Page 2749 - Politics
#MeToo: Police begins probe into complaint against Patekar; Smriti Irani says for Akbar to speak
The #MeToo movement gathered pace on Thursday with more women speaking out on sexual harassment at workplace and support pouring from various quarters, including union minister Smriti Irani, even as she said it was for her cabinet colleague M J Akbar to speak on charges against him. The Mumbai Police began its probe against actor Nana Patekar, dance director Ganesh Acharya and two others on a complaint filed by actor Tanushree Dutta, even as fresh sexual harassment allegations tumbled out including against actors, journalists and advertising professionals. While demands continued for action against union minister M J Akbar, who has been accused by several former female colleagues of sexual harassment when he served as editor at various media organisations, the government and the ruling BJP leaders maintained it was for him to speak on the issue. While the BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad refused to answer questions relating to the ...
Country facing 'worse than Emergency days': Yashwant Sinha
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha Thursday described the current situation in the country as "worse than the Emergency days." Addressing a gathering at the Samajwadi Party office to mark the birth anniversary of Loknayak Jai Prakash Narayan, Sinha said, "The situation today in the country is worse than the Emergency days. And it is the duty of all of us to unite and fight this challenge. We have to continue our struggle." "The conventions of democracy, the institutes of democracy and the democracy itself are in danger. I want to say it with all seriousness that if we do not wake up, there will be immense loss for the country in the coming days," Sinha stressed. He also exuded confidence that if the opposition unity is forged before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, akin to that in 1977, "we will win the polls". "The time has come to wage a war against Duryodhan and Dushshashan," he added, referring to the Mahabharata characters. Attacking the Centre, the former Union minister said, "In
Will resign as MLA on Friday over inaction against Badal, former Punjab DGP: Phoolka
AAP MLA H S Phoolka announced on Thursday that he will resign as legislator as the Punjab government had "failed to take action" against former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and retired DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in the police firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan. Phoolka, MLA from Dakha constituency, said he will resign from the post on Friday in protest of the Congress government's failure to punish the guilty. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader's decision comes a month after he gave a 15-day ultimatum to the Punjab government to arrest Badal and Saini. Later, however, he deferred his decision to resign. Phoolka said in a written statement here, on the writ petition filed by Saini, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday directed the state government that in case the police decide to arrest the former DGP, then a week's notice should be given to him. "That means neither there is any stay against investigation nor any stay against arrest, only seven days' notice is to .
AAP govt, Centre at loggerheads in SC over filling up of vacancies in family courts
The AAP government and the Centre were at loggerheads in the Supreme Court on Thursday over the requirement for LG's concurrence in issuing notification for appointing presiding officers at family courts here. The top court said that it will lay down the procedure on the issue of sending the file to LG, in its verdict on the ongoing Delhi-Centre row over the administration of the national capital. A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was told by advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for Delhi government, that there were vacancies for presiding officers at family courts, but when the government sent the names for notifying them, an official said that the file needs the approval of the Lieutenant Governor (LG). "Minister is the head of the department but when he sent the names of presiding officers of family court for notifying, the principal secretary (Law) tells him that the file first needs to be sent to the LG for approval," Mehra said. He said that the five-judge constitution .
Sisi wants return of Egypt jihadist held in Libya
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asked Thursday for a suspected jihadist leader and former Egyptian special forces officer captured this week in Libya to be handed over to his country. Forces of Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who supports an administration vying for power with Libya's UN-backed unity government, have said they arrested Hisham el-Ashmawy on Monday in the eastern city of Derna. "We want him to serve time in prison," Sisi said in a televised speech on the sidelines of a military conference. A spokesman for Haftar's forces, who are backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, said Ashmawy was an alleged member of jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis and wanted over the attempted assassination of an ex-interior minister in September 2013. Ashmawy left the Egyptian army in 2012 and joined Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, based in the eastern Sinai Peninsula. He is believed to have gone to Libya in 2013, before Ansar Beit al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to the Islamic ...
Kejriwal to contest all 13 LS seats in Punjab, no tie-up on cards
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal Thursday said his party will contest all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and not enter into alliance. "We will fight on all Lok Sabha seats from the state, we will not enter into any tie-up with anyone," Kejriwal, who was in Bathinda to attend a party legislator's wedding, told reporters. He lashed out at the ruling Congress in the state and accused it of failing on all fronts. "He (Amarinder) had promised to give a job in each family. He had said if anyone is unemployed then he will be given unemployment allowance, he had talked about raising social security pension, waiving debt of farmers, promised smartphones to youths. Only tall promises were made, but none have been fulfilled. He spoke lies and now people of Punjab are fed up with them," he alleged. Kejriwal said Singh had promised to wipe out drug problem from the state, but it was still there. He also charged the Congress government of failing to act
Cancellation of Indo-Pak FM meeting 'disappointing':Pakistan
The cancellation of the Indo-Pak foreign ministers' meeting in New York by India on "flimsy pretexts" was "disappointing", Pakistan said Thursday, asserting that it wants peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with New Delhi on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit. India called off a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries last month, citing the brutal killings of three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir and Islamabad releasing postage stamps "glorifying" Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani. "We cannot force any country to negotiate...India first agreed and in less than 24 hours, withdrew its agreement," Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Faisal told reporters here during the weekly media briefing. He said the only way forward is through dialogue, which should be uninterrupted and uniterruptible. The "cancellation of the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan, which was to be held on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in New ...
IT officials 'survey' The Quint, Editors Guild upset (Roundup)
Income Tax officials on Thursday carried out what it said were "surveys" at the residence and office premises of Raghav Bahl, head of news portal The Quint, over alleged tax evasion, provoking angry reactions.
Cong accuses Centre, erstwhile BJP-PDP govt in J-K of 'spoiling' state's atmosphere
The Congress on Thursday accused the Centre and the erstwhile BJP-PDP government in Jammu and Kashmir of "spoiling" the atmosphere in the state and held them responsible for the current situation there, where people are "afraid" to cast their vote. The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, who hails from the state, said this was not the first time that voter turnout in municipal polls in the Kashmir Valley has been low compared to that in the Jammu region. Senior party leader Ambika Soni alleged that the state and central governments are squarely responsible for the current situation and for bringing the state to a level where the "fear of bullet forced people not to cast their vote". The two leaders claimed the previous Congress-NC government in Jammu and Kashmir had helped normalise the situation and people had been coming out in large numbers to exercise their franchise. But the erstwhile BJP-PDP government and the Centre has brought the situation to that ...
Cong declares candidates for Mizoram; CM Lal Thanhawla to contest from two seats
Mizoram Chief Minister and state PCC chief Lal Thanhawla would contest from two constituencies in the election to the 40-member state legislature to be held on November 28. The names of the candidates was announced by Lal Thanhawla at a meeting of party workers at the Aizawl Congress Bhavan Thursday. Seven sitting legislators were denied party tickets while 12 nominees would be fighting the polls for the first time. The names of four candidates two from Siaha district, one from Lunglei district and one from Lawngtlai district were yet to be announced. Lal Thanhawla would contest from Serchhip seat, his home turf and also from Champhai South. The party has a single woman candidate in Cooperation Minister Vanlalawmpuii Chawngthu. The average age of the nominees was 57. There were four candidates below the age of 40, eight in the age group of 41-50, 14 in 51-60 range, four nominees in the 61-70 age group and five candidates above 70. Congress, which has its government only in Mizoram ..
Sabarimala: BJYM march turns violent; LDF govt to counter
With protests over the Sabarimala issue mounting, police Thursday used water canons and tear gas shells to disperse Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha activists, who tried to barge into the official residence of Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran here. Chanting the 'Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa' mantra, the right-wing activists marched to the minister's house, protesting the CPI(M)-led LDF government's stand over the issue and tried to break the barricades put up by police. As the situation went out of control, police first used water cannon and then burst tear gas shells to disperse the unruly crowd. Later, the agitators squatted on the road and held a protest meeting against the Left government's decision to implement the Supreme Court order, permitting women of all age groups into the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala. The sit-in dharna by activists of the 'Save Sabarimala Forum' and 'Adivasi Samrakshana Samithi', demanding steps to protect the tradition and rituals
HC seeks to know steps taken by Guj govt for safety of migrant workers
The Gujarat High Court on Thursday directed the state government to file an affidavit on the measures it has taken to ensure safety of the migrant workers who were targeted in attacks over the last two weeks. The direction was issued by a division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi while hearing a public interest litigation. The petition, filed by senior advocate K R Koshti, will be heard again next week after the government files its reply. During a brief hearing on Thursday, Additional Advocate General Prakash Jani said the government did take several steps to ensure safety of the migrant workers. The PIL claimed that the state government failed to protect the fundamental rights of the migrant population in Gujarat and police did not act to curb the violence. The attacks started after some "political leaders" made "inflammatory speeches" to provoke local people against the migrants, the PIL alleged. Over two lakh migrant workers have left Gujarat due to
IAF brass to discuss training structure for Rafale, S-400
The Indian Air Force (IAF) brass at its two-day Commanders Conference that kicked off on Thursday is set to discuss the training plan for the new inductions in the force including the Rafale jets and S-400 Triumf missile system.
Most demands of Ganga activist Agarwal had been accepted: Govt
The government has said that almost all the demands made by Ganga activist G D Agarwal, who was on an indefinite hunger strike and died Thursday, had been accepted. On Wednesday, Water Resources and Ganga River Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari had said, "We have accepted almost all his demands (on cleaning of the Ganga). One demand was to to ensure environmental flow and we have come out with a notification." The government on Tuesday had come out with the e-flow gazette notification. The notification states the minimum environmental flows for Ganga river that is to be maintained at various locations on the water body. The second demand, Gadkari said, was to bring a legislation to protect Ganga. He said the legislation has been sent to Cabinet for approval, following which it will be tabled in Parliament. "He had some demands related to (upcoming) hydro-power projects (on river Ganga). We are trying to bring all stakeholders together and sort the issue at the earliest. I had also ..
Environmentalist G D Agarwal passes away
Environmentalist G.D. Agarwal, who was on a fast for the last 111 days demanding a clean Ganga, died after a heart attack in Rishikesh on Thursday.
No reason for concern over ties with Pak, relations with India strategic: Russia
Russia's ties with Pakistan should not be a matter of concern for India as Moscow's relationship with New Delhi is of a "strategic, long-term" nature, the Russian ambassador here said Thursday. Russian envoy to India Nikolay Kudashev said his country's relationship with Pakistan was aimed at ensuring a stable Pakistan, contributing towards regional stability and efforts to combat terrorism. Asked if during the summit meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, the Indian side expressed concern over the growing Russia-Pakistan ties, Kudashev answered in the negative. "What is it to be concerned about. The relationship is very clear. We need a stable Pakistan...as far as I understand, this is also the idea of the Indian side," he told a select group of journalists. On holding of military exercises with Pakistan, he said it was a counter-terror drill and nothing more should be read into it. "Compared with India, our military and tactical ..
Japan PM Shinzo Abe offers support to Swachh Bharat Mission
Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has offered his government's support to the Swachh Bharat Mission, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation said on Thursday.
Maha Cong to hold review meeting on drought-like situation
The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Thursday decided to convene a meeting to review drought-like situation in the state on October 13. The meeting will take place in Aurangabad on Saturday, the MPCC said in a statement. The party has invited all leaders from Western Maharashtra, Vidarbha, North Maharashtra and elected representatives from Marathwada region for the meeting. The meeting will be attended by the party's state unit chief Ashok Chavan, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, senior leaders including Prithviraj Chavan, Manikrao Thakre, Balasaheb Thorat and Harshwardhan Patil. The meeting will take stock of the prevailing drought-like situation in the state and steps to be taken to tide over the problem, it said. "A review of all promises made by the BJP-Shiv Sena government to farmers and their implementation will also be carried out," the statement added. The party accused the state government of being apathetic
Rahul will take part in discussion on HAL's contribution to
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will take part in a discussion on Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's contribution to the country on October 13, but a mega protest meet against the Rafale fighter jet deal has been postponed, state Congress said Thursday. Congress' Karnataka chief Dinesh Gundu Rao said the protest meet has been postponed and would be organised on a later day in the city. "Rahul Gandhi is coming day after tomorrow (Saturday, October 13), earlier we had planned to organise a huge protest meet by gathering about a lakh people against the Rafale deal scandal and preparations were on for it...but we are not doing it as he has other commitments," Gundu Rao said. Rao, however, said Gandhi would be participating in a discussion about HAL's contribution to the country. He said this discussion was not being organised by the congress party, but by "some people" who are "pained" by the government's attempts to "ruin HAL's name." "It is a discussion about HAL organised by .
Three persons get award for peace and socio-political service
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, Harivansh Narayan Singh Thursday conferred the first 'Award for Peace and Socio-Political Service' to three personalities of Nagaland. The recipients are Rev Shihoto Swunhetho (posthumous) and Rev V K Nuh for peace initiatives and Chingwang Konyak for socio-political service to the people of the State. Singh handed over the awards at a programme organized by Jayprakash Narayan Memorial Trust, Nagaland here at Rhododendron Hall. Addressing the gathering, Singh said Jayprakash Narayan talked about the Nagas and the problems of the Nagas in various parts of the country. Nagaland Minister for Agriculture and Co-operation, G. Kaito Aye maintained that Jayprakash Narayans participation and contribution towards "resolving" the Naga political conflict has been one of the most significant chapters in the history of Naga political movements.