Page 349 - Politics
Let's not indulge in speculation: Congress on Rahul's resignation
Urging people not to indulge in speculation, Congress on Tuesday said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) has rejected Rahul Gandhi's resignation from the party president's post and that "is the only realty"."I don't think we should speculate. CWC has already explained that Rahul is not resigning... And it should rest there and we should not speculate. Let's not indulge in any speculation," said Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera.When a media person said that Rahul had rejected the resolution, Khera dismissed it saying, "Maybe you know better than me."Rahul had offered to step down from the party post at the CWC meeting held last Saturday, taking moral responsibility for Congress' dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections.However, Rahul's offer of resignation was unanimously rejected by the CWC.Sources said that despite senior leaders making serious attempts to convince him to rethink his decision, Rahul is unfazed.Earlier in the day Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rajasthan Deputy ...
Ready to carry on fighting BJP-RSS but not as chief, Rahul told CWC
Congress President Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have told leaders at the Congress Working Committee meeting on Saturday that he was ready to carry the ideological battle against the BJP-RSS but does not want to be bogged down by routine matters and they should chose a new party chief from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Ram Vilas Paswan is LJP's choice for ministerial berth in Modi govt
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan is likely to represent his Lok Janshakti Party in the Modi government, which will be sworn in on May 30, after the party passed a resolution Tuesday, recommending his name for a ministerial berth. The LJP's parliamentary board passed a resolution to this effect at a meeting, which was attended by its six newly-elected Lok Sabha MPs, the board's chairman and Ram Vilas Paswan's son Chirag Paswan told reporters. Asked about Ram Vilas Paswan's comments suggesting that his son should be inducted in the second Modi government, Chirag Paswan played it down, saying the LJP president might have said it out of "fatherly feelings". He noted that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's prerogative to decide who will be the ministers in his government, but the LJP would like to be represented by Ram Vilas Paswan. Chirag Paswan, who has again won from Jamui in Bihar, said he will work to strengthen his party's organisation and asserted that the NDA, which also includes
Assemblys security personnel guard MP Speaker's residence
Peeved at pruning of security to him, Madhya Pradesh Assembly speaker N P Prajapati Tuesday deputed the Assemblys security personnel as guards at his residence. The opposition BJP claimed partial withdrawal of security to Prajapati was a result of "intense infighting" in the ruling Congress on whose ticket he was elected to the Assembly. However, Home Minister Bala Bachchan said the government will soon upgrade Prajapatis security. Bachchan said he has already spoken to Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Prajapati over the issue. As the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha polls came into force on March 10, the state government had reduced security to the Speaker, particularly at his residence, which was left without any guard, his associate said. This did not go down well with the Speaker, who wrote a letter to Principal Secretary, Home Department, a fortnight ago, asking why his security has been reduced, he added. The Speaker had asked the Home Department for ...
I-T dept to summon top MP govt officials, politicians, relatives of CM Kamal Nath
The I-T department will soon summon top officials of the Madhya Pradesh government, politicians and relatives of Chief Minister Kamal Nath as part of its probe into an alleged "widespread and well-organised" hawala racket of about Rs 281 crore unearthed during the Lok Sabha polls, sources said on Tuesday. Officials said the Income Tax (I-T) department will also issue notices for appearance to some of Nath's close aides based in state capital Bhopal and his constituency, Chhindwara, as part of its action to widen the probe into the case. As the cash and the hawala deals had "clear links" to the poll process, according to sources, the Election Commission (EC) will issue notices to certain Congress candidates who contested the recent parliamentary polls from various seats in Madhya Pradesh. Their names figured in an I-T appraisal report prepared by the department after raids were conducted at 52 locations in the state and in Delhi last month. The report had already been submitted to the .
BJP needs to rule at Centre, Delhi, MCDs for smooth functioning: Tiwari
The BJP needs to rule at all three levels-- the Centre, Delhi and MCDs-- to ensure smooth work on development projects in the national capital, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said at a 'Khichdi lunch' hosted by him for party leaders and workers. The lunch hosted at Tiwari's residence was also attended by former AAP MLAs Devender Sehrawat and Anil Bajpai. They had joined the BJP recently. "People need to be convinced that development of the city will take place in a smooth manner if BJP is in power at all three levels, including the Centre, Delhi and the municipal corporations," Tiwari told party leaders and workers. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered a historic victory in the recently held Lok Sabha polls. It already rules the three municipal corporations in Delhi and is now eyeing the Assembly polls due early 2020. "The next six months will be a testing time for all of us because Assembly elections are going to be held in early 2020," Tiwari said. He asked the partymen to ...
Don't lose hope, think of ways of coming out of crisis: INLD chief to workers
After the INLD faced a major drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls, party president Om Prakash Chautala Tuesday asked workers not to lose hope and think of ways and means of coming out of the present crisis. While reaching out to the party workers, the former Haryana chief minister said he empathised with them over the "sorry state of affairs" which the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) currently finds itself in and the severe drubbing it had to face on all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Chautala, who is serving a jail sentence in connection with the teachers recruitment scam in Haryana, was released on furlough on Tuesday, a party statement said here. The INLD chief said he would soon meet all party workers to hear their voices about the present state of affairs of the party and the state of Haryana. He asked them "not to lose hope and think of the ways and means of coming out of this crisis and rebuild the party". Chautala said he will meet all the workers, including those who might ...
Shah meets Modi ahead of swearing-in
BJP chief Amit Shah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Tuesday, two days ahead of the swearing-in of the new government.
Assam: Kamakhya Tasa, Biren Baishya file nomination for Rajya Sabha polls
BJP leader Kamakhya Tasa and Asom Gana Parishad's Biren Baishya on Tuesday filed their nomination for the ensuing Rajya Sabha elections which are slated to be held on June 7.Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, state Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and state BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass accompanied Tasa and Baishya for the nomination filing.The two Rajya Sabha seats are currently being held by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Santiuse Kujur, also from Congress. The seats will fall vacant on June 14 after the six-year of the two leaders.Returning Officer AN Deka told ANI, "Today was the last day for filing nomination for the impending vacancies in the Upper House of Parliament. The nominations will be scrutinised tomorrow and a candidate may withdraw by May 31. The date of polling is June 7."Tasa had won the 2014 Lok Sabha election from the Jorhat seat, while Baishya is a former Union minister.Speaking to ANI, Tasa stressed that his goal is the welfare of Assam.A ..
MLAs' defection to BJP a minor issue, party will bounce back in 2021: Trinamool
On a day when two of their MLAs and over 60 councillors joined the BJP, West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress leaders on Tuesday termed the development a "minor crisis" and said the party will bounce back in the 2021 Assembly polls.
Mamata likely to attend PM's swearing-in
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she is trying to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi on Thursday.
Hope Rahul Gandhi continues as Cong president for next 50 yrs, quips HB Sarma
Adding insult to injury, BJP leader and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said the BJP wished to see Rahul Gandhi as Congress President for 50 more years which will be helpful to his party.However, he said the opposition would benefit if Gandhi was not the leader."In Parliament, there should be space for the opposition. So, if there is no Rahul Gandhi then there is a possibility of a vibrant opposition. But if I look from BJP's point of view and not India's, then we wish that Rahul Gandhi continues as Congress president for the next 50 years," he said. who is BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convener, told reporters here.Interestingly, Sarma, who is BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convener, .had joined BJP in 2015 after a two decade-long stint with Congress.Gandhi had offered to step down from his party post at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held on Saturday, taking moral responsibility for Congress' dismal performance in the Lok
Indian, French navies conduct 2nd phase of 'Varuna' bilateral exercise
The second phase of the Indo-French naval exercise, christened as Varuna 19.2, brought together a French nuclear attack warship, currently deployed in the Indian Ocean, and an Indian submarine."Organised under the operational control of the French Joint Forces Commander in the Indian Ocean (ALINDIEN), this exercise was an opportunity to reinforce our capabilities for joint action in a critical and strategic field while demonstrating the high level of interoperability achieved," according to a statement issued by the French Embassy.Training was held for more than 35 hours of submarine combat. The high-level exercises allowed both crews to be trained in detection, tracking and plunge attack while maintaining control over maritime areas and their environment.As part of Varuna 19.1, which included the participation of the French Navy's aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle, the French submarine had already conducted an exercise with an Indian submarine for a period of seven hours."Varuna
BJP's Tasa & AGP's Baishya file nomination for RS election
BJP's Kamakhya Prasad Tasa and its alliance partner Asom Gana Parishad's Birendra Prasad Baishya on Tuesday filed their nominations for the Rajya Sabha elections in Assam scheduled to be held on June 7, officials said. Tasa and Baishya were named candidates for the two seats in the Upper House from Assam that will fall vacant as the term of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and another Congress Rajya Sabah MP Santius Kujur will end on June 14. Both Tasa and Baishya filed their nominations before Assam Legislative assembly's principal secretary Mrigendra Kumar Deka in the presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, BJP state president Ranjeet Das, AGP president Atul Bora and convenor of North Eastern Democratic Alliance (NEDA) Himanta Biswa Sarma, they said. Tasa, a prominent face of the Tea tribe community, was a MP from Jorhat constituency in the outgoing Lok Sabha. AGP veteran Birendra Prasad Baishya has been named earlier as the consensus candidate for the ...
Hectic activities on in Congress to tide over crisis
Hectic activities continued in the Congress on Tuesday to tide over the crisis that has hit the grand old party in the wake of the dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections, with party chief Rahul Gandhi insisting on quitting the post, leaving the leaders gasping for ways to placate him.
Mamata to attend Modi's swearing-in
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had a bitter spat with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections, has been invited to attend his swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, which she has accepted."I have spoken to other Chief Ministers also. Since it is a ceremonial program, we thought of attending it. Yes, I will go," she told media here on Tuesday.The two leaders had indulged in a war of words during the campaign period in the run-up to the elections, in which the BJP has made deep inroads into the Trinamool territory in West Bengal by winning 18 Lok Sabha seats out of 42. The TMC's victory was reduced from 34 in 2014 to 22 in 2019.Modi will be sworn in for a second term as the prime minister on Thursday at 7 pm in Rashtrapati Bhavan, along with members of the Union Council of Ministers.
BJP dents TMC, inducts 2 MLAs, 63 councillors
In a setback to TMC after the drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, two of its MLAs, including Mukul Roy's son Subhrangshu Roy, along with 63 municipal councillors joined the BJP here on Tuesday.Along with Subhrangshu and Tushar Kanti Bhattacharya, a CPI (M) MLA Hemtabad Devendra Roy also joined the BJP in the presence of West Bengal BJP in charge Kailash Vijayvargiya."I am joining the BJP after being inspired by Modi ji," said Subhrangshu, who was recently suspended from TMC for six years for anti-party activities.With most of the councillors switching their political affiliation, three municipalities -- Kanchrapara, Halishahar, and Naihati -- will be now controlled by the BJP. Currently, TMC controls these urban bodies.Seventeen out of 24 councillors including the chairman of Kanchrapara municipality, 17 out of 23 councillors including chairman and vice chairman of Halishahar municipality and 29 out of 31 councillors of the Naihati municipality have crossed over from TMC to ...
Heavy firing exchanges on LoC in Jammu region
Heavy firing started on Tuesday between the Indian and Pakistan armies on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.
TMC says party MLAs joining BJP like 'rats abandoning a ship sensing danger'
The TMC Tuesday likened its MLAs who have joined the BJP on Tuesday to "rats abandoning a ship sensing danger" and said people will give them a befitting reply. Three West Bengal MLAs, including BJP leader Mukul Roy's son Subhrangshu Roy, and over 50 municipal councillors, most of them from the Trinamool Congress, joined the BJP on Tuesday. TMC's Tusharkanti Bhattacharya and CPI(M)'s Debendra Nath Roy were other MLAs from the state who joined the saffron party, BJP leader Anil Baluni said. Subhrangshu Roy was suspended by the TMC for his "anti-party" activities after the Lok Sabha election results were announced. A senior TMC leader said, "We will expel them from the party. Subhrangshu is already under suspension. We are not bothered about such opportunists. People will give them a befitting reply." "If some of the leaders join the BJP just because it has won a few seats, they are nothing, but rats who abandon a ship sensing danger. It is good that they have left our party," senior ..
Europe's leaders launch hunt for EU top jobs
European leaders headed on Brussels on Tuesday to launch the hunt for candidates for top EU jobs in the wake of polls that shook up traditional alliances and boosted nationalists, the Greens and liberals.