Page 2480 - Politics

Pakistani government official goes missing

A Pakistani government official of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has been missing from the capital, officials said on Friday.

Campaigning ends for U'khand civic body polls

Campaigning for the Uttarakhand civic body polls came to an end on Friday evening. The last day of electioneering saw the candidates of all political parties going door-to-door to connect with voters. Voting in the state is scheduled to be held for 84 urban bodies, including seven municipal corporations, 39 municipal councils and 38 nagar panchayats in a single phase on November 18. The polls are a high stake battle for the BJP as it faces the challenge of matching its own impressive performance in the assembly elections last year in which it had won 57 of 70 seats to sweep to power. It is also significant for the opposition Congress as the verdict may serve as a pointer to what lies in store for the party in 2019.

TRS won't go with BJP under any circumstances: K T Rama Rao

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader K T Rama Rao on Friday said his party would "not go with the BJP" under any circumstances. His comments come amid opposition's claims that the TRS, which is going it alone in the December 7 Telangana Assembly polls, will join hands with the saffron party after the election. "The rumours that are being spread and allegations being levelled that we will go with the BJP..under any circumstances the TRS party would never go with (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi or the BJP, I promise," Rao said. The son of TRS president and Telangana's caretaker chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, he was speaking at a function at the party headquarters here. Congress leader Abid Rasool Khan and other workers joined the TRS at the function. The attitude of the TRS and its president has been to see humans as humans, regardless of their religion, unlike others, who treat Muslims or minorities in the country as "voting machines", Rao said. He expressed confidence that the .

China backs second Trump-Kim summit

China on Friday said it supports the proposed second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next year.

Adityanath not ascetic, shouldn't be called Yogi: Congress

The Congress party on Friday criticised Yogi Adityanath, saying that the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister should not be called a Yogi."Yogi should be like an ascetic first. When he is not an ascetic person, he cannot be called a Yogi," senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily in poll-bound Raipur in Chhattisgarh.On Wednesday, Adityanath had said that the Congress party would never come to power at the Centre or in the state under the leadership of its Rahul Gandhi.The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said that those in the Congress party themselves question Rahul as the party has not won an election under him so far.The next and last phase of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections will be held on November 20 and the results will be announced on December 11.

Sri Lanka MPs hurl chilli powder, chairs in Parliament commotion

Sri Lanka's Parliament was disrupted for the second day on Friday with MPs allied to disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa throwing chilli powder at opposing MPs and hurling chairs at police officers even as the Assembly passed another no-confidence motion dismissing his government for the second time this week.

Mayawati on post-poll tie-ups: Congress, BJP are 'Saapnaath-Naagnath'

In a snub to the Congress, the BSP had announced its decision to contest the state election in alliance with the JCC, declaring Jogi as the chief ministerial face of the coalition

Denied party ticket, former JMC mayor Jyoti resigns as PCC member, general secretary

Former mayor of Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) Jyoti Khandelwal on Friday resigned as the member and the general secretary of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), a day after she was denied ticket for the upcoming assembly polls in the state. Khandelwal was expecting a ticket from Kishanpol constituency in Jaipur district, but was replaced by Ameen Kagzi in the first list of candidates released by the Congress on late Thursday night. She said she fulfilled all the criteria decided by party president Rahul Gandhi yet she was denied ticket. "The Congress president had said in public meetings that women will be given priority. I fulfilled all the criteria. I have worked hard for the party and in the constituency yet I was denied ticket," she said. "As a mark of protest, I resigned as PCC member and general secretary. I will remain only a party worker," Khandelwal told reporters here. She said she was ready to contest polls from any constituency and the party had to take a call on ...

TMC's 'purification' rally to follow BJP 'rath yatra': Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday ridiculed the scheduled 'rath yatra' of the BJP as 'ravan yatra' and called for cleansing of areas through which the saffron party's chariots would pass. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo also urged people to "ignore the event as just another political gimmick". "I have asked my party workers to conduct 'purification and unity yatra' to cleanse the areas through which the chariots pass. I wonder what sort of yatra it would be with chariots equipped with five-star facilities. It is 'ravan yatra', not 'rath yatra'," she quipped. The state BJP leadership was quick to hit back, claiming that Banerjee was suffering from "fear psychosis" as it dreads losing to the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls. "It seems Mamata Banerjee and the TMC is suffering from fear psychosis. They are feeling threatened by the 'rath yatra' as it is aimed at restoring democracy in the state," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said. Amit Shah, the ...

Mamata warns partymen to stop making money or face action

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday cautioned a section of Trinamool Congress workers to stop making money in the name of the party or face action. Banerjee, the party supremo, also charged a section of MLAs, ministers and leaders of remaining inactive, and said nobody should think that they are above the party. "Those who are making money in the name of the party should stop such things. This will not be tolerated. I keep a tab on each and every activity of the party from block level to state level," she told a party meeting. "No one should think they can get away with anything they want," Banerjee said. If needed, she said, she will remove inactive members and replace them with active and dedicated workers. "There are leaders who are only busy to get new posts. I ask them to reach out to the people and if they are unwilling to do so, they are free to leave the TMC," the chief minister said. Reaching out to the old-timers of the TMC, Banerjee said the ...

President to embark on maiden visit to Vietnam, Australia

President Ram Nath Kovind will embark on a week-long visit to Vietnam and Australia beginning Sunday.

Congress crying over demonetisation as it has lost money: Modi

Stepping up his attack on the Congress and the Gandhi family, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Gandhis are crying even two years after demonetisation as they have "lost" ill-gotten money.

British MP Rehman Chishti resigns from UK top portfolios over Brexit, Aasia Bibi case

In the wake of wave of opposition and resignations from the government and the Parliament over the volatile issue of Brexit, British ruling Conservative Party suffered another jolt on Thursday (November 15) when its Vice Chairman and Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Pakistan, Rehman Chishti, resigned from both portfolios. Chishti is a Member of Parliament for Gillingham and Rainham constituencies.In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Theresa May on November 15, Rehman Chishti openly opposed her policy on Brexit and termed it absolute contradiction to the promises made to public in the election manifesto."At the outset, this, for me is about delivering on the promises that we made to the British people at the General Election last year in our manifesto, that leaving the European Union (EU) means leaving the Single Market and the Customs Union, that the UK will be taking back, control over our laws, our borders and our money...The terms of the backstop, in effect, amount in my view to .

Congress a manufacturer of lies: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called the Congress party a "manufacturer of lies".The Prime Minister while addressing an election rally here said ,"These elections are not about who would win or who would not win. These elections are about welfare of people of Madhya Pradesh.""What did the four generations of a party do for our country? However, a tea-seller, did what not in just four years? "he added.Underlining the initiatives taken by the Madhya Pradesh Government-led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the past 15 years, the Prime Minister said that the Congress would never speak of the good work Chouhan did during his three tenures.He said that the Congress party was in power in Madhya Pradesh for so long, but did not do anything for the development of the people. One cannot draw a comparison between the development work done by the Congress party and the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government."How can anyone trust Congress? When they were in power in MP and ...

North Korea deports American even as it boasts of new weapon

North Korea on Friday said it will deport an American citizen it detained for illegal entrance, an apparent concession to the United States that came even as it announced the test of a newly developed but unspecified "ultramodern" weapon that will be seen as a pressuring tactic by Washington. The two whiplash announcements, which seemed aimed at both appeasing and annoying Washington, suggest North Korea wants to keep alive dialogue with the United States even as it struggles to express its frustration at stalled nuclear diplomacy. North Korea in the past has held arrested American citizens for an extended period before high-profile US figures travelled to Pyongyang to secure their freedom. Last year, American university student Otto Warmbier died days after he was released in a coma from North Korea after 17 months in captivity. On Friday, the Korean Central News Agency said American national Bruce Byron Lowrance was detained on Oct 16 for illegally entering the country from ...

NDA destroying institutions like CBI, RBI; BJP will be reduced to a statue after 2019 polls: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday accused the NDA government of destroying key Indian institutions such as the CBI and the RBI and claimed that after the Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party that has made 'building statues' its poll agenda will itself be reduced to a statue. Giving a call for "BJP hatao, desh bachao", she said the BJP should be ousted from power for "failure on all fronts", adding her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), could play a vital role in saving the country from such destructions. She also alleged that the BJP has been on a name changing spree to suit its political interests. "BJP is not a game changer of India as claimed by its leaders but is a name changer and danger for the country," she said. The BJP, however, refused to attach much importance to Banerjee's remarks and said the TMC being a small party does not have the stature to take on it. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, "We are not bothered about what she is saying against us. ..

Sri Lankan Parliament disrupted again, adjourned until Monday amid political crisis

Rival Sri Lankan lawmakers threw chilli powder and furniture at each other and disrupted the proceedings of Parliament for a second day Friday, forcing Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to summon police inside the House and adjourn the session until Monday. The brawl occurred a day after the Speaker announced there is no prime minister or government following a no-confidence motion against disputed prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Friday's proceedings were to repeat the floor test which was disrupted on Thursday. President Maithripala Sirisena, who installed Rajapaksa as prime minister last month in a controversial move, had agreed for a floor test with the leaders of ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's coalition during crisis talks last night. The MPs supporting Rajapaksa took over the seat of the Speaker, delaying the proceedings, officials said. They shouted slogans against Jayasuriya broke furniture. Some Rajapakse loyalists were also seen throwing chilli powder at rival ...

KCR on campaign trail for four days from Nov 21

TRS president and caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will address public meetings for four days from November 21 as part of his party's campaign for the December seven state Assembly polls. He will address four or more meetings from November 21, according to the campaign schedule announced by the TRS Friday. TRS is going it alone in the Assembly polls. The TRS is locked in a contest with the BJP and the "grand alliance" comprising Congress, TDP, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti.

Hong Kong lawyers demand explanation over journalist ban

Hong Kong's powerful bar association, a group of the city's top lawyers, has upped pressure on the government to explain the blacklisting of a British journalist in what was widely seen as an unprecedented attack on press freedom. Victor Mallet, a senior journalist with the Financial Times, was refused a work visa extension and then barred from entering the city as a tourist after he chaired a talk by an independence activist at the city's press club. The government has refused to explain the decision despite calls from the public and rights groups, and criticism from foreign governments including Britain and the United States. The effective blacklisting of Mallet comes as concern grows that Hong Kong's cherished freedoms are disappearing as Beijing tightens its grip on the semi-autonomous city. In a statement late Thursday the bar association said the rights enshrined in Hong Kong's mini-constitution, including freedom of expression, should be respected "whether one agrees with the ..

None involved in illegal activities would be protected:KTK CM

Karnataka Chief Minister H D KumaraswamyFriday said his government would not protect anyone involved in illegal activities, as he flayed the BJP for accusing him of "adjustment" by not acting on a legistature panel report on alleged irregularities in the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor project. "I have seen that a BJP MLA while demanding action based on House Committee on NICE, has accused me of adjustment (in the case). They (BJP) are the ones who taught me adjustment politics," Kumaraswamy told reporters here. Kumaraswamy said during the tenure of the BJP-JD(S) coalition government in 2006 headed by him, when he brought a subject before the cabinet to scrap the project, BJP ministers hadboycotted it. "Where was their commitment then?" he asked. State BJP general secretary and MLA C T Ravi Thursday had demanded that the coalition government implement the House committee report on alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Bangalore-Mysore ...