Page 351 - Politics
MK Stalin urges Rahul to continue as Congress president
DMK chief MK Stalin, whose party led the UPA alliance including Congress in Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday batted for the continuance of Rahul Gandhi as the Congress president.Stalin, who had a telephonic conversation with Rahul, requested him not to step down from the post.Rahul congratulated Stalin for the stellar performance of DMK-Congress alliance in the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu. Sonia Gandhi also congratulated the DMK chief.Stalin, whose leadership was on test in this first major elections after his father and party patriarch M Karunanidhi's death last year, vindicated himself by winning 37 out of 38 parliamentary seats that went to polls in the state.The DMK-led alliance includes Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) along with several other smaller parties.Rahul had offered to step down from his party post at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held on Saturday, taking moral ...
Post-LS poll rout, oppn mulls joint fight in Maha elections
Constituents of Maharashtra's opposition grand alliance, which suffered drubbing at the hands of the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena combine in the state, Tuesday discussed the possibility of fighting the upcoming Assembly polls together. The grand alliance members also blamed the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) for being one of the key factors that led to the alliance's poor show in the state. Formed by Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, the VBA had contested all the 48 seats in the state and its candidates secured sizeable votes in many of them. The BJP won 23 seats, while the Shiv Sena bagged 18. On the other hand, the NCP won four seats, while the Congress was reduced to the lone seat of Chandrapur. AIMIM's Imtiaz Jaleel, a journlaist-turned-politician, won from Aurangabad, whereas Navnit Rana, an independent backed by the NCP, emerged victorious from Amravati. The Maharashtra Assembly polls are scheduled to be held later this ...
Justice AK Mittal sworn in as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court
Justice A K Mittal was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court on Tuesday, officials said. Governor Tathagata Roy administered the oath of office to Justice Mittal at the Raj Bhavan here in the presence of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, his cabinet colleagues and senior government officers, they said. Justice Mittal is the most senior judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and has been functioning in that high court since his elevation. He replaces Chief Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir.
Goel, Kumar in hunt for RAW, IB top jobs (IANS Special)
The top of India's intelligence apparatus pyramid comes up for renewal next month when both the Director Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Jain and Secretary RAW Anil Dhasmana come to the end of their extended tenures on June 29 and June 30 respectively.
Book drug peddlers under PSA: J-K DGP Dilbag Singh to police
Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh Tuesday directed police to book drug peddlers under the Public Safety Act (PSA) to curb their malpractices and bring them to justice. He said drug abuse is harmful to society and the Jammu and Kashmir Police would make all possible efforts to tighten the noose against all those indulging in the trade and transportation of narcotic substances. Singh stressed upon the police personnel to equip themselves with the more professional skills in their fight against crime and militancy. The DGP said police should be people-friendly but should be tough against criminals. He said the role of J&K Police in achieving success against terrorism has been lauded at national level. "Drug abuse has become a big challenge for society and the police force is putting in hard work to eliminate the menace. The peddlers should be booked under the PSA to curb their malpractices and bring them to justice," he said while addressing police personnel at Rajouri and Poonch ...
Gehlot meets Ahmed Patel too, returns to Jaipur
Hours after meeting Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met senior party leader Ahmed Patel at the party office here on Tuesday.
3 MLAs, over 60 councillors from Bengal join BJP; more to come
Three MLAs from West Bengal, including Trinamool Congress-turned-BJP leader Mukul Roy's son Subhrangshu Roy, along with more than 60 councillors on Tuesday joined the BJP here in the presence of BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya who said more TMC leaders will join the saffron party soon.
UP govt clears rules for cow conservation, development fund
The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday approved setting up a corpus for funding the management and running of shelter homes for stray cattle and forming urgently required infrastructure in the state. A meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, cleared the Uttar Pradesh Cow Conservation and Development Fund rules, 2019, to run and manage the 'govansh ashray sthals' at the district-level. It was the first cabinet meeting after the Lok Sabha election. An official release said the corpus will also help in implementation of different developmental schemes relating to cow conservation. The matter was earlier brought before the state cabinet in January and it was decided that a state-level fund will be set up. The cabinet on Tuesday approved setting up of the corpus fund for its management. The corpus will be raised through donations, state and central governments, government institutions, individuals or industrial houses, NGOs and charitable institutions, ...
'LS poll results unexpected; TRS to undertake detailed review'
The Lok Sabha elections threw up some unexpected results in Telangana and TRS would undertake a detailed review after the coming MLC polls, party working president K T Rama Rao said Tuesday. In an informal interaction with mediapersons, he said the Congress has won two seats with a slender margin. The results were not a setback to TRS, he added. The TRS has won nine of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, while its ally AIMIM retained its lone seat (Hyderabad). The Congress secured three seats, while BJP sprang a surprise winning four. The results are seen as a dampener to the TRS as it aimed to win 16 constituencies (leaving Hyderabad) to play a key role at the Centre (in the event of a hung verdict) for the benefit of Telangana. TRS had swept the Assembly polls held last December, winning 88 of the total 119 segments. Rama Rao, son of party supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, said the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one of the main reasons for .
Netherlands keen to further 'good cooperation' with India under Modi regime
The Netherlands will continue "good cooperation" for investment and trade ties with India during the Narendra Modi government's second term, Dutch Ambassador to India Marten van den Berg said here Monday. Besides, the ambassador said the 2019 edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit will be held next week at The Hague, Netherlands, where 2,000 companies from over 120 countries, including 32 startups from India, will participate. The Dutch ambassador said he views the Global Entrepreneurship Summit as a stepping stone for the Tech Summit which is being organised in Delhi in October for which Netherlands is the Partner Country this year. The 2019 edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) is being co-hosted by the Netherlands and the United States of America, in the Hague from 3rd-5th June. It will be inaugurated by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and US Secretary of State, Michael R Pompeo. "We have a very good and close cooperation with Modi Government, a good ...
Rajasthan Cong executive committee to meet Wednesday
The Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee will meet on Wednesday at party headquarters, a party spokesperson said. The meeting will be presided by the Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot in which AICC general secretary Avinash Pandey and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will also be present, he said. It will be the first executive committee meeting after the party's debacle in Lok Sabha polls wherein Congress could not win even a single seat out of the 25 parliamentary constituencies in the state. Party leaders said that the meeting will brainstorm on the reasons of party's poor performance in the recent polls.
Anantnag: 2 terrorists neutralised in encounter
Security forces have neutralised two terrorists in an encounter here on Tuesday.The terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in Kokernag area of Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir police said.Arms and ammunition have also been recovered from the encounter site.Anantnag is one of the most sensitive districts in the Valley.Eight terrorists have been neutralised and at least two have been captured by the security forces from Kashmir in May alone.Security forces had got a major breakthrough when one of the most wanted terrorists, Zakir Musa, was killed in an encounter in Tral in Pulwama on May 24.The identities of the two terrorists gunned down today are yet to be confirmed..
Comedian-actor Mann tries to save AAP's sinking ship
After the AAP's drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, state unit President Bhagwant Mann, who won from Sangrur, is engaged in efforts to revive his party that is now seen as a sinking ship.
Stalin urges Rahul not to quit as Congress President
DMK President M.K. Stalin on Tuesday urged Congress President Rahul Gandhi not to resign from his party post.
PDP open for joint response to new political challenges in J-K
Expressing concern on the attempts being made to fragment the mandate in Jammu and Kashmir, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday asserted that it shall be open for joint response to the new political challenges in the state. The concerns were expressed by the members of Political Affairs Committee of the PDP, who met party president Mehbooba Mufti. "The party held threadbare discussion about the current political situation within the state of Jammu and Kashmir besides the measures to be taken to strengthen the party at grassroots level," PDP spokesman Rafi Ahmad Mir said after the meeting. He said the participants observed that the onslaught on the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was multi-dimensional and every attempt was being made to politically disempower the people of the state. "It was also felt that while in some parts of state the voters are being unified for common cause there were parallel efforts being made in other parts of Jammu and Kashmir to create vertical ..
Maha monsoon session begins on June 17
The monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature will commence here from June 17. This will be the last legislature session before the state goes to polls in October this year. The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of both the Houses--Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council--also decided Tuesday that the additional Budget will be tabled on June 18, sources said. First two days of the three-week sitting will be devoted to the discussion on the Governor's address to the joint session of the legislature delivered in February during the Budget session. The general debate on budget will be held for two days. Supplementary demands will be debated on June 27. The Maharashtra government had presented an interim budget with an estimated revenue deficit of Rs 19,784 crore in February this year. The upcoming session will have 15 working days. It will conclude on July 5. Last year, the Monsoon session was held in Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra. All eyes will be .
Sudan protesters strike as deadlock with military persists
Thousands of Sudanese workers began a national strike on Tuesday, leaving air and bus passengers stranded as protesters piled pressure on the military to hand power to a civilian administration. The leaders of an umbrella protest movement remain at loggerheads with army generals who ousted president Omar al-Bashir last month over whether a civilian or a soldier should head a new governing body. The body is expected to install a transitional civilian government, which in turn would prepare for the first post-Bashir elections after a three-year interim period. In a bid to step up pressure on the ruling military council, the Alliance for Freedom and Change protest movement called for a two-day general strike starting on Tuesday. Thousands of employees of government offices, banks, private sector firms and at the Red Sea hub of Port Sudan joined the strike, insisting that only civilian rule can lift Sudan out of its political crisis. "This strike is the first step. If our demands are not
Report: Wife of Iran presidential adviser shot dead at home
A semi-official news agency in Iran says a wife of an adviser to President Hassan Rouhani has been shot and killed at her home. Tuesday's report by the ISNA news agency says Mitra Najafi was killed in northern Tehran. She is the second wife of Mohammad Ali Najafi, a former reformist mayor of Tehran and a Rouhani confidant. The report did not elaborate. Such gun violence is incredibly rare in Iran, especially in the tony neighborhoods of northern Tehran, home to the country's political and economic elite. Najafi resigned as mayor in 2018, after hard-liners criticized him over a video showing he attended a dance performance by young girls at a school show. Polygamy is legal in Iran, though some criticized Najafi on social media after he married Mitra Najafi.
Spurious liquor claims 12 lives in UP; political conspiracy angle to be probed
At least 12 people died and around 40 others were taken ill after consuming spurious liquor in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district, officials said on Tuesday. The incident prompted the Adityanath government to order a high-level probe to look into all angles, including the possibility of a political conspiracy. Four members of a family are said to be among those who died in the incident that took place on Monday night. Heads rolled after the incident with authorities suspending 10 excise and two police officials. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for each of the deceased and ordered a high-level probe to look into all angles, including political conspiracy and submit a report within 48 hours, UP government spokesperson and cabinet minister Siddhart Nath Singh said. Locals belonging to Raniganj and adjoining villages consumed liquor purchased from a shop in Ramnagar area on Monday night and were rushed to Ramnagar Community Health Centre (CHC) after they
US "very pleased" to see strong govt return to power in India: Official
The US is "very pleased" to see a strong government return to power in India as both nations look to boost bilateral trade amid a growing security partnership, a senior US official said here Monday. "Our (US) President (Donald Trump) has expressed his strong desire for continued strength in the US and India relations across the board. So, it is an opportunity for us to continue what already is a very excellent relationship," said David Kennedy, Minister Counsellor for Public Affairs, US Embassy in India. Besides, he said both the US and India would like to see their annual bilateral trade of over USD 120 billion grow higher and view it as a "fantastic opportunity". "I think our broader security relationship is strong and growing and that will continue to grow in many ways with shared common interest and common values, as we are two large democracies. I am confident we will continue that very healthy relationship growing forward," Kennedy said. The total bilateral trade, both goods and