Page 294 - Politics
Home Minister Amit Shah to pay tributes at National Police Memorial tomorrow
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit the National Police Memorial tomorrow to pay tribute to the policemen who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.The memorial located in New Delhi's Chanakyapuri area is spread over 6.12 acres and has a 30-foot tall heavy black granite central sculpture, a museum and a 'Wall of Valour' bearing the names of policemen who have died while serving the nation since Independence.Earlier on Saturday, the new entrant to the North Block, Shah took charge as Home Minister in the Modi government 2.0.Shortly after taking charge, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with top officials of the ministry, followed by a call on him by Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik.
No language will be imposed on any state, says HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal
After a controversy broke out in Tamil Nadu over the three-language formula, Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Saturday said that no language would be imposed on any state."The committee was formed for drafting New Education Policy. That committee has given its report. The report of the committee is only received by the Ministry. That's not the policy. No language will be imposed on any state," HRD Minister Pokhriyal told ANI."We have received the draft report to take suggestions from the people. Somewhere this misunderstanding has happened. People think that this has become policy," he added."Secondly, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our government have decided that we will respect all Indian languages with full power and develop them. There shouldn't be any controversy over this matter," he said.Earlier today, several political parties had warned the Centre of a language war over 'attempts' to impose Hindi. Leaders cutting across party ...
Javadekar clarifies no decision taken over teaching Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states
In the wake of a controversy over the recommendation of an HRD Ministry panel to teach Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar Saturday clarified that the committee had only prepared a draft report and no decision has been taken on implementing it. He asserted that no language should be imposed on anyone. The draft of the new National Education Policy, proposed by the panel constituted by Javadekar when he was HRD minister in the previous Modi government, had suggested teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states. "The committee has submitted its report. The draft has been prepared but government has not taken any decision. It is just a misunderstanding. We will only take a decision after feedback on the draft has been received," Javadekar told reporters. His reaction came after parties in Tamil Nadu, including the DMK, Saturday strongly opposed the three language formula's continuation with add-on features proposed in the draft National Education Policy
Coalition worries:Kumaraswamy hold talks with Siddaramaiah
Amid talks of cabinet expansion to save the government in Karnataka, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Saturday met the Congress-JD(S) coalition coordination committee chief Siddaramaiah and held discussions. "Both leaders have met on cabinet issue and have held discussions. Whether it is expansion or reshuffle, it may take place only after June 4," official sources said. The Congress in Karnataka over the last couple of days had gone into a huddle to avert a potential existential crisis to the one-year-old coalition ministry, and discussed about the possible cabinet rejig to address the dissent within. Kumaraswamy had also held discussions with congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. Coalition leaders were initially unable to reach consensus on whether to go in for cabinet expansion by filling three vacant posts or reshuffle by asking a few ministers to step down and make way for the disgruntled lawmakers. CLP leader Siddaramaiah, however, had indicated that reshuffle ...
On day one, Amit Shah's focus remains Kashmir
On the first day after assuming charge as Home Minister, Amit Shah's primary focus remained the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Delhi BJP unit organises felicitation ceremony for party workers
Delhi BJP unit on Saturday organised a felicitation ceremony for the party workers after the party swept all seven Lok Sabha constituencies in the national capital in the recently concluded elections.Felicitating the workers on this occasion, BJP Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari said," Due to our workers, we have a government which started taking decisions from the first day itself. Modi government has not only increased scholarships for children but also made provision for the pension to the farmers."Targeting the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal, Tiwari said, "In the same way we have to dislodge the anarchist Kejriwal government. There is BJP at the centre and if we form BJP government in Delhi then all the works will be done smoothly."Terming the BJP workers as the backbone of the party, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijendra Gupta said, "Kejriwal's government has not fulfilled a single promise and voters don't need his government in Delhi anymore."Targeting Delhi Chief .
Proud to follow on footsteps of Sushma Swaraj: S Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in his first official Twitter post, on Saturday said he was "proud to follow on the footsteps" of his predecessor Sushma Swaraj. The 64-year-old former foreign secretary also said he was honoured to be given the new responsibility. "My first tweet. Thank you all for the best wishes! Honoured to be given this responsibility. Proud to follow on the footsteps of @SushmaSwaraj ji," Jaishankar tweeted. In a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi 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. His appointment to the key post is seen as Modi's attempt to add further strategic heft to India's external engagement. "We at Team @MEAIndia continue to be at your service 24x7. ..
Sonia re-elected CPP leader, speaks of 'decisive measures', praises Rahul Gandhi's leadership
As Congress MPs re-elected her the leader of parliamentary party (CPP), Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said several "decisive measures" were being mulled to strengthen the organisation and lauded Congress president Rahul Gandhi's "fearless leadership". Former prime minister Manmohan Singh proposed Sonia Gandhi's name which was unanimously approved by all the MPs at a CPP meeting held here in the shadow of leadership crisis after Rahul Gandhi announced his decision to quit as Congress president. Meeting the newly-elected MPs for the first time, Rahul Gandhi made it clear that the Congress was ready for a fightback and exhorted them to work like "a pride of brave-hearted lions" to protect the country's Constitution and institutions. The Congress has been on shaky ground after its second successive defeat in Lok Sabha polls. It has 52 members in the 253-member Lok Sabha. There will be no walkover for the BJP. The MPs have to be to be a "little more aggressive and they may have to shout a ...
Congress MLA sits on hunger strike against his own government in Rajasthan
Congress MLA and former Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Meena began an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday protesting against his own government in Rajasthan for the death of a tractor driver who was allegedly beaten up by policemen in Tonk district on Wednesday.
US envoy to visit Afghanistan this week to facilitate peace process
The US State Department on Saturday said that Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, will travel to Afghanistan this week to facilitate the Afghan peace process with an aim to end the 18-years long war in the country.State Department, in a statement, said, "Khalilzad will travel to Afghanistan, Belgium, Germany, Pakistan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates from May 31 to June 16, as part of an overall effort to facilitate a peace process that ends the conflict in Afghanistan.""In Kabul, Special Representative Khalilzad will consult with the Afghan government and other Afghans, including representatives of civil society and women's rights groups, to encourage all parties to work towards intra-Afghan negotiations that lead to a final peace settlement," the statement added.Meanwhile, in Brussels, Berlin, Islamabad, and Abu Dhabi, the envoy will "work to build international support for the Afghan peace process and endeavour to ensure ...
Congress faces situation similar to British Raj: Rahul
Congress President Rahul Gandhi told party MPs on Saturday that the situation faced by the party workers was similar to that in the British period when it had no institutional support but it fought and won and is going to do so again.
RSS 'agenda', Sabarimala affected LS performance in Kerala: CPI-M
After three days of intense debate by various party committees, Kerala's ruling CPI-M on Saturday said it has identified the RSS "agenda" and the Sabarimala issue as the cause of its dismal performance in the state in the Lok Sabha polls and it will work to win back the people's confidence.
CBI searches at TDP MP's residence, offices
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday conducted simultaneous searches at the residence and offices of former Union Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Y.S. Chowdary here.
EC terms reports of 'ghost voters' in recent polls incorrect
The Election Commission Saturday described the reports about "ghost voters" in the Lok Sabha polls as incorrect, saying the claims were based on provisional turnout data uploaded on its website. "The provisional voter turnout data reported on ECI website is only the tentative number of voters and not the final numbers. Therefore, it is incorrect inference to find ghost voters when there are none," according to a statement issued by the Commission. The poll panel reacted days after a section of the media reported that there was discrepancy in the total turnout and the actual number of electors in some states. Responding to the reports, the EC said two categories of votes are counted to arrive at the final result -- those polled in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and those that are collected through postal ballots from service voters and also from the personnel deployed for poll duties outside their constituencies. "The provisional voter turnout data is displayed as percentage figure .
It's thumbs up for 'dhoti' in Secretariat, says TN Government
The Tamil Nadu government Saturday made it clear that its men employees can wear dhoti reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress and at the same time wanted them to avoid casual attire. Days after the government asked its Secretariat employees to avoid casual clothes and wear neat, clean, formal attire, the government has now clarified that traditional dress like veshti (dhoti) is always permissible for its staff. Through a Government Order (GO) dated May 28, 2019, the government had amended the "Tamil Nadu Secretariat Office Manual," mandating the dress code. A revised GO issued today (1 June) by Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan said: "Government servants are required to wear neat, clean, formal attire that is appropriate to the work place setting, so as to maintain the decorum of the office, while in duty, like saree or salwar kameez or churidhar with dupatta in the case of female government servants... ...and shirts with formal pants or veshti ...
Row breaks out over Hindi in TN, Centre steps in to allay fears
A huge controversy broke out in Tamil Nadu on Saturday over the three language formula with political parties warning of a language war over "attempts" to impose Hindi even as the Centre stepped in to say that there was no intention to impose any language on anyone.Leaders cutting across party lines in the state said the state has a history on the language issue and would not tolerate any imposition.DMK president MK Stalin said that the BJP government at the Centre should not even think in their dreams about the three language policy and warned that such "greedy" things will cause them disaster."The BJP government should not even think about the three-language policy in Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, having a two-language policy is like honeycomb and BJP is trying to throw a stone at it by inflicting a three-language policy again. BJP should not even think about it in their dreams. Such greedy and wrong thing will cause them disaster," he said.The comments came in the wake of the draft ...
Pawar dismisses NCP-Congress merger rumours
NCP president Sharad Pawar Saturday dismissed speculation that his party was likely to merge with the Congress. Speaking at a party meeting here, Pawar also touched on the issue of alleged Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering, saying he had doubts about the technology from early on. The meeting was held Saturday to discuss the Lok Sabha results and review preparations for the Maharashtra Assembly polls. The NCP has its own identity and it will maintain it. Speculation about merger with the Congress was a rumour spread by some journalists who wanted that "we should not stay together with our allies", Pawar said. The speculation about a possible merger had begun after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi met Pawar in Delhi after the Lok Sabha results. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president further said that political leaders, the media as well as political analysts thought that the government at the Centre will change after the the Lok Sabha elections. "But what happened was exactly
Joshi seeks oppn cooperation in smooth conduct of LS session
Seekingoppositions cooperation in the smooth conduct of the upcoming Lok Sabha session, newly appointed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi Saturday said the government was ready for discussion on any issue. The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha will be held from June 17 to July 26, with the regular budget to be presented on July 5. "I request all the opposition parties, people have given unprecedented mandate in favour of Narendra Modi and the BJP. For five years lets successfully conduct the sessions and discuss on issues. The government is ready for discussion on any issue," Joshi said. Speaking to reporters on his visit to the city after taking over as minister, he said it is common belief that in the Lok Sabha there should be debates, discussions and not disruptions. "So following the peoples mandate lets all work together- is our request to all the opposition parties. In the days to come we will call a meeting in this regard, so I seek their ...
New Def Minister Rajnath asks service chiefs to prepare presentation on security challenges
Soon after taking charge as Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh Saturday asked the chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force to prepare separate presentations on the security challenges facing the country as well as overall functioning of their forces. Singh held a meeting with Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa and newly-appointed Navy Chief Karambir Singh at the headquarters of the defence ministry in the Raisina Hills and discussed several issues with them, officials said. Minister of State for Defence Shripad Yesso Naik, Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra, Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary (Defence Production) Ajay Kumar and several other senior officials were also present at the meeting. A defence ministry spokesperson said Singh instructed the officers to prepare detailed presentations on all divisions of the ministry and set time-bound targets to achieve the desired outcome. Officials said the
Gehlot rejects resignation of Agriculture minister Lalchand Kataria
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has rejected the resignation of state agriculture minister Lalchand Kataria, who had offered to quit following the poor results of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha polls in the state. Gehlot said Kataria had made his mind to resign after the party's defeat in the elections but he was convinced that the Congress did not face the rout in his area alone. "I told him that there is no need to resign. The Congress party faced defeat on most of the seats in the country," he told reporters in Bhilwara. Kataria had met Gehlot at the latter's residence Friday evening and reiterated his desire to resign, but the chief minister rejected it, sources said. "The CM rejected the resignation and asked him to continue and play role in delivering good governance," a chief minister's office source said. On Sunday last, the minister had announced his desire to resign and a purported resignation letter was circulated on social media. However, the chief minister's ...