Page 2740 - Politics
Cong never wanted to push defence manufacturing: BJP
The BJP on Friday slammed the Congress' allegations of corruption in the multi-billion dollar Rafale deal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, saying the party never wanted to push defence manufacturing in the country. "The country produced Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan but could not make fighter jet in 65 years. This cannot be digested," BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters here. He said the BJP government has started defence manufacturing and the Congress has a problem with it. "The Congress betrayed the people of the country on the issue of defence manufacturing for 65 years. It happened because the Congress government did not want to push defence production in the country," Trivedi alleged. Reacting to dismissal of petitions of senior Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot seeking draft electoral rolls in searchable text format in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Trivedi said it has "exposed" the party. "One more lie of the Congress was exposed ...
Congress, NCP alliance talks underway
Congress and NCP leaders in Maharashtra met here Friday to continue their discussions on alliance for the next year's LokSabha and Assembly elections. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had held a discussion on alliance in Delhi on Thursday. "Our endeavour is to ensure that a maximum number of like-minded parties come together to defeat the BJP," state Congress chief Ashok Chavan said Friday after the meeting. "We are discussing seat-sharing (between Congress and NCP) but also want to accommodate a maximum number of like-minded parties to avoid division of votes," he said. Congress leaders Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Manikrao Thakre are holding talks with Dalit leader and Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh chief Prakash Ambedkar in order to persuade him to join the alliance, Chavan said. To a question about the possibility of the Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray-led MNS joining the opposition alliance, Chavan said the Congress has ideological differences with
India presents major opportunity for French defence firms: Sitharaman
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that India presented a major opportunity for the French defence manufacturing industry even as she pitched for greater defence cooperation between India and France for securing both nations interests.
Dalit activist Teltumbde targets Modi, Rahul
Dalit activist Anil Teltumbde, whose campus residence in Goa was raided as part of the Pune police probe into violence at Bhima Koregaon in August this year, alleged on Friday that "whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity declines, the police discover a plot to assassinate him".
India elected to UN rights Council with highest number of votes
India was elected with the highest number of votes by the General Assembly to the influential Human Rights Council on Friday with a pledge to combat intolerance.
NIA conducts searches in Delhi as part of probe into Pak-linked terror funding module
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Friday conducted searches here in connection with its probe into a terror funding module linked to Pakistan-based terrorist Hafeez Saeed's Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), according to an official statement. The searches were conducted at the office premises and residence of Hilal Ahmed Rather at Lajpat Nagar, it said. Rather hails from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Rs 18 lakh in cash, six mobile phones, SIMs and several incriminating documents were seized during the searches, the NIA said in the statement. The federal agency had in July this year filed a case to probe the terror funding module. Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation is a Lahore-based organisation established by terrorists outfit Jamat-ud-Dawa. It is a front-end organisation of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), a terror organisation proscribed under anti-terrorism law. Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation was also designated as a terrorist entity by the US in 2010. During the probe, it emerged that one ...
India wins election to UN Human Rights Council with highest number of votes
India was elected to the United Nations' top human rights body on Friday for a period of three years beginning January 1, 2019, getting 188 votes in the Asia-Pacific category, the highest number of votes among all candidates. The 193-member UN General Assembly held elections here for new members to the UN Human Rights Council. The 18 new members were elected by absolute majority through a secret ballot. Countries needed a minimum of 97 votes to get elected to the Council. India was vying for a seat in the Asia Pacific category. Along with India, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Fiji and Philippines had also staked a claim in the same regional group. Given that there were five nations vying for five seats in the Asia Pacific category, India's election to the Council was all but certain. Following the election, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin told PTI that India's win with the highest number of votes reflects India's standing in the international comity." He ...
Cyclone Luban: 130 Indian sailors moved out of Oman port
As many as 130 Indian sailors, mostly from Gujarat, on board several ships stationed at the Salalah Port in Oman, have been moved to safer places in view of an approaching cyclone, a state government release stated Friday. It stated that a majority of the sailors were willing to leave the port for safer destinations but some had refused and had to be moved out forcibly by the Oman government in view of the imminent landfall of Cyclone Luban there. A Union Ministry of Earth Science release said Friday "very severe cyclonic storm" Luban was moving over west-central Arabian Sea and was centred around 450 kilometres from the port at 5:30 AM India time. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held talks with the Centre, the Gujarat Maritime Board and Indian Navy to rescue the 130 sailors, said the Gujarat government release. Rupani, with the mediation of Indian Navy, suggested that the Royal Navy of Oman forcibly evacuate those who were not ready to leave the port, it said. "Thanks to the CM's
INLD rift: Abhay Chautala warns against indiscipline, nephew Digvijay remains defiant
Senior Lok Dal leader Abhay Singh Chautala warned against indiscipline even as his nephew Digvijay Singh continued to act defiant on Friday, a day after party chief Om Prakash Chautala disbanded the INLD's student and youth wings. Abhay Chautala called Digvijay and Dushyant, sons of his elder brother Ajay Singh Chautala, our children even while warning that anyone violating party discipline will face action. The power struggle within the Chautala family came to the fore Thursday when Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president Om Prakash Chautala dissolved the party's student and youth wings, headed by Digvijay and Dushyant, respectively. Abhay Singh Chautala is the younger son of Om Prakash Chautala. "There are no differences with Dushyant (and Digvijay), they are our children," Abhay Singh Chautala told reporters in Chandigarh. However, he added, "Discipline is our party's biggest strength. If any person violates it, the party will take action." In New Delhi, Digvijay Singh Chautala ...
Sabarimala row: Protests against SC verdict continue
Members of the Opposition Congress and BJP in Kerala Friday staged demonstrations to express solidarity with Ayyappa devotees even as the CPI, the key partner in the CPI-M led LDF, said there was an attempt to "politicise" the Supreme Court order on Sabarimala. The BJP said its protest would not be confined to Kerala and would expand to other South Indian states. CPI state secretary Kannam Rajendran said, "LDF was not against believers. The government was bound to implement the Supreme Court order and it was doing only that." "There was an attempt to politicse the issue," he added. Meanwhile, the state government Friday said work on restoring various pilgrim facilities at Pamba,the foothills of Lord Ayappa at Sabarimala, was progressing fast. The work was being carried out by Tata Projects Ltd and they have been asked to complete it before November 15, an official release from the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here. Tata Projects have been entrusted with ..
Israel upholds ban on US student refused entry for 10 days
An Israeli court on Friday upheld a ban on a US student refused entry and held for 10 days over her alleged support for a pro-Palestinian boycott campaign. Lara Alqasem's case has been one of the most high profile so far under a 2017 Israeli law barring supporters of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. In its ruling, the court said that "any self-respecting state defends its own interests and those of its citizens, and has the right to fight against the actions of a boycott... as well as any attacks on its image." It rejected Alqasem's appeal against the ban, but did not rule on whether she should be sent home. The 22-year-old has been held for 10 days at an immigration facility in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport. Alqasem landed there on October 2, intending to study for a master's degree at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, but was not allowed to enter despite having a visa. She was detained but chose to challenge the entry ban rather than return to the ...
Ashish Deshmukh quits BJP
Dissident BJP leader Ashish Deshmukh, who resigned as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly last week, has also quit the primary membership of the party. He alleged that policies of the BJP-led state government had created a "paralysis". Deshmukh, who represented Katol Assembly constituency in Vidarbha region, sent his resignation letter to BJP president Amit Shah Thursday. He cited the BJP-led government's 'failure' to address issues such as unemployment and the plight of farmers, Dalits and minorities in Maharashtra, particularly in Vidarbha, as the reason for leaving the party. "I have given up the primary membership of the BJP in order to attract your attention to the issues emerging out of the paralysis caused by the policies of Maharashtra government," Deshmukh said in the letter.
Cong running misinformation campaign through social media: Javadekar
Union minister and BJP's poll in-charge for Rajasthan Prakash Javadekar on Friday accused the Congress of running a campaign of misinformation through social media. Addressing the working committee of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Information Technology (IT) cell here, Javadekar said the Congress was "spreading lies" on social media and the party leaders were "misleading" people. Congress is running a campaign of lies but people are well aware today and they have understood the lies of the party, Javadekar said. The union minister asked the IT cell members to carry out detailed studies and dispel the claims made by the Congress by presenting facts and figures in front of the people. He further said that the Congress and Pakistan both were "disturbed" by the Rafale issue.
'Will turn KCR's official residence to public hospital if Cong
: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy Friday said the Congress, if voted to power in the December 7 assembly polls, would turn 'Pragathi Bhavan', the official residence of the Chief Minister in the city, into a public hospital. "Pragathi Bhavan, which was constructed at a cost of Rs 500 crore on nine acres of land and one lakh square feet, is now a symbol of dictatorial and aristocratic rule of the KCR family," he said. After to coming to power, the Congress party would turn 'Pragathi Bhavan' into a public hospital to announce the return of people's rule and restoration of democracy in Telangana State, a Congress release quoted him as saying. Reddy was speaking at a function where TRS MLC C Bhupati Reddy from Nizamabad district and his supporters joined the Congress. He alleged that TRS president and caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has cheated all sections of society and neglected all districts, particularly Nizamabad. More ...
Create BJP wave in Chhattisgarh for tsunami in 2019: Shah
BJP president Amit Shah Friday asked the party workers to create an environment for a "massive wave" in the favour of the saffron party in next month's Chhattisgarh Assembly polls so that it turned into a "tsunami" in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. He said the government would identify the "infiltrators" and throw them out of the country after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power in next year's general election. Shah told the party workers that a thumping victory for the BJP in Chhattisgarh would avenge the "sacrifices" of their fellow workers in other states. He was referring to the killings of party leaders and workers in Kerala, West Bengal and other non-BJP-ruled states. Addressing the booth-level BJP workers in Bilaspur town, Shah also hit out at the Congress, accusing it of engaging in the politics of appeasement for votes and doing nothing against "infiltrators" who were like "termites". "The BJP is in power in 19 states, covering about 70 per cent area of the country.
NIA raids J&K businessman in terror case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday conducted raids here at the residence of a businessman from Jammu and Kashmir for his link to the terror-funding module of Pakistan-based Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), a front-end organisation of proscribed terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba established by Jamat-ud-Dawa.
Congress leader and ex-minister Anandrao Devkate dead
Senior Congress leader and former Maharasthra minister Anandrao Devkate died Friday at his native place in Solapur district after a brief illness, the party said here. He was 86. Devkate was Minister of State for Dairy Development from 1999 to 2003 in the Congress-NCP government led by VilasraoDeshmukh. He vacated his South Solapur assembly seat for Congress leader SushilkumarShinde when the latter replaced Deshmukh as chief minister in 2003. State Congress chief Ashok Chavan and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil condoled the demise of Devkate. Chavan said the party had lost a grassroots leader. "His contribution was immense in socio, political and cooperative fields in Maharashtra," he said. Vikhe-Patil said Devkatewas a visionary leader. "Due to his grassroots contact and efficiency he got to represent his constituency for five consecutive times," he added.
India elected to influential UN rights council with highest number of votes
India was elected with the highest number of votes by the General Assembly to the influential Human Rights Council on Friday with a pledge to combat intolerance.
In poll-bound Raj, 'winnability' sole criteria for Cong ticket
The Congress on Friday said "winnability" will be the main yardstick for distribution of tickets in poll-bound Rajasthan. Talking to reporters here, Kumari Selja, the chairperson of Congress' screening committee for the elections in Rajasthan said all other factors will be analysed later. The only ground to get a ticket will be winnability... Women who can win will also get a ticket, said Selja who was in the city to take feedback from ticket seekers. The final decision has to be taken by the party president but the feedback collected from states will also be considered, she added. Meanwhile, a former union minister said that the ticket seekers may be called to the national capital, if needed. Assembly elections in the state are slated for December 7.
Rahul, Sonia meet Telugu poet Gummadi Vittal Rao; he agrees to campaign for 'secular forces'
Revolutionary Telugu poet and Dalit rights activist Gummadi Vittal Rao Friday met Congress President Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi here and said he was ready to fight "for secular forces" and campaign for them. Sources said while Rahul met Rao in the morning Sonia met with him in the evening. "Earlier today, I met with the revolutionary Telugu poet and Dalit rights activist, Shri Gunmadi Vittal Rao, more familiarly known as GADDAR. "Amongst the many issues we discussed, was how to defend our Constitution from the systematic attack by the forces of fascism that seek to undermine it," Rahul said after the meeting. He also said, "I look forward to hearing GADDAR sing his songs of revolution and to watch one of the plays he's scripted some time in the near future." Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rao said he was ready to campaign for and fight with secular forces in the state in the upcoming assembly and Lok Sabha elections. He said Telangana came into being after