Page 2656 - Politics
CBI situation like a 'coup', PM must explain to people the truth: CPI
The CPI Wednesday described the situation in the CBI as that of a "coup" that has shocked the nation and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as head of the government, explain the truth to the people. Communist Party of India's national secretary D Raja said there is also speculation that the goings-on in the premier investigative agency has something to do with the Rafale scam and that the prime minister must clarify. "What is happening in the CBI is like a coup that has shocked the entire nation? The CBI has been plunged into such a crisis. Its credibility stands completely destroyed. It is happening under the nose of the prime minister. "There is speculation that it has something to do with the Rafale scam. People want to know the truth. The prime minister being the head of the government should explain to the people and the nation," Raja said. In a statement, the party alleged that the PMO was acting like an all-powerful 'extra constitutional body'. CBI Director Alok Verma
US Secret Service intercepts 2 'suspicious packages' sent to Obama, Clinton
The United States Secret Service on Wednesday announced that it has intercepted and proactively detonated two "suspicious packages" addressed to former President Barack Obama and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. US news network CNN also announced Wednesday that it had evacuated its New York bureau over a suspicious package. New York police said it has sent officers to the Time Warner Center, where the CNN bureau is located, to investigate reports of a suspicious package. The secret service said it had intercepted two "suspicious packages" addressed to Obama and Clinton on Wednesday. Neither Obama nor Clinton received the packages or were at risk of receiving them, it said. The packages were discovered during "routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such," the agency said in a statement. "Both packages were intercepted prior to being delivered to their intended location. The protectees did not receive the ..
Sinha, Shourie move SC seeking CBI probe in Rafale
Former BJP Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking registration of FIR and investigation by CBI into the Rafale deal.
'Potential explosive devices' sent to Hillary, Obama
The US Secret Service said on Wednesday that it intercepted two packages containing "potential explosive devices" addressed to US former First Lady Hillary Clinton in New York and former President Barack Obama in Washington.
Oppn demands action against Pb minister accused of sending 'inappropriate text' to woman official
Opposition parties Wednesday sought action against a Punjab Cabinet minister who reportedly sent an "inappropriate text" to a woman government official. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demanded that the minister, whose identity has not been revealed, be sacked. According to a media report, the minister had sent the messages to the official earlier and stopped for a while after she warned him. She lodged a complaint against him after he messaged her again over a month ago. After the matter reached Amarinder Singh, the minister was made to apologise to the official, it said. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal asked the chief minister to "unmask" his cabinet colleague. He said it is shocking that Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has reportedly been apprised of the complaint, is silent about the matter. "Rahul Gandhi should explain whether he is complicit in this cover up exercise by the Punjab chief minister? There is no way a minister accused of such abhorrent
Khashoggi murder suspects will be stripped of visas: UK PM
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday cast doubt on Saudi Arabia's explanation on the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey and said her country would revoke or block visas for the suspects behind the alleged premeditated slaying.
Pakistan denies Kandahar attack was planned on its soil
Pakistan on Wednesday denied that an attack in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, which killed top security officials earlier this month, was planned on its territory.
US Secret Service intercepts 2 'suspicious packages' addressed to Obama, Clinton
The United States Secret Service intercepted and proactively detonated two "suspicious packages" addressed to former President Barack Obama and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton earlier this week, the agency said Wednesday. Neither Obama nor Clinton received the packages or were at risk of receiving them, the Secret Service said. The packages were discovered during "routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such," the agency said in a statement. "Both packages were intercepted prior to being delivered to their intended location. The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them," the statement said. Officials "proactively detonated" the device, and determined that it contained explosive powder and "had the components of a bomb," it said. The package intended for Obama was intercepted in Washington, DC, on Wednesday morning, and the one intended for Clinton was addressed to her
Trump adviser says no clarity on further sanctions on Russia
US President Donald Trump's national security adviser says the administration hasn't yet made up its mind on further sanctions against Russia tied to the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy. The US imposed the latest Russian sanctions earlier this year in reaction to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain. John Bolton said Wednesday the administration is "still considering what we may be obligated to do" under the statute that entails further sanctions if Russia does not prove its innocence in the poisoning of the former Russian agent. Bolton was speaking in Azerbaijan's capital after spending two days in talks in Moscow. Bolton reiterated Trump's intention to pull out of a key arms control treaty while President Vladimir Putin emphasized the need to maintain a dialogue nevertheless.
Kejriwal reposts Modi's old tweet to target him over internal feud in CBI
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday sought to corner the prime minister over CBI's internal feud, retweeting Narendra Modi's 2013 tweet in which he had slammed the then UPA government for allegedly undermining the intelligence system of the country. The government Wednesday sent CBI Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana on leave as the two officers were involved in a running feud. In a series of tweets, Kejriwal also questioned the Modi government's authority to send the CBI director on leave and wondered if the move was related with the Rafale deal. Kejriwal retweeted Modi's June 5, 2013 tweet in which he had said it was "Unfortunate that in its quest to target political opponents, Centre is undermining intelligence systems with CBI questioning IB officials." The Congress-led UPA was in power in 2013. The prime minister-led Appointments Committee Tuesday night gave charge of the director to Joint Director M Nageshwara Rao with immediate effect, a ...
Jayalalithaa death probe: Justice Arumughaswamy Commission gets 4 more months
The Justice (retired) A. Arumughaswamy Commission, which has been probing the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, got an extension for another four months from the Edappadi K.Palaniswami-led Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday.The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government had extended the Commission's tenure twice before, in December 2017 and June 2017. In September last year, Justice Arumughaswamy was appointed to head the probe into the death of former AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa.Jayalalithaa, popularly known as 'Amma', was taken to Chennai's Apollo hospital on September 22 last year and treated in the hospital for 75 days before she breathed her last on December 5.Following her death, allegations of foul play began to do the rounds and state Forest Minister Dindigul Sreenivasan even claimed that all cabinet ministers had lied to the people about hospitalisation and death of the former AIADMK general secretary.Subsequently, a one-man panel was ..
Modi shunted out CBI chief for 'pointing fingers' at Rafale deal: Rahul
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of shunting out the CBI Director because he was "pointing fingers" at the controversial Rafale deal.
Gandhi doing petty politics, Modi demonstrated statesmanship: BJP
The BJP Wednesday said Congress president Rahul Gandhi indulged in "petty politics" by taking sides in the row involving top CBI officers while Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonstrated statesmanship by acting against them to protect the agency's institutional integrity. "Rahul Gandhi indulged in petty politics by taking sides while PM Narendra Modi demonstrated statesmanship by acting on warring officers to protect institutional integrity. Extreme situations require extraordinary measures," BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimhra Rao said. He was responding to a tweet by Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, who criticised the decision saying a CBI director's tenure is fixed for two years and the government cannot curtail it without a meeting of the selection committee. The committee includes the chief justice of India, the prime minister and the leader of single largest opposition party. Responding to Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala's attack on the government, Rao said
Manjhi flays BJP for changing names of towns,whipping up
Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday charged the BJP with trying to divide the people of the country and whip up communal passions by changing names of towns in states ruled by the party. Manjhi said the Grand Alliance in Bihar, which comprises his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), Lalu Prasad's RJD and the Congress, was committed to defeating the BJP in the state and prevent it from returning to power at the Centre. "People have been cheated by the BJP government at the Centre in the name of its so-called welfare schemes. People were given free gas cylinders under the Ujjwala scheme only to get refills at exorbitant rates later on", Manjhi said here while inaugurating his party's district office. "To divert public attention from its failures, the BJP has embarked on a divisive agenda as part of which communal passions are being whipped up for electoral gains. The change in names of towns etc. can be seen in this backdrop", the HAM president said. "The ..
S Africa's finance minister targets debt ahead of election
South Africa's finance minister on Wednesday vowed to tackle debt and rebuild government institutions after the turbulent presidency of Jacob Zuma, as the ruling ANC party prepares for next year's election. Tito Mboweni, delivering the medium-term budget statement to parliament, said South Africa "stood at a crossroads" as it faces rising public debt, low growth and record unemployment. "We cannot continue to borrow at this rate," he said. "We must choose to reduce the structural deficit." President Cyril Ramaphosa, who took power when Zuma was forced out over graft allegations in February, has pledged to revive the listless economy by attracting $100 billion in foreign investment and cracking down on corruption. A judicial inquiry is currently probing allegations that Zuma oversaw the systematic plunder of state coffers and of state-owned enterprises during his nine years in power. "We must repair damaged government institutions, as their failure impacts poorer households the most," .
ED officer to be suspended next, claims Swamy
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy claimed Wednesday that those involved in the "CBI massacre" were about to suspend Enforcement Directorate (ED) official Rajeshwar Singh and said if it happened, he would withdraw himself from the corruption cases he had filed. "The players in the CBI massacre are about to suspend ED's Rajeshwar so that he cannot file the chargesheet against PC. If so I will have no reason to fight the corrupt since my govt is hell bent on protecting them. I shall then withdraw from all the corruption cases I have filed," he said in a tweet. Swamy often refers to former finance minister P Chidambaram as PC. Singh has been involved in probing the corruption cases allegedly involving Chidambaram. Swamy's tweet came on a day the government sent the top two Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers on leave to defuse the crisis triggered in the agency by their feud, with both the director and the special director accusing each other of corruption.
Oppn hits out at govt over removal of CBI chief; Jaitley defends decision as 'absolutely essential'
Opposition parties Wednesday launched a blistering attack against the government over CBI Director Alok Verma's removal with the Congress alleging that the decision was taken due to 'Rafale-o-phobia' as he was collecting documents relating to the Rafale jet deal. However, the government strongly defended its decision, saying it was "absolutely essential" to maintain the CBI's institutional integrity. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted the government's decision to send Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana was based on recommendations by the Central Vigilance Commissioner. A late-night order on Tuesday from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent Verma and Asthana, who were at loggerheads, on leave. Leading the attack against the government on the issue, Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged Verma was forcibly sent on leave as he was collecting documents relating to the Rafale 'scam' and the country and its Constitution were in danger ...
CBI rumblings shows BJP govt's administrative anarchy: Stalin
: DMK President M K Stalin Wednesday lashed out at the Centre over the rumblings in the CBI, saying they have come at a time when the agency was likely to take up cases like the Rafale deal and the one against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami. Sending CBI Director Alok Verma on leave amidst his spat with the agency's Special Director Rakesh Asthana was not just "autocratic", but also showed the BJP government's "administrative anarchy," Stalin charged in a statement. Both Verma and Asthana have been divested of their powers and sent on leave, as a fallout of a first-of-its kind spat between the top bosses of India's premier investigating agency. Joint Director M Nageswar Rao, a 1986-batch Odisha cadre IPS officer, has been appointed to look after the "duties and functions" of the director with "immediate effect" as an "interim measure". Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had also alleged that Verma was forcibly sent on leave as he was collecting documents relating to ...
US intercepts suspect packages sent to Clinton, Obama
The US Secret Service said Wednesday it had intercepted suspect packages, identified as potential explosive devices, sent to the homes of former president Barack Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. The Secret Service said it recovered a single package addressed to Clinton in Westchester, a suburb north of Manhattan on Tuesday, and a second package addressed to the Obama residence in Washington on Wednesday. "The packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such," the Secret Service said in a statement. "The protectees did not receive the packages nor were they at risk of receiving them.
UK conservative MEP rebuked for comparing socialists to Nazis
A British member of the European Parliament met backlash in the chamber on Wednesday when he claimed that Nazism was a branch of left-wing ideology that shared the same goals as contemporary socialists.