Page 2443 - Politics

Sushma Swaraj says she won't contest next Lok Sabha polls, cites health reasons

Senior BJP leader and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced Tuesday that she will not contest the next Lok Sabha polls due to health reasons. The 66-year-old leader, who is serving her fourth term in the House and has long been her party's most prominent woman face, told reporters, "It is the party which decides, but I have made up my mind not to contest the next (Lok Sabha) elections due to health reasons." Swaraj had undergone kidney transplant in 2016. "After being elected from Vidisha as Lok Sabha MP, I was the Leader of Opposition. Later I was given the responsibility of External Affairs Ministry. Despite holding these prime posts, I used to visit all Assembly segments in my constituency every month for nearly eight years. "Doctors have advised me that I should avoid exposure to dust. Because of this, I am unable to take part even in election rallies," she said. "Due to health reasons, I cannot participate in outdoor public programmes.... I have also told my party ..

Tamils could become victims of Lanka political turmoil: TNA

Sri Lanka's minority Tamils could become victims of the current political turmoil in the country, the main Tamil party's leader told foreign diplomats here on Tuesday. "We told them if the current state of affairs continues there could be serious consequences," R Sampanthan said as 14 of the Tamil National Alliance's 16 parliamentarians attended the meeting with Colombo-based diplomats. The TNA said it stands solidly behind ousted premier Ranil Wickremesinghe who still claims he is the lawful prime minister. Last month, President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial action sacked Wickremesinghe and replaced him with ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa as premier, plunging the island nation into political chaos. Wickremesinghe has demanded a floor test to prove his majority. Sirisena's party did not cooperate with parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to hold the floor test. TNA has said Sirisena's October 26 sacking of Wickremesinghe and his November 9 decision to dissolve Parliament to

Sovan Chatterjee resigns from Mamata Banerjee cabinet

West Bengal Minister for Housing and Fire Services Sovan Chatterjee resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday and has also been asked to quit the post of the Kolkata mayor, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. "He had earlier expressed his will to resign four-five times... We thought that he will realise (his mistakes). He resigned today and we have accepted it. He has also been asked to quit the post of city mayor," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat. The resignation letter has been forwarded to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, the chief minister stated. She said Chatterjee's portfolios had been handed over to state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim. "Hakim will take additional responsibilities of the two departments held by Chatterjee. Since a mayor has to be elected, we will decide on it later," Banerjee said, adding that Kolkata Municipal Corporation Commissioner Khalil Ahmed had been asked to look after the operations of the civic body.

Rahul makes barrage of attack at PM on Rafale, interference in functioning of institutions

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday charged the Modi-led government with interfering in the functioning of institutions like the Election Commission and CBI, as he also accused the Prime Minister of giving Rs 30,000 crore, which is "one year's spending on MGNREGA scheme", to help Reliance's Anil Ambani. Hitting hard at the BJP's ideological mentor, he said being an RSS man is sufficient qualification to be governor or vice chancellor. Gandhi addressed a series of rallies in Mizoram where Congress is making all efforts to hold its lone fort in the North-East. The party is in power in the state since 2008. Elections to 40-member Mizoram assembly is slated for November 28. Reiterating his allegations of corruption in the Rafale fighter places purchase, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "robbed" public money and used it to buy publicity. The government has denied the opposition party's allegations on the fighter jet deal with France. "The Modi government is interfering in the .

Amarinder slams Sukhbir for blaming him for Amritsar grenade attack

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Tuesday lashed out at SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal for blaming him for Amritsar grenade attack and said his allegations were "totally unwarranted and politically motivated". Singh accused the former deputy chief minister of "playing" with the religious sentiments of people for promoting vested interests. The chief minister, in a statement, said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief, in his desperate bid to "divert attention from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe against him in the Bargari sacrilege case, was resorting to cheap and petty politicking. Badal on Monday had blamed Singh for the Amritsar grenade attack, accusing him of hobnobbing with Sikh radicals who were hell-bent upon fomenting trouble in the state. Punjab Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also slammed the former deputy chief minister for blaming Singh for the grenade attack in Amritsar and accused him of "playing politics over dead bodies". There is no caste or religion ..

Institutions losing credibility because of govt's stubbornness and wrong intentions: Sharad Yadav

Attacking the government, opposition leader Sharad Yadav on Tuesday alleged that institutions like the CBI and RBI are losing their credibility because of the NDA dispensation's "stubbornness" and "wrong intention". He said it was "very unfortunate" that people have started saying that the high ups in the key institutions on which they have confidence have been witnessing battles within and levelling charges of corruption, resulting in losing of their credibility. Yadav further said there was no harm in taking into confidence the opposition leaders for discussions and thrashing out the matters of critical nature which are affecting the country as a whole. "During my political journey in the last almost five decades, I have never seen such a mishandling on the part of the Government in the country that such prime institutions have been brought at the verge of losing credibility which is deplorable. I believe that whatever is happening in the Government is only because of stubbornness ..

Kejriwal to hold rallies in all 10 LS constituencies in Haryana

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, whose party has announced to contest both the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly elections in Haryana, will hold rallies covering each of the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state unit president Naveen Jaihind said the party would hold a public rally in Gurugram on November 24. Then on December 2, the party will hold a rally in Faridabad, followed by another one on December 3 in Narnaul, while on December 9, a rally has been planned in the Karnal Lok Sabha constituency. The schedule for the remaining rallies will be announced later, Jaihind told reporters here Tuesday. He also said Kejriwal will go to Sonipat on Wednesday to give ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to the family of BSF jawan Narender Singh, who was brutally killed by Pakistani troopers along the International Border (IB) near Jammu in September. The AAP government had earlier approved a proposal to amend a rule on giving ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to

Municipal committees of Reasi, Katra get presidents, VPs

The municipal committees of Reasi and Katra towns in Jammu and Kashmir got their presidents and vice presidents Tuesday. Elected council members of Reasi and Katra municipal councils (MC) elected president and vice president in their respective councils, officials said. The election process was held at the respective council offices. The local bodies elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held last month. In MC Reasi, Sudesh Kumar was elected as the president, while Yograj Raina was elected as the vice president, they said. The entire process was carried out under Returning Officer and ACR Reasi, Harbans Sharma, his associates Vinod and Madan and presiding authority, Tanya Pandoh. In MC Katra, Shashi Gupta bagged the president's seat while Ajay Baru got elected as the vice president, they added. The closely monitored election process was held under SDM Katra, Ashok Choudhary, and CEO Katra MC, Jagdish Mehra.

Beigh signals revolt in PDP; not averse to join Lone's third front

Signalling revolt in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its founding member and Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, Tuesday announced that he would "seriously consider" joining a third front led by People's Conference leader Sajad Lone. Blaming the PDP for failing to deliver to the people, he hit out at his party for boycotting the civic body and panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir, saying "the PDP betrayed the workers, denying them a chance to connect with the people, by boycotting the elections. They left a vacuum and that space has now been occupied. Politics does not wait for people who boycott". Talking to reporters here at his residence, he said he was not consulted when the party took the decision to boycott the local body polls. "I was in Delhi, just a phone call away. I remained quiet because I did not want the PDP to fall asunder," he said. Reacting to speculations that the PDP and arch rival National Conference might join hands to form a government in

Don't elect even a single Congress candidate: Modi to voters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday asked people to vote "intelligently" in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, ensuring that "not even a single Congress candidate" is elected. Addressing a poll rally for the November 28 elections, Modi said the people of Madhya Pradesh have an opportunity to crush the Congress party's "ego". Targeting the Nehru-Gandhi family, Modi said, "History has shown us that however big a sultanate in Delhi is, its rule ends after four generations. Congress has also met the same fate". "Congress is a party whose leaders are confused and the party is fused. They can't pass current (power) to you," he said. People in various states who knew what Congress did haven't allowed it to return to power there, Modi said, citing Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal as examples. "In these states, the Congress was struggling for over 30 years but people didn't bring it to power, he added. Modi also said he used the "bitter medicine" of demonetisation to bring .

After CNN's Jim Acosta case, White Houses imposes curbs on correspondents

As per the new White House guidelines, a reporter can ask a single question and permission for a follow up will be subject to the discretion of the individual holding the news conference

India needs to show its soft face to people of Kashmir: Mehbooba

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said Tuesday "soldier and gun" should not be the "only symbol" of India in the state and the country has to show its tolerant and liberal face to the people here. She said the country's democratic values can help it counter intolerance and sectarianism. "India has to show its soft face to the people of Kashmir and solider and gun should not be the only symbol of the country in Jammu and Kashmir. It has to be its democratic values, tolerance and religious harmony which could provide a bulwark against the swirling tides of intolerance and sectarianism," Mufti, the PDP president, said. She was addressing party functionaries from Pattan, Shopian and Kulgam here. Mufti said muscular policy and the political patchwork "will not bring peace in the restive state" and such approaches have "miserably failed to yield positive results" in the past. "This muscular approach will not take us anywhere as this has been tried for many decades and ..

Spain PM threatens Brexit deal over Gibraltar

Spain's prime minister warned Tuesday that Madrid would vote against the Brexit deal agreed between London and Brussels if it does not guarantee Madrid's veto over Gibraltar's future status. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is due to sign a treaty with EU leaders to leave the bloc on Sunday, but Spain's warning over the contested British territory on Spain's southern tip may add another complication. "As a country, we can't conceive that what will happen with the future of Gibraltar will depend on a negotiation between Britain and the European Union," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told a business conference in Madrid on Tuesday. "As a consequence, today, I regret to say that a pro-European government like Spain's would vote no to Brexit unless there are changes." According to Article 184 of the draft Brexit deal, "the EU and the United Kingdom shall make every effort, in good faith and with full respect for their respective legal systems, to adopt the measures necessary to ...

iDEX to nurture 1,000 startups for defence sector in 3 yrs

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), an initiative launched by the Centre in April, is looking to create an ecosystem of around 1,000 startups working for the defence needs of the country in the next three years, said a senior official. While addressing students at the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad (IIM-A) here Tuesday, Ajay Kumar, secretary, department of defence production under the ministry of defence, said the iDEX initiative is aimed at encouraging budding entrepreneurs to come up with technology solutions for the defence sector. "Three years down the line, we will have 1,000 startups working in this (defence) space and at least five products adopted by the government. In addition, we would like to see 25 startup solutions accepted by the services," Kumar said while addressing the students of the 'Armed Forces Programme' of IIM-A. Kumar said the larger goal of this initiative of engaging with startups is to reduce dependency on the imports of ...

Danish envoy returns to Iran after foiled assassination plot

Denmark said Tuesday its ambassador would return to Iran this week, three weeks after he was recalled over Copenhagen's assertion that Tehran tried to kill three Iranian dissidents on Danish soil. "The ambassador is going back to Iran on Thursday," Danish foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne Moller told AFP. Denmark has accused Tehran of plotting an "attack" against three Iranians believed to be members of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA) who live in Denmark. Tehran blames ASMLA, which it calls a terrorist organisation, for an attack on a military parade in the Iranian city of Ahvaz on September 22, spraying the crowd with gunfire and killing 24 people. Iran has rejected the Danish allegations, claiming Tehran's enemies are conspiring to ruin its relations with Europe. Copenhagen has been consulting with its European allies about possible sanctions against Tehran. "In the meeting yesterday (Monday), we received a lot of support. We are still looking at what .

Kosovo's bid to join Interpol rejected at agency's assembly

Kosovo's bid to join Interpol failed on Tuesday during a vote at the body's annual general assembly, dealing a blow to the country's efforts to boost recognition of its statehood. "An application for membership by Kosovo was rejected by the INTERPOL General Assembly," the organization announced from its meeting held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. The bid's failure marks a significant setback for Kosovo if it had been approved, Kosovo would have been able to request "red notices" from Interpol for arrests of Serbian officials or figures that authorities in Kosovo consider war criminals. Supported by its ally Russia, Serbia had been lobbying against Kosovo's entry into Interpol. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia. The United States and most of the Western states support Kosovo's statehood. Serbia's leaders rejoiced over the outcome. President Aleksandar Vucic held a press conference hailing the vote as a "victory" for Serbia. "I am ...

Netherlands embassy discusses high density apple plantation in JK

A two-member team led by agriculture counsellor from the embassy of the Netherlands Tuesday met a senior government official and discussed high density apple plantation in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Siebe Schuur, the counsellor for agriculture, nature and food quality for India and Sri Lanka from the embassy of the Netherlands, along with deputy counsellor Anand Krishnan called on Horticulture department secretary Manzoor Ahmad Lone here, the officials said. They said Schuur and Lone discussed the scope of high density apple plantation in the state, nursery development and establishment of more controlled atmosphere (CA) storage facility in the public and private sector, among other things. The Netherlands has been the front runner in providing grading and packing material for establishment of CA storage facility in the valley in the private sector. The Counsellor desired to have further discussions with regard to the establishment of nurseries in the state for effective ...

Ballots prevailed over bullets in Kashmir, says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said ballots have prevailed over bullets in Jammu and Kashmir civic elections and in Chhattisgarh assembly polls despite threats by terrorists and Maoists. Addressing a poll rally here, Modi said, "The previous governments feared violence in holding elections in Srinagar. Nagar Palika (urban civic body) polls have taken place there with no trace of violence. Now panchayat polls are underway there". "Despite terrorists calling for a bandh, elections were held three days ago in Kashmir valley. The polling percentage there was 65," he said. "People having faith in democracy proved their point," he added. "In Chhattisgarh, naxals threatened that if people did not boycott polls, their fingers would be chopped off. Around 70 per cent voting took place in the first phase of elections and a large voter turnout is seen for the second phase there today," Modi said.

Saudi, UAE announce $500 mn in aid to war-torn Yemen

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which lead a military coalition against the Huthi rebels in Yemen, announced Tuesday USD 500 million in aid to the country on the brink of famine. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will each give USD 250 million in response to the food crisis to support more than 10 million people, said Abdullah Rabeeah, general supervisor at King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre. He added that donations will go through the United Nations as well as other international and local aid groups. Rabeeah spoke at a joint news conference in Riyadh with UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem al-Hashimy. The latest aid package comes after the two countries and Kuwait offered USD 1.25 billion to the UN's humanitarian response plan in Yemen for 2018, according to Rabeeah. Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened in the Yemen war in 2015 to bolster Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after the Huthis took over the capital Sanaa. Both the military ...

Xi visits Philippines to cosy up to historical US ally

Chinese President Xi Jinping called his visit Tuesday to long-time US ally the Philippines a "milestone", as he aims to boost blossoming ties on the promise of billions of dollars in backing for mega-projects. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has proven a willing recipient of Beijing's attentions, declaring shortly after his election in 2016 his nation's "separation" from former colonial master the US. Since then Beijing, which is competing with Washington for supremacy in the Pacific, has promised USD 24 billion in investment and infrastructure loans that the developing nation of 105 million deeply needs. But over two years later, only a trickle of funding has arrived, prompting critics to question whether Duterte has been duped into pivoting toward China and giving too much ground on the South China Sea dispute. Xi landed in Manila to a red-carpet welcome for the first state visit from a Chinese president in 13 years, which Manila hopes will finally net those investment ...