INDIA to resolve seat-sharing woes, victory assured in LS polls: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed confidence on Tuesday that the seat-sharing issues among the INDIA bloc partners will be resolved and claimed that the coalition will defeat the BJP in this year's Lok Sabha polls. He also said there is mutual respect and affection between the leaders of the INDIA bloc, which he asserted is "an ideological formation" that is in opposition to the idea of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Addressing a press conference here in Nagaland during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi said the status of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is "very good". "We are in conversation with our partners. The issue of seat sharing is being taken up. Those discussions are ongoing and I think they are going quite well. Let us see where those discussions end. "Broadly, a lot of those discussions are quite simple. They are not complex discussions and are relatively easy discussions to have. So I am quite

BJP politicised Ram temple consecration, difficult to attend: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said it is difficult for his party's leaders to attend the January 22 Ram temple consecration ceremony as the BJP and the RSS have turned it into a "political event" centred around Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His remarks at a press conference during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra here comes days after the Congress top brass declined the invitation to the event at the Ram temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. "The Ram temple consecration ceremony is a political event centred around the prime minister. The BJP and the RSS are giving an election flavour to it and that is why it is difficult for us to attend," Gandhi said. "It is difficult for us to attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony when our principal opponents the BJP and the RSS have captured the function and turned it into election event," he said. On the opposition INDIA bloc, the Congress leader said the alliance will defeat the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The seat sharing ..

Arvalo faces obstacles as Guatemala's new president to deliver on change

Bernardo Arvalo was sworn in early Monday as Guatemala's new president. Many doubted they would ever see the day as powerful interests aligned against his anti-corruption campaign and authorities threw various legal challenges at him and his party. Arvalo is now president, but those disputes will continue and with little support in Congress he will be hard-pressed to deliver the deep changes in Guatemalan government and society that fuelled his support and a surprise electoral victory. He's considered a political moderate with a background in conflict resolution, skills that should serve him well in Guatemala's current polarization. WHO IS GUATEMALA'S NEW PRESIDENT? Arvalo is the 65-year-old son of former Guatemalan President Juan Jos Arvalo. The elder Arvalo was credited with implementing fundamental protections for workers and spaces for the country's Indigenous population. Bernardo Arvalo was born in Uruguay, where his father was in exile following the ouster in a 1954 CIA-bac