Page 296 - Politics

Andhra, Telangana Chief Ministers meet Governor

The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Saturday met E.S.L. Narasimhan, Governor of both the states, and discussed inter-state issues.

Home Minister Shah holds meeting with joint secretaries

Shortly after taking charge, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with top officials of the ministry and followed by a call on him by Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik when issues relating to Jammu and Kashmir came up.Malik said it was a courtesy call during which he briefed Shah on the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir and on the ensuing Amarnath Yatra.Lt Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi also met Shah.Kashmir is expected to be a focus area for Shah in view of the promises made in the BJP manifesto like abrogation of Art 370 and Art 35A of the Constitution.The Centre's muscular anti-terror policy pursued in Kashmir is likely to be continued under the new government.Another prime area of focus would be to revitalize the security establishment to ensure that Pulwama like terrorist attacks, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, do not recur.The task is cut for Shah to take care of other issues as well including Maoist violence, NRC and Article 370 in Kashmir.

I briefed Amit Shah on prevailing situation in J-K: Satya Pal Malik

After Amit Shah assumed the charge as Union Home Minister on Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik gave a small briefing to Shah on the prevailing situation in J-K.Malik met Shah at Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) here today."I briefed him about the ground situation and also told him what the people think. I briefed him about the development work," said Satya Pal Malik.He denied having any talks regarding the State Assembly elections in J & K saying it is a subject related to the Election Commission of India (ECI)."Election is not my subject, the election will take place when Election Commission will decide about it," said Malik."We are prepared for the Amarnath Yatra, with people's support, it will be successful as last year," he said.Amit Shah on Saturday took charge as Home Minister in the Modi government. He will have to address issues like scrapping the special status of Kashmir under Article 370 of the constitution, an issue dear to the party and the Sangh ...

Uddhav, MPs visit Ekvira temple near Mumbai

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackray, along with his winning candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, offered prayers at Ekvira temple in Lonavla near Mumbai in Maharashtra on Saturday.Shiv Sena won 18 out of the 23 seats it contested in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. Sena ally Bharatiya Janata Party bagged 23 out of total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant has been inducted in the Cabinet. He has been given Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises portfolio.

Bihar cabinet expansion tomorrow, 4 ministers to take oath

The Bihar cabinet will be expanded on Sunday with four new ministers set to take the oath of office.Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Governor Lalji Tandon here earlier in the day.The JD(U) on Thursday decided to not be a part of Narendra Modi's new cabinet, saying it would not accept the BJP's offer of only one ministerial berth."They (BJP) wanted only one person from JD(U) in the cabinet, so it would have been just symbolic participation. We informed them that we do not need it (Cabinet berth)," Kumar had said.The JD(U) chief, who later attended Modi's swearing-in ceremony, said, "It is not a big issue. We are fully in the NDA and not upset at all. We are working together. There is no confusion."In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, JD(U) won 16 seats in Bihar, while BJP bagged 17.Despite being a part of the NDA, the party was also not part of the last central government.The BJP, however, is sharing power in the Bihar government with its leader Sushil Kumar Modi as the Deputy

Bengal govt appoints administrator for Naihati Municipality

The West Bengal government has appointed an administrator to run the Naihati Municipality in North 24 Parganas District, officials said on Saturday. The state's Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim said the administrator has been appointed to oversee affairs of the civic body. Twenty-nine out of 31 councillors of the municipality had recently joined the BJP. On Friday, 18 of them submitted a letter to the Naihati Municipality Board, seeking a meeting to deliberate on a no-confidence motion against Chairman Ashok Chatterjee. "We hope that the appointment of the administrator will help restore normalcy in the civic body," a senior official at the Urban Development Department said. A number of councillors of the Bhatpara, Halisahar and Kanchrapara municipalities have also defected to the BJP. "We are yet to take a decision on these three municipalities. We are working on it," the official added. Meanwhile, the BJP accused the Trinamool Congress of ...

How Trump's Mexico threat imperils his own economic agenda

President Donald Trump's vow to impose new tariffs on Mexican imports risks sabotaging not just his drive to forge more favourable trade deals but also a U.S. economy that he says has strengthened under his watch. Trump announced Thursday that he would impose a 5 per cent tax on all Mexican imports on June 10 and raise it to 25 per cent by October 1 unless Mexico stopped a surge of Central American migrants into the U.S. That would swell the prices Americans pay for countless items from avocadoes to clothes to medical devices. His threat, which drew an outcry from a broad span of business groups and political figures, suddenly cast doubt on prospects for a new North American trade agreement. Trump last year negotiated the deal, formally called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, and billed it a triumph of his economic policymaking. The USMCA must be approved by lawmakers in all three countries. Yet Mexico is unlikely to ratify the pact if it must cope with a new batch of ...

J-K Governor briefs HM Amit Shah on Kashmir situation

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Saturday briefed Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the security situation in the state, which is currently under the President's rule. During the 15-minute meeting, the Governor apprised the home minister about the preparation for the Amarnath Yatra. The 46-day-long yatra will begin on July 1, the day of Masik Shivratri, and would conclude on August 15, the day of Shravan Purnima. Discussions were also held between the two on the law and order situation in the Kashmir Valley and the border areas besides various development issues. "I have discussed security matters and development issues with the Home Minister," Malik told reporters after the meeting. The Governor, however, said that the issue related to holding assembly elections in the state was not discussed as the matter was under the purview of the Election Commission of India. Jammu and Kashmir is under the central rule since June 2018 and the assembly election is expected to be held .

Rival MLAs protest driver's death, claim victim thrashed by cops

Two Rajasthan MLAs, one from the ruling Congress and the other from the BJP, Saturday began an indefinite hunger strike over the death of a tractor-trailer driver, allegedly after being beaten up by policemen in Tonk district. Harish Chandra Meena of the Congress and the opposition's Gopichand Meena are demanding a CID inquiry and compensation for the victim's family. Bhajanlal (30) was on his way to Ganeti village on Tuesday night when he was stopped at Laxmipura by police, who allegedly assaulted him, resulting in his death. However, police denied the allegations, saying he died due to an injury after falling from the tractor-trailer when they stopped him for checking it. Harish Meena, a former DGP and Congress MLA from Deoli-Uniara, started his dharna at a hospital in Tonk's Nagar Fort on Wednesday. Later, BJP's Jahazpur (Bhilwara) MLA Gopichand Meena joined him and the dharna was converted into an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday. The two MLAs demanded a government job for the

Nepal's top businessman hopes Modi will take decisive steps to build ties (Reissuing)

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge for a second term, Nepal's top industrialist and Chairman of CG Corp Global Binod Chaudhary has expressed the hope that the two countries will show a "renewed sense of commitment" to take the bilateral ties to a new height by forgetting the "unpleasant" developments witnessed in the recent past, like the 2015 economic blockade.

India's security, welfare of people Modi govt's priorities: Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah said Saturday the country's security and welfare of the people are the key priorities of the Modi government. Shah, who assumed the charge of the sensitive ministry on Saturday, held a meeting with senior officials to familiarise himself with the issues concerning the ministry. During the meeting, senior officials gave a detailed presentation of the functioning of the Home Ministry and the key issues it is handling now, a ministry official said. Two newly appointed ministers of state for home G K Reddy and Nityanand Rai who too took charge on Saturday, also attended the hour-long meeting. "Country's security and people's welfare are Modi government's priorities. Under the leadership of Modi ji, I will try my best to fulfil these priorities," Shah tweeted in Hindi after assuming the charge. Shah also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him the responsibility of the Home Ministry. "Today, I have taken the charge as India's Home Minister. I am ...

NCP won't ally with Congress for Maharashtra Assembly elections: Ganesh Naik

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ganesh Naik on Saturday clarified that his political quarter will not ally with Congress for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra."There is no question of the merger between Congress and NCP. We did not hold any discussion during the party meeting today," he said.Today, the NCP held an emergency meeting to look into shortcomings behind the massive defeat in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra. Party president Sharad Pawar chaired the meeting in Mumbai.Giving out details about the party meeting, the senior NCP leader said that youth representation on various seats in the Assembly polls, Lok Sabha debacle and making Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) an ally or not were the main agendas that were discussed by the leaders."We met to discuss our performance in Lok Sabha elections. On making Prakash Ambedkar's party VBA an ally, leaders were of different opinions. Some of them are against the idea as they believe that the party works to ...

Rio assures Modi of full support & cooperation of Nagaland

Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Saturday assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi of full support and cooperation of the state government in achieving the common goals of nation building and improving the welfare of the citizens of the country. He also congratulated Modi and his council of ministers on behalf of the people of the state. "The people of India have given the BJP led NDA, under your leadership, an overwhelming mandate and I am confident that under your visionary leadership, the country will scale greater heights," Rio said in a letter sent to Modi on Saturday.

Cong's 52 MPs will fight BJP every single inch, won't allow walkover: Rahul Gandhi

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the party's newly-elected 52 members in Parliament will fight every inch of the way like "a pride of brave-hearted lions" to protect the Constitution and the country's institutions and there will be no walkover for the BJP. Addressing the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the central hall of Parliament, Gandhi cautioned the lawmakers that it will "be like the British period, when not a single institution supported the Congress party" and asserted "yet we fought and won and we are going to do it again". "We are 52 members and I guarantee you, it does not matter what institutions are standing against these 52 members. It does not matter who is standing against these 52 members. These 52 members are going to fight the BJP every single inch, without giving this much and that applies to the members from Rajya Sabha as well," he told the MPs, adding the Congress party will fearlessly do its duty as the leading opposition ...

Top Nepal businessman hopes decisive steps from Modi to build ties

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge for a second term, Nepal's top industrialist and Chairman of CG Corp Global Binod Chaudhary has expressed the hope that the two countries will show a "renewed sense of commitment" to take the bilateral ties to a new height by forgetting the "unpleasant" developments witnessed in the recent past, like the 2015 economic blockade.

Guv of J-K, Kerala, Maha and U'khand CM call on Home Minister Amit Shah

Three Governors, including Jammu and Kashmir's Satya Pal Malik, and the Uttarakhand chief minister called on Home Minister Amit Shah, who assumed charge on Saturday. Malik, Kerala Governor P Sathasivam and Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao met Shah separately during the day. Official sources described the meetings as courtesy calls. Malik is said to have given a small briefing on the prevailing situation of Jammu and Kashmir, which is currently under the President's rule, sources said. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat also called on Shah separately.

Air force removes airspace restrictions; airlines unlikely to benefit unless Pakistan reciprocates

While the Indian Air Force announced Friday that all temporary restrictions imposed on Indian airspace after the Balakot air strikes have been removed, it is unlikely to benefit any commercial airlines unless Pakistan reciprocates and opens its airspace too. Among Indian airlines, the international operations of Air India and IndiGo have been affected by the closure of Pakistan airspace since February 27. IndiGo, India's largest airline by share in domestic passenger market, has been unable to start direct flights from Delhi to Istanbul. While the low-cost carrier started the Delhi-Istanbul flight in March this year, the flight has to take the longer route every time through Arabian Sea and take a stop at either Doha in Qatar or Ahmedabad in Gujarat for refuelling. Similarly, full-service carrier Air India is unable to fly non-stop flights from Delhi to the US since the closure of Pakistani airspace. The Delhi-US flights of the national carrier have to stop at Sharjah for refuelling ..

Didn't say anything wrong, says Kishan Reddy on 'Hyderabad safe zone for terrorists' comment

Despite severe criticism from his political opponents, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy on Saturday looked undeterred over his statement calling Hyderabad a "safe zone of terrorists"."There are places in the country where terror activities are on a rise. If an incident takes place in Bengaluru, Bhopal, its roots are traced to Hyderabad. State police, NIA have arrested terrorists in Hyderabad on an interval of every 2-3 months in the past. I did not say anything wrong," Reddy told reporters here.Talking to a newspaper on Friday, he had called Hyderabad as a terror safe zone."Wherever in the country, a terrorist incident happens, its roots are in Hyderabad," he said.Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, earlier in the day, slammed the newly-elected MP from Secunderabad for his statement and said the BJP sees terrorists wherever Muslims live.Reacting to Owaisi's comments that Muslims need not to afraid by Modi's return to power as Constitution safeguards their rights, ..

Recalling British period, Rahul asks party MPs to be 'little more aggressive' in Lok Sabha

Apparently comparing the BJP regime to the 'British period,' Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that no institution in the country was going to support the Congress and it was for the party MPs to fight 'hatred and cowardice' aggressively."You have to first understand, who you are. If you are going to fight, who you are fighting for? You are fighting for the Constitution of this country, that is who you are, you are fighting for the right of every single individual in this country regardless of the skin's colour, regardless of his religion, regardless of his gender, regardless of his State. That is, what you are fighting for."There is no institution that is going to support you in this country, no one is going to support you. It is like during the British period, when not a single institution supported the Congress party. Yet we fought and won and we are going to do it again," he said while addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting here.Stating that hatred, ...

No ministers should carry mobile phones during cabinet meetings; CM Yogi Adityanath

The Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday banned ministers from carrying their mobile phones in cabinet meetings.The ban on mobile phones has reportedly been put at the behest of the Chief Minister Yogi.All ministers will now have to leave their phones outside while a cabinet meeting or an official meeting with Adityanath is in progress.The last cabinet meeting of the UP cabinet was held on May 28, the rule will become applicable from the next meeting as and when it is called by the UP Chief Minister.