Page 366 - Politics

Heat of PM Modi's roadshow forced few to migrate: Yogi jibes at Rahul

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said the heat generated out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow here a day before filing his nomination forced 'a few people' to migrate to another state.Chief Minister Adityanath, who was apparently referring to Congress president Rahul Gandhi who went to Kerala to contest from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, said: "The Prime Minister's victory in Varanasi was more than certain. Still, the workers worked hard. Modi had the support of people of Varanasi. A few people migrated, feeling the heat of Modi's roadshow."Congress president Rahul won from Wayanad with a huge margin of votes but had to face defeat in the hands of BJP leader Smriti Irani in Amethi, a traditional Congress bastion.Modi did not address any election rally in Varanasi during the Lok Sabha elections. However, he held a roadshow a day prior to filing his nomination from the seat.Yogi, who was speaking at the party workers meet organised to be addressed by Prime Minister Modi, ...

Shocked by RJD rout, Lalu Prasad gives up meal at hospital

Stunned by the rout of his Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar and Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha election, Lalu Prasad had given up lunch after the declaration of poll results on May 23 for two days. Prasad had the meal on Sunday, May 26, after doctors, worried for his health, pleaded him that proper food intake was required for his medication to continue, Dr Umesh Prasad, head of the team looking after him, told PTI on Monday. The RJD president is under treatment for blood pressure, sugar and kidney ailment at the Ranchi-based Rajendra Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences since December 2017 after he was sent to jail by a court, RIMS sources said. The doctor said Prasad's health parameters are normal. The jovial RJD supremo, known for his earthy humours, apparently could not digest that his party drew a blank in its stronghold Bihar and also in the neighbouring Jharkhand. This is the first instance after its inception in 1997, that the RJD could not win a parliamentary seat in Bihar but it's .

N. Korea slams Bolton, calls him 'war maniac'

North Korea sharply criticized US National Security Advisor John Bolton on Monday, calling him a "war maniac" and a "security destruction advisor" that should be gone as early as possible.

LS poll results create vacancies in UP Cabinet, first reshuffle likely soon

The BJP's win in Uttar Pradesh has paved the way for the first reshuffle of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's council of ministers to fill the vacancies created by three state ministers winning the Lok Sabha election and a fourth being sacked. The exercise, the first since March 2017 when the Adityanath government was sworn in, is also likely to reward party's leaders for their hard work in ensuring a win in 62 of the 80 seats in the state, BJP sources said. The three cabinet ministers who contested the Lok Sabha election and won are S P Singh Baghel from Agra, Rita Bahuguna Joshi from Allahabad, and Satyadev Pachauri from Kanpur. A vacancy has also been created after disgruntled minister and SBSP leader O P Rajbhar was sacked by the chief minister for his outburst against his senior NDA partner, the BJP. Adityanath indicated during a recent interview to PTI that a cabinet reshuffle was very much on the cards and he is likely to take a decision soon. "We will do it (Cabinet expansion).

Impeach Trump? Most 2020 Democrats tiptoe past the question

Democratic leaders in Congress have argued that impeaching President Donald Trump is a political mistake as the 2020 election nears. Most of the candidates running to succeed him seem to agree, for now. Fewer than one-third of the 23 Democrats vying for the nomination are issuing calls to start the impeachment process, citing evidence in special counsel Robert Mueller's report they believe shows Trump obstructed justice. Most others, including leading contenders Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, have found a way to hedge or search for middle ground, supporting investigations that could lead to impeachment or saying Trump's conduct warrants impeachment but stopping short of any call for such a proceeding. The candidates' reluctance, even as more congressional Democrats start pushing their leaders in the direction, underscores the risky politics of investigating the president for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Impeachment matters deeply to the party's base but remains unpopular with most ..

Timely detection of IED averts tragedy in J&K

Security forces averted a tragedy on Monday by detecting an improvised explosive device (IED) on a highway in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.

RJD MLA asks Tejashwi to quit as Bihar opposition leader

An opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislator Maheshwar Yadav on Monday demanded that Bihar opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav should resign on moral grounds after the RJD-led Grand Alliance was routed by the ruling NDA in the Lok Sabha polls.

Chemistry defeated arithmetic in elections: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that chemistry had managed to defeat arithmetic in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

AIADMK leaders thank voters for reposing faith in party

AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami Monday thanked the people of the nine Assembly constituencies where the party won the bypolls, saying the victory allowed the "good government" formed by the late J Jayalalithaa to "stay." The voters, by preferring the AIADMK in the nine of the 22 Assembly constituencies where bypolls were held, besides giving the party the lone Theni Lok Sabha seat, have ignored those who had "betrayed" the party, the two leaders said. The ruling AIADMK's fate hinged on the outcome of the elections to the 22 seats, vacancies for which were caused due to reasons including the disqualification of 18 pro-Dhinakaran AIADMK MLAs who revolted against Chief Minister Palaniswami in 2017 for merging his faction with that of Panneerselvam. Panneerselvam was then heading a rebel faction. Thanking voters for casting their ballot in favour of the AIADMK, its Coordinator Panneerselvam and Joint Coordinator Palaniswami said party founder, the late MG ..

Terror grips Nepal: Bombs planted at various locations, vehicles torched

A day after three consecutive blasts in Kathmandu claimed the lives of four people, Nepal on Monday morning witnessed incidents of violence in different parts of the country.A parked truck was set on fire in the Nawalparasi district, while a bus was found burned down in the Surkhet district of Nepal's Karnali province, police said. Nepalese army diffused three bombs in the Pokhara municipality, and one other in the Annapurna Municipality of the Kaski district.Police have arrested nine people in connection with Sunday's blasts that took place in Sukedhara, Ghattekulo and Naagdhunga areas of Kathmandu and claimed lives of 4 people and injured 9 others.Police believe that a banned communist group suspected of yesterday's bombing is also behind the incidents reported across the country today.The Government of Nepal had recently blacklisted this splinter Maoist group for its extortion and violent activities. The group had called for a strike on Monday to protest against the government's ...

PM credits grassroot workers for his victory

Chemistry has triumphed over poll arithmetic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday, profusely thanking Varanasi voters for electing him by a huge margin in the Lok Sabha elections. "Political analysts will have to accept that beyond poll arithmetic there is a chemistry," he told party workers on his first visit to his constituency after his resounding victory which was by a higher margin this time. "For the country I am the PM, but for you I am your MP, I am your sevak," he said. "Work and workers create wonders," Modi said, giving full credit for his victory to the workers at the grassroots level for creating awareness about his government's policies and programmes for the people. Uttar Pradesh is showing the way for India, he said. He also spoke of importance of "perfect synergy" between the government and the party. The prime minister said he was also grateful to his opponents who fought against him. At the same time he lamented there was a sense of political untouchability, ...

Punjab Congress chief resigns for losing election

Punjab Congress President Sunil Jakhar, who lost the Lok Sabha election from Gurdaspur to BJP candidate and actor Sunny Deol, on Monday sent his resignation from the post to party chief Rahul Gandhi.

Continuity in govt likely to improve flow of foreign capital for corporates in India: S&P

The landslide victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP in the general election is likely to improve the flow of foreign capital for corporates in India, international rating agency S&P Global Ratings said Monday. In the first back-to-back majority for a single party in over three decades, the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on May 23 won 303 out of 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls, handing out a crushing defeat to the Congress and many other political opponents. "The potential for reforms following the victory is likely to maintain buoyancy in local funding markets and improve the flow of foreign capital for corporates in India," the rating agency said. Corporates in India, especially the rated ones, remain hostage to a number of worries surrounding a slowdown in global growth and trade wars. But now, the continuity of government, which was widely cited as an additional source of uncertainty in the run-up to the elections, is no longer one of them, it said. The

Delhi CM holds cabinet meeting to review development work

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday held a Cabinet meeting to review the ongoing developmental work in the national capital.Present in the meeting were senior cabinet colleagues like Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Minister Development, Labour & Employment, General Administration Gopal Rai and others.Kejriwal on Sunday motivated party workers and asked them not to get disheartened by their crushing defeat in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. He said "they should now look forward to the Delhi Assembly elections," which are slated to take place next year.He urged the AAP volunteers to go to "people of Delhi and ask them if Delhi had elected a BJP state government four years ago, would schools have been transformed, would mohalla clinics have been made, would doorstep delivery be started?"AAP got a massive jolt from the BJP and got decimated to zero in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections in Delhi. AAP, which is running the government in Delhi, ...

Karnataka: Don't mind being dropped from cabinet, says DC Thammanna

DC Thammanna, Karnataka state transport minister and Janta Dal (Secular) leader on Monday said that he wouldn't mind being dropped from the state cabinet if considered 'incapable.'"Let them drop me, I don't mind. I'm ready for the party to sack me from my post. If I am capable let them make me continue, otherwise, I don't want any post," he stated on being asked if he will be dropped from the state cabinet."I will abide if my party takes any such decision," he further added. This comes after sources indicated that a cabinet expansion and reshuffle may happen soon.He also refused to comment on any political situation citing that "my party has asked us not to talk to the media or comment on politics"JD(S) working president MS Narayan Rao on Sunday had issued a circular to party leaders, spokespersons and MLAs asking them not to participate in TV debates or give any statements to the media. This comes after the massive defeat faced by JD(S) and Congress alliance in the 2019 Lok Sabha ...

Jharkhand Congress committee president offers to resign after defeat in LS polls

Former MP Dr Ajoy Kumar on Monday offered to resign from the post of president of Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) after the party could manage to win only one seat in the state in the recently held Lok Sabha polls.The Congress party fared poorly in the Lok Sabha polls across the country, managing to win only 52 seats across the country.After the Lok Sabha poll debacle, Congress president Rahul Gandhi also offered to resign from his post during the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which was declined by the party on Saturday.The state unit presidents of the Congress in Odisha, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh have also submitted their resignations to the Congress president following the party's debacle in the LS polls in their respective state.Out of the total 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand, the Congress managed to win one, while the BJP and its regional ally All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) bagged 12 of them. One seat went to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), a

Rajiv Gauba could be new Cabinet Secretary, new Defence Secretary also on anvil (IANS Exclusive)

Even as all eyes are fixated on Cabinet formation and who will get what, given the nature of Delhis SPM laden air, major moves are expected in the bureaucracy. For starters, a new Cabinet Secretary is on the anvil, given that incumbent P.K. Sinhas extended tenure comes to an end in mid June.

Modi transformed Kashi in five years, says Amit Shah

BJP president Amit Shah said on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed Kashi in the last five years. He also thanked voters here for supporting Modi and re-electing him to the Lok Sabha for the second term. Shah, who has won his maiden Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar, said when Modi visited the party workers on the day he filed his nomination papers, it became clear that he was going to win. "I thank your all. At the same time you are lucky to have a person like Modi to represent you in Lok Sabha," he said, addressing party workers here. "Perhaps it is the only election where the candidate has not visited constituency after filing nomination. It reflects the confidence Modi had on his voters," he added. He accompanied Modi to Varanasi where the prime minister offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple soon after his arrival. Both Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in their speeches here, focused on the "gruelling" campaigning that Modi undertook in ..

Abe: 'Full support' from Trump for meeting with Kim

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he had won the backing of US President Donald Trump for a proposed meeting with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. "I feel I have to meet face-to-face with Chairman Kim without attaching any preconditions and exchange frank views with him," Abe told a joint news conference with Trump following their summit in Tokyo. "President Trump... said he will give full support needed for that," the premier said. Abe has said that a face-to-face meeting with Kim is the only way to solve the emotional issue of Japanese people who Tokyo believes were abducted by Pyongyang, but Kim has so far shown little interest in a summit. Japan suspects dozens of people who are still missing were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s to train their own spies in the Japanese language and culture. Abe acknowledged he had "no specific plan" to meet the North Korean leader. "But there is no change in Japan's policy that we will seek to resolve the issue

Is it end of the road for Chandrababu Naidu? (IANS Special)

With his worst-ever electoral defeat in Andhra Pradesh and losing relevance in national politics, Nara Chandrababu Naidu is facing the biggest challenge of his career.