Page 269 - Politics
Shah holds detailed meetings on J&K, northeast
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held a series of detailed meetings on issues in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast region.
China in war of words with US over 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre
China and the US Tuesday exchanged barbs over the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticised Beijing's human rights record and asked it to publicly reveal how many pro-democracy protesters died in the brutal military crackdown. The Chinese Foreign Ministry's furious response came after Pompeo's call for public accountability of the massacre by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) 30 years ago in Beijing's iconic Tiananmen Square. Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters are believed to have been killed on June 4, 1989 in and around the Tiananmen Square as the PLA launched a brutal crackdown on those demonstrating against the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC). The Chinese government has never said how many people died at Tiananmen Square, although estimates range from the hundreds to thousands. Noting that the event 30 years ago still stirs the conscience of freedom-loving people around the world, Pompeo said that over the decades that followed, the US
Issue white paper on bank frauds, make public names of defaulters: Cong to govt
The Congress demanded on Tuesday that the government issue a white paper on bank frauds in the country and asked it to take concrete, corrective actions to rescue the "sinking" economy. Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said the names of all defaulters should be made public and urged the government to stop "putting pressure" on the Reserve Bank of India to withhold the names. "As a responsible political opposition, the Indian National Congress exhorts the new BJP government to take concrete steps in order to pull out the banking sector from this mess. The government must issue a white paper on rising bank frauds in India," he told reporters. "We suggest the BJP government must come out of the denial mode and start acknowledging the failing economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman must take immediate stock of the situation and corrective measures to ascertain the root cause of the rising banking frauds," he added. The Congress leader said the ongoing cases abroad against 36 ...
Trinamool protests gas price hike, unemployment
Days after the Narendra Modi-led Central government took charge for the second term, West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress on Tuesday took out rallies across the state to protest against high unemployment, hike in cooking gas prices and anticipated disinvestment in public sector companies.
Sona elected Arunachal Assembly Speaker, Pongte deputy
Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party legislators Pasang Dorjee Sona and Tesam Pongte were on Tuesday elected unopposed as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly.
Trump Middle East adviser Kushner to meet EU leaders
President Donald Trump's son-in-law and Middle East peace adviser Jared Kushner will hold talks with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on Tuesday. Kushner will travel to Brussels from London, where his father-in-law is making a state visit, and the trip comes with international hopes for a US peace plan for the Middle East running low. "The president will meet Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump. They will discuss the Middle East situation and other geopolitical issues," commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told reporters. Trump, whose administration has staunchly backed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, acknowledged doubts about the plan himself on Monday, while Kushner suggested Palestinians weren't ready to govern themselves. The US is to lay out an economic component of the plan, which has been spearheaded by Kushner, on June 25 and 26 in Bahrain, where Gulf Arab states are expected to make ..
CPI(M) central committee meet to examine LS poll debacle: Yechury
Blaming the near rout of the Left in the general election on a global trend of consolidation of right-wing forces, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday said the central committee of the party will meet later this week to analyse the reasons behind the debacle. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which got a historic low of only three seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, did not win any in West Bengal for the first time since its inception in 1964. The party's central committee is set to meet in New Delhi from June 7 to 9 to discuss the debacle and future strategies to reemerge as a force to reckon with. "To strengthen the independent presence of the CPI(M) and the Left, all issues related to the election results will be discussed at the central committee meet before the state committees take them up," Yechury told newspersons here. There has been an intense consolidation of right-wing forces all over the country and this paradigm shift in India is a reflection of a
IOA not intimidated by World Archery suspension threats, says AAI polls will be held on June 9
The Indian Olympic Association Tuesday said it was not intimidated by World Archery's threats to suspend Archery Association of India and insisted that AAI elections would be held on June 9 as per schedule. The World Archery has warned the AAI of "immediate suspension" if the two factions go ahead with two separate elections in New Delhi and Chandigarh on June 9. Any suspension would mean that the Indian team for the next week's World Championships may only be able to compete under a World Archery flag and not the national flag. The WA also had stepped in to resolve the long-standing fight by the two factions by appointing a "mediator" and proposed a common election on June 24. But IOA president Narinder Batra has shot off a mail to the rival groups -- Sunil Sharma and Maha Singh -- firmly stating that an IOA observer will attend the elections being held in New Delhi on June 9. "IOA respects the law of the land and the Olympic movement and will not be intimidated by the threats by ...
Poll promises: Odisha ministers to give status reports
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday directed his ministers to submit on 7th of every month a report on the implementation of the Biju Janata Dal's (BJD) election promises. The first such reports will be submitted by July 7.
Cong AP unit urges Rahul to withdraw resignation
The Congress' Andhra Pradesh unit Tuesday requested Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation and continue as party president. "This is a testing time for the party. We are all requesting that Rahul Gandhi should withdraw his resignation, Andhra Pradesh Pradesh Congress Committee president N Raghuveera Reddy said. Talking to reporters in his hometown Madakasira, Raghuveera Reddy said Rahul Gandhi has the "capability, honesty, integrity" to lead the party and also the country forward. "We fully support him.Only through Congress, good will happen to the country and the state," the PCC chief added. He pointed out that party workers across the country were feeling a lot of pressure as the Congress weakened. "....we should all stand united for the sake of the country, the party and its ideals. We should carry the party flag forward," Raghuveera added.
Goa Congress 'one last attempt' to topple government fails
"One last attempt" by Congress legislative wing to cobble majority numbers and pull down Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's government appears to have come a cropper, with ruling alliance partners refusing to pull the rug from under the BJP-led coalition government.
Giriraj ignites fire in NDA with snide 'iftaar' tweet targeting NDA leaders
Union minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday mocked his NDA colleagues for attending 'iftaar' parties, drawing sharp reactions from them that prompted BJP president Amit Shah to step in to douse the fire by admonishing the fiery Hindutva leader and asking him to avoid making such comments. Singh posted four pictures of key Bihar NDA leaders, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, attending 'iftaar' parties and put out this snide tweet. "How beautiful would the picture have emerged, had phalahaar (a fruit feast) been organised during Navaratra with the same fervour with splendid photographs taken. Why do we lag behind in observance of our own karm-dharm (religious customs) in public, while staying ahead in pretension," he tweeted in Hindi. A known detractor of Kumar since the days when he served in the state cabinet under him, Singh appeared to have aimed his barb specifically at the chief minister as all photographs featured him wearing a skullcap and a .
Iran to free Lebanese jailed for US spying: Beirut
Iran is to free a Lebanese national held since 2015 and sentenced to 10 years in jail on charges of spying for Washington, the foreign ministry in Beirut said Tuesday. Nizar Zakka, a resident of the United States in his 50s, was arrested in September 2015 during a visit to Iran, where he was convicted the following July. The foreign ministry, quoted by Lebanon's official news agency NNA, said Zakka was pardoned at the request of Beirut as a gesture for this week's Eid holidays marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. At the time of his arrest, state television in Iran charged Zakka had "deep ties to military and intelligence services of the United States", Iran's arch-foe. It broadcast photographs of a man in military uniform it said was of Zakka at an American base. The report on his imminent release following almost four years of detention comes at a time of heightened US-Iranian tensions. Washington last month deployed an aircraft carrier task force, B-52 bombers and an
BJP says SP-BSP alliance was bound to collapse as leaders came together only to save their families
With the SP and the BSP deciding to contest the UP assembly bypolls separately, the ruling BJP on Tuesday ridiculed the two parties for parting ways within a fortnight after the Lok Sabha results, saying it was bound to happen as their leaders had come together only to serve their self interest. BJP leaders said that when Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav announced their alliance in January this year, they relied heavily on caste arithmetic, but it failed. "The voters rejected outright the casteist and opportunistic politics of these two parties," UP BJP spokesperson Hero Bajpai told PTI. The BJP bagged 62 of 80 Lok Sabha seats while the SP-BSP-RLD grand alliance won only 15. The two back-to-back media interactions by the chiefs of BSP and the SP Tuesday, which put a question mark on the fate of the alliance, came as music to the ears of the BJP leaders who recalled that during the election rallies Prime Minister Narendra Modi had predicted .
US tightens Cuba sanctions, ends group travel
The Trump administration banned group educational travel to Cuba on Tuesday, cutting off one of the main avenues for Americans to visit the Caribbean island. In a move to punish what it called Cuba's "destabilising role" in the region, the US Treasury also banned the US export of boats and private airplanes to the country. The end to group educational travel would likely deal a heavy blow to American tourism on the island, which took off after former president Barack Obama moved to ease the half-century embargo against the communist government in 2014. "Cuba continues to play a destabilizing role in the Western hemisphere, providing a communist foothold in the region and propping up US adversaries in places like Venezuela and Nicaragua by fomenting instability, undermining the rule of law, and suppressing democratic processes," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "This administration has made a strategic decision to reverse the loosening of sanctions and other ...
PM Modi keeps getting congratulatory calls on LS poll victory
It has nearly been two weeks since Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP to a stupendous victory in the Lok Sabha polls, but he continues to get congratulating phone calls from world leaders. On Tuesday, Modi received congratulatory calls from the Presidents of the Republic of Korea, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, a statement from the prime minister's office said. Modi thanked the president Moon Jae-in of Republic of Korea for his greetings, and recalled his visit to that country in February 2019. The prime minister also recalled the visit of first lady Kim to India in 2018 to attend the 'Deepotsav' festival and said that the trip added a new chapter to India-ROK ties. The prime minister reiterated his firm commitment to further strengthen the special strategic partnership between the two countries, the statement said. President E D. Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe congratulated Modi and in turn the PM appreciated the fact that two mediapersons from that country had visited India to cover the ...
Troubles mount for ruling coalition in KTK,JDS chief resigns
Troubles mounted for the ruling combine in Karnataka with JD(S) state president A H Vishwanath resigning from his post Tuesday flaying the coalition's functioning and two senior Congress MLAs slamming the party state leaders for the Lok Sabha poll debacle. The developments, even as the leadership of the ruling alliance is looking for a cabinet expansion or reshuffle with an aim to save the H D Kumaraswamy-led one-year government, signalled that coalition worries may not die down soon. "I take moral responsibility for the (party's) defeat," said Vishwanath, who is also reportedly miffed over being sidelined on key issues by his own party. Vishwanath hit out at his bete noire and coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah for failing to ensure proper coordination between the Congress and the JD(S). He also alleged that the committee was dancing to the tunes of Siddaramaiah, who has failed to draw a common minimum programme for the smooth functioning of the ...
Centre fooling people over Ram temple: Swami Swaroopanand
A prominent Hindu seer Tuesday accused the Centre of fooling people over the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying it has decided to build it at a place other than where deity was born. "The Centre has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying it will return 67 acres of acquired land around the disputed site in Ayodhya to the original owners. "It has, in fact, made up its mind about building a Ram temple in Ayodhya at a spot other than the one where the deity was actually born," Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati told reporters here. "All its claims about making a grand temple in Ayodhya is just eyewash meant to fool people," he said. On Trinamool Congress chiefMamata Banerjee's angry reactions to the chants of "Jai Shri Ram" in West Bengal, Swaroopanand said it should not be interpreted as her opposition to Ram. "She is not opposing Ram, she is opposing the BJP. She is doing it purely out of political reasons," the Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya said. On Jammu and .
Japanese FM speaks to Jaishankar; highlights India's role as global power
Japanese Foreign Minister Kono Taro spoke to newly appointed External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar by phone and highlighted India's role and responsibility as a global power in the realisation of a free and open Indo-Pacific. During the telephone call, Kono congratulated Jaishankar on his appointment as the External Affairs Minister and invited him to the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in November. Kono expressed his view that toward the realisation of a free and open Indo-Pacific, the role and responsibility of India as a global power is extremely huge, an official statement said. In November 2017, India, Japan, the US and Australia gave shape to a long-pending "Quad" Coalition to develop a new strategy for keeping the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence. China has been trying to expand its military presence in the Indo-Pacific, which is a biogeographic region, comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South ...
Centre trying to inflict emotional partition of J&K: Mehbboba
Former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti said on Tuesday that instead of allowing old wounds to heal, the Modi government was inflicting another emotional partition of Jammu and Kashmir.