Page 295 - Politics
Puducherry LG, Governors of Nagaland, J-K meet PM Modi
Two days after taking charge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and Governors of Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir.Among those who called on the Prime Minister were -- J & K Governor Satya Pal Malik and Nagaland Governor Padmanabha Acharya, besides Bedi.On Friday, Governor of Andhra Pradesh -- ESL Narasimhan, Governor of Kerela -- P Sathasivam, Governor of Odisha -- Professor Ganeshi Lal, Governor of Jharkhand -- Draupadi Murmu, Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands - Admiral (retd.) D K Joshi, and Governor of Maharashtra -- Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao had met the Prime Minister.Capping a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections, Modi, took oath as the Prime Minister for a second consecutive term in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.Riding high on the planks of muscular nationalism and anti-Congressism, BJP, which had won 282 seats in 2014, improved its tally by notching up 303 seats.Along with ...
New MoS Home stirs row, Shah pulls him up
New Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy courted controversy on the first day in office as he called Hyderabad a "safe terror zone" inviting strong objection from Hyderabad MP All India Majlis-e Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
Kiran Bedi meets PM, Home Minister
Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi Saturday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and greeted him on his assuming office for a second consecutive term. "With a 'Man of Destiny' who is steering the destiny of Bharat/ India. @PMOIndia @narendramodi," Bedi tweeted. The former IPS officer who completed three yearsas Lt Governor of the union territory on May 29, also met the new Home Minister Amit Shah in the capital today. Raj Nivas sources here said Bedi discussed "challenges before the union territory of Puducherry with Shah. Priority being the need to ensure grass root level democracy by holding panchayat elections." Civic polls have not been held for nearly ten years here "despite the directions of the Supreme Court," the sources said.
Gehlot congratulates Sonia Gandhi on being elected as leader of Congress Parliamentary Party
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Saturday congratulated Sonia Gandhi on being elected as the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP). "Under your leadership, the Congress will defend people's interests in most efficient and strongest manner in parliament and will be a responsible opposition to strengthen our democracy and safeguard our Constitution," he said. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi Saturday said several "decisive measures" were being mulled to strengthen the party after being re-elected as the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) at a meeting of party MPs at the Central Hall of Parliament. The meeting was attended by the party's 52 newly elected Lok Sabha MPs and Rajya Sabha members, besides members of the Congress Working Committee and other senior leaders. Gandhi, who represents Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli in Lok Sabha, is the chairperson of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Sources said the Congress Parliamentary Party authorised ...
US suspends funding for Iran Twitter account that trolled critics
The State Department is suspending funding for a taxpayer-funded Twitter account on Iran that sharply attacked critics of President Donald Trump's hawkish policy, an official said Saturday. The Iran Disinformation Project was set up late last year with a stated mission to expose the "nefarious influence" of the clerical regime in Tehran, including by tackling its "social media manipulation." The account, in English, Farsi and occasionally Arabic, is funded by the State Department's Global Engagement Center, which is in charge of countering foreign propaganda. To its modest number of Twitter followers, which stood at just over 2,700 on Saturday, @IranDisinfo offers a narrative in line with the Trump administration, highlighting human rights concerns in Iran, attacking its leaders across the spectrum and using the hashtag #40YearsOfFailure to describe the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the pro-US shah. But some of the many US-based critics of the Trump ...
Nagaland CM promises support to Modi
Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Saturday promised the state's full support and cooperation in achieving common goals of nation building and improving the welfare of citizens.
Govt will draw a roadmap for development of Moran community:
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Saturday said the state government will draw a broad roadmap for social, economic, educational and spiritual development of the people belonging to the Moran community. He said the community has the potential of becoming a national asset and called upon all the organizations representing the aims and aspirations of the Moran community to formulate a comprehensive action plan for development of the community in the fields of sports, culture and education. Sonowal was speaking as chief guest at the 19th biennial conference of Asom Moran Sabha and 9th biennial conference of Moran Jatiya Mohila Parishad in Tinsukia district. He said the Assam government is committed to bring about all round development of the people belonging to Moran community. The chief minister said the long standing demand of the Moran community to bring them within the ambit of ST status is in the priority list of the Centre and the state government would extend .
US heads to new talks with Taliban
The US envoy negotiating with the Taliban will hold new talks this month with the insurgents in Qatar, the State Department said Saturday, as momentum builds for a deal to end America's longest war. Zalmay Khalilzad, a veteran US policymaker who is leading President Donald Trump's push to broker a peace deal with the Taliban, left Friday on a 17-day trip that will also take him to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Germany, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates, the State Department said. In Doha, he will resume talks with the Taliban after a break of around a month "to move the peace process forward," the State Department said in a statement. Khalilzad has already met six times with the Taliban in recent months as he looks to seal a deal under which the United States will pull out troops who were first deployed following the September 11, 2001 attacks. The United States and the Taliban are believed to have largely agreed on the key demand of Washington from 2001 and again now -- that the Taliban .
BJP's trouble in MP: Problem of plenty in LS, and a dilemma in Assembly
The BJP is facing a Hamletian dilemma over its MP-elect from Ratlam, G.S. Damor. The former officer in the state government is an MLA from Jhabua constituency. He has less than a week to inform the Vidhan Sabha secretariat whether he wishes to continue as MLA or would accept his newly-earned Lok Sabha seat. In either case a by-election looms large on the state.
Congress won't stake claim for LoP in Lok Sabha
The Congress on Saturday said that it will not formally stake claim for the post of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha as it is two seats short of the required number of 54.
PM to offer prayers at Tirupati on June 9
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Andhra Pradesh on June 9 and offer prayers at Lord Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala.
Such greedy, wrong thing will cause them a disaster: Stalin on draft education policy
DMK president MK Stalin on Saturday said that the BJP government at the Centre should not even think in dream about the three language policy and warned that such "greedy" things will cause them disaster.A controversy broke out in Tamil Nadu on Saturday over the new Draft Education Policy of the government at the Centre that has recommended a three language formula with political parties opposing "imposition" of Hindi in the state."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," Stalin said.His comment comes in the wake of the draft education policy prepared by the Kasturirangan Committee, released yesterday, which spoke of continuation of the three language formula in the schools.In the ...
Rijiju praises Rathore, says will work to fulfil Modi's vision
Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday lavished praise on his predecessor and former Union sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, saying he had inspired millions, and that they will work together and fulfil the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Defense chief calls out China on tech theft, South China Sea
US Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Saturday denounced China's efforts to steal technology from other nations and militarise man-made outposts in the South China Sea as a "toolkit of coercion," saying activities by Beijing the US perceives as hostile must end. In his first major speech on the international stage, Shanahan mixed sharp criticism of China and warnings of North Korea's "extraordinary" threat with vows that the US will remain strongly committed to the Indo-Pacific region and is ready to invest billions of dollars in securing its stability. While he didn't specifically name China in early parts of his speech, he made clear who his target was, making pointed references to Beijing's campaign to put advanced weapons systems on disputed islands in the region. "If these trends in these behaviours continue, artificial features in the global commons could become tollbooths. Sovereignty could become the purview of the powerful," he said. His remarks underscore America's
CM suggests levy of 'green tax' to generate additional revenue
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy Saturday directed bureaucrats concerned to come up with proposals to increase the state revenue without imposing extra burden on common people. Reddy also asked officials to prepare a report listing the current financial position and why special status is needed for the state. He suggested levy of a "green tax" and also "garbage tax" as a way to secure additional revenue to the government. Three days into office, the new chief minister began preliminary review of government departments here Saturday, beginning with the critical Finance and Revenue. According to a YSR Congress party release, Reddy asked officials to come up with creative ideas on how to set right the state's "wrecked financial system." "At the same time, ensure no extra burden is imposed on common people," the release quoted the Chief Minister as saying. Explaining his governments resolve to enforce liquor prohibition in the state in a phased manner, Reddy
US envoy for Afghanistan on 2-week peace mission
The US envoy for Afghanistan is travelling to Afghanistan and also Belgium, Germany, Pakistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over the next two weeks as part of an effort to help end the long-running war. In Kabul, the State Department says Zalmay Khalilzad will consult with the Afghan government and other Afghans. He also will continue talks with the Taliban in Doha, where the insurgent movement maintains a political office. The Taliban refuse to negotiate directly with the Kabul government. At his other stops, Khalilzad will work to build international support for the Afghan peace process. The talks so far have focused on a timetable for US troop withdrawal as well as Taliban guarantees that they won't harbor terrorist groups or allow Afghanistan to be used as a staging ground for global terror attacks.
No Cong LS poll candidate from Delhi attends meeting to examine reasons for poll debacle
None of the Congress' seven Lok Sabha election candidates from the national capital attended the Saturday meeting of a party committee on examining the poll debacle in Delhi. The meeting of the Delhi Congress' probe committee was attended by some leaders, including two district presidents of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency, but no MP candidate from the party was available as many of them are out of the city, committee member Yoganand Shastri said. The panel, which was formed by the party's Delhi president Sheila Dikshit last Monday to look into the reasons behind its poor performance in the general elections, had met last week. The five-member committee will submit its report to the Dikshit in 10 days. Besides Dikshit, who contested from North East Delhi, Rajesh Lilothia and Vijender Singh, Congress candidates from North West Delhi and South Delhi, respectively, have appeared before the committee so far. All the seven Congress candidates, including Dikshit lost the Lok Sabha
Amidst concerns over vote mismatch, ECI says its data tentative
Amidst concerns over vote count mismatch in the Lok Sabha elections, Election Commission (EC) on Saturday said that the voter turnout data is tentative and not final."The provisional voter turnout data reported on the ECI website is only the tentative number of voters and not the final nos. Therefore it is an incorrect inference to find ghost voters when there are none," the EC in a press note said.The commission said that the reconciliation of voters' data for all parliamentary constituencies across India have been completed and will be made available.Citing a new report, the Congress on Friday sought the commission's explanation over alleged vote count mismatch in over 370 constituencies."Elections are the one chance the people have to hold governments accountable, people should have confidence in the system. There has been a consistent mismatch between the number of votes cast and the EVM vote count, the EC must explain these discrepancies," a tweet from Congress' official handle ..
Haryana CM hails PM Modi for pension scheme to farmers, traders
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Cabinet for taking historic decisions at its first meeting in New Delhi last evening."The pro-poor decisions benefiting poor farmers and traders reflect the earnestness of the BJP-led NDA government to fulfill the promises made to the people," he said on Saturday.In a statement issued here, the Chief Minister said: "The extension of the PM-KISAN scheme to all farmer families, irrespective of size of land holdings, introduction of a pension scheme for our industrious farmers who toil day and night to keep our nation fed as well as small shopkeepers, retail traders, and the self-employed people, and increase in the amount to be paid as part of the Prime Ministers Scholarship Scheme under the National Defence Fund, speak volumes about the earnestness of the BJP-led NDA government to fulfill the promises made to the people.""These decisions were taken at the very first meeting of the Union Cabinet ...
J&K Governor briefs Shah about state's situation
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik called on new Union Home Minister Amit Shah here on Saturday and briefed him about the current situation in the state.