Page 350 - Politics
Bengaluru DCP K Annamalai resigns, to pursue public service
Deputy Commissioner of police (Bengaluru South) K Annamalai, who is popularly known as 'Singham' of Karnataka, Tuesday resigned from the Indian Police Service, to pursue "public service." Annamalai met Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in the presence of state Home Minister M B Patil and informed him about his resignation. He thanked the chief minister for providing good opportunity to perform his duties. The Chief Minister also wished him the best, a release from the chief minister's office said. Speaking to reporters after meeting Kumaraswamy, Annamalai said the chief minister insisted that he reconsider his decision as the state was in need of his services, "but I told him I have made my decision, CM then conveyed his best wishes for my future endeavour." Annamalai said he was not quitting the job because of any political pressure. He lauded political leaders, including Kumaraswamy and former Chief Minister Siddarmaiah, for giving him the freedom to do his duty. "The ..
Kushner heads to Rabat, Amman and Jerusalem to press US peace plan: White House
US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and assistant Jared Kushner has departed on a trip to Morocco, Jordan and Israel, the White House said Tuesday, signalling a fresh round of talks on a proposed US Mideast peace plan. Kushner is accompanied by Jason Greenblatt, Trump's special representative to international negotiations, and Brian Hook, the special US representative for Iran, the White House said. They "will travel from May 27 to May 31 to Rabat, Amman, and Jerusalem," said a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity.
Cong leader praises Modi,says he adopted Gandhian values
Congress leader A P Abdullakutty has courted controversy by praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the BJP-led NDA's massive victory in the Lok Sabha election, prompting the party to seek an explanation from him. Pointing out that the victory was acceptance of Modi's development agenda, he said the secret of the PM's success was that he had adopted Gandhian values. He also hailed the centre's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA), which envisages cleaning up India's cities, towns and rural areas and to eliminate open defecation through construction of household-owned and community owned toilets. The congress leader also lauded the Ujjwala Yojana in which the government's aim was to distribute 50 million LPG connections to women of BPL families. In a Facebook post, titled "On Narendra Modi's impressive victory", Abdullakutty said not only the opposition, but even those inside the BJP have been taken by surprise at the saffron party's massive victory. All political workers ...
JK admin orders cancelation of appointments made on basis of CBHE certificates
The Jammu and Kashmir administration Tuesday ordered cancellation of appointment made on the basis of certificates issued by the Central Board of Higher Education (CBHE), New Delhi, which has turned out to be a fake institution. "The government has directed all the administrative secretaries/head of departments/deputy commissioners/managing directors of the corporations, boards etc functioning under the state government to immediately cancel the appointments, if any, made on the basis of certificates issued by the Central Board of Higher Education (CBHE), Uttam Nagar, New Delhi," an official spokesperson said. He said it has been established that CBHE is a fake institution and its certificates or examinations are not recognised by any national body or authority. "In response to the queries of the state government regarding the authenticity of the above said Board, the competent authorities concerned have clarified that the said Board has been simply registered as a society and not ...
Chorus of voices in Cong urging Rahul not to quit as chief grows;DMK, RJD, Rajini also want him to stay
The chorus of voices urging Rahul Gandhi not to quit as Congress president grows louder with leaders of the party and also allies DMK and the RJD on Tuesday saying he remains the "best and competent" person to pull the party out of the crisis after the Lok Sabha poll debacle. Adding to the voices in the opposition UPA against Gandhi's offer to resign, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth said the Congress chief should stay on as he was a "youngster" and perhaps not got the cooperation of senior party leaders. DMK chief M K Stalin appealed to Gandhi not to step down, saying he has won the hearts of the people though his party lost the elections while RJD supremo Lalu Prasad termed the offer to quit as "suicidal", asserting it would amount to "falling into the BJP's trap". Stalin spoke to Gandhi over phone and "appealed to him to give up the idea of resigning as party president", a DMK statement said in Chennai. After his party's colossal electoral defeat, Gandhi offered to quit on May 25 ...
Maryam takes swipe at Imran Khan; says Modi doesn't give respect to him
Taking a swipe at Imran Khan, jailed premier Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam said Tuesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not give respect to his Pakistani counterpart as he did not take his call in February when the two nations were engaged in aerial combat. Speaking at an event held in connection with Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests here in Model Town, Maryam said Khan complained that Indian PM Modi did not attend his telephone call amid heightened Indo-Pak tensions. "I tell the selected and incompetent premier (Khan) as why Modi and other heads of state in the world do not give you respect. Because they know that you have come to power after stealing the people's votes with the help of someone. You dance to the tune of someone," she said, referring to the powerful military establishment. "Imran Khan... your status is nothing more than a puppet. You are stooge having no standing of yourself. You have no respect in the world," she thundered. Maryam said Khan used to call ..
Congress to move SC for poll violence damages in Tripura
The Congress has said it will move the Supreme Court to demand compensation for the victims of violence in Tripura during the Lok Sabha elections from the state government or the Election Commission.
Four new Gujarat BJP MLAs sworn in, party strength 103
Four newly-elected legislators of Gujarat's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were sworn in here on Tuesday.
EU leaders launch hunt to fill Brussels' top job
European leaders descended on Brussels on Tuesday to begin the hunt for a new generation of top EU officials in the wake of elections that shook up traditional alliances. The key job to be filled is that of president of the European Commission, the union's powerful chief executive, a five-year post currently held by Jean-Claude Juncker. Under EU treaty law, the European Council of 28 national leaders nominates a commission president, then the new 751-member parliament ratifies their choice. But the procedure, while seemingly straightforward, masks a complex power struggle between rival states and ideological blocs and between the leaders and parliament itself. Juncker's deputy and the centre-left challenger for the top job, former Dutch minister Frans Timmermans, compares the ruthless intrigue to "Game of Thrones". The tussle kicks off on Tuesday when European Council President Donald Tusk hosts the EU leaders for a summit dinner in Brussels to lay out the ground rules. Ahead of the
Tejaswi Yadav chairs meeting of RJD LS candidates to introspect poll debacle
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad's son Tejaswi Yadav on Tuesday called a meeting of the party's Lok Sabha candidates at his residence to introspect RJD's defeat in the recently concluded polls.RJD, which contested on 20 seats, didn't manage to win even a single seat this election and nose-dived from 27 in 2014 to nil in 2019."All the Lok Sabha candidates of RJD were called in the meeting conducted by our party leader Tejashwi Yadav. RJD believes in secular and peaceful politics. We will contest the assembly elections under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav and we will definitely register a win there," RJD leader Ram Chandra Purve told media persons after the meeting.Purve dismissed reports of internal dispute within the RJD and Mahagathbandhan. "We all are working together and will stay together," he said.Meanwhile, Jai Prakash Yadav said the meeting was held to look for ways to deal with the loopholes that led to RJD's defeat."After the Lok Sabha polls, the RJD family ...
All is well, maintains Congress
Congress on Tuesday asserted that no crisis is going on within the party and all such speculations are just a creation of the media as the party reels under a drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections.Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday told ANI, "There is no crisis going on in the party except in the media."President of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, Sheila Dikshit has also written a letter to the party president, urging him to not resign from the top post."During these challenging times, Delhi Pradesh Congress is standing with its party president Rahul Gandhi," the former chief minister said in the letter.Earlier in the day, party heavyweights like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, Randeep Surjewala and KC Venugopal met Gandhi, calling it a "routine meeting".Pramod Tiwari, who also met his party chief, said that he has requested the Nehru-Gandhi scion to drop the idea of stepping down as Congress president."There is no need for Rahul Gandhi to ...
Definitely aspiring for ministerial birth: Congress' Ajay Singh
Ajay Singh, a Congress legislator from Jewargi constituency and son of former state chief minister Dharam Singh, has expressed keenness on becoming a part of the Karnataka cabinet.When asked if he wants to become a minister in the Karnataka government, Ajay said, "Definitely I am also an aspirant. I leave it to the party seniors to decide whom they are going to accommodate. I think it (allotment of new ministerial birth) is going to be a good combination of both trouble-makers and loyal MLAs. The first priority is that we need to continue this Congress-JD(S) government."Singh affirmed that the party will always remain his first priority. "All of us will sit together and decide on future strategy", he added.The Jewargi MLA also asserted that there are no questions about mid-term elections and said, "We have just finished an election. Everyone is going to sit for CLP and they will give their opinions in that meeting."Talking about the criticism channelled towards the Congress-JD(S) ...
Dikshit appeals to Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his decision to quit as party chief
Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit Tuesday appealed to party president Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his decision to step down, saying the party has bounced back in the past from challenging circumstances to triumph. The Congress faces a critical crisis with Gandhi staying firm on his decision to quit after the poll debacle. The party won only 52 Lok Sabha seats and its governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan face an uncertain future. "Under the dynamic leadership of Indira Gandhi, the Congress party fought back from the setback in the 1977 Lok Sabha elections to wrest power two-and-a-half years later, and the party remained in power for several years thereafter," Dikshit said in a statement. Delhi Congress was firmly with Rahul Gandhi in this challenging time for the party, she said. "There was no need for the Congress president and the party workers to get disheartened by the setbacks in the Lok Sabha elections," she said, appealing Gandhi to withdraw his decision to step down as ...
3 West Bengal MLAs, over 50 councillors join BJP
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 saffron party Tuesday as it works to consolidate its position in the state following its impressive show there in Lok Sabha polls. The MLAs who joined the BJP at a press conference are TMC's Tusharkanti Bhattacharya and CPI(M)'s Debendra Nath Roy, besides Roy who was suspended from the state's ruling party for "anti-party" activities after the general elections results were announced. BJP general secretary and its in-charge for the state affairs Kailash Vijaywargiya and Mukul Roy told reporters that more MLAs from the TMC, which is headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, will join the saffron party in the coming days. Mukul Roy, once a Banerjee's confidant before falling out with her and joining the BJP in 2017, also mocked the chief minister over her claims that she wanted to resign following her party's ...
Iran says does not 'presently' believe in mediation with US
Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday insisted it did not currently see the need for mediation with the United States, as it played down the chances of a military clash with Washington. Spokesman Abbas Mousavi told a press conference that Tehran "does not feel any tension or (the possibility of) clashes" and said concerns had been "created by others". He told journalists that the Islamic republic "does not presently believe in" mediation. Iran is locked in a standoff with the United States which has beefed up its military presence in the Middle East in response to alleged threats from the Islamic republic. Washington has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the region in a show of force. The moves are the latest spike since US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark 2015 deal on Iran's nuclear programme and reimposed sanctions. Iran earlier this month rolled back parts of its commitments under the nuclear deal and gave an ultimatum to the remaining ...
Congress forms panel to probe Kerala party leader praising Modi
The Kerala unit of the Congress will appoint a commission to probe senior party leader A.P. Abdullakutty praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state party chief said on Tuesday.
BJP trying to woo Congress, NCP legislators in Maha: Chavan
Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan Tuesday said the BJP was trying to woo Congress and NCP legislators to join the ruling party, but it won't succeed in its efforts. Chavan made the comments when asked about reports related to senior party leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's impending entry into the BJP along with some Congress MLAs. Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's son, Sujay, joined the BJP in March and since then speculation is rife that the former minister, too, will enter the saffron fold. "Technically, he (Vikhe Patil) is still the member of the Congress. It is likely he may join the ruling party. I don't think our MLAs will join the BJP," Chavan told reporters here. "The BJP is trying to poach Congress or NCP MLAs. But I don't think it will happen, we are being alert," he added. The Congress leader made the remarks after a meeting of Maharashtra's grand alliance constituents here.
Stalin to attend Andhra CM-elect Jagan's swearing-in ceremony
DMK president MK Stalin will attend Andhra Pradesh chief minister-designate Jaganmohan Reddy's swearing-in ceremony scheduled to be held in Vijayawada on May 30, party sources said.Jagan's swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place at Vijayawada's Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium at 12.23 pm on Thursday.Earlier, the YSRCP leader rang up his predecessor and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and invited him over to the event.Jaganmohan-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) got an absolute majority in the 175-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly, ousting Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from power.YSRCP won 151 seats, whereas TDP's tally fell drastically from 102 in 2014 Assembly elections to a mere 23.In the Lok Sabha results too YSRCP managed to win 22 of the 25 parliamentary seats.Reddy has already invited Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao to his swearing-in.KCR has agreed to attend the ceremony at Vijaywada before leaving for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's oath-taking to ..
Sachin Pilot may quit Congress if Rahul resigns
With uncertainty looming over Rahul Gandhi continuing as Congress President, there is speculation that Sachin Pilot too may quit as Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress chief along with his team of MLAs, in case Gandhi quits his post.
Terror funding case: Delhi HC dismisses businessman Naval Kapoor's petition
Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by terror funding case accused Naval Kishor Kapoor challenging trial court's cognisance taken against him based on a supplementary charge sheet.Kapoor, a UAE-based businessman, is an accused in a terror funding case involving Hafiz Saeed and Syed Shalauddin and is being investigated by the National investigation agency (NIA).The businessman had challenged the trial court cognizance taken against him for the offences punishable under Sections 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 17 and 21 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on a supplementary charge sheet filed on January 22 this year.Kapoor, through his petition, had contended that the trial court failed to take note of the fact that no fresh material was filed by the NIA while submitting the supplementary charge sheet.He had alleged that the agency "deliberately and knowingly" suppressed material evidence and wrongly linked him with the accused ...