Page 2808 - Politics
Saffron power to submerge democratic values: Hamid Ansari
Former Vice-President Hamid Ansari on Wednesday said Bharatiya Janata Partys success was "sectoral" and regional rather than at the national level. He said saffron partys ideology "seeks to submerge" the democratic values of diversity and inclusiveness.
'Indo-Russian collaboration vital for stable multilateral global order'
Indo-Russian collaboration is vital for upholding a stable multilateral global order, a former diplomat said on Wednesday ahead of the summit meet between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Chouhan asks EC to act against those making 'false complaints'
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday urged the Election Commission (EC) to take action against those making "false complaints".
No need of alliance in Punjab: Amarinder
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said the Congress Party does not need an alliance in the state and can win the upcoming Lok Sabha polls alone.Speaking to ANI, Amarinder said he has conveyed to the party top brass that Congress is capable of fighting alone in the state and can win all the 13 seats easily.Talking to media persons after a meeting with senior AICC leaders, the Chief Minister said they had discussed party matters, particularly related to the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.On the issue of alliance in Punjab, Captain Amarinder said both he and the Punjab Congress president had told the AICC leaders that they would go on their own and win all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state. As far as a national alliance is concerned, it was up to the party high command to decide, he added, making it clear that the Congress in Punjab did not need any alliance.The Chief Minister told media persons that he had informally taken the views of his cabinet colleagues after ..
Telangana: EC prohibits distribution of sarees on Bhathukamma Festival
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has denied permission to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) government for the distribution of sarees on the occasion of the upcoming Bhathukamma Festival.The ECI has rejected TRS's saree distribution plan, keeping in view the upcoming assembly elections in the state.The Telangana government run by the TRS had started this policy of distributing sarees on Bhathukamma Festival last year when they had distributed more than one crore sarees to women free of cost.Bhathukamma Festival is expected to be celebrated at a grand scale in Telangana on October 17, and the government was planning to distribute the sarees in the festival. For this the caretaker state government had sought permission from the ECI. But with elections in sight in the state, the ECI has not given permission to the government for distribution of sarees on the festival.Dr. Rajat Kumar, CEO, Telangana informed media on Wednesday that ECI in its response said that permission cannot .
Congress compares Bhagwat's comment on Ram temple with frog's cry during rains
The Congress Wednesday compared RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's statement on early construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya with noise made by frogs during rains and accused the RSS-BJP of sending Lord Ram to "exile" after every elections. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the BJP and the RSS were like "Kalyug's Kaikeyi" who remember Lord Ram four months before every election and then send him to exile after it. "During the season of rains and elections, a number of frogs make noise and that every noise does not become a reality. Lord Ram is everywhere and in the country," Surjewala told reporters. "At one time in Satyug, Kaikeyi had got Lord Ram banished to a 14-year exile. In today's Kalyug, 'Kaikeyi BJP and RSS' have sent Lord Ram to exile of 30 years. "After every election, they send Lord Ram to exile and remember him four months before every election. What is the character of BJP and RSS? Ram in their speech and Nathuram in their thought. This is the truth of the BJP.," ..
Iran says Saudi Arabia, Russia violated OPEC deal on output cuts
LONDON (Reuters) - Iran accused Saudi Arabia and Russia on Wednesday of breaking OPEC's agreement on output cuts by producing more crude, adding that the two countries would not be able to produce enough oil to make up for a reduction in Iranian exports.
Lt guv making mockery of Constitution: Pondy Cong MLA tells HC
Former Union minister P Chidambaram Wednesday submitted in the Madras High Court that Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi was making a "mockery" of the Constitution and the Puducherry Union Territory Act and Rules. Chidambaram was making submissions on behalf of Puducherry Congress MLA Lakshminarayanan. Lakshminarayanan has challenged the validity of two clarifications issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last year regarding the powers enjoyed by lieutenant governor of a Union Territory. Lakshminarayanan moved the court assailing the clarifications dated January 27 and June 16 last year. The MHA had in the clarifications made it clear that the lieutenant governor (L-G) of the Union Territory enjoys more power than a governor of a state and can act without the aid and advice of the council of ministers. The ministry also said the L-G can call for files relating to any case and request the chief minister for an update on any doubt or query which may arise. The clarification came ..
Modi govt gave unprecedented relief to farmers by raising rabi crops MSP: Shah
Hailing the hike in the minimum support price of rabi crops as historic, BJP president Amit Shah Wednesday said that it will give unprecedented relief to farmers. Shah also took a dig at the previous governments, saying their schemes would be confined to files and manifestos but the Modi dispensation has been able to execute its schemes on the ground to the last word. This decision of the Modi government will prove decisive in the progress of farmers, Shah said in the party statement. "Farmers' happiness and prosperity have been a priority for the Modi government since the day it assumed power," he said. Shah asserted that the Modi-led government is continuously working to double the farmers' income to make their life easier. "After kharif, the recent increase in the minimum support price of rabi crops will not only ensure better value to the farmers for their crops, but also will bring qualitative improvement in their lives," he said. Terming the decision to raise minimum support ...
US terminates 1955 Treaty of Amity with Iran
The US on Wednesday decided to terminate its 1955 'Treaty of Amity' with Iran, hours after UN's top court ordered the Trump administration to lift sanctions on humanitarian goods for Tehran. Announcing the decision, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that the move was in response to Iran's decision to drag the America to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Iranian nuclear deal. "In light of how Iran groundlessly abused the ICJ as a forum for attacking the United States, I am, therefore, announcing today that the United States is terminating the Treaty of Amity with Iran. "I hope that Iran's leaders will come to recognise that the only way to secure a bright future for its country is by ceasing their campaign of terror and destruction around the world," Pompeo said. Pompeo's announcement follows a ruling by the ICJ, the United Nations' top court, ordering the US to lift sanctions on humanitarian goods to Iran. President Donald Trump in May announced a renewal .
India should continue buying oil from Iran:Tharoor
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor Wednesday said the country should make efforts to continue oil supplies from Iran against the backdrop of US sanctions as Iranian oil is the cheapest it could get. As per the sanctions, any country or company that violates the sactions can itself come under it, he said. The European Union (EU) has come up with a collective position saying they will work out their own arrangements to trade with Iran despite the sanctions and in Euros rather than in dollars, he said. It will be interesting to see how that works and whether there is some way for a country like India, he said. "Because, for us, Iranian oil is the cheapest and easiest oil to get," Tharoor, Chairman of Standing Committee on External Affairs, said. It would be expensive for the country if it ends up buying American oil (stopping supplies from Iran), he said. "I don't want to give you a definitive answer. Because, I am not in the government. I don't know what the government is ...
BJP appoints poll managers ahead of Assembly elections
The BJP on Wednesday appointed three senior Central Ministers as poll managers for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana.
BJP could be behind Ambedkar-Owaisi alliance, says Sena leader
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said Wednesday that "there are allegations" that the BJP engineered the alliance between Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM and Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar's party. AIMIM and Ambedkar's Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh announced a tie-up for next year's elections last month. "There are also allegations that the BJP has stitched up this alliance so that the Congress does not get Dalit and Muslim votes in Maharashtra," Raut told a news channel. He also said that though Prakash Ambedkar is a grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar, past few elections have shown that Prakash Ambedkar does not command much support among people. "The experiment of Dalit-Muslim alliance is not new. But this alliance is against the ideals of Babasaheb (Ambedkar). Dalits will not accept such an alliance only for political gains," the Sena MP claimed. If Ambedkar had ideological differences with the Congress and NCP, he should have allied with the Sena, Raut said.
Shivraj accuses Cong of maligning BJP's image in poll-bound MP
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday accused the Congress of making false charges of fake voters in electoral rolls in the poll-bound state, in a bid to allegedly malign the image of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)."The Congress is making false charges against the Madhya Pradesh government as they want to malign the image of the BJP. Congress' recent allegations of fake voters in electoral rolls are baseless. Such allegations also malign the image of the Election Commission as well as the ruling dispensation in Madhya Pradesh," Chouhan told reporters after meeting the Election Commissioner here regarding the fake voters issue.Singh also demanded strict action against the complainant for spreading lies ahead of elections.With assembly elections expected in his state by the end of this year, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister also urged the Election Commissioner to display polling percentage of both men and women voters at polling booths in every two hour on .
I'm one of PM Modi's bitterest critics: Digvijaya tells Mayawati
Congress senior leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said that he is one of the 'bitterest' critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hours after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief Mayawati accused him of being a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) agent."Please ask her (Mayawati), as far as I am concerned, I had been one of the bitterest critics of Modi ji, Amit Shah ji, BJP and RSS. Rahul Gandhi is our Congress chief, we follow his directions," Singh told ANI.Furthermore, Singh clarified that he was always in favour of an alliance between the BSP and the Congress."I have already made it clear that I respect Mayawati ji and has been in favour of Congress-BSP alliance from the beginning. In Chhattisgarh, there were talks for alliance but she did not go for it. In Madhya Pradesh too there were talks of an alliance, she declared 22 candidates," he said.Earlier in the day, Mayawati announced her decision to go solo in the upcoming Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls this year.Speaking to ...
No saree-distribution in Telangana: EC
The Election Commission on Wednesday shot down a proposal of the caretaker Telangana government to distribute sarees during a festival as the model code is in force in the state. The decision came after state IT Minister K Taraka Rama Rao had recently announced that the state government would distribute 90 lakh sarees of 80 different varieties for the Bathukamma festival. In a letter to the chief electoral officer of Telangana, the EC said it had "not permitted" distribution of sarees during the Bathukamma -- a floral festival that is the state festival of Telangana. The Congress had on Friday asked the commission to restrain caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, his ministers and other functionaries of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) from the proposed distribution of sarees as it was violative of the Model Code of Conduct. Recently, the EC had said that states where assemblies are dissolved prematurely, the model code would come into force immediately. The ...
Ambedkar project cost soaring: Anandraj Ambedkar
The Maharashtra government has reduced the height of the statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at the proposed memorial in Mumbai but the cost of the project is soaring, a Dalit leader alleged Wednesday. The height of Ambedkar's statue at the proposed memorial at Indu Mill Compound was to be 350 feet originally, said Anandraj Ambedkar, leader of Republican Sena. He is member of an advisory committee formed by the government for the memorial. "At a recent meeting, the government informed the committee that the height of the statue would be 250 feet while the pedestal will be 100 feet high," he said. "It is an eye wash. The earlier plan has been changed," he alleged. "The project cost was Rs 450 crore earlier, now it is Rs 750 crore. There is chaos at the governmental level over this project," he said. "I demand inquiry as the project cost is soaring. If the government does not give an explanation, we will launch a protest," he said.
S African finance minister testifies against Zuma over graft
South Africa's finance minister gave damning testimony Wednesday against former president Jacob Zuma, accusing him of pushing policies designed to benefit the wealthy family at the heart of a government corruption scandal. Nhlanhla Nene was sacked by Zuma in 2015 in a move that shocked many South Africans and foreign investors as allegations grew that Zuma and the Gupta family were overseeing rampant state corruption. The Gupta brothers are accused of fraudulently profiting from vast government contracts and energy and transport deals under Zuma, who was ousted earlier this year by the ruling ANC party. Nene was re-appointed as finance minister by the new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who has vowed to crack down on graft and to revive growth in South Africa, the continent's most advanced economy. "I do believe that I was removed from office due to my refusal to toe the line in relation to certain projects," Nene told a judicial inquiry into state corruption. "Those projects may have ...
BSP not to have any alliance with Congress in Raj, MP polls: Mayawati
BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday announced her party will not forge an alliance with the Congress "at any cost" for the upcoming Assembly polls in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, dealing a blow to the opposition's efforts to stitch a united front against the ruling BJP ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Blaming the Congress for what she called its "arrogance" and "stubborn attitude", the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also said even though Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi appeared in favour of an alliance, there were other "senior leaders" who worked to foil any possibility of an understanding. Mayawati alleged the Congress had not mended itself and like the BJP betrayed her party. Apparently stunned by Mayawati's announcement, the Congress hoped the BSP chief reposing her faith in Rahul and Sonia Gandhi will provide it a window of opportunity and "creases will be ironed out" with harmony. "The Congress is under the wrong impression that it can match all the ..
MLA moves notice seeking removal of TN Assembly speaker
Amid reports he might face disqualification proceedings, ruling AIADMK MLA S Karunaas, supporting ousted leader TTV Dhinakaran, has served a notice seeking removal of Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal for allegedly acting in a biased and partisan manner. Karunaas, out on bail after recent arrest on charges of making provocative speech against chief minister K Palaniswami and the police, handed over the notice to Assembly Secretary K Srinivasan, his advocate S Azhagiri told PTI. A film comedian and founder of caste-based outfit 'Mukkulathor Puli Padai', Karunaas sought to invoke Rule 68 of Tamil Nadu Assembly Rules providing for a resolution to be moved for removal of the speaker as laid down under Article 179(C) of the Constitution. The move by the MLA comes amid reports that the ruling AIADMK was considering seeking disqualification of him and three other MLAs supporting AMMK leader Dhinakaran, who has been vowing to oust the Palanaiswami government. According to ..