Page 359 - Politics

UK: Pak-origin Sajid Javid announces prime ministerial bid

The incumbent Home Secretary and former banker Sajid Javid on Monday announced his bid to run for the post of the leader of the Conservative party and the next prime minister of the UK after Theresa May resigned from the position amid Brexit chaos."I'm standing to be the next leader of @Conservatives & Prime Minister of our great country. We need to restore trust, bring unity and create new opportunities across the UK. First and foremost, we must deliver Brexit. Join @TeamSaj to help me do just that," Javid tweeted.This comes as the Nigel Farage-led Brexit Party surged ahead in the recently culminated multi-country European Parliament elections, with the public giving both the Conservatives and the Labour Party a drubbing over the Brexit mess.May's previously-negotiated Withdrawal Agreement was rejected thrice by the British Parliament while the Labour's failure to show their complete support for a second referendum is being perceived as the reasons behind the European ...

Punjab CM says Sunil Jakhar's resignation was 'totally unnecessary'

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said Sunil Jakhar's resignation from the post of state Congress chief was "totally unnecessary"."There was absolutely no reason for Jakhar to quit. Had he discussed the matter with me, I would have categorically advised him against quitting as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president," the Chief Minister said in a statement.Praising Jakhar for the party's performance in Punjab, the Chief Minister said, "Other state Congress presidents had quit taking responsibility for the poor performance of the party in their respective states. Under the leadership of Jakhar, Punjab Congress had defied all electoral trends at the national level and that of the majority of the states."Amarinder asserted that Congress needs Jakhar to further strengthen the party's standing in the state.As for Jakhar's own defeat from Gurdaspur, which he had cited as his reason for quitting, the Chief Minister said, "The PPCC chief was not to blame for ..

Fight for top EU jobs begins after European elections

The tussle for top EU jobs got under way Monday after European Parliament elections delivered a fragmented result, with gains for eurosceptic and green parties as the traditional mainstream groups took a hit. The main centre-right and centre-left groups lost their combined majority in the 751-seat parliament in the face of a challenge by eurosceptic and nationalist forces of Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini and Nigel Farage -- although the populist wave was less than some had predicted. There were big wins for the Greens, who posted double digit scores across Europe's biggest countries, and the Liberals, with both parties likely to play a major role in any future parliamentary coalition. Each previous EU election since the first in 1979 has seen turnout fall, but figures from across the 28-nation bloc were at a 20-year high of 51 per cent, suggesting this year's culture clash mobilised both populists and those who oppose them. Boosted by French President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance ...

Goa CM to unveil Veer Savarkar's portait in Secretariat

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday will unveil a portrait of RSS leader Vinayak Damodar "Veer" Savarkar, in the ministerial block of the state secretariat to create "awareness" about the former president of the Hindu Mahasabha.

Bengal BJP to conduct workshop for newly elected MPs

The West Bengal BJP unit has decided to conduct a workshop and prepare a do's and dont's for the newly elected MPs, a senior party leader said on Monday. "We will conduct a workshop with all the newly elected 18 MPs and prepare a do's and dont's for the newly elected MPs. We want to ensure that all the MP's utilise their MPLAD funds and reach out to the masses with the developmental policies of the Narendra Modi government," he said. Bengal witnessed a saffron surge in the Lok Sabha polls as the BJP inflicted a blow to ruling Trinamool Congress by winning 18 of the total 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The ruling TMC won 22 seats down from 34 in 2014. When the parliament is not in session, the MPs would spend most of their time in their respective constituencies. "We want our MPs in Bengal to set an example in regards to how masses should be served," the senior BJP leader said. "Apart from those who will become ministers in the Union Cabinet and our state president Dilip

Patnaik reviews BJD's performance in the Lok Sabha polls

Unhappy over the "not upto expectation" performance by party candidates in Lok Sabha polls in Odisha, chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik Monday held consultation with various stake-holders to ascertain reasons, party sources said. Patnaik met defeated candidates, district presidents and senior leaders and wanted to know as to why BJD candidates lost the Lok Sabha seats despite retaining most segments in Assembly elections held simultaneously. While BJD won 112 seats in the 147 member state Assembly, the regional party candidates could bag 12 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats. In 2014 elections, the BJD had captured 20 Lok Sabha seats while the BJP had won only one. This time the BJP won eight Lok Sabha seats while the Congress got one. The BJD candidates lost in Bargarh, Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Bolangir, Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Koraput and Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seats. What has come as a surprise for the BJD is that its Lok Sabha candidates lost even as party's assembly .

CM Kejriwal, Dy CM should resign after AAP's LS poll debacle: NDMC Leader of House

Leader of the House in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, Tilakraj Kataria, Monday demanded resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy over AAP's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha election. Kataria demanded resignation of Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and cabinet minister Satyendar Jain over the AAP's bleak performance at the hustings, the BJP-led civic body said. AAP's Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann is the lone party member in the new Lok Sabha, among the 42 candidates who fought the elections. He retained his Sangrur seat in the state. In 2014, the party had won 4 LS seats, all from Punjab. Their situation in Delhi from 67 out of 70 seats in 2015 Assembly polls has drastically reduced to deposit loss of several candidates, Kataria said. "The reason behind the situation of the corporations is that they (Delhi government) keep on curtailing funds of all the three corporations to make them handicap and to stop development works in Delhi," ...

Prem Singh Tamang sworn in as Sikkim CM

Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) leader Prem Singh Tamang, better known as PS Golay, was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Sikkim on Monday.His party, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), won 17 of the 32 Assembly seats in the state in the recently concluded Assembly polls.Golay replaces Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) leader and five-time Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling, who was in power for the last 24 years.SKM, which came into being in 2013, bagged 17 seats, one more than required for a majority in the 32-member Assembly, whereas Chamling's SDF bagged 15 seats.Following the oath-taking ceremony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Golay and assured of support from the Centre."Congratulations to Shri Prem Singh Tamang on taking oath as Sikkim's Chief Minister. I assure full support from the Centre in furthering Sikkim's development", Modi tweeted.Echoing similar sentiments, Home Minister Rajnath Singh also extended his best wishes to the Sikkim Chief Minister.Rajnath tweeted, "I .

Akash surface-to-air missile successfully test fired

India on Monday successfully test fired an Akash-MK-1S missile from the integrated test range at Chandipur in Odisha, the defence ministry said Monday. The surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile with a strike range of 25 km and capability to carry warhead of 60 kg was test fired on May 25 and May 27, they said. "Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test fired AKASH-MK-1S missile from ITR, Chandipur, Odhisa on May 25 and 27," the defence ministry said in a statement. It said the Akash weapon system has combination of both command guidance and active terminal seeker guidance. "Seeker and guidance performance have been consistently established in both the missions. All the mission objectives have been met," the ministry said.

Communist Party of Nepal claims responsibility for explosions, violence

The Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal on Monday claimed responsibility for the series of explosions which struck Kathmandu on Sunday, as well as the violence which ensued.The Nepal Police had earlier suspected the group to be behind the incidents as pamphlets belonging to the group were discovered from the site of blasts. A handful of people from the party had been arrested.At least four people were killed while nine were injured when a series of three blasts ripped across the Nepalese capital on Sunday. The Army's bomb disposal unit has since defused bombs in areas like Koteshwor, Satdobato, Gwarko, Lagankhel and the New Buspark, to name a few.Apart from this, several vehicles were torched across parts of Nepal, leading to fear amongst the public. The streets bore a deserted look across Kathmandu on Monday in the wake of the attack.The banned splinter group criticised the Government in the release which was issued late Monday evening.This is not the first time that a ...

Left attributes LS poll results to "successful shifting of narrative" by BJP

Sitaram Yechury, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday attributed the party's disastrous performance and Narendra Modi led NDA's resounding victory in the Lok Sabha polls to "successful shifting of narrative by the BJP from the "issues of day-to-day concern of people to communal nationalist jingoism".Briefing the media after a meeting of the Polit Bureau here, Yechury said, "The BJP according to us could very purposefully shift the popular narrative away from the day to day problems people faced during the last five years of its rule and the hardships imposed due to demonetization, GST, price-rise, farm-crisis.""All these issues could be pushed into the background. What they projected was a narrative built around communal-nationalistic jingoism and the fight against terrorism post-Pulwama," added Yechury.The Left leader claimed that this was aided through the build-up of the persona of Narendra Modi and "micro-level" social engineering."This ...

Telangana: Shashidhar Reddy urges implementation of 'Kamaraj Plan 2.0'

In the wake of Congress' poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls, senior leader Marri Shashidar Reddy on Monday urged the party to implement "Kamaraj Plan 2.0", stating that by doing so, Congress President Rahul Gandhi will get a "free hand" to revamp the party."In 1963, Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru made "Kamaraj Plan" and he got all senior Congress leaders holding ministerial office to resign and take up party work. Even after winning elections in 1962, he implemented that plan because of the mess that happened in the party," Reddy told ANI."After losing Assembly Elections, I had made a similar appeal on March 2017 to all members of the CWC and AICC office bearers to submit their resignation which I called "Kamaraj Plan version 2.0." So By implementing this plan, party president Rahul Gandhi will get a free hand to reorganize and revamp the Congress party," he added.Talking about the resolution taken up during Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on May 25, Reddy said,

New MPs start coming to Delhi

With the government deciding not to allow newly elected MPs to stay in five-star hotels, the landmark Western Court on Janpath has become a transit hostel for many parliamentarians.

Gambhir deplores assault on Muslim youth in Gurugram; Delhi BJP chief says reaction 'innocent'

Newly-elected East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir on Monday termed as "deplorable" the alleged assault on a Muslim man in Gurugram and asked the authorities to take "exemplary" action in the matter. His comments, however, did not go down well among a section of his partymen in Delhi, who said the words of the cricketer-turned-politician might be used against the BJP by the opposition parties. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari condemned the incident, but added that people should be cautious while reacting to such reports. He claimed that some people, as part of a conspiracy, triggered such incidents in order to spread rumours and with a design to instill a sense of fear among Muslims. "People need to be cautious so that they are not misled by such rumours. East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir has reacted with innocence to this matter," Tiwari said in a statement. A 25-year-old Muslim man was alleged slapped by a group of men in Gurugram on May 25. The victim was also reportedly asked to remove his skull ..

Modi thanks world leaders for congratulatory messages on LS poll victory

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday thanked world leaders for their messages congratulating him for returning to power in the Lok Sabha elections. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wished Modi for his thumping electoral victory. Thanking him on Twitter, the PM said, India and Iran enjoy civilizational links. "We will work to strengthen close ties between the two countries," Modi wrote. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted that Kim Jae Ryong, the Premier of Cabinet in Democratic People's Republic of Korea, also congratulated Modi on being elected to the office for a second term. In his response to wishes from Jamaican PM Andrew Holness, Modi said the victory is a reflection of the aspirations of 1.3 billion people of India. "I look forward to working with you to strengthen our friendly relations for the mutual progress and prosperity of our people," he said. Responding to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's greetings, Modi returned the wishes on inauguration of his second term ..

European polls: Labour leader Corbyn refuses to clearly back another Brexit referendum

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Monday refused to explicitly back the idea of a fresh Brexit referendum after the party's dismal performance in the European Parliament elections. Corbyn said any deal with the European Union should be put to a "public vote". His statement came despite increasing calls from within the Labour Party to back a fresh Brexit referendum. In the first referendum held on June 23, 2016, 51.9 per cent of those voting supported Britain leaving the EU. Senior Labour figures including deputy leader Tom Watson and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry have called for Labour to be clearer in its support for a fresh Brexit referendum. "We had a very clear policy all along," Corbyn said. "We will call for a general election and a referendum to decide on the future," the BBC quoted Corbyn as saying. When asked if he would back a second referendum, and campaign for the UK to remain in the EU, he said there should be "an agreement made" (with the EU) which would then be

Alapan Bandyopadhyay new Home secretary

West Bengal government on Monday appointed Alapan Bandyopadhyay as the new Home Secretary and transferred a number of IAS and IPS officers, an official notification said. Bandyopadhyay replaces Atri Bhattacharya. Bhattacharya was transferred by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and chief secretary Moloy De was looking after the Home department. Bandopadhyay, who was in charge of the MSME department with additional charge of Industry, Commerce and Enterprises will also look after these departments, the notification said. Ajit Ranjan Bardhan would be the new principal secretary of the North Bengal Development Department (NBDD), the order said. Bardhan was earlier in charge of Youth Services and Sports department. Barun Kumar Ray, who was in-charge of the NBDD with additional charge of Jalpaiguri Commissioner was transferred as the Commissioner of Malda. Choten D Lama, Secretary of the Panchayat & Rural Development Department (P&RD) was shifted to the Backward

Austrian chancellor loses no-confidence showdown

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz Monday lost a no-confidence vote in parliament, removing him and his cabinet from office over a corruption scandal that brought has down his coalition government. "An application (by the opposition Social Democrats) has been accepted, so he has lost the confidence" of parliament, deputy speaker Doris Bures said. The move comes just after Kurz celebrated a big win for his conservative People's Party (OeVP) in Sunday's European elections, which is projected to gain 34.9 percent of the vote and two extra European parliament seats. It comes in the wake of the so-called "Ibiza-gate" scandal, which saw FPOe leader and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache resign from both posts after he was caught appearing to offer public contracts in return for campaign help from a fake Russian backer. That led to Kurz ending his coalition with the FPOe and calling early elections for the autumn, but the opposition say the 32-year-old leader must also take ...

Fight against terrorism will continue till lasting peace achieved in J-K: DGP

Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh Monday said the fight against terrorism would continue till the establishment of "lasting peace" in the state. He also asked his men to be fully prepared for the annual 46-day pilgrimage to the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, which is scheduled to begin from July 1. "Jammu and Kashmir Police with its capabilities have succeeded in creating a dent in militancy by eliminating various terrorists including their commanders... our fight against terrorism will continue and we will achieve our goal to establish lasting peace in the state," Singh said addressing a police 'darbar' in Udhampur district. He commended the police for foiling attempts to revive militancy in some areas of the state especially in Jammu region, where it has been wiped out over a decade ago. The police chief emphasized upon the personnel to keep their morale high and maintain discipline at all levels. "Our officers and ..

Russia invites Taliban, Afghan officials to Moscow meet

Afghan politicians are set to attend a two-day meeting with the Taliban in Moscow this week, officials confirmed Monday, as fighting continues to rage in Afghanistan amid troubled peace talks between the US and the militants. The meeting -- set to run the 28th and 29th of May -- will mark the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a 14-member delegation was heading to Moscow, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the group's top political leader. Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's chief negotiator and former deputy minister of foreign affairs, will also attend, Mujahid said in a statement. From the Afghan political establishment, former president Hamid Karzai is set to make an appearance, with his spokesman Yousof Saha suggesting the Afghan and Taliban delegations might meet on the sidelines for informal talks, but he noted nothing was guaranteed. And a spokesman for Afghanistan's high peace council --