Page 2506 - Politics
CPI to announce candidates for three assembly segments
: Softening stance on its share of seats in the "grand alliance" for the December 7 assembly elections in Telangana, the CPI Tuesday said that it would announce candidates for three assembly segments. CPI state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy told reporters here that the names of candidates from Husnabad, Wyra and Bellampalli would be announced Wednesday. The "grand alliance" comprises the Congress, TDP, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS). Expressing dissatisfaction over Congress "unilaterally" announcing that CPI would get three seats, the Left party had earlier said it would field candidates from five assembly segments. The party had also named the five seats. Chada Venkat Reddy Tuesday said his party is seeking a constituency in Nalgonda district, in addition to the three. A CPI statement later alleged that Congress has delayed seat sharing with protracted consultations. The delay would only hurt the "grand alliance", it said. It wanted the Congress to complete seat ...
Lankan President Sirisena suffers setback as SC stays his order to dissolve parliament
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday suffered a major setback as the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling overturned his controversial decision to dissolve Parliament and halted until next month the preparations for snap polls on January 5. The apex court's decision deepened the political crisis in the island nation after Sirisena fired his coalition prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and installed former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new premier. He also suspended Parliament till November 16. He, however, advanced the convening of the House to November 14 amid international and domestic pressure against the move. A three-member bench, including country's chief justice Nalin Perera, delivered its verdict after two days of deliberations on as many as 13 petitions against and five for Sirisena's November 9 decision to dissolve Parliament. The apex court said Sirisena's dissolution of Parliament will be suspended until December 7 and it will consider all
Congress faces discontent over first list for Telangana
The first list of candidates announced by the Congress in Telangana for next month's Assembly elections triggered discontent in the party, with those denied ticket threatening to enter the fray as rebels.
Yechury calls on Stalin in bid to take forward oppn attempt to
: CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury Tuesday called on DMK President M K Stalin in a bid to take forward the opposition attempt to stitch a mega alliance against the BJP at the Centre, and expressed confidence that such a coalition would indeed take shape. Yechury said that more than the leaders' 'attitude', it was "people from the ground" who would 'push' them to save India, making them come together. Responding to actor Rajinikanth's statement, virtually backing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a 'strong' man electorally, Yechury referred to the earlier defeats of the late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2004 and his successor Manmohan Singh in 2014. Asked about attempts being made by Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, N Chandrababu Naidu and Mamata Banerjee respectively, to cobble together anti-BJP fronts and if a 'Mahagatbandhan' (mega alliance) would become a reality, he said "it will." Political parties would be able to iron out their ..
No electoral understanding with BJP : MNF
The Mizo National Front (MNF), which has been under fire from other political parties for allegedly being close to the BJP, on Tuesday said that it does not have any electoral alliance with the saffron party and would never have so as the ideologies of the two parties were "completely different". There is also no chance of a post-poll alliance between the MNF and the BJP or a coalition in the event of a hung assembly, MNF senior vice-president Tawnluia said during a meeting at Khawzawl town on Mizoram-Myanmar border. "The MNF is for protecting Christianity, but will never condone Hindutva," he said He said that the Congress had formed a coalition with the BJP to be in power in Chakma Autonomous District Council since May last and the Zoram People's Movement's (ZPM) chief ministerial candidate Lalduhoma had formed an alliance with the saffron party earlier. Congress had to publicly announce that it is no longer an ally of the BJP in the Council, an autonomous council for ethnic Chakma .
EU publishes contingency plan for 'no-deal' Brexit
The European Union on Tuesday published contingency plans for a "no-deal" Brexit, piling pressure on London as Prime Minister Theresa May scrambles to unite her government behind an agreement. In one measure, Brussels said it will offer visa-free travel within the bloc to Britons, but warned this was "entirely conditional on the UK also granting reciprocal and non-discriminatory visa-free travel to EU citizens travelling to the UK".
HC dismisses PIL challenging renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj
The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed a PIL challenging the renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj, saying the petitioner should first approach the Uttar Pradesh government with the grievance. Acting Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice CD Singh granted liberty to the petitioner to file a representation before the state government on the issue. The court order came on a day the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet at a meeting presided by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved renaming of Allahabad and Faizabad divisions as Prayagraj and Ayodhya respectively. The high court refused to grant any relief to petitioner Sunita Sharma saying she directly moved the court by filing a Public Interest Litigation without first approaching the state government. The petition had challenged renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj and had sought quashing of a government order in this regard. It had urged the court to issue writ of mandamus directing the state government to do away with the changing of the city .
Youth Cong activists protest against Delhi BJP chief, seek apology for remarks against Sonia
Youth Congress activists staged a protest near Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari's residence in the North Avenue area here Tuesday over his alleged remark against UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. They raised slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and sought his apology, accusing him of politicising the Chhath festival. They also burnt an effigy of Tiwari. During poll campaigning in Chhattisgarh recently, Tiwari had allegedly said had Sonia Gandhi observed Chhath, she would have had an intelligent son. "Tiwari's unparliamentary language has hurt every mother in the country," Indian Youth Congress (IYC) vice-president Srinivas said. Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress (DPYC) president Vikas Chhikara also took part in the protest. IYC spokesperson Amrish Ranjan Pandey said Tiwari's statement was "shameful" and "anti-women". "Would he ask the same question to BJP leaders," he said. The police stopped the protest march as it reached near Tiwari's residence. The protesters were removed by
Thai government approves legalization of cannabis for medical purposes
The Thai government on Tuesday approved a reform to legalize the medicinal use of cannabis, which would make it the first Southeast Asian country to do so.
TMC maintaining silence on Rafale deal, CBI row: Cong
West Bengal Congress president Somen Mitra on Tuesday alleged that the TMC has been "maintaining silence" on issues like Rafale deal and the CBI power struggle, a charge denied by the state's ruling party. The grand old party has been holding protest rallies across the country to attack the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre over the fighter jet deal and the fiasco within the central probe agency. Mitra urged the TMC to "clear its stand" on whether it wishes to fight the saffron party in the next Lok Sabha polls. "When the Congress recently organized a rally of opposition parties to protest against the Centre's move to send CBI director Alok Verma on leave and the Rafale jet row, prominent leaders had attended the meeting, but the TMC just sent a Rajya Sabha MP, for the sake of attendance," he said. The entire country "raised their voice against the Rafale scam", but the TMC did not make much of an effort to join the protest, the state Congress chief claimed. "Is this ..
May faces Cabinet as Brexit deadline looms
Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday faced her divided ministers as negotiators scrambled to secure a divorce agreement with the European Union and anxiety mounted over the risk of a no-deal Brexit. May said Monday her government was working "extremely hard" to save a deal, telling officials of London's financial district that negotiations "are now in the endgame". A British government source said a deal must happen by Wednesday if there is any hope of an extraordinary EU summit this month to sign a withdrawal agreement. May's de facto deputy David Lidington told BBC Radio's Today programme on Tuesday that a deal was "not quite there yet" but was within "touching distance". Agreement was still to be reached on a "small number of difficult issues", he added, saying a deal before Wednesday was "still possible, but not at all definite". May addressed City of London leaders on Monday, saying her negotiators were working "through the night" to make progress on the remaining issues. "I ...
Raj polls: 17 candidates file papers on second day of nominations
A total of 24 nominations were filed on Tuesday by 17 candidates, including two Congress leaders who filed papers before their party announced its list of candidates. So far, 33 candidates have filed 47 nominations, Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer Anand Kumar said. In Barmer, Congress leaders Harish Chaudhary and Hemaram Chaudhary filed nomination from Baytu and Gudamalani assembly seats respectively. Both leaders filed nomination before Congress announced its first list of candidates. "I have filed nomination as a Congress candidate on directions of block Congress committee, Harish Chaudhary told reporters after filing papers. Hemaram Chaudhary said the party had directed him to contest the elections.
Singapore engagements to boost India's ties with Asean, Indo-Pacific region: Modi
Ahead of his visit to Singapore on November 14-15 for the annual India-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and East Asia Summits, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that his engagements there will help boost ties with Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific region.
Italy has re-launched dialogue on Libya: Conte
Palermo (Italy), Nov 13 (IANS/AKI) Italy has brought together the main players in the Mediterranean region and has kickstarted a dialogue on conflict-wracked Libya, Italy's Premier Giuseppe Conte tweeted on Tuesday.
Modi govt has resorted to 'web of lies' to hide corruption in Rafale deal: CPI(M)
Left parties Tuesday alleged that the Modi government had spun a "web of lies" to hide "corruption" and its "wrong doings" in the Rafale jet fighter deal. The political row over the deal escalated on Tuesday with the Congress dismissing as "manufactured lies" claims by Dassault CEO Eric Trappier that there was no wrong-doing. In a media interview, Trappier claimed no wrong-doing in the Rs 58,000 crore deal, asserting it was a clean deal and that his company chose Reliance as an offset partner. Taking a dig at the CEO's claim, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said "cronies" of all kinds, from France to India, were trying to defend the Modi government on the issue and such efforts will go in vain. "Modi government has resorted to a web of lies to hide the corruption in Rafale scam. Cronies of all kinds, from France to here in India, are out trying to defend the indefensible. But their lies have all been nailed," the CPI(M) leader tweeted. He alleged that the Prime Minister ...
Uddhav Thackeray's Ayodhya visit politically motivated: Ashok Chavan
Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan on Monday termed Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's upcoming visit to Ayodhya as completely politically motivated.Speaking to ANI, Chavan said, "Uddhav Thackeray's visit to Ayodhya on November 25 makes no sense. People know well that there are elections in five states and this is just an attempt to polarize votes. The public are aware of the fact that such issues like Ram temple are raised only for political benefits."Chavan further said, "Maharashtra is going down in terms of ease of doing business rankings and is also lagging behind in investments. The Bharatiya Janta Party and the Shiv Sena are only responsible for this."Further attacking the BJP, he said, "It is high time to start working for the people's progress instead of renaming places. Changing names of towns and cities is nothing, but to get political attention and do the vote bank politics.
Rahul fires 'Mann Ki Baat' salvo at PM Modi
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his monthly radio address 'Mann Ki Baat', Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the people want a government, who will listen to their "Mann Ki Baat".Addressing an election rally here, the Congress chief said, "We will not speak about our 'Mann Ki Baat.' We want to listen to your (people's) Mann Ki Baat. People want a government who will listen to their Mann Ki Baat."Making a strong pitch for the state's real development, Gandhi said that outsourcing of jobs will be stopped if his party comes to power in the state. Gandhi told a cheering crowd, "Outsourcing of jobs will be stopped when we come to power.""Nearly 60,000 posts of teachers and lecturers are lying vacant in the state. We will give what is yours. Instead of working for a few industrialists, the Congress will work for the development of agriculture, education and health in the state." " We will also develop food processing units for farmers in each district and ...
Name Samruddhi expressway after Bal Thackeray: Sena
Ruling coalition partner Shiv Sena demanded Tuesday that the Nagpur-Mumbai expressway, a pet project of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, be named after the party's late patriarch Bal Thackeray. The 701-km expressway, also called Samruddhi expressway or Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway, is estimated to cost Rs 46,000 crore. The work on the project is yet to start. In a letter to Fadnavis, his cabinet colleague and Sena leader Eknath Shinde said it was Bal Thackeray who envisioned the Pune-Mumbai expressway and he fulfilled his vision after the Sena-BJP government came to power in 1995. The late Thackeray should be credited for this contribution and his vision should be respected, Shinde said. Several Sena legislators have expressed a wish that the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway be named after Bal Thackeray, said Shinde, minister for the Public Works Department. Interestingly, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had earlier asked the farmers who are going to lose
Full name of political parties registered, not abbreviation: EC
The Election Commission on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that registration of political parties was done with their full names, not with their abbreviations.
Pakistani militant killed near LoC
A Pakistani militant was killed in a gunfight with the Army on Tuesday near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Jammu district.