Page 2538 - Politics

Mizoram polls: EC team to hold talks with officials, leaders

A high-level team of Election Commission (EC) officials would be arriving in Mizoram Friday to hold talks with top government officials and leaders of civil societies over the crisis that has rocked the poll arrangements in the state, official sources said. The team, led by Deputy Election Commissioner Sudeep Jain, would be visiting the state two days after Chief Electoral Officer S B Shashank was summoned to Delhi by the EC, following a massive agitation for his ouster by NGO Coordination Committee - a conglomerate of civil societies and student organisations. Shashank had allegedly sought deployment of additional central armed police forces (CAPF) in the state and complained to the EC that the state's former principal secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo was interfering with the poll process. Chuaungo, a native of Mizoram and a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer was relieved of his duties earlier this month. The committee, along with other political leaders, had been demanding Shashank's exit from

Sharad Yadav hits outs at BJP for renaming cities

Opposition leader Sharad Yadav Friday accused the BJP of indulging in "drama" of changing names of cities, streets and roads, rather than fulfilling its electoral promises. He asked the party's government at the Centre and in states to work to fulfil promises made by them before elections. "There is a history behind the name of every city, and to change the history is not the prerogative of one political party. The Bharatiya Janata Party is busy in doing such things which has nothing to do with the progress and development of the country," he said in a statement, condemning the exercise. The government should devote its time in providing jobs to the unemployed youth, increasing income of farmers, bringing back black money from abroad and other promises made before elections, he said. "They are busy in dramas which are not going to deliver the goods," Yadav added. The Yogi Adityanath government recently renamed Allahabad and Faizabad districts as Prayag Raj and Ayodhya, respectively, ..

'Very minor' irregularities in Madagascar vote: EU

EU election observers said on Friday that Madagascar's presidential election this week had "very minor" irregularities after candidate Hery Rajaonarimampianina alleged the vote was marred by fraud. "The irregularities were very minor and won't have any impact on the election's outcome," said the head of the European Union's monitoring mission Cristian Preda. Two cases of ballot stuffing were reported out of nearly 25,000 polling stations nationwide in Wednesday's vote, he said. "What we are describing are difficulties and anomalies, which is to say logistical issues that wouldn't have affected the credibility of the elections," Preda said at a media briefing in the capital Antananarivo. African Union (AU) observers said the three leading contenders, all former presidents, "should show restraint and respect the law". "It's not in their interests to act in a way that causes tension or trouble," said the AU's observer mission chief Ramtane Lamamra. Presidential hopeful ...

Rahul accuses Modi, Raman Singh of corruption, promises farm loan waiver in Chhattisgarh

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday launched a tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, alleging they are "openly indulging in graft" and taking decisions only after "permission" from their industrialist friends. Addressing a poll rally in Singh's home turf Rajnandgaon, Gandhi asserted his party would act against the "corrupt" and write off debts of farmers if elected to power in Chhattisgarh, which is being ruled by the BJP for the past 15 years. At another rally in the poll-bound state ahead of the first-phase voting on November 12, he alleged, "In Delhi, Modi ji has 10-15 industrialists friends and similarly Chhattisgarh CM has 10-15 big businessmen friends. Modi ji and Singh never do any work until they take permission from these 10-15 friends." The Congress has been accusing the Modi government of indulging in crony capitalism from time to time, a charge which has been vehemently denied by the saffron party. In the rally in ...

MP polls: No anti-incumbency in state, says Sahasrabuddhe

BJP national vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe Friday dismissed reports about the Madhya Pradesh government facing anti-incumbency. The BJP-led government has been in power in MP since 2003. The state goes to polls on November 28 and counting of votes will be taken up on December 11. "I don't find anti-incumbency in the state. Normally, anti-incumbency prevails when the existing government has not done any work and its leaders are corrupt. In Madhya Pradesh, both these factors are non-existent," he said. He was accompanying BJP candidates who filed their nomination papers here Friday. Answering a query on the BJP giving tickets to the kin of party leaders, the BJP VP said, "It is wrong to see it as encouraging dynastic politics. They were given tickets on the basis of their work in the party. They cant be denied nominations merely on the ground that they are relatives of BJP leaders." He, however, attacked the Congress on dynastic politics and claimed that Rahul Gandhi .

Qatari cash reaches Gaza in campaign to ease tensions

Palestinian civil servants formed long queues in Gaza on Friday to receive Qatari-funded salaries, as part of efforts to ease tensions in and around the impoverished territory. A total of USD 90 million is to be distributed in six monthly instalments of USD 15 million, according to authorities, primarily to cover salaries of officials working for Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Palestinian enclave. Some exited post offices, where the first instalment was being distributed, to show off hundred-dollar bills before the cameras, after several months of sporadic salary payments in cash-strapped Gaza. The cash was driven into the Palestinian enclave through Israel late Thursday by Qatar's envoy to Gaza, Mohammad al-Emadi, according to a government source in Gaza. Qatar has also said it would hand out $100 to each of 50,000 poor families, as well as larger sums to Palestinians wounded in clashes along Gaza's border with Israel. The Israeli-authorised money transfer appeared to be

Examining details of US exemptions on buying Iranian crude oil: MEA

India Friday welcomed the US announcement allowing it to keep buying crude oil from Iran and said it was examining the details of the exemptions. The US on Monday re-imposed sanctions on import of crude oil from Iran but temporarily allowed India, China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey to continue the purchase from the Gulf nation without any penalty. "We appreciate that the US government has taken into account our need for energy security and understood our sensitivities on this matter. We welcome this. We are now examining the details of the exemption," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. Asked whether India was going to reduce crude oil imports from Iran, he did not give a direct reply but said Iranian oil was very important for India's energy security. "India is a major importer of crude oil from Iran. This is very important for our own energy security needs. We appreciate the fact that US has shown understanding of our position and have

Gujarat CM for renaming Ahmedabad as Karnavati

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has re-opened the issue of renaming Ahmedabad as 'Karnavati', days after his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj and mooted the idea of changing Faizabad to Ayodhya.

Demonetisation will destroy BJP, warns Mumbai Congress

The Mumbai Congress on Friday observed a 'black day' to mark the second anniversary of the November 8, 2016 demonetisation and warned that the move would destroy the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2019 elections.

I'm working for MP devpt so Congress is angry with me: Chouhan

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Friday said he believes in development of the people of the state, while the Congress is only interested in defaming his government. Chouhan said while his government is taking care of all sections of the soceity, the main opposition party just dreams about seeing him out of power. "I have opened new vistas of development, including for the welfare of bhanje-bhanji (nephew and niece), built the Kundalia dam in Rajgarh district and launched Teerth Darshan Yojna (a state sponsored scheme for the elderly). "The Congress, on the other hand, just expresses anger at these things," he said. Chouhan, who is the CM since 2005, is popularly known as 'mama' in Madhya Pradesh. Chouhan was addressing a rally here after accompanying BJP candidates who filed their nomination papers from various assembly seats in Rajgarh district for the November 28 polls. "The Congress has nothing to claim in the name of development. It is just running

Note ban anniverary: Delhi Cong holds candle march

The Congress' Delhi unit took out a candle march on the second anniversary of demonetisation on Friday to pray for people who "died while waiting in queues outside banks and ATMs" after the note ban was announced in 2016. The march started from Jantar Mantar towards the RBI office here. However, police stopped it on Parliament Street. Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said the candle march was held to pray for "people who died in queues outside banks and ATMs, and to protest the impact of demonetisation on the common man and the country's economy". Earlier in the day, Youth Congress members accompanied by senior party leaders staged a protest against demonetisation outside the RBI office and were detained by police. Security forces forcibly took the protestors to police station in a bus. "Around 70-80 Congress protesters, including Ashok Gehlot, Anand Sharma and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, were detained," police said. The protesters wore masks and shouted slogans against the the BJP-led ...

People will punish PM Modi in LS polls for note ban: Mumbai

Demonetisation was a "black day" and the people would teach Prime Minister Narendra Modi a lesson in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam said Friday. He said that PM Modi, who had at the time asked people to give him 50 days (till December 30, 2016) to deliver the benefits of the note ban exercise, was not speaking about demonetisation now as it had failed completely. "More than 600 days have passed, but the Prime Minister has refrained from speaking about the decision of demonetisation ever since," Nirupam said. He claimed small scale industries had shut down, youth had lost jobs and 150 people lost their lives standing in bank queues. "People of the country will teach Modi a lesson in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Nirupam said. People were told by the government that demonetisation would end terrorism and Naxalism, the Congress leader said. "On the contrary, jawans are being killed at the border and in Naxal attacks," he said.

Demonetisation a 'Modi-made disaster': Cong's Surjewala

Demonetisation was a "Modi-made disaster" which would be inquired into if the Congress is elected to power at the Centre, party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said here Friday. The note ban exercise, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016, had pushed the country towards economic disaster and it is the "biggest scam of independent India", he claimed Speaking at a press conference here, Surjewala alleged, "The BJP and RSS purchased huge amount of properties across the country before demonetisation. The Congress has already released a list of eight such properties in Bihar and 18 in Odisha." "Whether the BJP and the RSS were privy to the decision of demonetisation should be inquired," the AICC communications in-charge added. Levelling charges against the ruling BJP, Surjewala said on the day of demonetisation, the BJP's Kolkata unit deposited Rs 3 crore in old currency into a bank account. Besides, Rs 5.88 lakh crore was deposited in banks a month before the ...

MLAs powerless, Ministers figureheads in TRS regime: TJS

Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) chief M Kodandaram, who has joined the Congress-led alliance for the state assembly polls, alleged people who fought for statehood were neglected during the TRS regime and powers were concentrated in the hands of an "unresponsive" Chief Minister. The TJS was founded earlier this year by Kodandaram, a retired Osmania University Political Science Professor who led the Telangana Joint Action Committee (T-JAC) formed in 2009 with the goal of achieving a separate Telangana state. An umbrella organisation of different pro-Telangana political and non-political groups, T-JAC had spearheaded the statehood movement. Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. The TJS is contesting the December 7 polls to the 119-member Telangana Assembly in a Congress-led opposition alliance and has been allotted eight seats. "The last four years rule is a miserable failure", Prof. Kodandaram told PTI in an interview when asked about his assessment of the ...

Stalin tells cadres to take vow to dislodge BJP, AIADMK govts

: DMK president M K Stalin Friday exhorted cadres to work for the party's victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and urged them to take a vow to dislodge the governments led by the BJP and AIADMK at the Centre and state respectively. "Let us take a vow to dislodge the communal BJP government at the Centre and the corrupt AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and do our duty accordingly," he said, addressing party workers at a wedding event at nearby Thuraiyur. While the BJP has dismissed the communal tag, the AIADMK has consistently denied corruption allegations levelled against its government by the DMK. The DMK chief said alongside the Lok Sabha election next year, "we are all eagerly expecting the assembly election too... there is a chance of that happening." In the coming elections, be it for the Lok Sabha or assembly, party cadres should work for a magnificent victory for the DMK, he said. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury would meet him in a few days (November 13), Stalin, who .

TMC slams Modi govt for LPG price hike

The Trinamool Congress on Friday slammed the Narendra Modi government for hiking the price of the domestic cooking gas, describing it as a festive gift by the Bharatiya Janata Party to the people. The prices of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have been hiked by over Rs 2 per cylinder after the government increased the commission paid to the dealers. "In the festive season, (the) BJP gifts another price rise to the people! LPG price hiked by over Rs 2 per cylinder," a TMC statement said.

Change of Parrikar's leadership a must: Central Minister

Ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's leadership will have to be changed "today or tomorrow", Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik said on Friday.

HC rejects TN minister's plea for removal of charges in election petition

The Madras High Court Friday rejected a plea by Tamil Nadu Education Minister K Pandiarajan seeking to delete allegations made against him in a petition by a DMK nominee whom he had defeated in the 2016 assembly polls. Justice M V Muralidharan held that the minister was not right in seeking deletion of the paragraphs in the election petition. S M Nasar, who lost to Pandiarajan in Avadai constituency in the May, 2016 polls, has moved the court challenging the election on grounds of alleged corrupt practices and bribing of voters by the winner. However, the Judge made it clear that his views were only prima facie and he had not gone into the merits of the allegations levelled in the election petition. He then posted the matter for further hearing on November 16.

BJP's lone Muslim woman candidate to contest from Bhopal North

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded its lone Muslim woman candidate from the Bhopal North constituency. Fatima Rasool Siddiqui is the only Muslim face to contest the forthcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly polls across the 230 assembly constituencies.Despite Fatima's limited political experience, the battle for Bhopal North will be an interesting contest as the Congress contestant Arif Aqueel is not only a five-time MLA from the seat but has a history of political rivalry with Fatima's father, Rasool Ahmed Siddiqui.Rasool Ahmed had registered back-to-back victories in Bhopal North in the 1980 and 1985 elections as a Congress candidate, with Aqueel dethroning him in the 1990 assembly elections as an Independent candidate.In 1993, BJP's Ramesh Sharma was elected as the MLA from the seat, with Aqueel soon swearing his allegiance with the Congress. He reclaimed the seat in 1998 on Congress ticket. Aqueel has since turned the constituency into a Congress stronghold, emerging ...

Rahul got out of his luxury car, stood in queue during demonetisation: BJP

Bharatiya Janata Party's national spokesperson Sambit Patra took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday, claiming that Gandhi scion continues to make laughable statements. He also alleged that Gandhi himself is a black money holder.Addressing media persons here, Patra said: "Today Rahul Gandhi is in Chhattisgarh. He asked the gathering if anyone of them had seen any rich black money holder getting out of a big car and standing in the queue to deposit banned notes during demonetisation. I would like to tell him that 'yes, we saw you getting out of your Rs 4 crore car' and standing in the queue."Earlier in the day while addressing a gathering in the poll bound Chhattisgarh's Kanker, Rahul Gandhi had said, "All of you were standing in long queues during demonetisation (in 2016), but not one black money holder was seen (in the queue). Also, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi and Mehul Choksi ran away from the country with your money."BJP leader further attacked the Congress .