Page 2760 - Politics
Rahul Gandhi to meet HAL staff in Bengaluru
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will fly to Bengaluru on October 13 to hold a meeting with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Employee Association.HAL has been in the news of late owing to the ongoing controversy over the Rafale fighter-jet deal with France. The Gandhi scion has time and again alleged that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government opted to make Reliance Defence the Offset partner in the deal, thus ousting the government-run HAL from it.Last month, Gandhi trained guns at Modi stating that he has betrayed India, and has dishonoured the blood of our soldiers."The Prime Minister personally negotiated and changed the Rafale deal behind closed doors. Thanks to François Hollande, we now know he personally delivered a deal worth billions of dollars to a bankrupt Anil Ambani. The Prime Minister has betrayed India. He has dishonoured the blood of our soldiers," he had tweeted.The Congress president's post came after Former President of France François Hollande issued a ..
Pakistan's ISI gets new chief
Lt Gen Asim Munir is the new chief of Pakistan's spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Army's media wing announced on Wednesday.Lt Gen Munir succeeds Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar as the Director General of the ISI.His previous appointment was as DG Military Intelligence. According to the Dawn newspaper, speculations about him taking as the ISI chief were rife following the reports that Lt Gen Mukhtar would be retiring.Earlier this earlier, the new head of the spy agency was given Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan's second highest civilian award given to individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of Pakistan, world peace, cultural or other significant public endeavours."He also served as commander of the Force Command Northern Areas, the Dawn writes further.The military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations also announced reshuffle within the ranks.
PM's STIAC sets directions for scientific innovation in India
The Prime Ministers' Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (STIAC) in its first meeting held on Tuesday set some clear objectives and directions for a number of key projects.The panel will meet regularly to ensure adequate stimulus for technology innovation and entrepreneurship.The panel was formulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advice on science and technology innovation. It is currently headed by Dr. K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.Other members of the council include Former ISRO chief A. S. Kiran Kumar; Professor Ajay Sood, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; Professor Subhash Kak, Oklahoma State University; Professor Manjul Bharghava, noted mathematician from Princeton University; Major General Madhuri Kanitkar, the first woman dean from Pune's Armed Forces Medical College, and industrialist Baba Kalyani. Secretaries of around 10 central ministries, including science and technology, energy and education were ...
2004 grenade attack: Khaleda Zia's son sentenced to life imprisonment
As many as 19 people, including former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia's son Tarique Rahman, have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2004 grenade attack case.According to Dhaka Tribune, 19 more including former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar, have been sentenced to death in the case.On August 21, 2004, a grenade attack on Awami League rally in Dhaka claimed 24 lives including Awami League Women's Affairs secretary Ivy Rehman and injured 300 people.Then Opposition leader Sheikh Hasina was apparently the prime target of the grenade attack but had a narrow escape. She suffered from hearing impairment following the incident.According to the charge sheet, the attack was orchestrated by a group of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders.
Amarinder Singh calls for collaborative efforts to fight drug menace
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday underlined the need for collaborative efforts to fight the drug menace in the state, at the inauguration of a three-day regional workshop on 'Combating Illicit Trafficking of Afghan Opiates"Rivulets in Punjab were being used to smuggle drugs as part of a strategic agenda that went beyond commercial reasons," said the Chief Minister. He further sought continued support and assistance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in fighting the drug problem, which, he described, as a "strategic conspiracy unleashed from across the international border."Confident that his government would succeed in destroying the drugs business, Singh said, "UNODC could help the state by identifying the big sharks that had a stake in the drug business. While the STF (Special Task Force) and other agencies had been successful in catching mid-level peddlers, the big suppliers need to be apprehended too."The Chief Minister referred to the ...
Cong alleges govt 'manipulated' Rafale deal process
The Congress on Wednesday accused the Modi government of "manipulating" the process of Rafale fighter jet agreement by "punishing" bureaucrats who raised objections to the deal and rewarding "obliging officials". The opposition party also reiterated its demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe. Congress spokesperson S Jaipal Reddy said defence deals of this magnitude are first examined by departments, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security and then sealed. He alleged that in 2016, the then joint secretary was overruled by the Director General acquisition for the go ahead to the deal, after a new officer was brought in the post, in place of person who had the reputation of being unbending. "To manage this process, bureaucrats were bulldozed, bullied, punished, promoted, the whole process of ratification was fabricated, stage-managed, and manipulated. Such a thing has not happened in the history of independent India," Reddy alleged, claiming that "obliging officers"
Funds to Durga puja committees: HC refuses to interfere
The Calcutta High Court Wednesday refused to interfere in the West Bengal government's decision to give Rs 10,000 each to 28,000 Durga puja committees in the state, and said the legislature is the appropriate forum to decide on such expenditure. An interim stay granted by the court on disbursal of funds stands vacated as the court disposed of the public interest litigation challenging the state government's decision to give funds to the puja committees. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Debasish Kar Gupta and Justice Sampa Sarkar said the court does not want to interfere in the government's decision to disburse funds to Durga puja committees at this stage. The legislature is the appropriate forum to decide on expenditure by the state government, it said. The bench, however, said that the court can interfere in expenditure by the government at a later stage if and when the scope arises. Advocate General Kishore Dutta had submitted before the division bench that the funds
French MPs adopt 'fake news' bill
French lawmakers on Wednesday adopted two bills to prevent the spread of false information during election campaigns following allegations of Russian meddling in the 2017 presidential vote. The "fake news" bills enable a candidate or political party to seek a court injunction preventing the publication of "false information" during the three months leading up to a national election. They also give France's broadcast authority the power to take any network that is "controlled by, or under the influence of a foreign power" off the air if it "deliberately spreads false information that could alter the integrity of the election." The measure is seen as aimed at Russia's state-backed RT network which began broadcasting in French late last year. Macron has had Russian media in his sights since his 2017 campaign when a state-backed Russian site ran allegations that he was gay and had a secret bank account in the Bahamas. France's opposition has criticised the bills as an attempt to create a .
UP govt announces 5% discount on Khadi clothes
The Uttar Pradesh government Wednesday announced a "special 5 per cent discount" on the purchase of Khadi clothes in view of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatama Gandhi. The decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. "Five per cent discount will be given on purchasing Khadi clothes on the 150th anniversary of Mahatama Gandhi (on October 2)," cabinet minister Srikant Sharma told reporters here. He said the discount will be applicable for 60 days from the date of issuance of the government order.
Cong workers stage demonstrations against exodus of migrant workers from Gujarat
Scores of Congress activists staged demonstrations here against the exodus of Hindi-speaking migrants from Gujarat after attacks on them in several parts of the state. The protest was led by district Congress party president Tarik Qureshi. They claimed the Gujarat government was unable to protect north Indians. The party men also held demonstration in Shamli district.
China 'seriously challenging' Taiwan peace: Tsai
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen accused China of "seriously challenging" peace and stability Wednesday, describing the island she leads as being on the frontline of tensions in the Pacific. It comes as Beijing pursues a multi-pronged attack on any claims to sovereignty by self-ruled democratic Taiwan, which it sees as part of its territory to be reunified, by force if necessary. Relations between Beijing and Taipei have deteriorated since Tsai took office two years ago, as she refuses to acknowledge that Taiwan is part of "one China". "As Taiwan is on the frontline of the Western Pacific, we are naturally subject to tremendous pressure," Tsai said in a televised speech to mark Taiwan's National Day. "China's unilateral diplomatic offensive and military coercion have not only harmed cross-strait relations. They have also seriously challenged the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," she added. Taiwan considers itself a sovereign country and has an independent ...
German historians accuse far right chief of echoing Hitler
German historians on Wednesday accused far-right leader Alexander Gauland of paraphrasing Adolf Hitler in a newspaper column taking aim at a "globalised class" that he claimed threatens all that is good in his "homeland". The co-leader of the far-right AfD rejected allegations of parallels with a 1933 speech by Hitler, but the latest episode is yet another controversy raising questions over his anti-migrant party's views on the Nazi-era. In a guest commentary for Saturday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Gauland wrote that the "globalised class" occupies positions in mainstream organisations from international corporations to the media to universities, and are also in key political parties.echoing "Their members live almost exclusively in big cities, speak fluent English, and when they move from Berlin to London or Singapore for jobs, they find similar apartments, houses, restaurants, shops and private schools everywhere. "This group socialises among itself but is culturally ..
Haley became a popular UN diplomat despite Trump policies
Nikki Haley came to her job as the top US diplomat at the United Nations with no foreign policy experience, but in less than two years she made many friends - even among ambassadors from countries at odds with the Trump administration's policies. Tuesday's sudden announcement that she was leaving by the end of the year ricocheted through UN headquarters like a lightning bolt, with many expressing shock, and some sadness and dismay. "It was a surprise, not a very pleasant one for me personally," said Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country has clashed with US positions including on Syria, Iran and Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The ambassadors on the powerful UN Security Council who worked closely with Haley praised her - a testament to her skills and success as a diplomat - though many of their countries, including America's traditional allies, have serious issues with her government's foreign policy. When Haley arrived at the UN on Jan 27, 2017, she was the former ...
Kansas GOP congressman's ad has softer tone on immigration
Kansas Rep. Kevin Yoder launched a new television ad Tuesday with a testimonial from the widow of an Indian engineer murdered in a Kansas City-area bar about the Republican's efforts to help her remain in the US afterward. The 30-second spot featuring Sunayana Dumala praising Yoder comes with the four-term congressman locked in a tough race against Democrat Sharice Davids. Yoder, chairman of a House subcommittee on homeland security, received President Donald Trump's full endorsement in July, after the GOP unveiled a plan that included $5 billion that could help build a wall along the US-Mexico border. Yoder's new ad began three days after Trump had a campaign rally in Topeka in a neighboring district that Yoder didn't attend. The new ad also highlights how immigration is a tricky issue in the Kansas City-area 3rd District, which Trump narrowly lost. Bob Beatty, a Washburn University of Topeka political scientist, said many anti-Trump voters view the president as "anti-immigrant," and
Focus on 'corruption' in BJP govt, Rahul tells Youth Cong workers
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday urged Youth Congress workers to take the issue of corruption in the Rafale aircraft deal to the village level as the party gears up for the Assembly elections in December. The Congress president's focus was on exposing the BJP government, which is involved in corruption, like in the Rafale deal, Rajasthan Youth Congress president Ashok Chandna told PTI. Gandhi attended a meeting of the national executive of the Youth Congress here before leaving for Bikaner for a 'Maha Sankalp' public meeting On Tuesday, he addressed public meetings in Dholpur, Bharatpur and Dausa districts. The prime minister is favouring top industrialists and not paying heed to farmers and the poor and this is what Rahul Gandhi wants the Youth Congress to tell people across the country, Chandna said after the Jaipur meeting. Gandhi asked the Youth Congress to follow the party's ideology and work with dedication to strengthen democracy, Chandna said. The national executive ..
Kharge for CAG audit of DeMo, GST, defence purchases
The CAG should not shy away from holding the government accountable for decisions like demonetisation, GST that has caused serious economic distress, and defence purchases, PAC Chairman and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said Wednesday. He also made a case for audit of public private partnership (PPP) projects by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) saying that developments surrounding IL&FS reveal that lack of scrutiny can put the country's financial system at risk. Speaking at the 29th Accountants General Conference here, Kharge pitched for greater independence for the official auditor CAG so that it could continue to discharge its duties with greater responsibility. As a watchdog of public finance, CAG has a duty to check and report all revenue dues and the ones wrongly foregone by the executive, and also act as a custodian to ensure that no government money is spent without the approval of Parliament. "The public should not wonder why constitutional ...
Don't take action on anonymous complaints of corruption against babus: Govt to depts
There is no need to take action on anonymous or pseudonymous complaints alleging corruption by government employees, according to a directive issued by Personnel Ministry to all central government departments. It said such complaints "need to be simply filed". Officials said Wednesday the move comes after some of the central government departments received complaints of alleged corruption by high-ranking officials. The central government and the CVC usually get a number of complaints against a government employee when he or she is being considered for a senior level post or for some important assignment, they said. In its latest communique, the Personnel Ministry cited its previous directive which said no action is required to be taken on anonymous and pseudonymous complaints, irrespective of the nature of the allegation and that such complaints need to be simply filed. It said probity watchdog Central Vigilance Commission has also issued a similar instruction to all government ...
Sabarimala row: Hindu outfits hit the streets against Kerala govt
Rallies, marches and roadblocks marked protests by Hindu outfits Wednesday against the LDF-led Kerala government's decision to implement the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala, even as the state government maintained that it would not go for a review. Devotees, including a large number of women, squatted on the road at different places, chanting "Protect the rituals of Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala". A minor scuffle was also reported between the protestors and the general public at Aluva and Muuvatupuzha in Ernakulam district. A group of BJP activists showed black flags to Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran at Kazhakootam near here, leading to tension for some time. A protest rally by BJP-led NDA began from Pandalam in Pathanamthitta district and would end in front of the Secretariat here with a demonstration on October 15. BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai and Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) president Thushar Vellapally led the march. Pillai said the party
Government mum on allegations against Akbar
The government on Wednesday continued to maintain silence on the allegations of sexual misconduct against Union Minister M.J. Akbar even as the Congress sought his resignation.
Give satisfactory explanation or quit: Cong to Akbar
The Congress said Wednesday Union minister M J Akbar must either offer a satisfactory explanation on the allegations of sexual harassment against him or resign immediately. The party also demanded an inquiry into his conduct. As the #MeToo campaign gathered momentum in India, some women journalists have come out and accused Akbar, a former editor and now the minister of state for external affairs, of sexually harassing them during his stint as a journalist. Congress spokesperson S Jaipal Reddy, in a press conference, said, "I think Mr M J Akbar must either offer a satisfactory explanation or resign forthwith. How can he be in the ministry with serious allegations being levelled against him by responsible journalists who worked with him. Let there be an inquiry into it. We demand an inquiry into M J Akbar's conduct." Reddy also questioned External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's silence on the issue, saying she is evading responsibility and is not prepared to comment on her ...