Page 2455 - Politics
Maha govt's Maratha quota stand ambiguous: Congress
The Congress in Maharashtra Monday demanded the Maratha community be given reservation in jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, a day after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a separate category for the purpose. On the first day of the winter session of the state legislature here, the Congress raised the demand for reservation for the Dhangar (Shepherd) community and Muslims even as it termed "ambiguous" the government's stand on the Maratha quota. "The government's stand on the Maratha quota is ambiguous. The Marathas, Dhangars and Muslims are feeling betrayed by the government's stand," Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil told reporters on the premises of legislature complex. Earlier in the day, the legislative assembly and council were adjourned for the day after paying tributes to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died in Delhi in August this year. Before the start of the
Grenade used in Amritsar blast similar to ones manufactured by Pak Ordinance factory: Amarinder
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Monday said initial investigations suggested the grenade used in the attack on Nirankari Bhavan was similar to the ones manufactured by the Pakistani Army Ordinance factory. Three persons including a preacher were killed and over 20 injured when two-motorcycle borne men threw grenade on a religious congregation on Sunday. The attack took place inside the Nirankari Bhavan's prayer hall at Adliwal village near Amritsar's Rajasansi, an incident which the police are treating as a 'terrorist act'. "The grenade attack at the Nirankari Bhavan seemed to carry Pakistan's signature, with initial investigations indicating that the grenade used was similar to the ones being manufactured by the Pakistani Army Ordinance factory," Amarinder said. The chief minister has announced a reward of Rs 50 lakh for anyone providing information on those involved in the blast that left three persons dead, officials said. Information can be provided on the Punjab Police ...
Pakistan PM to visit Malaysia
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will undertake an official visit to Malaysia from November 20, his first to the country since assuming his post in August.
Push for Yemen peace talks ahead of UN envoy's visit
Yemen's internationally-recognised government Monday said it will take part in proposed peace talks, hours after a high-ranking Yemeni rebel official urged his leadership to freeze military operations. The moves come ahead of a visit in the next few days to the war-torn country by UN envoy Martin Griffiths, who is once again trying to get all sides around the negotiating table. "The government has informed the UN envoy to Yemen... that it will send a government delegation to the talks with the aim of reaching a political solution," Yemen's foreign ministry said, quoted by the official Saba news agency. Earlier Mohammed Ali al-Huthi, head of the Huthi rebels' Higher Revolutionary Committee and an influential political figure, tweeted that he wanted his group to announce "readiness to suspend and halt all military operations" and stop firing missiles on Saudi Arabia. Riyadh, which is backing the Yemeni government, also lent its support to new talks. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels have ...
Last phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly polls on Tuesday
A three-way contest is in the offing as Chhattisgarh goes for the second and concluding phase of Assembly polls on Tuesday for 72 seats spread across 19 districts, with the ruling BJP wrestling it out with the opposition Congress and the Ajit Jogi-Mayawati-led alliance emerging as a formidable third front.
CM directs Delhi govt departments to redress public grievances on top priority
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed all the head of departments of the Delhi government to redress public grievances on "top priority". Kejriwal issued the directives while he held a review meeting with the HoDs on the functioning of the government's Public Grievance Monitoring System (PGMS), an official statement said. It said the chief minister will hold meetings with the HoDs twice a month to personally review the functioning of the PGMS. The department heads have been asked to review the cases of those individuals who are unsatisfied with the grievance redressal done by the respective department. No complaint should be left unattended and it must be resolved within the time limit (15 days) specified by the department, it stated. The government shared department-wise complaint data according to which 39,449 complaints were received against the Delhi Police between February 2015 to November 16 this year at the PGMS. Of which, 1,937 complaints were overdue which could not be ...
Cong slams Ker CM, equates police action against devotees to
Equating the police action against devotees at Sabarimala 'Sannidhanam' to 'Operation Blue Star', Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala Monday hit out at Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and asked if the state was under the rule of Hitler. More than 30 protesters were taken into preventive custody Sunday night after fresh protests broke out at the "Nadapanthal" area of the Sannidhanam (temple complex), where hundreds of devotees agitated against police restrictions. Chennithala said those who raised the banner of protest were genuine devotees. They were not BJP workers or extremists, he said. The army had carried out Operation Blue Star in June 1984 to flush out militants hiding in the Golden temple complex at Amristar. Chennithala, leader of opposition in the state assembly, accused the ruling CPI-M-led LDF of preventing freedom of worship at Sabarimala and demanded that the government withdraw section 144 CrPC that prohibited the assembly of more than four persons .
Maha oppn leaders meet Governor, seek winter session extension
Leaders of opposition Congress and NCP Monday called on Governor Vidyasagar Raoandurged him to prevail upon the BJP-led government in Maharashtra to extend the duration of the winter session of the legislature. The two-week winter session commenced here Monday. The session, which will concludeon November 30, will have only eight working days. A Congress-NCP delegation met Rao and pressed for extension of the winter session, being held in Mumbai after 57 years. The winter session is generally held in Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra. The delegation was led byLeader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil (Congress) and his Council counterpart Dhananjay Munde (NCP). Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress, NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil were prominent among those present at the meeting with Rao. Talking to reporters, Vikhe-Patil said there are several pressing issues before the state which need to be discussed in the ...
French fuel depots targeted as 'yellow vest' protesters persist
Protesters angry over high fuel prices blocked access to fuel depots and stopped traffic on major roads on Monday with the government refusing to back down on fuel taxes after a weekend of demonstrations across France. One person was accidentally killed and more than 400 people injured during the "yellow vest" protests which began Saturday with nearly 300,000 participants nationwide. Early Monday, dozens of barricades were still being manned on motorways and roundabouts, far fewer than the more than 2,000 sites on Saturday. Around 200 trucks were backed up along a road leading to a fuel depot in the western city of Rennes, where some protesters had camped out overnight, an AFP reporter said. Others continued to camp out in supermarket parking lots. "The movement is not exceptional... and obviously isn't as big as on Saturday," Laurent Nunez, junior interior minister, told CNews, adding that police would continue to intervene to ensure major roads are not blocked. But further ...
India-Singapore maritime ties growing stronger: Navy chiefs
Bilateral naval exercises by India and Singapore have further strengthened the good maritime cooperation between the two nations over the years, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba said here Monday. Addressing the media onboard "INS Sahyadri" at the navy dockyard here on the occasion of the silver jubilee of SIMBEX (Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise) 2018, he said both the countries had accorded highest priority for maritime security in the Asian region. "India and Singapore are like-minded countries and the cooperation between the two over the last 25 years has further strengthened the ties," he said. Noting that the bilateral exercises had started in 1994 with only one anti-submarine ship, he said it had grown every year from then and in the ongoing event 14 ships were taking part indicating the good ties between the two nations. The bilateral exercises and professorial interactions had given a chance to exchange views and wide range of information .
Theresa May vows to give Indian software developers fair post-Brexit chance
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday vowed that Brexit would level the playing field for migrant workers in the UK, with migrants from the European Union (EU) no longer be able to jump the queue ahead of those from countries like India. Addressing the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in London, she said the country's post-Brexit immigration system will be based on skills and talent rather than which country the immigrant comes from. "Once we have left the EU, we will be fully in control of who comes here. It will no longer be the case that EU nationals, regardless of the skills or experience they have to offer, can jump the queue ahead of engineers from Sydney or software developers from Delhi," she said in her speech. "Instead of a system based on where a person is from, we will have one that is built around the talents and skills a person has to offer," she said, adding that the core of the post-Brexit immigration system will be "skills based" rather
Longewala battle hero Brig Chandpuri cremated with state honours
The mortal remains of Brigadier Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri (Retd), the hero of Longewala battle during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, were consigned to flames with state and military honours Monday. Large number of civil and military dignitaries turned up to pay their last respects to Brig Chandpuri, an awardee of Mahavir Chakra, the country's second-highest gallantry award, for his heroic deeds at the Longewala battle, an outpost in the Thar desert of Rajasthan. Western Army Commander Lt Gen Surinder Singh and Chief of Staff Lt Gen P M Bali of the Western Command Headquarters placed wreaths on the body of the departed war hero to pay homage to him. Wreaths were also placed by the veterans of 23 Punjab Regiment, Punjab's ex-servicemen cell and many other military and civil organisations, a defence release said here.. Brig Chandpuri, whose heroic deeds during the Longewala battle inspired the making of the 1977 Bollywood classic, 'Border', died Saturday in a private hospital at Mohali. He was
Lanka Parliament speaker to get tough after lawmakers' brawl
Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on Monday warned that he will come down hard on those responsible for violence inside the House on November 16 amid the ongoing political turmoil in the country. "The speaker informed the party leaders that he had already called for a report on the ugly and illegal behaviour such as bringing in weapons to the chamber, chilli powder attacks, causing damage to public property, exchange of fisticuffs and other breaches of discipline," said a statement by the speaker. On November 16, Sri Lanka's Parliament witnessed unprecedented violence as lawmakers threw furniture and chilli powder at each other. The speaker refuted allegations that unauthorised persons had entered the public galleries on that day. Each parliamentarian had been allowed visitors and their details were provided to the House, he said. Jayasuriya had called the police into the House as lawmakers were seen breaking furniture to attack the police while there were video images of .
EU ministers agree terms of 'painful' Brexit divorce
European ministers signed off Britain's draft divorce deal on Monday as they launched an intense final week of negotiations on future cross-Channel ties. Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and the Union's Austrian rotating presidency said the negotiated text would be presented to EU leaders at a signing summit on Sunday. "The first, difficult step is done," said Austrian minister for Europe Gernot Blumel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, after the ministers met. Meanwhile, detailed discussions continue on a parallel political statement setting out the bloc's ambitions for future relations with post-Brexit Britain -- and on a possible extension to the transition period. Britain will leave the Union on March 29 next year, but remain within its single market for a further 21 months as negotiators seek a deal to avoid a potential breakdown in trade between the key economic partners. If no deal remains in sight within this period, Britain can request a one-off extension. ...
House adjourned for din over CBI entry into State Secretariat
The Odisha Assembly on Monday was adjourned for the day as the opposition Congress created a ruckus demanding clarity on reports that the CBI had entered the State Secretariat recently. The issue was raised by Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra of Congress as soon as the house reassembled at 3 pm. Quoting a newspaper report, Mishra said that the central agency had entered into the state Secretariat and probed into "something". "We want a clarification from the state government on the authenticity of the newspaper report. Whether the CBI had come to the secretariat and for what purpose. This House should know the reason behind CBI's entry into the secretariat," Mishra said. The Congress leader also appealed the Speaker P K Amat to give a ruling to the government for making a statement on the matter in the House. As the speaker did not issue any ruling, the Congress members led by its chief whip Taraprasad Bahinipati rushed to well of the House and demanded a ...
May's government courts Northern Irish business to sell Brexit deal
BELFAST (Reuters) - Britain's Northern Ireland minister on Monday called on businesses in the province to voice support for the draft EU divorce deal which is being fiercely resisted by the Northern Irish party that props up the UK government.
Pamela Anderson calls Australian PM's comments 'smutty'
Pamela Anderson is criticising Australia's prime minister for making "smutty, unnecessary comments about a woman voicing her political opinion." Appearing on Australia's "60 Minutes" this month, the "Baywatch" star urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to bring WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to Australia. The Australian citizen claimed asylum in Ecuador's embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden where he faces allegations that were later dropped. Morrison turned down the request. But the prime minister added he had "plenty of mates who have asked me if they can be my special envoy to sort out the issue with Pamela." A government official called the remark "lighthearted." Anderson posted a letter on Saturday in which she called Morrison's remarks "disappointing.
No anti-incumbency against BJP due to good work of MP govt: Sushma Swaraj
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Monday said there was no anti-incumbency in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh due to good governance under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. MP goes to polls on November 28, and counting of votes will be taken up on December 11. "The BJP is not facing anti-incumbency in MP as the state government took decisions in public interest which quelled anti-incumbency," she said. "The BJP government in MP has earnestly worked for people and implemented flawless welfare policies," she said, adding that the state's people had faith in the ruling party. She also hit out at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and claimed his "indecisive" leadership, on going it alone or forging poll alliances, had put his party in a "tight spot". Swaraj dubbed Gandhi's visits to temples and homes of Dalits as politics of "appeasement". She claimed the BJP had a clear vision in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi led at the national level and Chouhan was in the driver's seat in ...
Will order a fast-track probe into Vyapam scam once in power: Scindia
Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia has said the Congress will order a "fast-track" probe into the alleged Vyapam scam and bring to book the guilty once it comes to power in Madhya Pradesh. Scindia is his party's campaign committee chief for Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, in which the Congress is trying to regain power from the BJP that has ruled the state for the last 15 years. Elections for 230 assembly seats in the state, which has traditionally seen a direct fight between the two national parties, will take place on November 28. Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, popularly known by the acronym Vyapam (Vyavasayik Pareeksha Mandal), has been at the centre of a massive recruitment scandal, involving alleged bribery and fudging of marks among others. Central probe agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate are already probing the scam and have filed multiple charge sheets till now. Scindia, one of the top Congress leaders in the state who won the Lok
Naxalism could have destroyed MP had Cong been in power: Yogi
Canvassing for the BJP in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Monday said naxalism could have "destroyed" the state had the people not dislodged the Congress from power in 2003. Addressing a rally in Badnawar assembly constituency in Dhar district, Adityanath held the Congress responsible for problems like "terrorism and naxalism" in the country. He said naxalism couldn't take roots in Madhya Pradesh because people dislodged the Congress from power 15 years ago. "The root cause of problems like terrorism, naxalism and unrest in the country is the Congress. If the people of this great state (Madhya Pradesh) had not uprooted the Congress in 2003, then naxalism could have destroyed the entire state and totally affected the lives of people," the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said. Sitting BJP MLA Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat is in the fray from Badnawar constituency. Adityanath said the incumbent Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government launched ..