Page 2596 - Politics
Talks over Cong's ticket allotment for MP polls inconclusive
Senior Congress leaders have been given the task of sorting out differences between party leaders from Madhya Pradesh over allotment of tickets for the assembly elections as talks at the central election committee meeting remained inconclusive, sources said Thursday. According to the sources, during the meeting of the central election committee on late Wednesday, Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia exchanged heated notes in the presence of party chief Rahul Gandhi. The CEC meeting for Madhya Pradesh remained inconclusive after it continued till hours beyond midnight. While batting for their respective candidates, Scindia and Singh exchanged heated notes, the sources said. This forced Rahul Gandhi to ask senior party leaders Ahmed Patel, M Veerappa Moily and Ashok Gehlot to sit with the "warring" leaders and resolve the differences, they said. Insiders say a third meeting of the CEC, the party's body for selecting candidates, for Madhya Pradesh is likely this ...
YSR Congress chief moves HC seeking independent agency probe into attack on him
YSR Congress chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has approached the Hyderabad High Court seeking a direction to the Andhra Pradesh government to transfer the probe into the recent attack on him at the Visakhapatnam airport, to an independent agency. Andhra Pradesh Home Secretary, DGP and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu were among those who were made respondents in the plea, the petitioner's counsel said Thursday. On October 25, Reddy was injured on the left shoulder when he was attacked by a man with a small knife, at the airport in Visakhapatnam. The assailant, J Srinivas was employed at the airport canteen, police had said. Jagan, the Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, submitted that he has no confidence in the investigation being conducted by the state government and added that it ought to be conducted by an independent and impartial agency which is not under the government. Alleging that the attack on him was part of a "criminal conspiracy" to eliminate him, Jagan ...
Kejriwal moves EC over deletion of voters' names
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday alleged that names of lakhs of voters had been axed from electoral rolls in Delhi and blamed the BJP for it.
Trump shocks Americans with racist new ad ahead of mid-term elections
Days before the crucial mid-term elections, US President Donald Trump has posted a divisive campaign advertisement on his Twitter account which he hopes would boost the Republican party's campaign. The controversial video, now pinned to the top of his social media feed, blames the Democrats for "letting in" Luis Bracamontes - an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who killed two police officers in Sacramento in 2014. Bracamontes, who had previously been deported twice, was sentenced to death for the murders earlier this year. The video -- produced for the Trump campaign -- and posted by President Trump shows Bracamontes grinning in court and threatening to "kill more cops soon". The ad recalls the notorious "Willie Horton" campaign ad financed by supporters of the George H.W. Bush campaign in the 1988 presidential election. Horton was a convicted murderer who committed rape while furloughed under a programme in Massachusetts where Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis was governor. The ad
Will gherao Delhi CM's residence if AAP govt doesn't approve Delhi Metro Phase IV: BJP MP
BJP MP Udit Raj on Thursday threatened to gherao Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence with his supporters if the AAP government does not give a nod to kickstart Delhi Metro Phase IV. The MP from Northwest Delhi accused the Delhi government of delaying the project. "Delhi government is deliberately not starting the work for the Metro Phase IV. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has been trying to ensure that the city government gives a nod to the project. But the Kejriwal government has been giving excuses and delaying the metro project," Raj alleged as he led a protest at the Master Chandgiram Akhara in Civil Lines against the Delhi government on the issue. "This protest is just a warning sign. If the Delhi government fails to approve the project in next 10 days, a massive dharna will be organised and we will gherao the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal," he said. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Wednesday said that he has directed the transport ...
Sri Lankan sacked PM 'confident' of Parliament support
Sri Lanka's sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday said he had the support of Parliament as the island nation grappled with an unprecedented constitutional crisis following his ouster by President Maithripala Sirisena.
Lankan prez lifts Parliament's suspension; sacked PM Wickremesinghe says 'democracy will prevail'
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has summoned Parliament on Monday, officials said Thursday, a move which could resolve the political crisis arose after he sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and installed former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sirisena was under increasing political and diplomatic pressure to reconvene Parliament which he had suspended till November 16, apparently to allow Rajapaksa to engineer crossovers from Wickremesinghe's side. The President has agreed to call a parliamentary session on November 5, officials at Rajapaksa's office said. Prior to the crisis, Wickramasinghe's United National Party (UNP) had the backing of 106 parliamentarians while Rajapaksa and Sirisena combine had 95 seats. Rajapaksa has so far managed to rope in five lawmakers from Wickramasinghe's party to bolster his strength to 101. One UNP lawmaker has offered his support to him. It was, however, not immediately known if Rajapaksa has managed to secure 113 votes required to ...
China hosts El Salvador as nations cut ties with Taiwan
Salvadoran President Salvador Sanchez Ceren met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Thursday, just months after the small Central American nation broke its diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The state visit comes one day before that of the president of the Dominican Republic, whose country also switched allegiances from Taiwan to China this year. El Salvador and the Dominican Republic are among a growing number of countries that have cut ties with Taiwan in favour of resuming or establishing relations with China, which considers the self-governing island democracy to be part of its territory. Only 17 mainly small, developing countries now recognise Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan split from mainland China during a civil war in 1949, and Beijing has been steadily ratcheting up diplomatic and economic pressure since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016. Beijing's aggressiveness is largely driven by Tsai's refusal to endorse Beijing's "one-China ...
Nitish to remain CM as long as people of Bihar want him to: JD(U)
The Janata Dal (United) said on Thursday that Nitish Kumar was the chief minister by popular choice and he shall continue to be in office till the time people of Bihar wanted him as their leader. The JD(U) was reacting to a claim by Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha Wednesday that during a personal conversation with him, the chief minister had expressed his reluctance to run for another term after his ongoing tenure ends in 2020. "We do not have to say anything about the veracity of Kushwaha's claim. What we wish to underscore is that Nitish Kumar became the chief minister not out of his own personal desire but because the people of Bihar wanted to see him in that role. And they have been reaffirming their faith in his leadership by voting him back to power," JD(U) national general secretary Shyam Rajak said. Rajak, who is the party's deputy leader in the state assembly, also took a swipe at Kushwaha who had been critical of Kumar for some ...
Dhinakaran camp is in a "confused state of mind": AIADMK
The ruling AIADMK Thursday flayed rebel leader T T V Dhinakaran for saying it would "struggle" to secure deposit in the bypolls to 20 Assembly seats, including those of the 18 disqualified party MLAs, and said those in the rival camp were in a "confused state of mind." It said Dhinakaran's statement showed how much the family of deposed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, including Dhinakaran, was "against" former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. On Wednesday, Dhinakaran had said in Madurai that the 18 disqualified MLAs will not appeal against the Madras High Court verdict upholding their disqualification, as decided by them originally, and face the elections, seen as a U-turn by his critics. AIADMK ridiculed Dhinakaran for his volte-face and said the disqualified MLAs were in a "confused state of mind." "They have perhaps decided against appealing since it is clear that they might not win the case in the Supreme Court. Two judges (of the Madras High Court) had upheld the ...
Maldives ex-leader Nasheed ends exile
Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed returned home from exile Thursday, two days after the country's Supreme Court withdrew a warrant for his arrest. Nasheed, who had been jailed for 13 years on a controversial terrorism charge, was welcomed at Male airport by president-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and hundreds of supporters. It was not immediately clear what role he will have in the new government to be constituted by Solih this month. The Supreme Court had ruled that Nasheed could not be detained until his appeal against the jail sentence for terrorism is heard. The 51-year-old democracy champion was branded a fugitive from justice when he went into exile in 2016 after seeking medical treatment abroad while serving the jail sentence. He risked arrest if he ever returned to the Maldives under President Abdulla Yameen, who jailed or exiled most of his opponents. However, the strongman leader suffered a surprise defeat last month in an election and must leave office on November ...
Rahul confused, Congress defused: BJP on Congress' infighting
Rahul Gandhi is "confused", and the Congress under him is "defused", the BJP said on Thursday amid reports that the party was witnessing intense infighting over ticket distribution for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls.
Chandrababu Naidu meets Rahul Gandhi
TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is trying to unite the opposition parties to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections next year, Thursday met Congress president Rahul Gandhi here, sources said. The meeting comes amid seat-sharing talks between the two parties for the Assemby elections. Earlier in the day, Naidu met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah here. Naidu "coincidentally" also met senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here and briefly discussed about the need to bring all non-BJP political parties together.
BJP remembers Ram only when election are near: Rajeev Shukla
Congress leader Rajeev Shukla Thursday hit out at the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, saying the BJP only remembers Ram temple issue when elections are near. Shukla, the party's national spokesperson, at a press conference here also attacked the government on the issue of Rafale fighter jet deal. He said the Centre was hiding information on the deal from the Supreme Court and Parliament. "What kind of a corruption-free India they have given where the Supreme Court has to ask for the Rafale aircraft deal details. The government is hiding information from Parliament and the Supreme Court," Shukla said. Replying to a question on Ram temple issue, Shukla said the "BJP recalls Lord Ram only when elections are near". "They have nothing to do with Lord Ram. The BJP does not have faith on him but garnering votes in his name during elections," he said. He, however, clarified the Congress's stand on the issue, saying the party will obey the order of the Supreme Court in the ...
South Korean court allows conscientious objection to military service
South Korea's supreme court ruled Thursday that moral and religious beliefs are valid reasons to refuse the country's mandatory military service, in a case that has implications for hundreds of conscientious objectors. Some 65 years after the end of the Korean War, nearly every able-bodied South Korean male between the ages of 18 and 35 must still complete around two years of military service. Anyone refusing the call-up has usually ended up in prison for 18 months, with more than 19,000 conscientious objectors jailed since 1950, most of them Jehovah's Witnesses. But the Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a conscientious objector on Thursday, months after a landmark constitutional court ruling that authorities had to provide an alternative to joining the military. At the centre of Thursday's case is Jehovah's Witness Oh Seung-hun, who was called up in 2013 but refused. "It is the majority opinion of the supreme court that conscientious objection is... a valid reason (to refuse
JK govt sacks director tourism
Jammu and Kashmir government Thursday sacked Director Tourism Tassaduq Jeelani from his post and ordered an inquiry into his conduct at an event here last week. "Tassaduq Jeelani has been removed as Director Tourism Kashmir. Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan shall hold charge of the post of Director Tourism Kashmir till further orders," an official spokesman said. He said the Divisional Commissioner will hold inquiry into incidents that occurred during Tourism Department sponsored three-day Kashmir Autumn FAM (Familiarisation) Tour of the valley, fora group of people involved in travel trade, from October 25-27. "The inquiry officer shall submit his report within 10 days," the spokesman said. He did not specify any charges against the director but an online video had claimed that Jeelani addressed one of the functions during the FAM tour in an inebriated condition.
Ahead of Rajasthan polls, political battle brews up among BJP workers
With Rajasthan assembly elections around the corner, the political battle in the state has intensified- not just between the political parties but within the parties as well.As many as 42 workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are in the fray to seek party ticket from the Sri Dungargarh assembly constituency of Bikaner district.All of them reached the party office in Jaipur on Wednesday to claim their candidature for the assembly seat. What is even more interesting is- all of them travelled together to the state capital and are even staying at the same place.However, the candidates said that there is no internal conflict among them.One of the contenders, Krishna Ram told ANI, "As many as 42 of our party workers have applied for the ticket from Sri Dungargarh assembly constituency. We have conveyed it to our party leaders that all will support whosoever is given a ticket. We are all dedicated workers of the party."Rajasthan is slated to go for polls on December 7, and counting of ...
'Ease of doing corruption' prevailed during Congress rule: BJP
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra on Thursday said that while India is witnessing an era of Ease of Doing Business under Prime Minister Narendra Modi government, an era of "Ease of doing corruption" prevailed during Congress regime."This is ease of doing business vs ease of doing corruption, this is clarity vs confusion," Patra said at a press conference here.The BJP spokesperson said that India witnessed improvement in the Ease of Doing Business rankings because the country's policy decisions are going in the right direction under Prime Minister Modi's leadership.He said, "India's Ease of Doing Business witnessed improvement in its ranking, which shows country's policy decisions are going in the right direction under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership."Patra also said that the Congress party appears to be upset when the country moves forward. "When our country moves forward, Congress party appears to be upset and depressed. Why was Congress not able to ...
India will continue to maintain security in the Indo-Pacific: Bipin Rawat
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that India will continue to maintain security in the Indo-Pacific region and will work alongside with all the powers to promote peace.Speaking at the event on the evolving geopolitics and the challenges of the Indo-Pacific Region in the capital, Rawat said that the strategic power balance in the Indo-Pacific is dynamic and will continue to remain so in the near future."Looking at the evolving geopolitics of Indo-Pacific region, in particular, has been an eventful year so far. The transformational and disruptive nature of international relations has been most evident.""The evolving geopolitics of Indo-Pacific has been characterised by sanctions against various states and trade fault lines between major trading partners in the world, peaceful negotiations in Korean peninsula and loss of territory for the Islamic state have been the silver linings," he added."Our security policy flows from two basic cardinals - we have extraterritorial ...
Lanka's ousted PM says he has confidence of Parliament
Sri Lanka's sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has claimed to be the country's premier, saying he has the confidence of Parliament and will prove his majority, notwithstanding former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa's appointment in his place by President Maithripala Sirisena. His comments came hours before Sirisena lifted the suspension of Parliament and summoned a meeting of the legislature on Monday to end the current political crisis in the country. Sirisena sacked Wickremesinghe and appointed former president Rajapaksa as the prime minister in a dramatic turn of events last Friday. The President also suspended Parliament until November 16, which experts said was meant to buy time to engineer crossovers from Wickremesinghe's side to Rajapaksa in the 225 member parliament to reach the 113 working majority mark. Wickramasinghe, who has refused to accept his dismissal, argues that he cannot legally be removed until he loses the support of Parliament. Speaking to the BBC from his ..