Page 2454 - Politics

CPI(ML) expresses reservations against attempts to woo

The Communist Party of India - Marxist Leninist (Liberation), a prominent anti-NDA party in Bihar, on Monday cautioned the opposition Grand Alliance in the state against joining hands with "weathercocks in the NDA" - an obvious reference to sulking RLSP chief and Union minister Upendra Kushwaha. CPI(ML) Liberation national secretary general Deepankar Bhattacharya made the remark while talking to reporters here on the sidelines of a party rally. "It is important to defeat the anti-people Narendra Modi government at the Centre. But it is equally important to remember that this aim should not lead to a scramble for short-sighted alliances", Bhattacharya said. "We need to look only at the recent past. In the name of defeating the BJP, a massive and formidable coalition was formed. Nitish Kumar became the Chief Minister for another term and within no time switched sides and joined the NDA headed by the very BJP he had fought against", he said. "Today we can again see some ...

Nagaland unit of AAP merges with opposition NPF

The Nagaland unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday merged with the opposition Naga Peoples' Front (NPF). The formal merger was held at the NPF Central Office here in presence of AAP Nagaland chief Dr S Amos and NPF president Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu. The state unit of the AAP was formed in May 2016. It contested in three seats in the February assembly election but did not taste success. Despite the NPF being in the opposition, AAP members sought to join the party to work for better transformation of the society, Amos said. "The AAP unanimously and willingly agreed to merge with the NPF after thorough analysis and preparation towards working in unity for the growth of the state," he said. Welcoming AAP members in the party, Liezietsu said Nagaland being a small state, its parties need to come together and remain strong. "The AAP is a strong party and ruling in the National Capital by surviving all onslaughts of the central government," said Liezietsu, a former chief

Corrected: May's government courts Northern Irish business to sell Brexit deal

(Corrects to make clear company name is Beyond Business Travel)

Sukhbir blames Amarinder for Amritsar grenade attack

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday blamed Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for the grenade attack in Amritsar, accusing him of hobnobbing with radicals who are "hell-bent" on fomenting trouble in the state. "I squarely blame Captain Amarinder Singh for the terror activity, as there is a conspiracy of supporting radicals and encouraging radicals. Today, he is responsible for what happened in Amritsar," Sukhbir told reporters here. "The CM has hobnobbed with those forces which are hell-bent on fomenting trouble in Punjab," the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief said. Three persons were killed and over 20 injured when two motorcycle-borne men threw grenade in a prayer hall at the Nirankari Bhavan near Rajasansi on Sunday, an incident which the police are treating as a "terrorist act". "The tragic attack is a direct fallout of the chief minister's policy to support radicals and use them to marginalise the mainstream moderate Akalis," Sukhbir said "Now, again, Punjab is being ...

South African minister notes worry about graft prosecutions

A Cabinet minister in South Africa on Monday citing concerns that efforts to prosecute people allegedly involved in corruption under former president Jacob Zuma are falling short. Pravin Gordhan, the public enterprises minister, told a commission investigating corruption allegations that he has often heard South Africans ask why no "big figure" has ended up in a prison uniform. Gordhan questioned "how many files are waiting on the desk of the National Prosecuting Authority?" with investigations and charges prepared but prosecutions yet to proceed. As finance minister under Zuma, Gordhan was widely seen as a strong opponent of efforts to loot state coffers. Zuma fired Gordhan in 2017, but resigned in February. Zuma has since appeared in court on old corruption charges dating from his time as deputy president. Zuma's successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, has vowed to fight corruption. His pledge comes as the ruling African National Congress party seeks to improve its tarnished image ...

Cong charges Centre with trying to disrupt Rahul Gandhi rally

The ruling Congress in Mizoram Monday accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of trying to disrupt the election rally to be addressed by party president Rahul Gandhi here on Tuesday. Gandhi is scheduled to address a rally at Champhai and another at Aizawl Tuesday, but there is uncertainty about the venue of the second programme, party spokesman Lallianchhunga said. The party had on Sunday sought permission from the Assam Rifles to use its ground here for the rally, but is yet to get clearance from the para-military force, he told reporters. The Assam Rifles had not permitted the party to hold a programme of Gandhi in October, saying the ground was to be utilised only for sports purposes, the Congress spokesperson said. Lallianchhunga, however, said when the Congress came to know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a rally on the same ground on Friday, the party applied for the ground for Gandhi's programme. "Why this discrimination? The Assam Rifles seems to have ..

J&K Congress remembers Indira Gandhi on 101st birth anniversary

The Jammu and Kashmir Congress paid tributes to former prime minister Indira Gandhi on her 101st birth anniversary on Monday in Jammu. The party organised several functions across the state to celebrate the day, with the main function held at the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) headquarters in Shahidi Chowk here. The function was attended by former ministers Peerzada Mohd Sayeed, Mula Ram, Raman Bhalla and Madan Lal Sharma. Former PCC president Sayeed paid tribute to Gandhi and said the former PM had led the nation to great heights. The country progressed on all fronts under Gandhi's leadership and faced numerous challenges successfully, he added. Sayeed said the present BJP regime, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was making every effort to distort historical facts and divert the attention of the nation from the contributions of the Congress and its leaders. Madan Lal Sharma also paid floral tributes to Indira Gandhi and lashed out at the BJP and the Modi ...

RBI concludes day-long board meeting

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) concluded a critical day-long board meeting, said a source familiar with the situation. It wasn't immediately clear whether it had come to any conclusions in a dispute with the government over easing liquidity for the financial sector and increasing credit to small businesses.

KMP Expressway inauguration beginning of 2019 LS contest: Khattar

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khatttar on Monday said the inauguration of the KMP Expressway and extension of Faridabad Metro Rail by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the beginning of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Herald case: Court dismisses plea seeking to restrain Swamy's tweets

A local court here on Monday dismissed Congress leader Motilal Vora's plea seeking to restrain Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy's tweets on the ongoing National Herald case.

Cong is a party dedicated to one family: Irani

Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani Monday attacked the Congress accusing it of being a party dedicated to one family and loath to work for development of the country. "The Congress is a party dedicated to one family... how can it work for the development of the country or Amethi," said Irani after inaugurating and dedicating to the people various schemes worth Rs 77 crores in Congress president Rahul Gandhi's parliamentary constituency. In a dig at Gnadhi's initiative on distribution of banana saplings among Amethi farmers, Irani said, "Rahul Gandhi criticises the RSS and Prime Minister Narendra Modi all over the country but he is treading the RSS path of planting banana trees." "I came to know that Rahul Gandhi is getting bananas seeds of foreign origin planted here, he could not get even banana plants in the country... he should know that poverty cannot be eradicated by planting a couple of banana saplings," she stressed. Reiterating her allegation that the Gandhi family has ..

Manipur CM asks some Ministers, officials to quit

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Monday asked some Ministers and senior officials to resign if they are not concerned about people's welfare.

Union Minister hits out at TRS, TDP and Cong

Union Health Minister J P Nadda Monday alleged that TRS president and caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu and the Congress only want power for themselves and and not for the people of Telangana. Nadda, BJP's in-charge for the December 7 assembly polls in Telangana, claimed that it was only the BJP which provides corruption-free governance and works for the people. According to Nadda, the mood is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming (to power) with "massive victory" in the 2019 (Lok Sabha) elections. He alleged that scared of this, KCR (as Rao is popularly known as) advanced the elections by nine months (to avoid facing Modi factor) to save himself. Nadda said under Modis leadership, the country is moving forward. Addressing a party meetingafter inaugurating the party's assembly constituency election office at Musheerabad here, he slammed KCR for not implementing the Centre's 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya ...

Tripura CPI(M) state conference from Nov 25

Two-day state conference of opposition CPI(M) would be held here from November 25 to discuss its strategy after the new BJP-Indigenous People's Front of Tripura came to power in the state in March. Party workers and leaders were being attacked by the activists of the ruling coalition and they were also facing in distributing the state party mouthpiece, 'Daily Desher Katha', CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar alleged. "We have invited General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, former general secretary Prakash Karat and politburo member Brinda Karat to join the state conference. However, whether they would be able to attend it is yet to be confirmed," Dhar told reporters here. He said there would be no public meeting as part of the state conference.

Sri Lanka's political turmoil continues

Sri Lanka's political turmoil continued into its third week on Monday, with the government and the former ruling United National Alliance (UNA) quarrelling with each other.

SC refuses to interfere with elections of Archery Association of India

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with the ongoing election process of Archery Association of India (AAI), but made it clear that its result would be subject to the outcome of the petition challenging the exercise that is pending before it. The AAI has moved the apex court against the new constitution and the election process initiated by former Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, who was appointed as the administrator of the association by the Delhi High Court. A bench of justices A M Khanwilkar and Deepak Gupta said, "Since the election programme has already commenced in terms of notice dated October 4, 2018, the same should proceed as per law uninterrupted". It clarified that the result of the election will be subject to the outcome of this application. "The grievance made in this application inter alia about improper amendments to the constitution can be considered at a later stage," the bench said and posted the matter for further hearing to second week of ...

BSF jawan killed in blast in J&K Samba district

A BSF jawan was killed in a blast at a border outpost (BOP) along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district on Monday, an officer said. "A blast has taken place at a BOP in Samba sector. One BSF person has died and few others (were) injured", a BSF officer told PTI. Further details are awaited, he said.

May wins business support for draft Brexit deal

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday won support from big business for her draft Brexit deal ahead of "intense negotiations" with Brussels in the coming week. May told the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the UK's main business lobby group, that she was "determined to deliver" her Brexit deal as she prepares for Sunday's European Council summit to sign Britain's divorce papers. "We now have an intense week of negotiations ahead of us," she told some 1,000 business leaders at the CBI annual conference in central London. "During that time I expect us to hammer out the full and final details of the framework that will underpin our future relationship. "I am confident that we can strike a deal at the Council that I can take back to the House of Commons." The embattled premier, whose cabinet grudgingly approved her EU divorce draft last week, faces an uphill challenge to pass her deal through a sceptical parliament. She admitted that the final phase "was always going to be .

AAP defends HS Phoolka, says he's regretted remarks on Amritsar blast

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Monday defended its Punjab leader HS Phoolka who waded into a controversy with his remarks on a grenade attack in Amritsar, saying he has already regretted it and should not be defamed. Commenting on the grenade attack in Amritsar that claimed three lives, Phoolka had on Sunday told news channels that the Army chief came and made a statement. To prove his statement, he could have orchestrated the attack". However, the AAP MLA Monday regretted his statement, saying it was "inadvertent". "Please see the whole video. An inadvertent statement made standing on road is being blown out of proportion.I have stated that history is evidence of that fact that governments in the past have caused violence to further their interest (sic)," he had tweeted. He said one should not reach a conclusion without detailed, impartial inquiry and regretted his remark. "Like in last year's Maur blast, no one should reach a conclusion without detailed impartial investigation.Even a ...

Kamal Nath alleges some govt employees harbour 'secret' affection for BJP

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath on Monday alleged that some government employees in the state harboured a "secret affection" for the BJP and warned them to be ready to face his "wrath" when his party comes to power. Addressing his first rally in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's assembly constituency, Nath said in Hindi: "Kamal Nath ki chakki chalti hai der sey par bahut bareek peesti hai (Kamal Nath's wrath is slow but very furious)." The Congress leader, who is seen as one of the front-runners to be his party's chief ministerial candidate, alleged that some government officials were biased in favour of the BJP that was ruling the state for 15 years. Such government servants do not sport the badge of the saffron party but "secretly keep it in their pockets," Nath said. He also cautioned police officials in the same breath, saying they should "respect the uniforms they wore." "Remember you have taken an oath. All officials should remember that there will 12th ...