Page 334 - Politics
Congress Parliamentary Party meeting on June 1
A meeting of Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) will be held on June 1 and a decision on the new leader of the party in the Lok Sabha is likely to be taken at it.
No change in party leadership in Rajasthan: Congress
The Congress on Wednesday ruled out any leadership change in Rajasthan. "There will be no change in the party leadership in the state", said Avinash Pandey, in-charge of the Congress in Rajasthan.
Call for Sachin Pilot rises to crescendo in Rajasthan
As the Congress shows all signs of imploding following the Lok Sabha poll debacle, Rajasthan is in the eye of a storm for scoring a shocking duck for the party in the Lok Sabha polls. In focus are Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, who had been handpicked by party President Rahul Gandhi as Rajasthan Congress president and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who Gandhi recently blamed as one of the two Congress Chief Ministers who focused on the election of their sons when they should have been campaigning for the party.
Terror attacks in India, excluding J&K and N-E, killed 864 civilians, 29 security men from 2004 to 2018 (Lead, Correcting Headline)
A total of 864 civilians and 29 personnel of security forces were killed in 47 terror attacks witnessed from 2004 till last year in the country, excluding Jammu and Kashmir and North East, as also the incidents of Left Wing extremism.
Special counsel probe did not exonerate Trump: Mueller
Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, resigned Wednesday but made it clear that he did not exonerate President Donald Trump but did not charge him with a crime as it was "not an option" under guidelines of the justice department. Speaking about his 22-month investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, he said intelligence officers with the Russian military "launched a concerted attack on our political system" in an attempt to "interfere with our election and to damage a presidential candidate." Mueller opened his remarks by announcing that he was formally closing the Special Counsel's office and resigning his post at the Department of Justice. Noting that he has not spoken publicly during the investigation, Mueller said he was "speaking out today because our investigation is complete. The attorney general has made the report on our investigation largely public." He announced he was ...
Dikshit urges Rahul Gandhi not to resign; Cong workers gather in show of support
Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit Wednesday urged Congress president Rahul Gandhi to take back his decision to quit, even as scores of party workers and leaders of the city unit gathered outside his residence in a show of support. Dikshit visited Gandhi's Tughlak Lane residence here. After coming out, she remained silent on whether she was able to meet the Gandhi scion. A close aide of Dikshit said she left a message for the Congress president in which she asked Gandhi to withdraw his offer to resign. "We all are for him. He should reconsider his decision. I conveyed my message that he should not quit and lead the party as all the Congress leaders and workers want him to do," Dikshit told PTI. The former chief minister led the Congress in Delhi in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, but the party lost on all seven seats. However, the silver lining for the party was it could dislodge the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and occupy number two spot and considerably improve its vote ...
UP CWC meeting on Thursday to discuss Lok Sabha poll debacle
Uttar Pradesh Congress Working Committee called for a meeting of its members and office-bearers on Thursday to introspect about the reasons behind party's defeat in Lok Sabha polls."As you know, the responsibility for the loss of the party is shared by every Congress worker. To discuss these issues, a meeting of all the members and office bearers of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Working Committee has been called at UP Congress headquarters. Your presence is required," Uttar Pradesh Congress president Raj Babbar said in a letter to the members of Uttar Pradesh CWC.Expressing concern over the "adverse" Lok Sabha poll results, Babbar wrote, "The Congress president Rahul Gandhi has offered to resign from his post accepting the responsibility for the defeat."Raj Babbar along with other several other states Congress president too had "resigned" from his post accepting responsibility for party's defeat in Uttar Pradesh.The Congress party could only win one out of 80 seats in the state. Even ...
Kushner meets Jordan king in push for US peace plan
US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner on Wednesday met Jordan's king on the second leg of a mini-regional tour aimed at finding support for his Israel-Palestinian peace plan, the royal palace said. King Abdullah II insisted on the "need to intensify efforts to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace based on the two-state solution that would guarantee the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital". The remarks, which were carried in a palace statement, were made in the presence of Kushner, who is a senior White House adviser. Kushner, who is seeking support for his long-delayed but controversial Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, arrived in Jordan from Morocco, where he met King Mohammed VI. He is scheduled to travel to Israel next. The Moroccan king chairs the Al-Quds Committee, an organisation that brings together supporters of the Palestinian cause in the Arab world. It was created by the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation .
Odisha governor inducts MLA Amar Prasad Satpathy to perform duties of speaker till June 1
Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal on Wednesday administered oath to Amar Prasad Satpathy, a member of Odisha Legislative Assembly, to perform the duties of the Office of the Speaker at the sitting of Assembly on May 30 till the election of the Speaker on June 1.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh were also present during the oath-taking ceremony today.The ceremony to induct the Speaker to the Assembly will be held on June 1 at 11 am at Raj Bhavan.Biju Janata Dal leader Satpathy had on May 23 won the Odisha assembly elections from the Barchana seat.
ZP chairperson election to be held on June 8
The election for chairperson and vice-chairperson of Zilla Praja Parishad would take place on June 8, the Telangana State Election Commission (SEC) said Wednesday. The Commission announced the schedule for conduct of (indirect) election to the offices of chairperson and vice-chairperson and others Wednesday. According to the schedule, notice calling for a special meeting for election of chairperson and others would be given on or before June 7, the SEC said. The rural local body polls, held in three phases, concluded on May 14. The counting of votes would be taken up on June 4. Results would be declared immediately. The SEC also announced that election to the offices of Mandal Praja Parishad (MPP) president, vice president and others would be held on June 7. The ZP chairpersons are elected by the Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency (ZPTC) members, while MPP presidents are elected by Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) members.
CPP to meet on June 1 to elect leader
After the Lok Sabha polls debacle, the newly-elected MPs of the Congress will meet for the first time on June 1 and elect the new leader of the parliamentary party. The Congress Parliamentary Party is currently chaired by Sonia Gandhi and all 52 MPs will be present at the meeting, besides its Rajya Sabha members, sources said. The CPP meeting will be held in the central hall of Parliament and will also chalk out its strategy for the upcoming session. In its first meeting after constitution of the 17th Lok Sabha, the party will first elect its new leader. The sources said this will be the first official meeting that Congress president Rahul Gandhi will attend after the meeting of the party's working committee held on May 25, where he offered to quit as Congress chief. The CWC, however, rejected his offer to resign and unanimously passed a resolution authorising him to bring structural changes in the party at all levels in a bid to revamp it.
Cong skips 'mahagathbandhan' meet; many RJD MLAs absent at party meeting
Dissonance within the opposition "mahagathbandhan" in Bihar, smarting under the drubbing in the general election, came to the fore on Wednesday as the Congress skipped a meeting of the alliance partners convened at the residence of former chief minister Rabri Devi, whose RJD leads the five-party grouping in the state. The meeting took place shortly after over a dozen RJD MLAs, including Abdul Bari Siddiqui and Chandrika Roy, skipped the legislature party meeting, apparently unhappy over their poll defeat from Darbhanga and Saran respectively. Sources in the "mahagathbandhan" (Grand Alliance) said the RJD MLAs were dissatisfied with the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav, the younger son and political heir of party chief Lalu Prasad. They also pointed towards the damage that might have been caused by the rebellion from Tejashwi's mercurial elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, who had floated a parallel outfit and supported rebel candidates loyal to himself polls, before falling in line. Notably,
Tejashwi dismisses reports suggesting disintegration of grand alliance after poll debacle
Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav dismissed reports of the disintegration of the Mahagathbandhan in the state after the debacle in the Lok Sabha polls, terming such claims as "rumours"."According to me, the talks of the disintegration of grand-alliance after the poll results are just a rumour," Tejashwi said while addressing a press conference after a meeting of grand-alliance leaders. "We are together. We will face the challenges and the elections in the future together," he added.Tejashwi conceded that the grand-alliance was not expecting such results."We were not expecting such results. When the three big leaders of NDA-- Nitish Kumar, Sushil Modi, and Ramvilas Paswan used to do an election rally together, the crowd was barely 200-300. What is the actual reason behind the defeat, it is too early to talk about it. We can only know the cause of defeat by being among people," he said.Tejashwi, however, said that "winning and ...
Cong in TN takes out rally in support of Rahul, says he cannot
The Congress in Tamil Nadu Wednesday took out a rally here urging Rahul Gandhi to continue as party president, asserting he was in no way responsible for the Lok Sabha poll drubbing. Strongly rooting for the leadership of Nehru-Gandhi family, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee said "no force on earth can separate the Nehru family's leadership and the Congress party." In no way Rahul Gandhi's leadership could be blamed for the electoral setback suffered by the Congress in the recent Lok Sabha polls, a resolution adopted at the end of the rally said. The show of support by the state Congress, which put up a good showing winning eight seats it contested in alliance with the DMK, came amid various state units and senior leaders rallying behind Gandhi and asking him to take back his offer to resign as party chief in the wake of the poll outcome. Gandhi, who announced his decision to quit the top party post at the Congress Working Committee meeting, has stuck to his stand and .
PM Modi meets Jaitley after his decision not to be minister in new govt
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, hours after he announced his decision not to seek a ministerial berth in the new government. Modi drove to Jaitley's official residence in the national capital and was with him for sometime, officials said. The deliberations at the meeting were not immediately known. Neither Jaitley, who had tweeted his letter written to Modi that he does not want to have any responsibility in the new government, nor his office immediately commented on the meeting. Modi and his council of ministers would be sworn in at Rashtrapati Bhawan Thursday evening. "I am writing to you to formally request you that I should be allowed a reasonable time for myself, my treatment and my health and therefore, not be a part of any responsibility, for the present, in the new government," Jaitley said in the letter. Sources said prime minister acknowledged receipt of Jaitley's letter and also appreciated his contribution towards economy and ...
Shivraj Singh Chouhan tipped as Agriculture Minister
Three-time Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is tipped to be a key member of the new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is likely take over the charge of Agriculture Ministry.
Report criticizes probe into slaying of Malta journalist
A Council of Europe report has criticised the "glacial" pace of the investigation into the car bomb assassination of a leading Maltese investigative journalist and called Wednesday for an independent public inquiry into the case. Three Maltese men are believed to have triggered the powerful car bomb that killed 53-year-old Daphne Caruana Galizia on a road close to her rural home on Oct 16, 2017. They were ordered two months later to stand trial for murder but the trial has not yet begun and they could soon be released. Nobody has been arrested for ordering the assassination of Caruana Galizia, who became one of Malta's best-known journalists for her regular reporting on widespread allegations of corruption on the Mediterranean island that's a member of the European Union and uses the shared euro currency. In his report for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Dutch lawmaker Pieter Omtzigt listed a litany of corruption scandals in Malta, shortcomings in the nation's ...
Unscheduled flights barred from Delhi skies for Thursday's swearing-in
Delhi airspace will be shut tomorrow for unscheduled flights around the time of the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.Delhi Air Traffic Control has issued NOTAM (notice to airmen) barring unscheduled flights in the radius of 300 km in and around Delhi from 4 PM to 11 PM on Thursday."No flight is permitted to takeoff or land at Indira Gandhi International Airport and subsidiary airports within 300 kilometres zone of Delhi," said the NOTAM, as accessed by ANI, which is issued for non-scheduled flights. Scheduled flights can operate as per norms.The ceremony, which may last more than an hour, in the open will see the attendance of a few thousand guests including heads of government of BIMSTEC countries and Mauritius and Kyrgyzstan, political leaders, captains of industry, overseas friends of BJP and others.NOTAM said that Indian Air Force (IAF), BSF and Army aviation helicopters undertaking ...
Indore's Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar airport gets 'international' status
Indore's Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar airport on Wednesday declared as an international airport."In pursuance of sub-rule (b) of rule 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950, the Central Government hereby designates Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport, Indore of Madhya Pradesh State as an authorized Immigration Check Post for entry into/exit from India with valid documents for all classes of passengers," an official statement read.The airport, named after Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore, is considered as the busiest airport in Central India. It has been bestowed Worlds Standardization Certification by the United Kingdom. Since March 24, 2018, it has been facilitating round the clock operations.An international airport has customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. Such airports are usually larger than domestic airports and often features longer runways.
Ker CM refutes opposition allegation on TV show
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Wednesday refuted the opposition allegation that his government had decided to handover the production of "Naam Munnottu", a weekly interactive show, to CPI(M)-owned channel Malayalam Communications. Vijayan said the show will be produced by the Department of Information and Public Relations (PRD) and only the studio floor and equipment of the channel will be used. "Naam Munnottu" is a 30-minute programme telecast every week discussing and debating on various development initiatives of the government. Vijayan was replying to a submission by Congress leader K C Joseph in the Assembly alleging that the government had decided to handover the programme to the party-owned channel. The production of the show was done by the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT) which has executed a wide range of projects in the government sector in the state. "C-DIT has been producing and shooting for the live result of Kerala state lottery .