Page 30 - Politics

Politics of so-called freebies distort expenditure priorities: VP Dhankhar

Politics of so-called freebies for which society sees "mad race", distort expenditure priorities, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Sunday and asserted that the need was to "empower not pockets but human minds". In his address at a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) event here marking the Human Rights Day, he also said that no part of the globe is so "blossoming, prospering with human rights as our country is doing". The occasion also marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). UN Resident Coordinator in India Shombi Sharp also was present at the event. Sharp, in his address, also read out the message of UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres to the audience. Dhankhar was the chief guest at the event hosted by the NHRC at Bharat Mandapam. A coincidence, this (75th anniversary of UDHR) just follows our 'Amrit Kaal', and our 'Amrit Kaal' has become our 'Gaurav Kaal' primarily due to the blossoming of human rights and values," he said.

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Chhattisgarh BJP MLAs to meet on Sunday, suspense over CM could end

The meeting of the BJP's newly elected 54 MLAs in Chhattisgarh to elect the leader of its legislative party, who would become the next chief minister, will take place on Sunday. The suspense over who would be the chief minister is likely to end after the meeting. The saffron party had not declared its chief ministerial candidate prior to last month's assembly elections. The BJP's legislative party meeting will be held on Sunday. The party's three observers Union ministers Arjun Munda and Sarbananda Sonowal, and party general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam will be present in the meeting, the party's state unit president Arun Sao told reporters on Saturday. BJP's Chhattisgarh in-charge Om Mathur, Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya and party co-incharge for the state Nitin Nabin will also be present there, he added. While the BJP won 54 of the 90 seats in the state, the Congress, which had won 68 seats in 2018, was reduced to 35 seats. The Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) managed to wi

Bengal CM Banerjee seeks audience with PM to press for state's dues

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said she has sought an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press the demands for the financial dues which the Centre owes to the state. Banerjee told reporters at the Bagdogra airport near Siliguri in north Bengal that she will be visiting the national capital and sought an appointment in any of the three days between December 18 and 20. "I will go to Delhi accompanied by few MPs of the party this month and have sought an audience with the Prime Minister to press for the state's dues which the Centre owes to us," she said. "I have sought an appointment with the Prime Minister in any of the days on 18, 19 and 20th of this month," she added. Banerjee said that the Centre is collecting GST from the state but not sharing the proceeds. "Many of the funds which the state is eligible for getting under various central schemes like MGNREGA are also not forthcoming. The state is being deprived of its financial dues from the ...

Odisha cash haul: BJP stages protest in J-K, demands action against Cong MP

The BJP's Jammu and Kashmir unit on Saturday held a protest over the recovery of a huge amount of "unaccounted for" cash in Odisha and demanded stern action against Congress MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu. The protesters also burnt an effigy of Sahu. The seizure of "unaccounted for" cash after Income Tax department raids against an Odisha-based distillery group and its linked entities is expected to reach Rs 290 crore, making it the "highest-ever" black money haul by any agency in a single operation, official sources said Saturday. Premises linked to Sahu were also covered as part of the searches, the sources said. Shouting anti-Congress slogans, the BJP activists assembled outside the Press Club in the heart of Jammu and held a peaceful demonstration. Setting ablaze an effigy of the Congress' Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, they also demanded that Sahu be arrested immediately. The protesters were led by Yudhvir Sethi -- the BJP's Jammu and Kashmir unit vice-president -- and the Bharatiya

KCR elected BRS Legislature Party leader in new Telangana Assembly

Former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was on Saturday elected as the leader of the BRS Legislature Party in the new Assembly. The election was announced at a meeting of the newly-elected BRS MLAs here. "The BRS Legislative Party, which met at Telangana Bhavan ahead of the third Assembly session, unanimously elected former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao as the leader of the BRSLP," the BRS said on 'X.' Former Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy proposed Rao's name, which was supported by former ministers T Srinivas Yadav and Kadiyam Srihari, it said. The meeting was chaired by BRS Parliamentary Party leader K Keshava Rao. The BRS won 39 out of the total 119 seats in the recent Assembly election. The Congress bagged 64 seats, while the BJP, AIMIM and CPI secured eight, seven and one respectively. Meanwhile, BRS working president K T Rama Rao, son of KCR, said he could not attend the BRS Legislature meeting on Saturday and the swearing in at the Legislative .

Congress holds Assembly election review meet for Rajasthan, Mizoram

Top Congress leadership on Saturday held separate meetings to review the party's performance in the assembly polls in Rajasthan and Mizoram. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge convened the review meeting at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in Delhi where former party chief Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders were also present. While the review meeting for Mizoram was held earlier, the leaders from Rajasthan including former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other senior leaders attended the review met for Rajasthan. AICC in-charge for Mizoram Bhakt Charan Das later said, "We discussed every aspect of the Mizoram election, including the organizational structure of the state at the grassroots level and state level, as well as the various events that occurred during the elections." "We also deliberated on our future plans. All these matters were carefully and intensively discussed," he said.

Making efforts to further strengthen India as growth engine: Rajnath

India has showed that there is no irreconcilable trade-off between growth and distributive justice, and the government is making all efforts to further boost the country's position as a growth engine, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday. In an address at the annual general meeting of FICCI, Singh said India, as the fastest growing major economy in the world, has now reached a position to trigger a "positive impact" on the growth of other countries. "India showed that there is no irreconcilable trade-off between growth and distributive justice. That means providing fair opportunities to all citizens and accelerating the growth rate and both can be achieved simultaneously," he said. "The government is making all efforts to further strengthen India's position as a growth engine. But you know that the government cannot do this work alone. For that we also need the support of the wealth creators and thought leaders of this country," he told the industry captains. Singh said

Decision on next MP CM likely on Monday after BJP observers meet party MLAs

The suspense over who will become the next chief minister of Madhya Pradesh is likely to end on Monday when the BJP's 163 newly-elected legislators meet and select their leader in the presence of central observers, a party functionary said. In the November 17 Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, the results of which were declared last Sunday, the BJP won as many as 163 of the 230 seats, leaving the Congress a distant second at 66. The party on Friday appointed Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, its OBC 'Morcha' head K Laxman and its secretary Asha Lakra as central observers for electing the leader of its legislative party in Madhya Pradesh. "The central observers will chair a meeting of party MLAs on Monday," MP BJP media cell head Ashish Agrawal told PTI on Saturday. The schedule of the meeting will be shared with the media once it is finalised, he added. Party sources said the meeting is likely to begin any time between 5 pm or 7 pm on Monday. The meeting was earlier ...

Ashok Gehlot criticises BJP for delay in Chief Minister announcements

"There is no discipline in this party. If we had done the same, I don't know what allegations they would have levelled against us and misled people," Gehlot said

Newly-elected MLAs take oath as maiden session of Telangana Assembly begins

The first session of the Third Telangana Assembly began here on Saturday and the oath taking process of the newly-elected MLAs is underway. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was the first to take oath, followed by deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka. AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi presided over the proceedings as the pro-tem Speaker. Before the commencement of the session, Owaisi was administered the oath by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan as the pro- tem Speaker at Raj Bhavan.

With Putin's reelection all but assured, Russian Oppn vows to undermine him

Behind bars in penal colonies or in self-exile abroad, Russian opposition figures vow they will still put up a fight against President Vladimir Putin as he seeks yet another term in office in an election in March. Although they believe Putin will be declared the winner no matter how voters cast their ballots, they say they hope to undermine the widespread public support he enjoys, turn popular opinion against the devastating war he unleashed on Ukraine, and show those who oppose it already that they are not alone. No one but us will step into this battle for the hearts and the minds of our fellow citizens. So we need to do it and win, imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said in an online statement relayed from behind bars. Putin, 71, announced Friday that he will run for president again, to pile another six years onto his two dozen in power. He could even run again in 2030. The vote is scheduled for March 15-17, with his victory all but assured. The vast majority of

Former Telangana CM KCR successfully undergoes hip replacement surgery: BRS

A statement issued by Yasodha Hospital, where the BRS chief was admitted earlier on Thursday, said that the former CM fell in his bathroom and sustained left hip fracture, which will need replacement

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'The Archies' movie review: Vapid nostalgia that misses political nuances

Set in the mid-1960s, the film signals virtues through reference to corporate greed, gender politics, and global warming, but delivers solutions that are too easy

Former Telangana CM KCR hospitalised after getting injured in farmhouse

According to the sources, BRS chief KCR was injured and admitted to Yasodha Hospital. He fell at his farmhouse in Erravalli on Thursday night. He was shifted to Yashoda Hospital

BJP leader Vijayvargiya claims suspense over CM to be over on Dec 10

Vijayvargiya stated that clear decision on CM candidates will be revealed by Dec 10, but refrained from disclosing whether party will select leaders from newly elected MLAs or bring in outsiders

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Revanth Reddy takes oath as Telangana CM, Bhatti Vikramarka as Dy CM

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan administered the oath of office to him at the the sprawling Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad

Congress take swipe at BJP for not announcing CMs in three states yet

The Congress on Thursday took a swipe at the BJP over it not announcing the chief ministers in the three states it won in the recent assembly polls and asked why the party was not being called out for "what is actually a delay". In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said less than 24 hours after the election results were out on December 3, his party was being criticised in the media by all and sundry for a "so-called delay" in appointing a chief minister for Telangana. "Well, our CM was announced a day before and is taking over at 1 pm today," he said referring to A Revanth Reddy being named as the chief minister of Telangana. But three days have gone by and the BJP has been unable to even announce its chief ministers for Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, he said. "Why is the BJP not being called out for what is actually a delay?" Ramesh said. The BJP swept Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in the recently concluded Assembly elections, inflict