Page 251 - Politics
CPI(M) panchayat member joins BJP, "TMC men" ransack house
Within hours of a woman CPI(M) panchayat member joined the BJP in Nadia district, a group of people, allegedly Trinamool Congress workers, ransacked her house on Thursday. However, two other TMC leaders who also joined the saffron party were spared. Police said they have initiated an investigation into the incident that occurred at Habibpur village under Ranaghat police station limits. Sargina Bibi, the CPI(M) member of Habibpur gram panchayt, joined the BJP in presence of its state unit president Dilip Ghosh who came to Ranaghat. Pradip Sarkar, TMC member of Habibpur panchayat samity and Sanjit Biswas, TMC Zilla Parishad member, also joined the BJP at the same programme. BJP leaders alleged that soon after Sargina Bibi switched over to the saffron party, TMC miscreants vandalised her home. The TMC denied the allegation saying it was the fallout out of an internal conflict of the family. Jagannath Sarkar, newly elected BJP MP of Ranaghat, who was also present at the ...
Steps to overcome water scarcity taken, says TN CM
Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami Thursday said the state was facing water scarcity due to scanty rainfall and steps were being taken to tackle the situation by allotting neceesary funds. He was replying a question from reporters at the airport here on the acute water scarcity faced in various parts of the state in the wake of falling levels of ground water. On the Cauvery issue, the Chief Minister expressed hope that Karnataka would release the river water as per the order of the Cauvery Management Board. On the decrease in AIADMK's percentage of votes in recent Lok Sabha polls, he said the party votebank was intact and the decline was because it contested in fewer seats. Referring to the DMK's performance in the elections, he said the party had put forward a bag of lies. The chief minister said those who had left the AIADMK would return to the party fold soon, an apparent reference to the supporters of AMMK founded by ousted leader TTV Dhinakaran.
With Rajanth in 4 more committees, govt rebalances composition of key panels
The government's decision on Thursday night to induct Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in most Cabinet committees after it initially kept him out of all but two of them has rebalanced the composition of key panels. While an official statement in the morning had Singh's name in only two Cabinet committees -- economic affairs and security -- the government effected a change at night, bringing him in four more panels; those on political affairs, parliamentary affairs, investment and growth, and empowerment and skill development. The change came amid reports that the presence of Amit Shah, who was made home minister in the second Narendra Modi dispensation after Singh held the charge in the first between 2014-19, in all eight committees had highlighted his position as the second most powerful person in the new government. Official sources said Singh will now head the Cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs, of which Modi is not a member, while Shah is. Only two committees in which ...
Congress faces tough task to keep its flock together after LS rout
The Congress is facing a tough task to keep its flock together after the party's dismal performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections as several leaders from Punjab, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and the Telangana have either quit the party or spoken against the leadership.
Centre, AAP in tussle over free rides scheme
Barely a week after the BJP-led NDA government assumed charge for a second term at the Centre, its friction with Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seems to have revived with the two countering each other's schemes.
Govt announces constitution of various Cabinet panels, Shah part of all 8
The government Thursday announced constitution of eight Cabinet committees with Home Minister Amit Shah being made a part of all the panels including one that clears all appointments, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will head the committee on Parliamentary Affairs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads various committees except the one on Parliamentary Affairs. Singh's name did not figure in some of the committees earlier. The government later amended the list and put up it on the Cabinet Secretariat website. While the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has only Prime Minister Modi and Shah in it, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) has Modi, Shah and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, besides Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, and ...
Centre, AAP again caught in tussle over schemes
Barely a week after the BJP-led NDA government assumed charge for a second term at the Centre, its friction with Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seems to have revived with the two countering each other's schemes.
Pondy CM slams Bedi; Asks Cong workers to prepare for stir
Attacking Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy Thursday accused her of concentrating more on "creating obstacles" to the elected government that on development works. Addressing ruling Congress cadres at the PCC office here, he said they should prepare for another round of protest against Bedi to bring to focus her attitude of "putting obstacles" in implementing the decisions of the elected government. Narayanasamy-led Congress government has been at loggerheads with Bedi on various administrative issues since she assumed office in 2016. "We fought against her legally and scored a victory with the Madras High Court holding that the Lt Governor cannot interfere with the routine activities of the elected government," he said referring the April 30 order of the court. On petitions by the Centre and Bedi challenging the order, the Supreme Court had on June 4 directed the Puducherry government not to implement till the next hearing any decision ..
Putin says West 'crazy' for backing Venezuela's Guaido
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said the West was "crazy" for supporting an opposition leader in Venezuela over its president. Putin said Juan Guaido was "likeable" but warned that the world would plunge into chaos if there were no rules. "But if we adopt this way of coming to power -- a man walks into a square, lifts up his eyes to heaven and declares himself president before God -- would this be normal or not?" he told heads of global news agencies at an economic forum in the second city of Saint Petersburg. "Well, then chaos will consume the world," he warned. "Let's elect a US president, a British prime minister, a French president like that. What will it be? I feel like asking those who support this: have you gone crazy, do you understand where this is going? Should there be rules or not?" In January, Guaido declared himself acting president, claiming Nicolas Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate. More than 50 countries led by the United States lined up ...
Putin says time to 'turn the page' on UK ties after spy scandal
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said Moscow and London should mend fences after the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Britain. The 2018 poisoning of the ex-double agent, which the UK has blamed on Russia, led to dozens of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and a breakdown in already fragile ties between Moscow and London. "There's a need to finally turn this page -- linked to spies and assassination attempts," Putin told heads of global news agencies at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg. "Global issues related to national interests in the economic and social spheres and global security are more important than games of security services," the Russian president said. Putin added that Skripal was not a "Russian spy." "It was not us who spied on you," Putin said. "It's your agent, not ours. That means you were spying on us." London said a new relationship would only be possible following changes from Moscow. "We can only have a different relationship if ...
Rajnath to head panel on Parl Affairs, to be part of 6 govt panels
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was made a member of two key cabinet committees including security, will also chair the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs and be a part of the all-important panel on political affairs, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs takes all important political decisions in the ruling dispensation. Singh was made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) earlier and he is now a part of six key panels of the government. On Wednesday, Singh was also made a member of two new panels set up by the government -- the Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth and the Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development, to propel growth and investment. Singh headed the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs in the last government. The panel takes all decisions pertaining to Parliament matters.
As faction feud rises, Raj Congress in charge appeals party workers to stay disciplined
Amid rising factionism in the party, All India Congress Committee general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pandey on Thursday appealed to all state leaders to stay disciplined and avoid expressing opinions in public that could harm party's interests.
Delhi govt likely to bring Cabinet note on free public transport rides for women on June 11
The Delhi government is moving fast to implement its decision to make bus and metro rides free for women and is likely to bring a proposal in this regard before the Cabinet on June 11. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot wrote to Principal Secretary-cum-Transport Commissioner Rajeev Kumar on June 3, asking him to take necessary steps to give shape to the proposal. In a letter to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) chairman, Kumar sought to know the proposal's financial implication, technical feasibility and modalities and challenges in its implementation. Kumar also said in his letter that a note in this regard will be put before the Cabinet on June 11. Similar details have also been sought from the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and the Delhi Intergrated Multi Modal Transit System (DIMITS), which together run around 5,500 public transport buses in the city. A meeting of senior officials of DMRC, DTC and DIMITS was held on Thursday morning to discuss various aspects of the ...
BJP lighting 'naked pyres of terror' in Bengal, claims Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee visited the house of a slain party worker here on Thursday and lambasted the BJP, claiming that it was lighting "naked pyres of terror" in the state. Banerjee accused the BJP of killing the Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker, Nirmal Kundu, a charge denied by the saffron party. "The BJP is lighting naked pyres of terror at places where we have won (in the Lok Sabha election). They are also trying to demean the Bengali culture," she said. The saffron party was yet to win the Assembly election in the state and it got only 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats, that too, by resorting to malpractices, the TMC chief said. Banerjee has been alleging tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the general election. "Why the party (BJP) is carrying out atrocities like killing people? What kind of politics is this?," she asked, while talking to reporters outside Kundu's residence. Bengal is not a place for violence and terror, the chief ..
Learn from RSS workers' perseverance in voter outreach: Pawar
NCP chief Sharad Pawar Thursday asked his party workers to take a leaf out of RSS volunteers' book and show perseverance in reaching out to voters. He was speaking at a meeting of party leaders and workers from Pimpri-Chinchwad area near here. "I do not say we have to follow everything the RSS workers do, but we can certainly learn from their determination and persistence while visiting voters," he said. Party workers should not feel dejected because of the results of the Lok Sabha elections and start preparing for the Maharashtra Assembly elections which are due in October- November, Pawar said. Recalling his conversation with a BJP leader, Pawar said, "He told me that your party workers go to peoples' houses and if nobody is home, they drop the party's pamphlet at the doorstep and leave. "But if an RSS worker working for the party (BJP) finds the door closed in the morning, he will visit that house again in the evening. If it is still closed, he will go to the same ...
Maharashtra Congress to hold 2-day assembly poll-related meet
After its drubbing in Maharashtra in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls, the Congress has shifted its focus on preparations and chalking out stragegy for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state. The opposition party is holding a two-day district- wise review meeting here from Friday as part of its preparations for the Maharashtra Assembly polls slated later this year. State Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said AICC general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Mallikarjun Kharge is expected to participate in the meeting. Sawant said districts located in Marathwada and North Maharashtra will be covered on the first day of poll-related deliberations. Senior Congress leaders of the MPCC and districts will participate in the meeting along with party workers, he added. In the Sabha polls, the Congress suffered a crushing defeat in the state, winning just one of the 25 seats it contested in alliance with the NCP. The BJP-Shiv Sena combine, which won 41 of the total 48 ...
Four Gujarat BJP MLAs resign on getting elected to Lok Sabha
Four BJP MLAs in Gujarat Thursday tendered their resignations from the legislative Assembly following their election to the Lok Sabha in the just concluded national polls. They handed over their resignations to Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi in Gandhinagar, said a government release here. Those who have resigned are: Bharatsinh Dabhi (Kheralu Assembly seat-Mehsana district), Parbat Patel (Tharad -Banaskantha district), Hasmukh Patel (Amraiwadi in Ahmedabad city) and Ratansinh Rathod (Lunawada-Mahisagar district). Three of them were elected to the assembly in the 2017 polls on BJP tickets, while the fourth MLA, Rathod, won as an independent and later joined the ruling party. All of them were fielded by the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls held in Gujarat in April and they emerged victorious from their respective constituency. While Dabhi won from the Patan Lok Sabha seat, Parbat Patel secured victory from Banaskantha. Hasmukh Patel and Rathod won from Ahmedabad-East and ...
Oppn demands Maharashtra BJP minister's sacking in 'land scam'
The opposition Congress and NCP Thursday demanded the sacking of Maharashtra Housing Minister Prakash Mehta amid reports that the Lokayukta, in its probe report of a slum rehabilitation scheme here, has made adverse comments against him. The two parties claimed the anti-corruption ombudsman has indicted Mehta, a BJP minister, and confirmed a scam in the project. They also demanded that an FIR be filed against him. Responding to the demand, Mehta said he wasn't aware if the report has been submitted to the government. "I have made my stand clear on the issue earlier also," he added. In August 2017, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced a Lokayukta probe against Mehta, who was accused of impropriety in a slum-redevelopment project in the city. Mehta allegedly allowed unauthorised transfer of extra building rights in the SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) scheme at the MP Mills Compound in South Mumbai, originally given to slum dwellers, to project-affected ...
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor meets Mamata
Election strategist Prashant Kishor met West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee on Thursday in an indication that he would assist the party in its preparations for the 2021 assembly polls where BJP is expected to put up a major challenge.
UK says new ties possible only if Russia 'changes behaviour'
Britain said Thursday that resetting ties with Russia depended on Moscow changing behaviour, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was time to "turn the page" on the difficult relationship. "We can only have a different relationship if Russia changes its behaviour," a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Theresa May said, noting that the 2018 poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain, blamed on Moscow, was a "despicable act". "We have been clear that Russia's pattern of aggression and destabilising behaviour undermines its claim to be a responsible international partner," the spokeswoman added. "We will continue to engage with Russia on matters of international security as this is in the UK's national interest." Britain has accused Russia of orchestrating the March 2018 nerve agent attack against former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English cathedral city of Salisbury, which Moscow has furiously denied. The incident sparked dozens of tit-for-tat ...