Page 2487 - Politics

Kushwaha drags BJP in his campaign against Nitish Kumar

RLSP chief and Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha, who has been targeting Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Thursday dragged ally BJP into his campaign against the JD(U) chief, amid signs that he was drifting away from the ruling NDA due to unhappiness over seat sharing arrangement for the Lok Sabha polls. Kushwaha raked up his allegation that Kumar had "insulted" him by using the word "neech, a charge denied by the JD(U), and asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "wrong" in his attack on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her "neech rajnitii" (lowly politics) jibe against the saffron party. He stated this in a series of tweets Thursday in response to Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi's defence of the chief minister. In an apparent dig at Kushwaha, Sushil Kumar Modi had tweeted on November 12 that Kumar had never used the word "neech" (lowly) but some people are trying to become "martyrs". Hitting back, the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) leader asked if, ...

EU lawmakers optimistic about Brexit deal

European lawmakers received the draft Brexit deal on Thursday and expressed optimism that they will be able to ratify it, despite the political crisis brewing in London. "I think it is the best agreement we could obtain," said Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the liberal ALDE group and the European Parliament's pointman for Brexit negotiations. The president of the parliament, Antonio Tajani, thanked chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier for concluding the deal, but noted that his body would have the "final word". Both Tajani and Verhofstadt said the body would scrutinise the agreement and, in particular, insist on assurances that Britain will implement protections for EU citizens living there. But they expressed satisfaction that the deal, which British Prime Minister Theresa May will struggle to get past the Westminster parliament, respects their priorities.

CM Parrikar has lost public sympathy, says Goa Suraksha Manch

Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has lost "people's sympathy" as he did not step down from his post due to ill-health at the "right time", the Goa Suraksha Manch claimed Thursday. The GSM is a political outfit mentored by former RSS Goa unit chief Subhash Velingkar who is expected to join the party as a full-time functionary Sunday. The GSM was formed in the run up to the 2017 Goa Assembly polls by supporters of Velingkar, who was sacked from the post of RSS Goa chief due to his criticism of Parrikar on the issue of medium of instruction in elementary education. Speaking to reporters here, GSM president Atmaram Gaonkar said, "There is no sympathy left for Parrikar. If Parrikar had stepped down at the right time and guided other party leaders to run the (state) administration, he would have been respected and earned sympathy (of the people)." Addressing a press conference, GSM general secretary Sandip Parade taunted the Goa CM and claimed that Parrikar would get

Sabarimala all-party meet fails, Govt firm on implementing SC verdict

Consensus eluded a crucial all-party meeting called Thursday to resolve the stand-off over permitting women of menstrual age into the Sabarimala shrine with the Kerala government firm on implementing the Supreme Court order and the Opposition walking out in protest. After the nearly three-hour long meeting, dubbed as a 'farce' by the Opposition, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said his government was duty bound to enforce the court's September 28 verdict allowing women of all ages to pray at the hill temple of Lord Ayyappa as it had not been stayed. The meeting was convened by him in the backdrop of state-wide protests by devotees after the Supreme Court ended an age-old ban on entry of women in the 10-50 age group. "The government has no other option as Supreme Court has made it clear that the September 28 verdict has not been stayed, which means women in the 10-50 age group have the right to visit the Sabarimala temple," Vijayan told reporters. Opposition Congress-led United ...

All-party meet fails to end Sabarimala deadlock

An all-party meeting called by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday ahead of the Sabarimala pilgrimage season starting on Friday failed to end the temple row, with the Congress-led UDF and the BJP walking out.

PM Modi to address rallies from Friday in poll-bound MP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will crisscross poll-bound Madhya Pradesh from Friday starting with a public meeting in Shahdol district, over 500 kilometres from here, a senior BJP functionary said Thursday. The prime minister will address two public meetings, mostly on alternative days, starting Friday, state BJP chief Rakesh Singh said. After the rally at Shahdol Friday, Modi will be in Gwalior to address another rally before flying back to Delhi, Singh informed. He will return and address public meetings in Chhindwara and Indore on Sunday before returning to Delhi, Singh added. The prime minister will again visit Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday and address public meetings in Jhabua and Rewa districts. Three days later, on Saturday, Modi will return to the state and address public meetings in Mandsaur and Chhattarpur districts, Singh said. The next day (November 25), he will deliver speeches in Vidisha and Jabalpur districts, he added. MP BJP spokesperson Anil Soumitra said PM Modi was a ...

Armed forces not compelled to buy equipment from Indian companies: Defence Minister

Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that the armed forces are not bound by herto buy defence equipment only from Indian companies and they could take the call and decide what is good for national security.Speaking at the Indian Defence Conclave, she underlined: "The armed forces are not compelled by me to buy defence equipment from Indiancompanies. I have to make sure their operational preparedness is notcurbed. It is on them to decide what is good for them." This comes a day after the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on thepetitions demanding a court-monitored probe into the Rafale deal in which the government bought 36 ready-to-fly jets in agovernment-to-government deal with France.The Rafale jet deal controversy has been on the boil over the last few months. The Congress and other opposition parties have been allegingirregularities in the high-profile deal.

Ruckus in Sri Lanka Parliament over Rajapaksa's ouster

Sri Lankan Parliament on Thursday witnessed a chaotic session as members got into fistfights and hurled objects at each other following the ouster of newly-sworn in Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.In the first session, after President Maithripala Sirisena prorogued the Parliament, Speaker of the House Kara Jayasuriya asserted that Sri Lanka has no Prime Minister or cabinet. He reiterated that neither Rajapaksa nor Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was ousted by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, was the Prime Minister of the South Asian island nation.Following Jayasuriya's remark, Rajapaksa insisted on making a speech in the House. After the conclusion of Rajapaksa's statement, Member of the Parliament Lakshman Kiriella moved a motion of no confidence against it. The House was disrupted when the Speaker asked the members if they wanted to vote on the no-confidence motion.This comes a day after Rajapaksa was voted out in the Parliament as the lawmakers showed no confidence in his ...

China, India pledge to step up military exchanges

India and China have agreed to step up more military exchanges and interactions at defence talks held here.

UP has govt of babas, still could do nothing for Ram temple: Hardik

Taking a dig at the BJP, Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel said on Thursday even though Uttar Pradesh has a "government of babas (monks)", Ram temple is yet to be built in Ayodhya. During his visit to the state capital in connection with a programme of youth and farmers slated for December, Patel made light of the BJP's attacks on the Congress and accused the saffron party of "doing nothing" for the nation while in power. "UP has a government of babas... the chief minister is the 'peethadheshwar' of Gorakhpur and he needs to serve the God there... he is not able to do much. It is almost over 10 years that the BJP has been in power (at the Centre) together with Atal Bihar Vajpayees' six years. Now in the state too (the party is in power). They still could do nothing for the Ram temple," he told PTI. "They (BJP leaders) ask what has been done in 70 years. It is good that the Congress established schools and colleges. Had they installed statues where would the IITs be? I think all the .

Mahindra's Pawan Goenka lauds Centre's policies

Mahindra Electric Chairman Pawan Goenka has lauded the BJP-led NDA government for its policies, including the Goods and Services Tax and Make-In-India initiatives. He said the Make-in-India initiative has helped India receive a lot of investments in manufacturing. "First of all, let me tell you that GST has been the most impactful change in the tax law of India, and everybody will acknowledge that. And, with the result of GST, the ease of business has improved. We also highly welcome 'Make in India' initiative. Clearly, the effort the Narendra Modi government has taken in formalising the economy is paying off," he told PTI after the inauguration of the firm's first-ever Electric Technology Manufacturing hub here. Goenka said it was not possible to correct India's deep-rooted informal economy in one move. "...everything cannot get corrected in one move. It will take time. If the same thrust continues from this government (Modi government) or whoever forms the next ...

Jammu gets new mayor, deputy mayor

Senior BJP leader Chander Mohan Gupta was elected Thursday as the new mayor of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC). Gupta pledged to work to make the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir as one of the best cities in the country. Purnima Sharma, also from the BJP, was elected as the deputy mayor of the JMC. "My first priority will be to make Jammu one of the beautiful cities of the country and a better place for the residents," Gupta said after being elected. The BJP swept the JMC polls, winning 43 of the 75 wards. The Urban Local Bodies elections were held in the state in four phases from October 8 to 16 after a gap of 13 years. While Gupta polled 45 votes, his nearest rival Vijay Choudhary, a Congress backed independent candidate won 30 votes. Gupta has won from ward number 33 for the second time. Gupta, the BJP treasurer, said he will take all the councillors along to ensure that Jammu is developed on modern lines and made a clean and green city. "I am from RSS background where it .

Modi sabotaging nation's interest to favour crony capitalist friends: Congress

The Congress on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of sabotaging country's interest to favour his "crony capitalist friends" and claimed the agreement to purchase the 36 French Rafale jets from France was in violation of Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).

Kharge calls Rafale deal biggest scam of post-independent India

Congress veteran and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday termed Rafale deal as the biggest scam of post-independent India, while accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre of alleged tampering in the procurement procedure for fighter jets.Speaking to ANI, the 76-year-old Congress leader said: "This is the biggest scam the country has witnessed after independence. All the money has gone straight into the pocket of one industrialist." He said that he would raise the matter in the upcoming Winter Session of the Parliament and would also try to unite other parties on the issue of Rafale deal.Congress party leader Kapil Sibal had also taken on the Centre on Wednesday over Rafale fighter jet deal, saying that the deal was not a government-to-government pact with France, and claimed that there was no such procedure in the country. "The French government has never done a government-to-government contract on defense and such a deal ..

Kharge calls Rafale deal biggest scam of post-independent India

Congress party leader Kapil Sibal had also taken on the Centre on Wednesday over Rafale fighter jet deal, saying that the deal was not a government-to-government pact with France

East Asia Summit: India for enhanced multilateral cooperation (Roundup)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for enhanced multilateral cooperation while reiterating India's vision of an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region during the 13th East Asia Summit here.

British ministers quit over draft Brexit agreement

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and another senior UK minister resigned on Thursday, just hours after Prime Minister Theresa May secured her Cabinet's backing on a draft EU withdrawal deal following lengthy and tense meetings with her government.

Our govt expeditiously implemented developmental schemes in last 5 yrs: Union min Mahesh Sharma

Union minister Mahesh Sharma said on Thursday that both central and state governments have expeditiously and transparently implemented developmental schemes in the last five years. He said the Rajasthan government has taken various labour reforms to boost investment and industrial production besides creating job opportunities in the state. "Rajasthan is progressing as fast as a developing state by shedding away the BIMARU tag," Sharma said at a press conference here. He said the BJP is a cadre-based party with having its policies, leadership and intention very clear. "The vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to take the country and the state on the development path rising above the religion and caste barriers," the union minister said. Sharma claimed that the country has witnessed 40 per cent increase in footfall of tourists in the past five years. "Nearly 20 crore tourists visited the country in the past five years compared to 14 crore tourists that visited the country during ...

Facebook vied to conceal Russia meddling: NYT

Facebook misled the public about its knowledge of Russian hackers' use of the powerful platform to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election, a New York Times investigation reported Thursday. It also said Facebook has at times smeared critics as anti-Semitic or tried to link activists to billionaire investor George Soros, and tried to shift public anger away toward rival tech companies. In a lengthy investigative piece that is likely to trigger political repercussions in Washington, the Times argued that Facebook's way of dealing with crisis was to "delay, deny and deflect." It said its article was based on interviews with more than 50 people, including current and ex-Facebook executives and other employees, lawmakers and government officials, lobbyists and congressional staff members. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and chief operating officer Cheryl Sandberg, were both so bent on growing the company that they "ignored warning signs and then sought to conceal them from ...

'Madhav trespassing into the domain of constitutional authorities: NPP'

A day after BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said his party has decided to continue with the governor rule in Jammu and Kashmir for some more time, National Panthers Party Thursday accused him of trespassing into the domain of constitutional authorities. The continuance or revocation of governor rule is the prerogative of constitutional authorities including the President of India and the state governor and it was not for the general secretary of a political party to take a decision on it," NPP chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh said. On the sidelines of a party function in Kathua district, Madhav told reporters Wednesday that the governor's rule would continue in the state till the middle of December and what happens next would be discussed then. He made the remark in reply to a question on possible proposal to dissolve the state assembly. "Such announcements provided yet another example of subversion of the constitution by the BJP He (Madhav) had no role to play in the ...