Page 2444 - Politics
BJP to intensify protests against CPI(M)-led government
Upping the ante, the BJP Tuesday alleged that it was a "police raj" in Sabarimala and asserted that it would intensify its campaign against the CPI(M)-led LDF government's move to "destroy" the Lord Ayyappa temple. BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai alleged that the ruling CPI(M), using police, was trying to "crush" the party and sangh parivar workers who, he said, were staging a "Gandhian model" of protest against the government's "hasty move" to implement the Supreme Court verdict permitting the entry of women of all age groups into the hill shrine. Extending support to the "Sabarimala Karma Samiti", a platform of various right wing outfits protesting the apex court verdict, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said the party would organise "strong agitations against restrictions imposed on devotees visiting Sabarimala temple." "We demand that the state government withdraw the prohibitory orders clamped in Sabarimala and end the police raj there. The state government should ...
Khashoggi killing complicates Saudi rescue bid for South African arms firm
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Loss-making South African arms maker Denel has a problem as it fights to survive. Its potential saviour is Saudi Arabia, now drawing fierce criticism following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Efforts on to form PDP-Cong govt backed by NC in Jammu and Kashmir: Sources
In a potentially far-reaching realignment of political forces in Jammu and Kashmir, the PDP, Congress and the National Conference appear to be joining hands to form a popular government, sources in the three parties indicated Tuesday. The state is currently under governor's rule which cannot be extended after it completed its six-month period on December 19. It is proposed to impose President's rule thereafter but the 87-member assembly is not being dissolved, according to Governor Satyapal Mallik. A popular government headed by the Peoples Democratic Party's Mehbooba Mufti fell when its partner BJP pulled out of the ruling coalition on June 16. Political circles have been agog with speculation that behind the scene efforts were underway to prop up a government headed by Sajjad Lone's People Conference, which has only two MLAs but which would be banking on support by the 25 MLAs of BJP. However, this combination would fall short of the required majority of 44 which is sought to be ...
Rahul Gandhi misleading people on demo, GST: Ravi Shankar Prasad
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Tuesday hit out at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and accused him of misleading people on demonetisation and GST. Prasad said the noteban exercise and implementation of GST helped the country in the long run and steps taken by the Centre had made India the fastest growing economy in the world. Talking to reporters here, Prasad said, "The Congress president has been raking up the issue of demonetisation and GST during the election campaign. He is misleading people. These steps have benefited the Indian economy in the long run." He said 2.24 lakh fake companies were caught after demonetisation was announced, adding that more than Rs 4,000 crore had been deposited in the accounts of these companies. The union minister said the tax base had also increased in the country with the number of people filing Income Tax Return (ITR) rising from 3.82 crore in 2013-14 to 6.86 crore in 2017-18. Moreover, Prasad claimed, income tax collection was Rs 6.38 lakh crore in
Amit Shah in Raj on Wednesday
BJP chief Amit Shah will be in Rajasthan on Wednesday, a spokesperson said. Shah will be addressing youths at an event in the state capital and would take part in a road show in Bikaner. The party chief will address youths at a private school in Jaipur in 'Yuva ki baat, Amit Shah ke saath' programme. He will answer questions on national and international issues during the two-hour event, the party spokesperson said. The party will be using social media for allowing people to ask questions from six different locations, he added. Later, Shah will take part in a road show in Bikaner in support of BJP nominees Siddhi Kumari and Gopal Joshi from Bikaner East and West respectively. Rajya Sabha MP Narayan Lal Panchariya said the road show will start from M M Ground and culminate at Junagarh covering various areas.
Telangana Polls: 3,584 nominations filed with EC
The Election Commission of Telangana on Tuesday confirmed that 3,584 nominations were filed from 119 constituencies. It further informed that more than 2,000 nominations were filed on the final day of the nomination process.The EC further informed that various prominent leaders in the state including Chief Minister KCR's son IT and Municipality and Urban Development minister of the state KT Rama Rao, state's finance minister Etala Rajendra filed their nominations from Siricilla and Huzurabad constituencies respectively on the final day of the nomination process.According to the data released by the Telangana EC, Congress party filed a total of 300 nominations while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded 270 leaders. Caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao led Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) filed 272 nominations. The Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) fielded 5, 64 and 182 leaders respectively.Out of the ...
Trump criticises war hero for not capturing bin Laden sooner
President Donald Trump has ignited a firestorm of criticism and charges that he is politicising the military by faulting a war hero for not capturing al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden sooner. Trump took shots at retired Adm William McRaven in a weekend Fox News interview in which he also asserted that the former Navy SEAL and former commander of US Special Operations Command was a "backer" of Trump's 2016 rival Hillary Clinton and a supporter of President Barack Obama. "Disgusting," the George W Bush administration's White House counterterrorism adviser, Fran Townsend, wrote Monday on Twitter. Leon Panetta, who was CIA director during the bin Laden raid and later served as secretary of defence, said Trump owed an apology to McRaven and to all of those in the military and intelligence agencies who played a role in tracking down bin Laden and carrying out the risky raid into Pakistan. He called Trump's remark "patently ridiculous." "It demonstrates a profound lack of understanding of how .
Congress means nepotism, corruption: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told people of this north-earstern town of Madhya Pradesh that Congress means "nepotism" and "corruption", and that it kept people of the state in "darkness" during its 55-year rule.
Army Chief Gen Rawat to embark on 4-day visit to Vietnam Thursday
Chief of Army Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat will embark on a four-day visit to Vietnam on Thursday with an aim to bolster defence cooperation between the two strategic partners, officials said. They said Gen. Rawat will hold talks with the top brass of the military establishment of Vietnam including Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich. He will also visit a number of key military formations and establishments in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. "The visit will be yet another milestone in giving impetus to the strategic partnership between India and Vietnam and taking forward the military-to-military cooperation to the next level," said an Army spokesperson. Gen. Rawat's visit to Vietnam comes two days after President Ram Nath Kovind paid a three- day visit to that country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Vietnam in 2016 during which the relationship was upgraded to comprehensive strategic partnership. Defence cooperation between the two countries has increased "exponentially" over the last few .
Sabarimala: UDF leaders booked for defying prohibitory orders
Senior leaders and activists of the Opposition Congress-led UDF, who planned to visit the Sabarimala shrine and staged protests at base camp Pamba and Nilackal Tuesday, have been booked for defying prohibitory orders. The UDF leaders later gave up their plan to visit the shrine, saying they did not want to disturb the pilgrims. The state government has clamped prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code banning assembly of four or more people in Sabarimala and surrounding areas in view of protests by devotees over the government's decision to implement the Supreme Court verdict permitting entry of women of all ages into the hill shrine. A large number of activists led by opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, former chief minister Ooomen Chandy, IUML leader M K Muneer and N K Premachandran MP, staged a protest at Pamba demanding withdrawal of prohibitory orders. UDF activists raised "go back" slogans against police and chanted 'swamiye saranam ...
India, Russia seal USD 500 mn deal for construction of 2 warships for Indian Navy
India and Russia Tuesday sealed a USD 500 million deal for construction of two missile frigates in Goa for the Indian Navy, sending a clear signal of continuing with high-level defence collaborations notwithstanding the US warnings of sanctions. Officials said the agreement for manufacturing of the two Talvar-class warships was signed between defence PSU Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) and Russia's state-run defence major Rosoboronexport under the government-to-government framework for defence cooperation. Under the deal, Russia will provide design, technology know how and key materials to GSL for construction of the ships in India. The ships will be fitted with most advanced missiles and other weapon systems, they said. "We have finalised a USD 500 million deal with Russia for construction of two warships in Goa," CMD of GSL Shekhar Mital told PTI. He said construction of the ships will begin in 2020 and the first one will be ready for induction in 2026 while second one will be ready by ...
BJP manifesto for Mizoram: Mizo language to be added in Eight Schedule
The BJP on Tuesday released its manifesto for the Mizoram Assembly election, promising to include Mizo, the official language of the state, in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The party promised rice at Rs 1 per kg, home to every homeless family and traffic-congestion-free Aizawl in three years and pothole-free all-weather roads in the next six months. The manifesto was released by party general secretary Ram Madhav here. BJP president Amit Shah was scheduled to release it, but could not do so as he was behind schedule in his tour to the southern and northern tip of the state. The saffron party promised to establish two medical colleges, three engineering colleges and as many nursing training institutes, besides creating 50,000 jobs in the next five years. Construction of trans-boundary highway, linking Myanmar and Bangladesh border via Aizawl, to promote trade, tourism and industries was among the poll promises of the party. Other promises include establishment of ...
Congress candidate offered Rs 25 lakh to cancel election rally: Owaisi
MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday alleged that a candidate of the Congress offered Rs 25 lakh to cancel an election rally in Telangana's Nirmal constituency.
MLAs lifted Speaker's mace as last resort: NCP
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Tuesday said the Opposition MLAs lifted the Speaker's mace in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as the "last resort" because the state government didn't take note of the issues such as drought and the Maratha quota raised by them. NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad also said that Speaker Haribhau Bagde should have adjourned the proceedings immediately after the incident. Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Assembly on the second day of the Winter Session when the members of the Congress and the NCP lifted the mace and tore papers while demanding that the report of the state backward classes commission on the Maratha quota be tabled immediately. "Lifting of mace is an insult to sovereignty of the House. Opposition legislators lift the mace as a last resort when their demands are not heard. "Today, the Opposition members raised serious issues like the government's approach regardingreservations and drought," Awhad told reporters. He said the ...
Delhi CM attacked with chilli powder outside office
A man threw chilli powder at Arvind Kejriwal outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday, an attack the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) described as "politically motivated" while asserting that the BJP is hatching a conspiracy in collusion with Delhi Police to attack the chief minister. Even as the man behind the attack - Anil Kumar Sharma was detained, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said his party would not be "cowed down" by these "petty tactics" by the BJP. Police said 40-year-old Sharma, a resident of Naraina has been detained for questioning. While the AAP blamed the BJP for the attack, the Delhi chief of the saffron party Manoj Tiwari said such incidents "cannot be tolerated or justified by anybody" and called for a high-level probe. Officials said Kumar was targeting the bespectacled chief minister's eyes. Kejriwal's spectacles broke but his eyes seemed to have been spared any damage, they added. Kumar, whose Aadhaar card has been recovered, brought the chilli powder to .
Sushma's husband thanks her for not deciding to contest 2019 polls
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's husband Swaraj Kaushal on Tuesday welcomed her decision not to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
4 key agreements signed during President Kovind's Vietnam visit
India and Vietnam on Tuesday signed four agreements- one each in the spheres of communications, foreign affairs, academics, and commerce during the visit of President Ram Nath Kovind to the South East Asian country.The President shared an image on his Twitter account with the caption "India and Vietnam have signed and exchanged four agreements," giving an outline of the agreements signed between the two South Asian nations.An agreement has been signed by the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam and India's Ministry of Communications. The second is an agreement of cooperation between the Department of Foreign Affairs of Provinces, which is a branch of Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam.An academic agreement has also been signed between the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics in Hanoi and New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Goa's MGP petitions High Court, says Parrikar, two other BJP MLAs terminally ill
The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, a part of the BJP-led ruling alliance in Goa, has filed a petition before the High Court saying that three BJP legislators including Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar were terminally ill and in no position to attend the assembly session if convened for a floor test.
BJP-RSS want to destroy India's democratic structure: Rahul
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the BJP-RSS combine, which has a "divisive ideology", was penetrating its people into government institutions in order to destroy the country's democratic structure.
Attempt to obstruct financial powers of Pondy govt, says CM
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy Tuesday made a veiled attack on Lt Governor Kiran Bedi for trying to 'obstruct' the financial powers of the territorial government, particularly in releasing grants to cooperative institutions and public sector undertakings. Addressing functionaries of various cooperative societies at a function here, the Chief Minister said, "The elected government in the national capital territory of Delhi has full financial powers and no files on sanction of funds were sent to the Delhi Lt Governor for approval." But, in Puducherry an 'amusing practice' is sought to be adopted by some sections, which only 'obstructs' the financial powers of elected government thereby 'affecting' the employees in cooperative societies and public sector undertakings, Narayanasamy said. In an apparent reference to the recent circular of Puducherry Finance Secretary that restricted delegation of financial powers to subordinate authorities to contingent and ...