Page 2733 - Politics
Break silence over Akbar, Congress tells Modi
The Congress on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence over his ministerial colleague M.J. Akbar, who is facing allegations of sexual harassment.
Europe in convulsions even as Corbyn rises in Britain (Comment)
From Rome to London the contrast was sharp - from political despair to hope. A comprehensive conference on Afghanistan, superbly organised the NATO Foundation, was the only redeeming feature in Rome. Meetings with journalists and think-tanks on the margins were depressing.
Kerala actor booked for comments against women over Sabarimala
Malayalam actor Kollam Thulashi has been booked by the Kerala Police for his controversial remarks against women during a NDA protest meeting over the Sabarimala Temple issue, police said Sunday. Addressing the protesters in Kollam on Friday, Thulashi, a BJP supporter, had allegedly said, "women in the restricted age group who visit the Lord Ayappa Temple should be ripped apart." An FIR was registered Saturday against Thulashi under Indian Penal Code sections, including 295 (A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), and also under section 119 (A) of Kerala Police Act which deals with acts in public places degrading the dignity of women. He was booked on a complaint from local DYFI leader Rateesh, police said. Facing condemnation over his remark, the actor later had claimed that he made it in an emotional state of mind and expressed regret. The BJP-led NDA had organised the protest against the LDF government's decision not to file a review petition ...
Parrikar discharged from AIIMS, heads to Goa
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was discharged from Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Sunday and has been taken to Goa. Parrikar was admitted to AIIMS last month for treatment of a pancreatic ailment.However, Union Minister of State for AYUSH, Shripad Naik said that Parrikar should have stayed back at AIIMS until he is completely well."I met him the day before yesterday. His health has improved but I feel he (Parrikar) should stay there (AIIMS) for a few days more," Naik said.An ambulance has been stationed outside Parrikar's residence in the state capital of Panaji.On October 12, Parrikar held a meeting with his cabinet ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Goa unit chief Vinay Tendulkar at AIIMS.The Congress has been demanding Parrikar's resignation on account of his prolonged illness. Some Congress legislators in Goa had also met Governor Mridula Sinha on September 19 and staked claim to form a government on pretext of being the single-largest ...
In Chhattisgarh, morning walk organised for voter awareness
A morning walk was organised by electoral officials in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur on Sunday to spread voter awareness ahead of the assembly elections in November this year.The morning walk, called "Chalo Matdan Kendra ki Ore" was a part of "Jash-Pran", an initiative in the district under the flagship program of the Election Commission of India (ECI) for voter education called Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP).The morning walk was led by the District Election Officer from the Election Commission (EC) headquarter, and assistant returning officers at other places to reach out to those polling stations which recorded lowest polling percentages in the last assembly elections and to motivate the electorate in these areas to exercise their right.Among those participating in the march was district collector Dr. Priyanka Shukla, who walked along with a group of people to cover a distance of 10-12 kilometres while raising slogans appealing people to cast their ...
#MeToo: Akbar returns home, to issue statement
Union Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar, accused of sexual harassment by several women journalists, returned to India on Sunday after a foreign tour and said he will issue a statement over the allegations.
Parrikar's health has improved but he needs rest: Naik
Union minister Shripad Naik said Sunday there has been an improvement in Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's health but he needs to take rest after returning to his state from New Delhi. Parrikar was Sunday discharged from the AIIMS, New Delhi, where he was undergoing treatment for pancreatic ailment since September 15, and is likely to return to his home state, sources said. Naik dismissed any possibility of dissolution of the Goa Assembly and expressed confidence that the Parrikar-led government will complete its term. Questions over the stability of the Goa government have been raised by the Opposition Congress because of Parrikar's illness. "Parrikar will be arriving in Goa this evening by a special flight. From the airport, he will directly go to his private residence at Dona Paula," a senior official in the Chief Minister's office said Sunday. Naik, the Union AYUSH minister, said it is okay if Parrikar undergoes treatment in Goa but he needs to take rest. "There has been an ..
Sharif family meets Shehbaz in NAB office
Ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members met Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Shehbaz Sharif at the National Accountability Bureau Office here for the second time since his arrest. Shehbaz is in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau Lahore till October 16 in a physical remand in the Rs 1,400 crore Ashiyana housing scam case. Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz, Nusrat Shehbaz and other family members met Shehbaz on Saturday for more than an hour, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. This was their second meeting with Shehbaz since his arrest on October 5. The first meeting took place on October 7. The meeting on Saturday was said to be more about Shehbaz's health. The by-election situation was also discussed during the meeting, the paper reported, citing its sources. Sharif has alleged that Shehbaz was arrested at the behest of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said NAB's action against the Sharif family members is a political victimisation. The PML-N has said it will .
Foundation stone for museum for PMs to be laid on Monday
The foundation stone for a museum for prime ministers in the Teen Murti Estate premises will be laid by Union ministers Monday, despite objections raised by the Congress, including former PM Manmohan Singh. Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri will lay the foundation stone for the museum at Teen Murti Estate, the official residence of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The Culture Ministry issued an invite to media late Friday evening for the foundation stone laying ceremony. The government has gone ahead with its plan even as Singh last month wrote to his successor Narendra Modi, raising expressing concerns over the government's move to change the "nature and character" of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML). Urging Modi to leave the Teen Murti Complex, which houses the NMML, "undisturbed", Singh said the present museum respected both history and heritage. "I recall that during the six-year tenure ..
Cong still in driver's seat in MP; in touch with parties for 'possible alliance': Scindia
Unfazed by the BSP's decision to not align with the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said Sunday the party is "still in the driver's seat" and in touch with all "possible partners" in the poll-bound state. Scindia, who is spearheading the Congress campaign in Madhya Pradesh, also said the entire state leadership and party cadre was "working cohesively" to chart out the party's plan to dislodge the BJP government after "14 years of misrule". Asked if the BSP could cut into the Congress' vote share, he told PTI in an interview that: "I don't think so. Obviously, the alliance would have had its own benefits, but as things stand today, support for the Congress is running deep in Madhya Pradesh. The workers are motivated and the people are looking to us for change. So, we are definitely still in the driver's seat." Replying to a query about a possible tie-up with the Samajwadi Party and the Gondwana Gantantra Party after Bahujan Samaj Party's decision to not ..
Presidential assent to Assam bill on retrenching up to 300 employees sans govt approval
An Assam government bill proposing to allow companies to retrench up to 300 employees without seeking prior approval of the government has received the presidential assent and it will help achieve the objective of ease of doing business, officials said Sunday. President Ram Nath Kovind approved The Industrial Disputes (Assam Amendment) Bill, 2017, that will replace the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. It is aimed at pushing the ease-of-doing-business mantra of the government. The statement of objects and reasons of the legislation says companies will be allowed to retrench up to 300 employees instead of 100, as per the existing legislation, without seeking prior approval of the government. The amendment seeks to achieve the objective of 'ease of doing business' thereby encouraging positive business environment in the state, a home ministry official said quoting the bill. Under the new legislation, the compensation to a retrenched labourer will be 60 days' salary instead of the present ..
Turkey accuses Saudi of not cooperating as Trump threatens 'punishment'
Turkey on Saturday accused Saudi Arabia of failing to cooperate with a probe into the disappearance of a journalist inside its Istanbul consulate, as US President Donald Trump threatened "severe punishment" if it turns out he was killed. Comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu represented a hardening of Ankara's hitherto circumspect tone over the case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has not been seen since he stepped inside the consulate on October 2. Turkish officials have said they believe Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate and lurid claims have been leaked to media that he was tortured and even dismembered, while Trump has also struck a pessimistic tone about the missing journalist's fate. Saudi Arabia insists Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor whose writings have been critical of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left the building safely but has yet to offer visual evidence of this. The outcry surrounding his disappearance threatens to .
US Senators write to PM Modi; urge to soften stance on India's data localisation policy
Two top American Senators have asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to adopt a soft stance on data localisation, warning that India's policy on the issue will adversely affect American businesses in the country. Data localisation is an act of storing data on any device that is physically present within the borders of a particular country where the data was generated. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a circular in April, said all system providers will have to ensure that the entire data relating to payment systems operated by them are stored in a system only in India. It gave time till October 15 to comply with the mandate. In a letter to Prime Minister Modi dated Friday, US Sentors John Cornyn and Mark Warner -- who also hold top leadership positions in their own parties -- have opposed the data localisation requirement of the Indian government. "Data localisation requirements, such as those contained in the draft data protection bill and draft national e-commerce policy framework, ..
Parrikar should've stayed at AIIMS, completed treatment: Minister
Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar should have stayed back at the AIIMS in New Delhi and nursed himself back to health instead of returning to the coastal state, a Minister said here on Sunday.
BJP to utilise Durga puja pandals for improving outreach in Bengal
As Bengal's biggest festival Durga Puja nears, the opposition BJP in West Bengal is leaving no stone unturned to use the mega platform to reach out to masses and has decided to set up nearly 3,000 bookstalls displaying books on party ideology outside pandals in the state, party leaders said. In addition to books on BJP's ideology, those on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the works of Jan Sangh icons -- Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Shyama Prasad Mookherjee -- would be put up on display in these stalls. Besides, literature on National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill would be exhibited to make people aware of the contentious issues. "This year, we had received requisitions for nearly 3,000 bookstalls from across the state. We hope to come up with stalls outside various puja marquees," BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu told PTI. According to state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, the number of stalls coming up this Durga Puja is the highest in the history of the .
M J Akbar returns home, says there will be statement later
Union Minister M J Akbar returned here Sunday from a tour of Africa amid mounting demand for his resignation over allegations of sexual harassment by a number of women journalists in the last few days. The Minister of State for External Affairs evaded a barrage of questions from the media over the allegations and only said he would issue a statement later on. "There will be a statement later on," he told reporters at the airport. Multiple women in the last few days have come out with accounts of alleged sexual harassment by Akbar when he was a journalist as the #MeToo movement swept social media, bringing to fore sordid tales of sexual harassment by influential men in different walks of life. Akbar's name cropped up on social media earlier this week as part of the #MeToo movement and since then pressure has been increasing on the government to sack him. The Congress has already demanded Akbar's ouster. There was an indication by the BJP that it is likely to take a clear stand on ...
Voting underway for Pakistan by-polls
Voting for the by-polls for Pakistan's 11 National and 24 Provincial Assemblies were underway on Sunday, with more than 300 candidates in the fray.
Cong faces problem in selecting nominees in autonomous areas
The ruling Congress in Mizoram has been facing problems in selecting candidates in autonomous council areas for the 40-member state Assembly elections on November 28, party sources said. Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, who is also Mizoram Pradesh Committee (MPCC) president, had announced names of 36 candidates on Thursday, while the decision of the names within the three autonomous districts has been left to the respective district committees, only the Lai Autonomous District Congress Committee has submitted two names. The selection of Congress nominees in the Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) took a turn with majority of members of the council are supporting another person over Assembly speaker Hiphei (82), who was recommended by the nomination board of the council committee, the sources said. In a letter submitted to the state PCC chief, the members of district council said that 11 council members within Palak Assembly constituency were asked to make ...
Voting begins for by-election in 35 constituencies in Pak
Voting opened Sunday for the by-election in 35 national and provincial assemblies in Pakistan amid heightened security, with over 600 candidates, including some political bigwigs, in the running. The polling started at 8 AM and will continue until 5 PM. The counting will start soon after closure of voting and result of every polling station would be announced on spot. However, the consolidated results would be announced by the Returning Officers. Over five million registered voters about 2.3 million women and almost 2.7 million men will exercise their franchise. Also, the overseas Pakistanis will be voting for the first time in the by-polls. Elections are being held in nine national assembly constituencies in Punjab and one each in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 24 provincial assemblies seats, including 11 in Punjab, nine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two each in Sindh and Balochistan. Most of these seats were vacated by those candidates who had won on more than one seat during general .
Will issue statement on sexual misconduct allegations later: MJ Akbar
Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs MJ Akbar, who arrived in India on early Sunday morning refrained from speaking on sexual misconduct allegations levelled against him while saying that he will issue a statement on the matter later on.On being asked about the allegations, Akbar said, "There will be a statement later on." He was on an official visit to Nigeria.Akbar has come under the scanner after several of his former colleagues accused him of sexual misconduct when he held senior editorial positions in a number of media organisations. This came in the wake of #MeToo movement. Soon after these allegations, many in the opposition demanded minister's resignation.According to a source, senior ministers, in off-record conversations, had earlier indicated that Akbar will have to step down once he returns to India as his position in the government is untenable.However, a consensus has reportedly not been achieved among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members on whether a MoS can