Page 2820 - Politics
Feel humbled to share birthday with Mahatma Gandhi: Israeli diplomat at Rajghat
Israeli diplomat Noa Hakim, who paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 149th birth anniversary at Rajghat Tuesday, said the occasion made her feel extra special as October 2 also happens to be her birthday. "It is my second visit to Rajghat. I had come here accompanying our Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he came here during his India visit early this year. But, I feel honoured and humbled that I share my birthday with such a revered man," Hakim told PTI. She was among the several foreign dignitaries who paid homage to Gandhi at his memorial at Rajghat. When asked what comes to her mind when she thinks of Gandhi, the first secretary at the Israeli Embassy here said, "Peace and a sense of tranquillity". "The Rajghat itself is so solemn in its appeal and so serene with its overall verdant surrounding. His life was simple yet profound," the diplomat said. At the sprawling Rajghat, Hakim before leaving offered rose petals on the 'samadhi' of the Mahatma, who was assassinated on ...
BJP govt following divisive agenda, alleges Kanhaiya Kumar
All India Students' Federation leader Kanhaiya Kumar launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government Tuesday, alleging that it was following a "divisive" agenda. The former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president also alleged that a "corporate loot" was taking place in the country. "The present government is a government of corporate loot. It is our primary responsibility to remove it. We are forming a united front for it," he said, without elaborating. Kumar said no decision had been taken on his contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "Whenever this question is asked, I reply that this is not decided yet," he said at a "Meet the Press" event organised by the Hyderabad Union of Journalists (HUJ) here. Kumar claimed that the common people of Begusarai in Bihar wanted him to contest the parliamentary polls, but neither his party CPI nor its allies had announced him as a candidate, nor was there any direct talk with him on the ...
Yasin Malik detained
Separatist leader Yasin Malik was taken into preventive custody by police on Tuesday from his office at Abi Guzar in the city, officials said. They did not cite the reason for Malik's detention but the JKLF claimed the action was taken due to the urban local bodies polls which are beginning on October 8. Separatists including Malik have called for a boycott of these elections. In a statement issued by Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Malik said in a democracy people are given space to expresses their views and participation in or boycotting elections is also a democratic right.
Bedi, AIADMK MLA in spat at govt function
Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi and an AIADMK MLA were locked in a war of words Tuesday after the legislator was asked to cut short his speech as he 'exceeded' the time allotted at a government function. Bedi accused A.Anbalagan of being rude and claimed she had witnessed similar 'misbehaviour' by him in the past, while the MLA, who left the venue in a huff, met Assembly Speaker V Vaithilingam and drew his attention to the incident. "He went on and on beyond reasonable time when there was long programme to follow... rejected the request to stop and continued to be rude," Bedi charged in a WhatsApp message. Talking to reporters, the MLA claimed he had been insulted and slammed Bedi, asking "is the Lt Governor a Princess in Puducherry?" The incident occurred in the presence of a couple of ministers during the government function to declare Puducherry open defecation free with Bedi as the chief guest. The Lt Governor later made the declaration and distributed certificates .
One can't use United Nations as political platform: Tharoor on Swaraj's speech
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Tuesday hit back at the BJP for criticising him for describing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's UN address as a "campaign" speech, saying one cannot hide behind the national flag and use the United Nations as a political platform. Tharoor also said he felt a "bit rich" to be criticised by the BJP and claimed that Swaraj had mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi 10 times in her speech and spoke about India only five times. Questioning whether Swaraj's address was a UN speech or BJP slogans, he said she devoted the first half of her speech mentioning Modi's vision for a "New India" and discussing programmes as the Swachh Bharat Mission. "Bit rich to be criticised by the BJP for describing Sushma Swaraj's speech as a campaign speech. She mentioned Narendra Modi 10 times during her address and spoke about/on behalf of India only five times. If you use the UN as a political platform you can't hide behind the flag," Tharoor said on Twitter. "Most of .
Punjab seeks raise in moisture content limit in paddy
The Punjab government has urged the central procurement agency FCI to raise the permissible limit of moisture content for paddy procurement in the wake of recent rains. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Tuesday said he had requested the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to consider increasing the accepted moisture level for paddy procurement in view of the impact of the recent heavy rains on the crop. He was replying to a question on the sidelines of the Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojna (MGSVY) mega camp here, according to an official release. Notably, the norm for the maximum permissible moisture content in paddy is 17 per cent. Beyond it, the procurement agencies can refuse purchasing crop. With paddy procurement commencing on October 1, the moisture content in fresh arrivals of paddy at some areas was around 20 per cent which was beyond the permissible limit. However, the arrivals are low in grain markets as last month rains had delayed harvesting in the state. Meanwhile, the ...
Police fire tear gas, water cannon to break up farmers' protest
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Police on Tuesday fired teargas and water cannons to halt and scatter a march by thousands of protesting farmers heading for the capital New Delhi to demand better prices for their produce.
RNI cancels registration of CPI(M) mouthpiece in Tripura
The registration of 'Daily Desher Katha', a mouthpiece of the Tripura CPI(M), has been cancelled over an "ownership dispute", triggering angry reactions from the party's senior leaders. In a letter on Monday, the Registrar of Newspapers in India (RNI) said the publication was being suspended based on a verdict passed by the district magistrate of West Tripura, Sandeep Mahatme. It cited "unauthorised change of ownership" as reason for the cancellation of the Bengali Daily's registration. Shyamal Debnath, a resident of the West Tripura, had filed a case against the paper earlier this year. Talking to the press here Tuesday, CPI (M) central committee member Gautam Das said the move by RNI was "totally illegal, politically motivated and anti-democratic". Das, who had served as the editor of the newspaper for over 40 years, said, "The CPI (M) had a weekly newspaper titled 'Desher Katha' in the sixties and seventies. It was upgraded to a daily in 1979 following all ...
Gujarat Congress launches 'Jan Sampark Abhiyan'
The Gujarat unit of Congress launched Tuesday a state-wide 'Jan Sampark Abhiyan' (public outreach campaign) to mobilise support and collect donations from people. The opposition party kicked off the 45-day-long campaign after paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 149th birth anniversary. State Congress chief Amit Chavda launched the campaign in Ahmedabad, while Leader of Opposition in Assembly Paresh Dhanani launched it in Rajkot, party spokesperson Manish Doshi said. Chavda met members of the business community and residents at Ghee Kantha locality. The party distributed pamphlets which hit out at the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre over inflation, lack of jobs, alleged groundnut procurement scam in Gujarat and the Rafale deal controversy, among other issues. The Congress-led UPA government had introduced farm loan waiver, right to education, right to information and Rural Health Mission among other welfare measures, the pamphlets said. The party members .
Rahul slams Modi for "betraying" people
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "betraying the people by making false promises" ahead of the 2014 general elections.
Odisha CM dubs Centre empty vessel making loudest noise
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday dubbed the BJP-led government at the Centre as an "empty vessel that makes the loudest noise" vis-a-vis the promises made to the state.
Taiwan vice president will visit Vatican to 'deepen ties'
Taiwan's vice president will visit the Vatican to "deepen ties" after the island's only official ally in Europe made a historic deal with Beijing, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The announcement comes less than two weeks after the landmark agreement between China and the Holy See on the appointment of bishops, which paved the way for a rapprochement between the Vatican and the communist country. That raised questions over the future of official ties between Taiwan and the Vatican as China makes a concerted effort to poach the island's dwindling number of diplomatic allies. China sees self-ruling democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified and demands its allies forfeit recognition of the island. The Vatican currently officially recognises Taipei, not Beijing. Vice president Chen Chien-jen will visit the Vatican on October 14 to attend the canonisation of Pope John Paul VI, the foreign ministry said. The visit will include a private audience with Pope Francis and ...
US pastor's lawyer to lodge appeal at top Turkey court
A lawyer for the US pastor whose detention in Turkey sparked a crisis with Washington will appeal Wednesday to the constitutional court for his release. The move comes ahead of an October 12 hearing in the Andrew Brunson case and amid growing expectations he will be allowed to return home. Since July, Brunson has been under house arrest at his home in the western city of Izmir. Previously, he had been held in jail after being detained in October 2016. His lawyer, Cem Halavurt, told AFP they would lodge the appeal in Ankara at 0700 GMT Wednesday. Brunson, an evangelical who runs a small evangelical Protestant church in Izmir, is the centre of a bitter standoff between the Turkey and the United States. Washington imposed sanctions on Turkey over the summer and Ankara imposed sanctions of its own, leading to an escalation that prompted a crash in value of the Turkish lira. The Turkish authorities detained Brunson on allegations of assisting groups branded as terrorist, part of a ...
Maha NCP holds silent protest on Gandhi birth anniversary
Accusing the BJP-led Central and Maharashtra governments of pushing the country backward, NCP leaders Tuesday marked the 149th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi by holding a silent protest in Mumbai. Accusing the BJP of putting the country in a precarious position economically and spreading hatred among communities, the NCP stressed that India can be taken forward only through the Mahatma's path of truth. Senior NCP leaders, including Maharashtra NCP unit chief Jayant Patil, former ministers Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal and Mumbai NCP head Sachin Ahir observed silence near Gandhi's statue, located close to state secretariat here. They covered their mouths with black cloth, as a mark of protest. "Both the Central and state governments have failed miserably in handling issues concerning the common people," Patil told reporters here. He hit out at the governments over various issues including Rafale deal, fuel price rise, fall in Rupee's value against the US dollar, "poor"
Modi government barbaric, farmers can't even express plight: Congress
The Congress on Tuesday dubbed the Modi government "arrogant and barbaric" over the police crackdown on protesting farmers on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border even as party President Rahul Gandhi flayed it for not accepting their loan waiver demand.
Sri Lankan journalists hold protest, demand release of Bangladeshi photojournalist
A group of Sri Lankan journalists on Tuesday held protest here, demanding release of prominent photojournalist Shahidul Alam, who was arrested in Bangladesh for allegedly giving an interview with Al-Jazeera against the Hasina government's crackdown on student protests. Alam, 63, was arrested in August in Dhaka, hours after his interview with Al-Jazeera regarding students' protests. He had also been sharing photos of the protests on his Facebook profile and discussing them through Facebook Live. His arrest has caused international outrage. A group of Sri Lankan journalists on Tuesday demonstrated outside the Bangladesh High Commission here, demanding his release. Alam is charged with "spreading propaganda and false information against the government", after posting videos on Facebook and being interviewed by Al-Jazeera about the government's crackdown on protests.
Oppn slams Govt over police action against farmers; Cong says 'Badshah' drunk with power
Opposition parties on Tuesday put the blame on the Modi government for what they described as "brutal police action" against thousands of farmers marching towards the national capital, with the Congress alleging that the "Badshah of Delhi Sultanate was drunk with power". The parties accused the central government of being 'anti-farmer' and demanded allowing the protesters to enter Delhi to peacefully air their grievances, even as the government went into a huddle to mull over ways to convince the farmers to call off their protest. Farmers stayed put on the Delhi-UP border in Ghaziabad and other places, where they were stopped by the police including with the use of water cannons and tear-gas shells. Some reports suggested use of lathi-charge as well. The protest call has been given by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) over demands ranging from farm loan waiver to cut in fuel prices. The farmers, riding tractors and trolleys, broke barricades of the UP Police and then started proceeding .
BJP using Gandhi ji for political benefit: Congress
The Congress party on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of misusing Mahatma Gandhi for political benefit.Randeep Surjewala, the national spokesperson of the Congress Party, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government thrives on the ideology of hatred and communalism."The Modi Government never respected Gandhi ji, today they are misusing him for political benefit. The Modi Government believes in spreading hatred and fear in the society," he said while addressing a press conference in Wardha.Senior leaders of the party also reiterated a similar sentiment and accused the BJP of using Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, for electoral gain."This is nothing new, we always respected Gandhi, and believed him as one of our own since Independence, for BJP, this is an opportunity. The central government has turned deaf; they don't want to listen to the farmers, how can they respect Gandhi?" Senior leader Ambika Soni said when asked about the BJP's allegations that ...
Farmers, Centre reached consensus on most demands: MoS Agriculture
In the wake of the ongoing Kisan Kranti Padyatra here, the Centre has agreed to majority of the demands raised by the agitating farmers.Speaking to the media, Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said a consensus was arrived atafter a meeting between the protesting farmers and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. "Home Minister Rajnath Singh met the farmers' leaders and discussed their demands. They have reached an agreement on majority of the issues. Farmers' leaders, Uttar Pradesh ministers Laxmi Narayan ji, Suresh Rana ji and I will go to meet farmers now," said Shekhawat.However, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Yudhvir Singh, in an interview to ANI, said that the Centre has not cleared its stand on the main issue of the farmers - C2+50, a comprehensive formula for calculating minimum support price (MSP) for agricultural produce, over and above the cost of production."We had a discussion on 11 points. The government agreed on seven points, but ...
NIA raids house in Srinagar
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided the house of a man identified as Aziz Ahmad Hakak in Nowhatta, located in old Srinagar city on Tuesday morning.Information about Hakak's background is awaited. There is no information about the reason behind NIA raiding his house. It is still to be ascertained whether NIA seized any incriminating material from his house.Similar raids, however, have been conducted by NIA in the recent past in connection with terror-funding. On September 7, the house of Zameer Thakur, personal assistant to arrested separatist leader Shabir Shah, was raided. The raid was stated to be in connection with terror funding.NIA started visiting Srinagar since May to investigate alleged funding by Pakistan for illegal activities in the Valley. NIA officials apparently also questioned several separatist leaders on the issue of raising, collecting and transferring funds through hawala route and other channels to fund terror activities in Kashmir.Several arrests and ...