Page 277 - Politics

Ahluwalia, Oram among names doing the rounds for LS Speaker

With the first session of the new Lok Sabha set to begin in a fortnight, all eyes are now on the choice of the Speaker who will conduct the proceedings of House over the next five years.

TN people want amma regime always, says OPS

In an apparent dig at the DMK, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam Monday said some people who are dreaming about ruling Tamil Nadu are never going to see it happen. The AIADMK leader also said the victory in nine by-poll seats indicated the support the party enjoyed among all sections, including minorities. "Some people are dreaming about ruling Tamil Nadu. They are never going to realise their dreams," Panneerselvam said during an Iftaar party here. Referring to 'minority-friendly' policies announced by the party's former leaders late M G Ramachandran and late J Jayalalithaa, the deputy Chief Minister said the present leadership would also follow suit. "We, as loyal workers of amma, (as Jayalalithaa is fondly called) have been continuing the initiatives like Haj subsidy, loans for youth to set up businesses among others initiated by Amma," he said. Claiming support of the people of Tamil Nadu, Panneerselvam said, "The victory in nine bypolls says that the

Haryana minister Nayab Saini resigns after his election to Lok Sabha

After his election to the Lok Sabha from Kurukshetra constituency, Nayab Singh Saini resigned from the Council of Ministers in the Manohar Lal Khattar cabinet. Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya, on the recommendation of chief minister, has accepted Saini's resignation on Monday, an official spokesman said here. He was the Minister of State for Labour and Employment and Mines and Geology in the Khattar cabinet. Saini, who was the sitting MLA from Naraingarh assembly segment, has also resigned as legislator after his election to Parliament.

Amidst reports of misunderstanding between BJP and JDU; Nitish, Sushil Modi attend 'iftar' hosted by Ram Vilas Paswan

A day after it was reported that BJP and JDU leaders had skipped the "iftar" parties hosted by each other, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi attended the "iftar" hosted by Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan at his residence here on Monday.JDU's Nitish Kumar and BJP's Sushil Modi were seen sitting on either side of Ram Vilas Paswan during the party. Chirag Paswan was also seen interacting with the guests.The Governor of Bihar, Lalji Tandon was also present at the event. BJP leader Ram Kripal Yadav also attended the "iftar".On Sunday, it was reported that BJP leaders had given a miss to the yearly "iftar" hosted by JDU. Similarly, no JDU leader was seen at the "iftar" hosted by Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi.The "iftar" parties in Bihar have gained traction this year after JDU refused to be a part of Union Cabinet.However, Nitish Kumar has repeatedly denied any misunderstanding between the NDA allies.NDA has made a clean sweep in the .

Giriraj stresses population control, flays Mamata

Union Minister for Animal Husbandry Giriraj Singh here on Monday urged people to make "population control law" campaign a movement and also slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for declaring "war against Rama".

Mamata questions EVMs, urges oppn parties to unitedly demand return of ballot papers

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised questions on Monday over the electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls and urged the opposition parties to unitedly demand the return of ballot papers in elections. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said a fact-finding committee should be constituted to find out the details about the EVMs used in the recent polls. "We have to save the democracy. We do not want machines, we demand a return to the ballot paper system. We will start a movement and it will be initiated from Bengal," she told reporters after a meeting with her party MLAs and state ministers to review the TMC's poor show in the parliamentary polls. "I ask all the 23 political parties in the opposition to come together and demand the return of ballot papers. We must raise our voices. Even a country like the US has banned EVMs," Banerjee said. The fact-finding committee should find out whether the machines were programmed or not, she said,

HP Cong sets up panel to probe derogatory remarks against party leaders on social media

Himachal Pradesh Congress president Kuldeep Singh Rathore has set up a four-member committee to look into derogatory remarks against senior party leaders on social media in the wake of the party's recent Lok Sabha poll drubbing. In a statement issued here on Monday, Rathore said directions have been issued to the committee to submit its report within a week after a thorough enquiry. The state Congress president's political secretary Hari Krishan Himral, press secretary Baldev Thakur and social media convenor Rajendra Sharma are among the committee members. A section started posting derogatory remarks against party leaders after the elections. This will not be tolerated at any cost and it amounts to indiscipline, Rathore said. The committee will probe at whose behest all this is being done and whether any party leader or office bearer is behind this malicious campaign on social media, he said. The committee has also been asked to collect background information about any party workers ..

EU calls upon Sudanese military council to transfer power to civilians

The European Union (EU) on Monday called upon the Sudanese military officials to transfer power to the civilians.Anadolu agency quoted Maja Kocijancic, the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy spokeswoman, as saying, "Any decision to intensify the use of force can only derail the political process. The European Union's priority remains the rapid transfer of power to a civilian authority."Kocijancic said that the EU is following the ongoing political crisis in Sudan closely, including the attacks on civilian protesters."We call upon the Transitional Military Council (TMC) to act responsibly and respect people's right to express their concerns," she added.On Monday, at least 13 protesters were killed and scores of others were injured as Sudanese security forces moved in to clear the main protest camp near the army headquarters in Khartoum.Thousands of protesters have been holding a sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital for weeks, demanding the stepping down of Sudan's ...

Delhi plans free travel for women in Metro, DTC buses (Roundup)

The Delhi government plans to allow women to travel free in DTC and cluster buses and Delhi Metro within the next three months by providing a subsidy, a move dismissed as an election gimmick by the BJP and the Congress.

S Jaishankar meets top officials of MEA

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met secretaries and all heads of various divisions of the ministry. The meeting came three days after Jaishankar took charge of the office. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale was present in the meeting. "EAM @DrSJaishankar and MoS @VMBJP held a meeting with the Secretaries and Heads of Divisions of @MEAIndia this morning," External Affairs Ministry Spokeperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. In the meeting, Jaishankar is understood to have broadly shared his vision about the work of the MEA in the next few years. In a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last week picked the seasoned diplomat to helm the key ministry, nearly 16 months after he retired as foreign secretary. Jaishankar served as foreign secretary from January 2015 to January 2018 and both he and Swaraj, the external affairs minister in the previous government, were credited for bringing vibrancy in India's foreign policy. Jaishankar's appointment is seen as Modi's attempt .

PM Modi 'falsely portrayed' as anti-Muslim: Ramdas Athawale

BJP ally Ramdas Athawale, the chief of Republican Party of India, Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been "falsely portrayed" as anti-Muslim, describing him as someone who believes in politics of development. He also took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, saying the Congress president should "dream" of becoming Leader of Opposition rather than prime minister. He said he wants Gandhi to remain president of the Congress party as it would "benefit the BJP and Narendra Modi ji". Athawale took charge as Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment for a second term on Monday. Prime Minister Modi has been falsely portrayed as anti-Muslim, he said. "He is not so." "The anti-Muslim image of Modiji was portrayed following the 2002 Godhra riots when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat," he said. "But I have seen his movie and the character that is being shown is not anti-Muslim. Modiji does not believe in doing politics based on caste and religion but on development. People also .

SP says 'waiting' for BSP's official stand on alliance question

The Samajwadi Party said Monday it is "waiting" for the Bahujan Samaj Party to take an "official stand" on whether to continue the alliance or not, hours after BSP chief Mayawati asked her party leaders to prepare to contest coming assembly bypolls on their own. "No one has got the official stand of the BSP regarding the alliance. We are waiting for an official statement," SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI. Earlier Monday at a meeting of BSP Uttar Pradesh unit in New Delhi, Mayawati asked her party leaders to not depend on the alliance to win votes but work to expand the organisation. According to some of those present in the meeting, Mayawati referred to the family feud in the Yadav clan, saying the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP could not transfer the community votes to the BSP in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. She said the SP could not even save its "family seats". "These are all hearsay. What was the matter of discussion has to be understood," the SP spokesperson ...

Trump receives Winston Churchill book from queen

Queen Elizabeth II has given President Trump a first edition of Winston Churchill's "The Second World War". The book is Churchill's classic literary account of the war effort that united Britain and the United States. Elizabeth Monday also gave Trump a three-piece Duofold pen set using an obsidian design that was made exclusively for the queen. The monarch gave Melania Trump a specially commissioned silver box with a handcrafted enamel lid. Earlier in the day, the Queen gave Trump and Melania a look at items in the Royal Collection, one of the largest collections of art and other objects in the world. Some of the exhibits were items with a special historical significance to the United States. One was labeled "A Tale of Two Georges: George III and George Washington." It included a copy of the Declaration of Independence and a letter about the Constitution from Washington to John Jay, a founding father of the United States and the nation's first chief justice.

SP-BSP gathbandhan on ventilator: Dinesh Sharma

With fissures apparently appearing in the alliance of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma Monday said the 'gathbandhan' (of SP-BSP) is today "taking its last breath, and is on ventilator". "Thanks to the developmental works of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, people have broken the barriers of caste and religion. The 'gathbandhan' is today taking its last breath, and is on ventilator," he told PTI here. He added, "Alliances of opposing ideologies are never successful -- be it the SP-Congress or the BSP-Congress. All experiments to forge caste-based alliances in Uttar Pradesh have proved to be a failure. People across the country have accepted Modiji's 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas, sabka vishwaas' and outright rejected such caste-based alliances." "The alliances which are formed or forged on the basis of caste or religion eventually lose their existence. In UP, there was an unnatural and ...

55 Indians, 2 Myanmar officers to become flying instructors

As many as 55 officers of the Indian Air Force, Army, Navy and two from Myanmar Air Force would soon become qualified flying instructors. The officers would be graduating from the 146th qualified flying instructors course, a 25-week training programme that commenced December at the Flying Instructors School near here, a defence press release said Monday. Among the total 57 officers - 46 are from the Indian Air Force, two from the Indian Army, six from the Indian Navy, one from the Indian Coast Guard and two officers from the Myanmar Air Force, the release said. "The course is a gruelling 25-week package comprising academics and flying training with tests at regular intervals, the focus during ground training is interfacing theoretical knowledge with practical aspects of aircraft systems and piloting," it said. The graduates are awarded the coveted symbol of 'Qualified Flying Instructor' and a valedictory function would be held on June 7. Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar, AVSM ..

Karna CM calls meet of MLAs Tuesday to discuss political scene

Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy has called a meeting of JDS legislators Tuesday amid expected cabinet expansion or reshuffle to save the government headed by him following persisting dissidence within coalition partner Congress. A senior JDS functionary Monday said the meeting was likely to discuss the recent political developments in the state, performance in the Lok Sabha and Urban Local body polls and steps the party will need to take politically in the future. All political issues, including expansionor reshuffle of the Congress-JDS ministry, are likely to come up for discussion during the meeting, he said. Kumaraswamy and coalition Coordination Committee chief and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah have held several rounds of meetings recently, the last being on Saturday night regarding cabinet expansion or reshuffle. A top official source had said it is likely to take place only after June 4. Congress in Karnataka last week had gone into a huddle to ...

Hindu seers at VHP meet say will meet PM Modi for Ram Temple construction

A group of Hindu seers on Monday decided that they will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for early construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying "Hindus" have reelected him with a huge majority to complete the task. The meeting was organised here by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and attended by its national vice president Champat Rai. "Hindu seers will soon be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue of early construction of the temple," said Ram Janambhoomi Nyas president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. The Nyas is a trust to promote construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Das, who presided over the meeting, also said, "Hindus have elected Modi and (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister) Yogi Adityanath for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. So it is their responsibility to get a grand Ram temple built on the disputer site at the earliest." Reacting to the VHP meet, Dinendra Das, the Mahant of Nirmohi Akhara, the main litigant in the case from the Hindu side, said, "The

Get ready to fight bypolls alone, don't depend on alliance: Mayawati to BSP leaders

BSP chief Mayawati on Monday said the Lok Sabha poll drubbing in Uttar Pradesh was due to the "poor performance" of the alliance with the SP and asked party leaders and workers to be prepared to contest the assembly by-elections on their own, remarks that have raised questions over the future of the 'gathbandhan'. At a meeting of the Bahujan Samaj Party's Uttar Pradesh unit here, she also asked office bearers, MLAS and newly-elected MPs to not depend on the alliance to win votes but to improve the party's organisation. According to some of those present in the meeting, Mayawati also referred to the family feud in the Yadav clan, saying after Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav's younger brother Shivpal decided to contest separately the community votes were not transferred to the BSP, and the SP could not even save its "family seats". While Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple lost the election by over 12,000 votes in Kannauj, his two cousins Dharmendra Yadav and Akshay Yadav also lost .

Ministers hit the ground running as PM's focus is on delivery

The newly appointed ministers have hit the ground runnning right from the word go with a clear message from the Prime Minister on delivery without distraction.

Amit Shah holds internal security meeting, focus on J&K

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday held a marathon meeting to take stock of internal security in the country and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and the Intelligence Bureau chief.