Page 2742 - Politics
BJP ally IPFT renews separate state demand
The Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), an ally of the ruling BJP, has renewed its old demand for a separate Tipraland state for tribals to protect and safeguard their socio-economic and political interests. The IPFT placed the demand to a high power committee set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs to probe the socio-economic, cultural and linguistic problems faced by Tripura's tribal communities. "... the High Level Committee should make serious attempts to find out the reasons behind the demand for the separate state of 'Tipraland' and address the related issues accordingly," the IPFT memorandum submitted Friday night to the MHA committee said. The tribal party had long been demanding a separate state, 'Tipraland', by carving out areas under the jurisdiction of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) which covers two-third of the state's area. The IPFT formed a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the February assembly election in which ...
Gujarat HM calls on Himachal CM, governor
A delegation of Gujarat ministers led by Home Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja Friday called on Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Dev Vrat and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, an official said here. MLAs Neema Acharya, Seema Mohili and Jagdish Panchal were also present in the delegation. The chief minister honoured them with Himachali caps and shawls. On behalf of the Government of Gujarat, they invited the governor to visit the state on the occasion of unveiling of the statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31. The delegation presented a booklet 'A Statue of Unity', carrying details about the statue, to the CM and the governor.
MJ Akbar in MeToo campaign: Govt can't comment on it, says Uma Bharti
The government cannot comment of the issue, said Union Minister Uma Bharti on the sexual harassment charges levelled against Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar.Bharti said the matter only concerns MJ Akbar and the complainants."The matter is of the times when he was not a part of the Central Government. So, it is a matter between MJ Akbar and the women. Government can say nothing on this," Bharti said.According to a source, senior ministers, in off-record conversations, have indicated that Akbar will have to step down once he returns to India.However, a consensus has reportedly not been achieved among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members on whether an MoS can be ousted merely on the basis of allegations.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.The slew of allegations were sparked by the #MeToo movement, which has gained momentum in
Rights group calls for release of Pakistani rights activist
Amnesty International has urged Pakistan to release a Pashtun rights activist who was detained upon her arrival in the country. The London-based rights group condemned the arrest of Gulalai Ismail, who was detained as soon as she arrived at an Islamabad airport from London. In a statement, Amnesty International said she was being "detained solely for her peaceful human rights work". Ismail is a critic of the Pakistani military's operations in the country's tribal regions in which many innocent civilians have been killed. She has been a supporter of the Pashtun Protection Movement, a group which denounces perceived high-handedness by security forces and their operations in the country's northwestern regions. It calls for judicial probes into those killed by the military in the name of its war on terror.
Pak committed to root out terrorism: FM Qureshi at SCO meeting
Pakistan is committed to combating terrorism in all its forms and offered to share with member states of the SCO the expertise it gained in fighting the menace, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Friday. Addressing a high-level meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) here in the Tajik capital, also attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, he said the world was in a "state of flux". Qureshi said a global architecture for peace, security and development, that treats all sovereign states on the footings of equality and respect was required, Dawn quoted him as saying. This was the second Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting attended by Pakistan after becoming a full member of SCO in June last year, Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a press release. Qureshi highlighted the importance of the SCO as a vital platform to achieve the objectives of peace, security and stability across Eurasia. In the context of SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure ...
Speaker to address Inter-parliamentary union at Geneva
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will address the assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union to be held in Geneva from October 14. Mahajan, who is leading the Indian delegation, on Friday left for Geneva along with Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambi Durai along with other MPs from both houses. The 139th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union will be held from October 14-18, in Geneva, Switzerland. Mahajan will also address the gathering of parliamentarians of 178 countries at the event, Lok Sabha secretariat said in an official statement. She will address on the overall theme of 'Parliamentary leadership in promoting peace and development in the age of innovation and technological change', it said. Members of India delegation will participate in various meetings during the assembly.
Macron says disappearance of Saudi journalist Khashoggi 'very serious'
French President Emmanuel Macron said the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was "very serious" and called for an investigation to yield "complete clarity" on what had happened to him. "What has been described is serious, very serious," Macron told French broadcasters France 24 and RFI in his first comments on the case. "I await the truth and complete clarity being established.
Modi government systemically derailed RTI: Rahul
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Modi government of systematically derailing the RTI Act and asserted his partys commitment towards resisting governments further attempts to dilute the law.
NCP MLA Awhad calls on Uddhav Thackeray
NCP legislator Jitendra Awhad met Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence 'Matoshree' here Friday, leading to speculation that he may have carried some message from his party chief, Sharad Pawar. Awhad, MLA from adjoining Thane district, has been a bitter critic of the BJP-led Maharashtra government of which Shiv Sena is a part. He denied that the meeting had any political significance in view of next year's Lok Sabha polls and the strained relations between the BJP and the Sena. It was a "personal" meeting, he said. "It was a courtesy call, a personal meeting....I am not a big leader, but a small worker. So I am not entrusted with the task of conveying messages," Awhad told reporters. He also posted a picture with Thackeray on Twitter.
Turkey frees US pastor from house arrest
A Turkish court on Friday freed American pastor Andrew Brunson from house arrest two years after he was detained on accusations of helping plot a coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
#MeToo: Modi, morals travel in opposite direction, says Cong
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and morals do not travel in the same direction and he will sack his minister M J Akbar only if he feels his "sultanate" is in danger, the Congress said Friday. Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil questioned Modi's silence on the charges of sexual harassment against Akbar, and said the prime minister is yet to act against him despite demands being raised. He said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has not ducked a question on the serious issue and expressed his party's views about respect to women. "Modi ji and morals travel in opposite direction. "Modi ji will not seek Akbar's resignation on moral grounds but if he fears his votebank is affected and he will suffer politically, then keeping this in mind he will even sack him. if need be he will take Akbar's head, for the sake of his 'sultanate'," he told reporters. The Congress leader said in Gujarat, the high court had passed strictures against a minister in a rape case, but Modi as chief minister of the state
PM Modi to visit Japan for talks
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a two-day visit to Japan in late October and will hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday."H.E. Mr. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, will pay an official working visit to Japan from Sunday, 28 October to Monday, 29 October 2018. During his stay in Japan, Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, will hold a meeting with the Prime Minister and host a dinner in his honor," the statement read.The Japanese government hopes the visit will further strengthen "the friendly relations" between the two countries, the statement noted. This will be Prime Minister Modi's third visit to Japan as the premier, according to the ministry.
Give answers on Rafale instead of whataboutery, Congress tells BJP
Dismissing the ruling BJPs latest bid to defend the Rafale deal, the Congress on Friday demanded that the Modi government give "factual answers about irregularities in the deal instead of indulging in whataboutery".
Congress leader files complaint with EC against IT minister
Senior Congress leader Madhu Goud Yashki Friday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Telangana IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao, alleging he violated the model code by announcing that some policies related to the IT industry are in the pipeline. The Model Code of Conduct prohibits the participation of ministers in the caretaker government in any kind of policy announcement or indicating that new policy will be formulated, the former MP said, alleging that Rao made some announcement in a programme organised by IT major Qualcomm recently. "K T Rama Rao also blatantly went on to announce that he was working on a number of similar projects that he claimed are in the pipeline Such violations by members of the Council of ministers of caretaker government of K Chandrasekhar Rao are making a mockery of the law-both in letter and spirit," Yashki alleged in a letter to the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer. He demanded immediate action against Rao.
AAP legislators visit Gahlot's premises raided by IT sleuths, allege harassment
Alleging "harassment" by the Income Tax department, several AAP legislators met Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot Friday at his residence, where a search is being conducted by the central agency for the last three days. Expressing solidarity with Gahlot and protesting the presence of IT officials at his premises since Wednesday, the MLAs questioned the agency over the prolonged search. The lawmakers of the ruling party in Delhi, who visited Gahlot's residence at Vasant Kunj, included Nitin Tyagi, Kartar Singh and Naresh Yadav among others. "The IT people raiding @kgahlot are doing no activity since 8 pm last night. Except having dinner, sleeping and having tea. If the raid work is done why don't these people leave? Harassing a whole family? (sic)," Tyagi said in a tweet. He claimed that when asked about such a long raid at the small flat owned by Gahlot, the IT officials said they were working under orders from the "above". Earlier, just after the search operations had started, .
Rahul a serial liar: Goyal
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday accused Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his party of repeatedly "spreading falsehood and lies" over the Rafale deal and called him a "serial liar".
Philippine, Vietnam leaders discuss disputed sea boundaries
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Vietnam's prime minister have discussed efforts by their countries to delineate their maritime boundaries in the disputed South China Sea, most of which is claimed by China. Duterte said Friday, without elaborating, that he told Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in a meeting in Indonesia that such boundary talks may take longer because the Philippines is still establishing its continental shelf limit, or the country's outermost boundary. "I told him that in due time, but we will take a longer period for we have to establish even our continental shelf limits," Duterte said he told Phuc in a meeting on the sidelines of a gathering of Southeast Asian leaders on Indonesia's Bali island. Vietnam initiated the on-and-off talks years ago. The Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia, which belong to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, along with China and Taiwan have been locked for decades in territorial disputes in the South China Sea. ...
Turkey frees US pastor after two years detention
A Turkish court on Friday ordered the release of an American pastor held for the last two years in Turkey, in a case that sparked a crisis in ties with the United States. The court in the western town of Aliaga convicted Andrew Brunson on terror-related charges and sentenced him to three years, one month and 15 days in jail, an AFP correspondent said. However, he was freed taking into account time served and his good conduct in the trial, with the court lifting his house arrest and overseas travel ban, the correspondent added. Brunson's detention since 2016 caused not just one of the worst diplomatic rows of recent times between NATO allies Turkey and the US, but also a crash in the Turkish lira which exposed the country's economic fragility. Turkish judicial authorities have repeatedly denied requests for the release of Brunson, who was moved from prison to house arrest in the city of Izmir in July. "I am an innocent man. I love Jesus. I love Turkey," he said in his final ...
MLA Dhawala appointed dy chairman of Himachal Planning Board
The Himachal Pradesh government Friday appointed MLA Ramesh Chand Dhawala as deputy chairman of the State Planning Board, an official statement said. Dhawala, who is the MLA from Jawalamukhi constituency in Kangra district of the state, would get the status of a cabinet minister, it said. The government also appointed Baldev Bhandari as chairman of the State Agricultural Marketing Board, it said.
Missing Saudi writer had big plans for his troubled region
The Saudi contributor to Washington Post who went missing more than a week ago and is feared dead had major plans, including a string of new projects to promote inclusiveness and accountability lacking around the Arab world, his friends say. Jamal Khashoggi, a prolific writer and commentator, was working quietly with intellectuals, reformists and Islamists to launch a group called Democracy for the Arab World Now. He wanted to set up a media watch organization to keep track of press freedom. He also planned to launch an economic-focused website to translate international reports into Arabic to bring sobering realities to a population often hungry for real news, not propaganda. Part of Khashoggi's approach was to include political Islamists in what he saw as democracy building. That along with his sharp criticisms of the kingdom's crackdowns on critics, its war in Yemen and its policy on Iran put him at odds with the rulers of Saudi Arabia, which deeply opposes Islamists like the ...