Page 2772 - Politics
Local polls: Militant threats keep people indoors in Kashmir, heavy turnout in Jammu and Ladakh
Threats from militant groups kept a majority of people away from polling booths in Kashmir Valley where the turnout was a paltry 8.3 per cent, whereas in Jammu and Ladakh divisions over 65 per cent of the electorate voted in the first phase of urban local body polls on Monday, officials said. Polling on Monday was by and large peaceful in the four-phase election to urban local bodies, which has been boycotted by two main regional parties -- the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In Kashmir Valley, Bandipore recorded the lowest turnout at 3.3 per cent and Kupwara the highest at 36.6 per cent. With no election rallies taking place before the first-phase polling in 58 wards in Kashmir Valley, the fear of militant groups was evident as many of the booths wore a deserted look and at certain places people tried to hide themselves from the assembled mediapersons. In the election to 238 wards in Jammu division, the turnout was recorded at 65 per cent. In Ladakh ..
BrahMos scientist held on spying charge (2nd Lead)
In a shocking development, a young scientist working with the BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd (BAPL)'s missile research centre here, was arrested on Monday on alleged charges of spying for Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI and other countries, informed sources said.
Upload details of Delhi govt houses on department's website: PWD to officials
The Delhi government's public works department has directed officials concerned to upload details of government houses on its website, an official has said. The move came after the department found out that a number of government houses were not being allotted due to non-availability of centralised data in the city. The decision was taken at a recently held meeting chaired by the engineer-in-chief. "Directions were issued to all officials concerned to upload details of government houses on the PWD's website. Officials have been asked that regular and effective updation is required," the official said. The PWD constructs government flats and maintain them in the national capital. It also has the responsibility of allocating houses to entitled officials and officers of the Delhi government.
Pompeo holds 'frosty' meetings with Chinese officials over simmering tensions
Top diplomats of the US and China on Monday had "frosty" exchanges as they met here amid deepening trade war and intensifying tension over Beijing's militarisation of the disputed South China Sea. The two countries were at war of words since June when President Donald Trump slapped the first round of additional tariffs on Chinese exports, demanding Beijing reduce the trade deficit worth over USD 335 billion. China retaliated with its own set of tariffs on the US exports. Since then, they have slapped additional tariffs on billions of dollars of export goods on each other. Visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held five hour-long talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and senior ruling Communist Party official Yang Jiechi over simmering tensions between the two countries. Pompeo, who reached here in the last leg of his current East Asia tour during which he visited South Korea, North Korea and Japan, began his Beijing visit with Wang, who is also the State Councillor. Reporting on ...
Targeting migrant labourers completely wrong, says Rahul on Gujarat violence
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday said targeting of migrant workers in Gujarat is "completely wrong" and he is totally against it. Taking to Twitter, he said the root cause of violence in Gujarat is the closure of factories and unemployment there due to which both the system and the economy are reeling. "There is nothing more frightening than poverty. The root cause of the violence in Gujarat is the closed down factories and unemployment there. Both the system and that economy are reeling. "Making migrant labour their target is completely wrong. I stand totally against it," he said in Hindi on Twitter. Attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants started after alleged rape of a 14-month-old girl. The violence has led to exodus of migrant workers which prompted the state government on Monday to make an appeal for their return. The state government has deployed additional security forces in industrial areas in Gujarat for the safety of migrants. It said 431 people have been arrested and ..
Pak successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Ghauri ballistic missile
Pakistan Monday successfully test-fired Ghauri ballistic missile which is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads up to a distance of 1,300 kilometers, bringing many Indian cities under its range. The launch was conducted by Army Strategic Forces Command and was aimed at testing the operational and technical readiness of Army Strategic Forces Command, said the Inter Services Public Relations, the media wing of the army. "Ghauri Ballistic Missile can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads up to a distance of 1,300 kms," it said in a statement. Army Strategic Forces Command chief Lt Gen Muhammad Hilal Hussain "appreciated the standard of training and operational preparedness of Army Strategic Forces," it said. Senior officials and scientists of the Strategic Plans Division were present to witness the launch. President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan appreciated the scientists and engineers on the successful conduct of the missile test. In April, ...
Payment to Delhi's civic bodies: Centre's stand unfortunate & tragic, says SC
The Supreme Court Monday said it was "unfortunate and tragic" that the Centre was not prepared to "make any payment at all" to resolve the crisis arising out of the strike by sanitation workers of East Delhi Municipal Corporation over regular payment of salaries. A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta noted that the court had expected the Centre to "graciously reciprocate" to the offer of the Delhi government which agreed to release Rs 500 crore to civic bodies on humanitarian grounds. "Unfortunately and tragically, the central government has now filed an affidavit that it is not prepared to make any payment at all," the bench said. It noted in its order that on October 3, the Delhi government had submitted in the court that for tiding over the sanitation crisis, an amount of Rs 500 crore would be released by them within two days without prejudice to their rights and contentions. Advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the Delhi government, told the court that the amount has ..
Iran says Saudi claims to replace its oil 'unbelievable'
Iran's oil minister said on Monday that the market will never believe "exaggerated" claims by Saudi Arabia that it can replace Iranian oil shipments lost due to renewed US sanctions. "Such exaggerations might please Mr Trump, but the market will never believe them," Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, according to the oil ministry's SHANA news site. "These statements were made due to Mr Trump's pressure on Saudi authorities. In reality, neither Saudi Arabia nor any other producer has such a capability," he added. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Bloomberg on Friday that Saudi Arabia "did (its) job and more" by making up for the recent drop in Iranian oil sales. He said Iran's sales had fallen by 700,000 barrels per day since the United States announced in May that it was pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposing sanctions on its oil industry. Precise figures are unavailable, not least because Iran has begun switching off tracking devices on some oil-exporting ...
Spl summary revision of electoral rolls taken up in HP
The special summary revision of photo electoral rolls is going on in all 68 assembly segments of Himachal Pradesh, with January 1, 2019 as the qualifying date, a spokesperson of the state election department said. The revision is being done as per the directions of the Election Commission of India, he added. The draft photo electoral rolls were published on September 1 this year, he said, adding that claims and objections would be received till October 31, which would be settled by November 30. The final photo electoral rolls will be published on January 4, 2019, he added. He said that the public could get information regarding the registration process by calling on the toll-free number 1950.
Congress slams proposed Goa Cabinet meeting at AIIMS ICU
The proposal to hold a Goa Cabinet meeting in New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences ICU -- where Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is admitted -- amounts to humiliation of the state and its people, the Congress claimed on Monday.
HC moved against appointment of OSD to Pondy Lt Guv Kiran Bedi
The Madras High Court Monday sought affidavits from three top Puducherry officials on a petitioner's claim that he had obtained confidential reports through RTI, using which he challenged the recent appointment of a retired IAS officer as OSD to Lt Governor Kiran Bedi. Petitioner P Saravanan, who has sought to quash the appointment of G Theva Neethi Dhas as the officer on special duty, filed, along with a PIL, confidential reports and documents in the form of typed set of papers, claiming he had obtained them through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. He alleged the appointment of Dhas, who had retired as the secretary to the Puducherry Lt Governor, was made in violation of rules and by keeping the chief minister in the dark and it was a colourable exercise of power by Bedi. When the PIL came up for hearing, a bench comprising Justice S Manikumar and Justice P T Asha observed how the confidential documents, reports and demi-official letters such as file notings with the signatures of
BJP chief Amit Shah to visit Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday
BJP president Amit Shah will Tuesday take part in various events in the politically sensitive Gwalior-Chambal division of poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, a party functionary said. The state will go to polls on November 28 and counting of votes will be held on December 11. State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sarvesh Tiwari said Monday that Shah would arrive in Shivpuri where he will pay respects at the memorial of 1857 mutiny hero Tatya Tope. He will later address a convention of BJP workers in the Gwalior-Chambal division, Tiwari added. The BJP chief will then proceed to neighbouring Guna to participate in a roadshow, Tiwari informed. Guna is the Lok Sabha constituency of senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia. From Guna, Shah will go to Gwalior where he will pay tribute at the memorials of Rani Laximbai and Vijayaraje Scindia, popularly known as Rajmata of Gwalior. He will later address a youth convention in Gwalior, Tiwari said.
MHA orders probe into helium-filled balloons bursting at Rahul Gandhi's roadshow
An inquiry will be instituted in the incident in which helium-filled balloons burst causing a minor fire during Congress president Rahul Gandhi's roadshow in Madhya Pradesh, officials said Monday. On Saturday, panic erupted briefly at Gandhi's roadshow in Jabalpur when helium-filled balloons burst into flames some distance away from his vehicle. "In case of a protectee of the Special Protection Group (SPG), the security organisation investigates and submits a report. "In this case too, there will be an investigation on how did it happen and who were behind it," a Home Ministry official said. Nobody was injured in the incident, they said. When Gandhi was leading the campaign event in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, a bunch of helium balloons held by a political worker touched oil lamps that another was holding for performing 'aarti' of the Congress chief. A video shows Gandhi standing in an open vehicle accompanied by security personnel and people lined up on both sides of the road, and a ..
PML-N to hold protests inside Pak Parliament against arrest of party president Shehbaz Sharif
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Monday decided to protest inside Parliament against the arrest of party president and Leader of Opposition Shehbaz Sharif on charges of corruption, as former prime minister Nawaz Sharif resumed his political activities, nearly three weeks after his release from jail. The decision to launch protests inside Parliament was taken during a Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting of the PML-N chaired by Nawaz Sharif, the elder brother of Shehbaz, who is accused of corruption in a Rs 1,400 crore housing scam. The meeting, held in Model Town, Lahore, was attended by the party's CEC members, Geo News reported. During the meeting, the party members decided to protest against Shehbaz's arrest last Friday and Sunday's press conference by Prime Minister Imran Khan inside Parliament. This was the first formal party meeting that Nawaz Sharif, 68, chaired since after his release from Adiala jail in Rawalpindi last month. The former premier, his daughter Maryam ...
Bangladesh's ex-PM transferred from prison to hospital
A medical board formed by Bangladesh's government is evaluating the health of opposition leader Khaleda Zia in the hospital where she was admitted this weekend following complaints that her condition was deteriorating rapidly in a prison in the nation's capital, a doctor said Monday. Abdul Jalil Chowdhury, head of the doctors' panel, said the 73-year-old opposition leader is suffering from multiple health problems including arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure, based on her medical record. Zia, a former prime minister and the political archrival of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was sentenced to five years in jail in a corruption trial in February. She was admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, a state-run facility in Dhaka, on Saturday after months of requests to the government for treatment at a private hospital. Her Bangladesh Nationalist Party had rejected previous offers by the government to take her to a military or state hospital, but the ...
Mumbai will come to halt if north Indians stop working: Nirupam
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said Mumbai will come to a standstill and its people will not even get food to eat if the north Indian community in the metropolis decides to stop working, drawing sharp reactions from the Shiv Sena and the Raj Thackeray-led MNS. However, the community should not be forced to take such a step, the Mumbai Congress president warned, without naming any individual or political party. He said the north Indian community had always expressed gratitude towards Mumbai and Maharashtra. "It is the north Indian community which runs the lives of or shoulders the burden of the people of Mumbai," Nirupam said at an event of north Indians here Sunday night. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shatrughan Sinha also attended the event. Nirupam said the members of the north Indian community were supplying milk, newspapers and vegetables to the people of the megapolis, besides providing autorickshaw and taxi services. "If the community decides to stop work for a day, ..
India hopes for U.S. sanctions waiver after cutting Iran oil imports: officials
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India hopes to secure a waiver from U.S. sanctions on Iran before they take effect on Nov. 4, as it had significantly cut Iranian oil imports before the deadline, officials said on Monday.
First round of municipal polls end amid Jammu-Kashmir divide (Third Lead)
Jammu and Kashmir held its first municipal polls in 13 long years on Monday amid a visible Jammu-Kashmir divide, with voters largely boycotting the contest in the Kashmir Valley but taking part with enthusiasm in Jammu and Ladakh regions.
Maha Speaker accepts BJP MLA Deshmukh's resignation
The resignation of BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh has been accepted by Speaker Haribhau Bagde, days after he announced his decision to quit the state legislative assembly over "poor" performance of the Central and state governments headed by his party. Deshmukh, who is a staunch supporter of separate Vidarbha state, had announced that he would switch over to the Congress. In a letter addressed to Election Commission of India (ECI) Monday, the administration of legislative assembly has stated that Deshmukh's resignation has come into effect from October 6. Deshmukh, who represents Katol assembly constituency in Nagpur district in east Maharashtra, had accused the BJP government of ignoring the plight of farmers and youths in the country and indulging in "divisive and vote bank politics". He is the son of former president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee Ranjeet Deshmukh. He had met Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on the sidelines of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) ...
Will examine if AAP govt pilot project at GTB Hospital violates fundamental rights of others: HC
The Delhi High Court on Monday said it will examine whether the AAP government's pilot project at the GTB Hospital to give preferential treatment to city residents was violating the rights to equality and life enjoyed by others under the Constitution. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao said it has noted the Aam Aadmi Party-led government's "difficulties" related to infrastructure, staff and facilities and will consider if these are valid grounds to deny others their rights under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution. With the observations, the court reserved its verdict on an NGO's PIL challenging the Delhi government's pilot project at the GTB Hospital here. During the hearing, the Delhi government's senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra told the court that no individual has so far filed a complaint against its October 1 circular initiating the pilot project at the hospital. Mehra said no one was being denied treatment, access to tests or outpatient (OPD) ...