Page 2414 - Politics
G20, forged in crisis, faces major test next week: Donald Trump
BERLIN/BEIJING/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - When G20 world leaders met for the first time in 2008 their mission was a desperate one - to rescue the global economy from the worst financial crisis in more than 70 years. They were successful.
PM cannot get rid of his 'childhood habit' of lying: Congress
The Congress Friday alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not able to get rid of his childhood habit of telling lies after he claimed that the Karnataka government was arresting indebted farmers. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said at a press conference here that it hurts when a person holding the prime minister's post lies. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a bad habit of speaking lies. It seems he is not able to get rid of his childhood habit," he said, when asked about Modi's allegation. The prime minister, addressing campaign rallies in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, had pooh-poohed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's promise of farm loan waiver in the two states. He claimed the party had made the same promise during the Karnataka polls but did not fulfil it. The coalition government consisting of Congress in Karnataka was, instead, issuing warrants and arresting farmers for defaulting on loan repayments, the prime minister alleged. Surjewala asked about the loan waiver ...
Rajnath mocks Congress, says BJP will hit a four in MP
Dubbing the Congress as a "marriage procession without a groom", Union Home Minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh Friday said his party will be voted back to power in Madhya Pradesh for a fourth straight term on the basis of good work done by its government since 2003. Campaigning for the BJP for the November 28 polls, he accused the Congress of engaging in divisive politics. Rajnath Singh said there was hardly any development in Madhya Pradesh under the Congress rule, but things changed rapidly after the BJP came to power 15 years ago. "Till 2003 there were no roads and power rarely came in the state. After the BJP came to power, development took place at a rapid place," he said, addressing a poll rally at Tiyara in Singrauli district. "And the BJP on the basis of its good governance this time will hit a four (win a fourth straight term)," the Union home minister said. Taking a jibe at the Congress for not declaring its chief ministerial candidate, he dubbed the main opposition party
Former Odisha minister floats new party
Expelled Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and former Odisha minister Damodar Rout on Friday announced formation of a new party, the Biju Samata Kranti Dal.
J-K Governor inaugurates 'Jhiri Mela'
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Friday inaugurated a week long 'Jhiri Mela' at village Jhiri in Jammu district. The annual fair is commemorated in the memory of the martyrdom of 'Baba Jittoo', a farmer who gave up his life about 500 years ago in protest against the oppressive demands of a land lord. Governor welcomed the devotees who have thronged the shrine of Baba Jitto and his daughter 'Bua Kodi'. Paying rich tributes to 'Baba Jitto', Malik said "the supreme sacrifice made by Baba Jitto isexemplary for each of us to emulate in our fight againstinjustice". He said the Union Government isproactive in supporting farm sector in which majority of thepopulation is engaged, and Prime Minister Modi has launchedvarious initiatives to double farmer's income by 2020. He announced the construction of a 'Sarai' (inn) at village Jhiri for the devotees. A cultural programme comprising folk songs and a Dogridance was presented by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of ArtCulture and Languages
Rajasthan BJP suspends 11 rebel leaders
The Rajasthan BJP has suspended 11 rebel leaders, including four ministers, for six years over their decision to contest elections against party candidates, a party spokesperson said Friday. Four ministers, Surendra Goyal (Jaitaran),Hem Singh Bhadana (Thanagaji), Rajkumar Rinwa (Ratangarh) and Dhan Singh Rawat (Banswara), who are contesting as independent candidates, are among those who were suspended on Thursday night after they did not withdraw nomination papers. The party termed the action "expulsion" for six years. Thursday was the last day for withdrawal of nomination papers for the Rajasthan assembly polls. The other suspended leaders include sitting MLAs Anita Katara (Sagwara) and Kishnaram Nai (Sridungargarh) and former MLAs Radheshyam Ganganagar, Laxminarayan, among others. "They have been expelled from the party for contesting against the party's official candidates," the BJP spokesperson said here. The rebels were dismissive of the party action. "I am a five-time MLA and ...
Major facelift for Jallianwala Bagh in offing as govt to mark centenary of massacre in 2019
The Jallianwala Bagh memorial will be given a facelift as part of government's plans to mark the centenary year of the 1919 massacre, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said Friday. The government has prepared a blueprint for the year-long commemoration of the massacre that took place on April 13, 1919 as part of its efforts to mark the lives of eminent personalities and events of historical importance, said Sharma who visited the site Friday. The Tourism Ministry along with the Culture Ministry will renovate this historical site by creating suitable infrastructure for providing basic amenities for tourists, he said. "We will also have an interpretation centre, a musical fountain and a light and sound show telling the story of what happened here. We will also develop the site around the well where people gave up their lives," the minister said. While the Tourism Ministry has already earmarked Rs eight crore for the project, the Culture Ministry will provide additional funds. On the ...
Sadhvi Prachi demands Centre to bring in ordinance for construction of Ram temple
Firebrand Hindutva leader Sadhvi Prachi Friday demanded the central government to bring in an ordinance in Parliament to clear the way for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya. She said lakhs of devotees would reach Ayodhya on November 25 to discuss the issue. Speaking to reporters in Lakhimpur, Prachi said, "Either the court should pronounce an early judgment or the (central) government should bring in an ordinance for the construction of 'Ram mandir' on the pattern of Somnath." In a veiled attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi, she alleged that he was playing playing politics on the Ram temple issue. "A brahmin wearing fake 'janeu' with no knowledge of his 'gotra' was visiting one temple after the other, which was nothing but sheer politics," she said. "He should approach Modi ji, dare him to bring an ordinance for 'Ram mandir' and extend his support so that the issue is resolved permanently," Prachi added.
BJP's latest salvo, Kamal Nath is 'Commission Nath'
"Kamal Nath is Commission Nath", said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its latest salvo on Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath."Today, from this stage, we are coining a new name for Kamal Nath Ji. He is not Kamal Nath, he is 'Commission Nath'," said BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra at a press conference here referring to Nath's alleged involvement in the 2G Spectrum scam.Expressing full confidence of retaining the state, Patra mentioned: "The people in Madhya Pradesh don't want 'Commission Nath', only 'lotus' will bloom here".Meanwhile, BJP Member of Parliament GVL Narasimha Rao also trained gun at the senior Congress leader and one of the longest-serving Lok Sabha members, saying: "When Kamal Nath Ji was a minister and involved in scams, he was shielded by a person. That person is Rahul Gandhi. Kamal Nath was the main face of the rice exports scam. The case was not handed over to the Central Board of Investigation (CBI)."He further said, "When Niira Radia tapes were ..
Babri mosque demolished in 17 mins, how long will govt take for temple ordinance: Raut
A day before Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray arrives here, the party raised the pitch over the Ram temple issue, with its leader Sanjay Raut asking the government as to how long it will take to bring an ordinance to build temple at the site where the Babri mosque was "demolished in 17 minutes by Ram bhakts". "The Babri mosque was demolished in 17 minutes... in about half an hour what needed to be done was done by the Ram bhakts...the blot which was there since years was brought down ," Raut told reporters, referring to the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. "How long does it take to prepare papers... to bring ordinance... from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to Uttar Pradesh Assembly. They are all BJP governments," the Shiv Sena leader said. Earlier today, the Sena, which is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) but has had strained ties with ally BJP, demanded that the central government come out with an ordinance and declare a date for the construction of Ram .
White House meeting with German car bosses likely next week: source
BERLIN (Reuters) - A meeting between the U.S. administration and the heads of German carmakers Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler to discuss trade policy will likely take place mid next week, a source close to the matter said.
Sweden's left gets fresh chance to form government
Sweden's Social Democrat leader Stefan Lofven was handed a fresh chance to form a government Friday after the leader of the conservative Moderates party failed to build a ruling coalition following an inconclusive October election. Andreas Norlen, speaker of the Swedish parliament, turned again to interim prime minister Lofven after the leader of the conservative Moderates party Ulf Kristersson proved unable to break the deadlock. Both the two main parties have tried and failed to form a ruling coalition in parliament since the September 9 election. Lofven's leftwing bloc holds 144 parliamentary seats, just one more than the centre-right Alliance: but that is not enough for a ruling coalition in the 349-seat Riksdag, where the threshold is 175. Neither side is willing to accept the far-right, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats as a coalition partner. With 62 seats, they are now the third-largest party in the Riksdag. The centre-right and far-right together brought down Lofven's ...
Raje on Rajasthan's development: We did in 5 years what Congress could not in 50
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje alleged on Friday the Congress retained power for decades by creating tension among different castes and communities, and claimed what the party could not do in terms of development in 50 years her dispensation did in the past five. Addressing an election rally in Nainwa town of Rajasthan's Bundi district, Raje launched a scathing attack on the Congress and said though the Congress coined the slogan of 'garibi hatao' (remove poverty), it never actually worked for it. "We have done so much development works in the state in the past five years that successive Congress governments failed to do in 50 years of their rule," she alleged. "They retained power for 50 years by creating tension among castes and communities and by spreading hatred," she claimed. Seeking votes for BJP nominee Omendra Singh Hada in the Hindoli assembly constituency, the chief minister said, "My government has made best efforts to place Rajasthan on the top in terms of ...
Centre does not know how to manage institutions like RBI, CBI: Amit Mitra
Terming the RBI-government rift as a ''symptom of a disease'', West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra Friday said the Deputy Governor's concern on autonomy shows RBI is imploding from inside and the Centre does not know how to manage institutions like the RBI and the CBI. The development surrounding RBI and CBI is a reflection of poor governance on the part of NDA government, Mitra said at a press conference here. He said no such incident of conflicts in the two institutions were witnessed during the previous governments. "This government does not know how to manage institutions. They have to learn... This is only a symptom of a disease," he said while commenting on the ongoing rift between RBI and the central government. RBI and the Centre have not been on the same page with regard to certain key issues like level of the central bank's reserves, lending to MSMEs, and liquidity of NBFCs. However, in a board meeting on November 19, RBI has agreed to some of the proposals of the ...
Computer Baba presses refresh button, to back Cong in MP polls
A group of religious figures led by godman Computer Baba on Friday declared support to the Congress for November 28 Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. It marks a radical change in the political stand of Swami Namdev Tyagi, popularly known as Computer Baba, who had been anointed as a minister of state by the BJP government. Computer Baba had organised 'Narmade Sansad', a gathering of like-minded religious leaders from various states including Uttar Pradesh, here Friday to decide which party they should support in the polls. "The saints will support the Congress," he said at the gathering. "When we can give fifteen years to them (the Bharatiya Janata Party), then we can surely give five years to Congress," he said. "If Congress upholds dharma, we will go with them in future or else we will withdraw the support," he said. In April, the BJP government in the state accorded him the status of Minister of State alongwith five others by appointing him on a committee for ...
Shivraj invokes Altaf Raja in mocking Rahul Gandhi
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday took a jibe at Congress President Rahul Gandhi with the lyrics of a 1997-song sung by Qawwali singer Altaf Raja."Yeh to thehre pardesi, saath kya nibhayenge?," Chouhan said at an election rally here.Touting the Congress party president as a pardesi (foreigner), Chouhan said, "Where will be Rahul Gandhi after 28 November (voting day for Madhya Pradesh elections)? He stays less in India and more abroad. He (Rahul) wouldn't be in India after the voting will be over as he stays outside the country. He is an outsider, he won't be here to help us. In the end, Mama (Shivraj) will be here to help."Earlier in the day, the Congress chief, while addressing a rally in poll-bound state's Vidisha district said that Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh has destroyed the education sector with Vyapam scam -- the entrance examination, admission and recruitment scam unearthed in the state in 2013.The 230-Madhya Pradesh ...
No crime in aligning with BJP: Sajjad Gani Lone
Sajjad Gani Lone, leader of the People's Conference, on Friday said that he staked claim to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir as he had the support of the required number of legislators."We staked the claim as we had the numbers. Had there been a floor test or had we been told to bring in the numbers, then what is within the purview of the constitution would have happened," Lone told ANI.Hours after arch-rivals - Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) - stitched up an alliance along with the Congress party to stake the claim of forming the government in Jammu and Kashmir, Lone too said that he had the support of 25 legislators from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and18 other lawmakers.Lone said that siding with the BJP is not a crime and is good for the state, even as he clarified that his party's stance on Articles 370 and 35A would not be compromised at any cost."If aligning with BJP is a crime, then it is Omar Abdullah who first committed this crime. He was ..
Doval in China for border talks with Wang
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrived in China on Friday for the 21st round of border talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during which they would also review the progress in bilateral ties since the Wuhan Summit in April. Doval and Wang will meet on Saturday in the picturesque Dujiangyan City in southwestern China's Sichuan province. They are the designated special representatives for border talks between India and China. Wang earlier this year succeeded Yang Jiechi as the state councillor, a rank higher than the foreign minister in Chinese government's hierarchy. This will be his first round of border talks. Announcing the talks on November 21, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang presented an upbeat picture of the bilateral ties saying, "We have properly managed the differences through dialogue and consultation. The border areas on the whole maintained stability." Officials maintain that this round of talks may focus more on reviewing the progress on trade .
HIGHLIGHTS NORTH 6.15 PM
These are the top stories from the northern region at 6.15 pm. JAIPUR ELX1 POLL-RJ EXPEL Jaipur: The Rajasthan BJP has expelled 11 rebel leaders, including four ministers, for their decision to contest elections against party candidates, a party spokesperson said Friday. SRINAGAR DEL22 JK-3RDLD ENCOUNTER Srinagar: In a blow to Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen, six militants, including a terrorist involved in planning journalist Shujaat Bukhari's murder and three commanders, were killed in an early morning encounter at Bijbehara in South Kashmir, police said. JAMMU DEL19 JK-LOC-FLAG MEETING Jammu: The Indian and Pakistan armies Friday held a brigade commander level meeting at a border crossing in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch sector to adhere to ceasefire, a defence official said. JAIPUR ELX2 RJ-POLLS-CASTE FACTOR Jaipur: Both the BJP and the Congress kept the caste arithmetic in mind while announcing their candidates for the Rajasthan assembly polls, fielding ...
More than 10L devotees take dip in Ganga on Kartik Purnima
More than 10 lakh devotees took a dip in the Ganga river on the occasion of Kartik Purnima on Friday. The people had started gathering for the week-long Ganga Mela on November 18, Amroha District Magistrate Hemant Kumar said. District officials said more than 10 lakh devotees took a dip in the river this morning and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took an aerial survey of the area. This was the first time that the fair was organised by the administration as earlier the panchayat would organise it, he said. Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Chetan Chouhan, who inaugurated the fair, said next time the government will try to establish a centre for yoga, traditional games and rural activities. No untoward incident occurred at the fair this time due to extra care of the district administration and the police, Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada said. District railway manager A K Singhal said due to huge gathering, railways operated some special trains to Moradabad. It also announced stoppage ..