Page 368 - Politics

PM Modi pays tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru on his 55th death anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took to Twitter to pay his obeisance to country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his 55th death anniversary."Tributes to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Ji on his death anniversary. We remember his contributions to our nation," tweeted Prime Minister Modi.After getting a landslide victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister is slated to visit his constituency Varanasi today.Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad paid tributes to Pandit Nehru at his memorial at Shantivan here.Among others who paid their obeisance to the late leader was former Uttar Pradesh Governor Motilal Vora.A staunch advocate of socialism, secularism and democracy Pandit Nehru, he was an eminent leader of India's freedom movement against the British rule.Nehru emerged as an eminent leader of the Indian independence movement under the tutelage .

Trump strikes dovish tone on North Korea, Iran

President Donald Trump Monday hailed a "great respect" between the US and nuclear-armed North Korea, as he also held out the possibility of talks with Iran, stressing he did not want "terrible things" to happen. Ahead of summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump played down recent belligerence from Pyongyang, which last month fired short-range missiles that raised tensions in the region. "I personally think that lots of good things will come with North Korea, I feel that. I may be right, I may be wrong, but I feel that," Trump told reporters at Abe's office. "There's a good respect built, maybe a great respect built between... the United States and North Korea, but we will see what happens," added the president, whose failed talks with the North's leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi sparked a fresh spike in tensions. He noted that when he came to office, there was "testing all the time, nuclear testing at the highest level, and that seems to have stopped". On Sunday, Trump ..

'McCain kept reciting dictator names during Trump's inauguration'

Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar told a crowd of voters that late Arizona Senator John McCain "kept reciting" the names of dictators to her during President Donald Trump's inauguration speech in January 2017.

Homage to Jahawarlal Nehru on his 55th death anniversary

Political leaders including senior Congress leaders on Tuesday paid their homage to the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his 55th death anniversary.Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi paid tributes to Pandit Nehru at his memorial Shanti Van here.Among others who paid their obeisance to the late leader was former Uttar Pradesh Governor Motilal Vora. An all-religion prayer meeting was organised at the memorial premises.Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid his tributes."Tributes to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Ji on his death anniversary. We remember his contributions to our nation," he wrote on Twitter.Nehru emerged as an eminent leader of the Indian independence movement under the tutelage of Mahatma Gandhi and served India as Prime Minister from its establishment as an independent nation in 1947 until his death on May 27, 1964.A staunch advocate of socialism, .

Varanasi all decked up ahead of PM Modi's visit today

The city of Varanasi is all decked up, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his constituency on Monday.The preparations for his welcome have been completed and the area has been decked up with BJP flags, ribbons and wall paintings of Buddha and other spiritual idols. Cleaning and maintenance work has been completed.On Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with local administration officials in Varanasi to assess preparations made ahead of Modi's visit here.Modi is scheduled to hold a five-kilometer-long roadshow in the constituency to celebrate his massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections.All the roads along the route which Modi's convoy is scheduled to take have been barricaded.After the 'darshan' and 'puja' at the Kashi Vishwanath temple, the Prime Minister is scheduled to address BJP workers at Deendayal Hastkala Sankul.In the Lok Sabha elections, Modi had defeated his Samajwadi Party (SP) rival Shalini Yadav by a margin of over 4.80 lakh

Love, sex and dhoka in Kashmir (IANS Exclusive)

With Zakir Musa's killing, security forces have recorded an extremely important kill in the battle against Islamic fundamentalism in the Valley, in the main south Kashmir where the jungles are now being used to train local youth. Musa, a byproduct of generation X, is a neophyte who grew up in turbulence and turmoil and experienced the so-called 'azadi' struggle first-hand, but chose the path of 'sharia' instead, brainwashed as he was by Wahabi Salafism indoctrination.

Tectonic shifts in mandate: BJP creates new voter base among poor, backward (IANS Special)

The worlds largest elections in terms of sheer numbers throw up a lot of macro number trends, including the fact that the largest party -- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- has been able to create a new voter base defined by economic class rather than by caste or religion.

Rahul Gandhi's personality does not attract people: Shiv Sena

Taking a potshot at the "shameful defeat" of the Congress in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the Shiv Sena on Monday said Congress president Rahul Gandhi's personality "does not attract people.""The Congress party faced a more shameful defeat than 2014 this time," Shiv Sena said in its editorial mouthpiece 'Saamana'."Rahul Gandhi's personality does not attract people and his speeches are not impressive. Is there anything that can inspire a person or the country from whatever Rahul Gandhi says?" it asked.After analyzing Congress post the Lok Sabha elections, Shiv Sena said the grand old party is visionless right now. It also stated, "Congress party has leaders, but lacks party workers."Shiv Sena took a jibe at the appointment of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the party's general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh. "Congress won two seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, but only managed one in 2019," Shiv Sena stated.

Assam Congress committee president resigns post 'humiliating defeat' in LS polls

Congress leader Ripun Bora submitted his resignation to Congress president Rahul Gandhi from the post of president of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee after the "humiliating defeat" of the party in the recently held Lok Sabha elections."I take the moral responsibility for the dismal performance of the Congress party in the result of Lok Sabha elections under my leadership in Assam. Whatever may be the reason for this humiliating defeat of my party in Assam, my conscience does not allow me to continue as president of Assam PCC," Bora said in his resignation letter."I shall always be a disciplined soldier of my party and I am ready to dedicate myself to work for the party in the days to come. In order to give a new look to the party and rejuvenate it I think a new successor should take immediately my place," he added.Out of the total 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam, Congress only managed to win three, while the BJP bagged nine of them and two went to others.

Won't step back from sacrificing everything to safeguard country's values: Sonia Gandhi

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi thanked people of Rae Bareli for re-electing her as the Member of Parliament and said she won't step back from sacrificing anything to safeguard the basic values of the country.Sonia Gandhi, who defeated BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh by over 1.5 lakh votes in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, also thanked the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which did not field any candidate against her from the respective constituency."I know that the coming days are going to be very tough, but I believe that with your support and trust, the Congress party will be able to overcome all challenges," Sonia Gandhi said in a letter."I promise you that to safeguard the basic values of the country I will not step back from sacrificing whatever I have by upholding the traditions of the ancestors of the Congress party," she added.She went on to add, "Besides each and every Congress worker, I am also thankful to the ...

EU Parliament elections: Far-right Marine Le Pen declares victory over Macron

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen declared victory over President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, as euroskeptic parties made strong gains in the European Union (EU) parliamentary election.The voter turnout in this election was estimated around 51 per cent, marking the highest in 20 years, and suggesting more than 200 million citizens across the 28-nation bloc cast their ballot in a poll billed as a battle between populists and pro-European forces, The Times of Israel reported.Le Pen's National Rally garnered around 24 per cent votes, with Macron's centrists trailing with 22 to 23 per cent votes, according to two polls from Ifop-Fiducial and Harris Interactive-Agence Epoka.In addition, Italy's far-right League, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, also won the most votes with between 27-31 per cent, according to exit polls.Across Europe however, according to a projection prepared by the parliament, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) is on course to have the most .

PM Modi to visit Varanasi today

Preparations are going on in full swing in Varanasi ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his parliamentary constituency today after getting a landslide victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.Banners have been put at various places in the city featuring photographs of Modi."We are keenly waiting for Prime Minister Modi to visit Varanasi. It is heartening to see that he will be our Prime Minister again," said a local.Another one added, "A lot of development work was done in Varanasi. Now we are just hoping that the same will happen in the next five years as well."Three days before taking oath as the Prime Minister for a second consecutive term, Modi will hold a roadshow in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, and will address the BJP workers.The chief priest of Kashi Vishwanath temple, Acharya Ashok Dwivedi, who will perform puja with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, said the Varanasi MP has the blessings of Lord Shiva and mother Ganga has accepted ...

Don't get disheartened by LS defeat, look forward to Assembly polls: Delhi CM to party workers

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday motivated party workers to not get disheartened by their crushing defeat in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections and said "they should now look forward to the Delhi Assembly elections," which are slated to take place next year.Kejriwal said he is confident of getting more than 54 per cent vote share which AAP received in the last Delhi Assembly elections when it won 67 out of 70 seats.Taking to the stage, Kejriwal congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for winning a second term and hoped that the Central government would work in good faith with the state government for the betterment of Delhi."People gave votes based on PM face thinking it was a national election and not one for AAP. But now it is time to go to them saying this here is the state election now and we must vote not on a name but on the basis of work done," Kejriwal said.He urged the AAP volunteers to go to the "people of Delhi and ask them if Delhi ..

Qatar invited by Saudi Arabia to talks over Iran tensions

Qatar said on Sunday that it had received an invitation from Saudi Arabia to attend emergency regional talks to discuss mounting tensions between Iran and the United States. Riyadh had called two gatherings -- one for Arab League members, the other for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regional bloc nations -- after a spate of attacks. Several tankers in Gulf waters were targeted under mysterious circumstances and a Saudi crude pipeline was hit by drone strikes coordinated by Yemen rebels who Riyadh said were acting on Iranian orders. King Salman had invited Gulf leaders and Arab League members to summits in Mecca on May 30 but it was not stated if Qatar was also invited to the Arab bloc deliberations. It was unclear if Qatar -- subject to a Saudi-led economic and diplomatic boycott over alleged support for Iran and Islamist movements -- would be invited at all, with Doha initially reporting it had not received an invite. Qatar's emir "has received a written message" inviting the ...

European elections: Brexit party leading in UK

The Brexit Party outperformed the ruling Conservative party and opposition Labour party in Britain in the European Parliament elections, the first local results have showed.

Portugal's Socialist Party wins European elections

Portugal's Socialist Party (PS, or Partido Socialista) have won the European elections by garnering 34 per cent of votes, showed the preliminary results after counting of 95 per cent of the votes.

Poland's ruling party wins European Parliament polls: Exit polls

Poland ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) won 42.2 per cent votes in the European Parliament elections, main opposition group European Coalition (KE) won 39.1 per cent votes, exit polls showed.

Greek PM says will call snap elections after June 2

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Sunday he would call for early polls next month after a drubbing at European and local elections. "Following the second round of local elections (on June 2), I will ask the president to immediately call national elections," Tsipras said in a televised address. A likely date for the ballot is June 30, news reports said. With about a third of polling stations accounted for, Tsipras' leftist Syriza party scored less than 24 percent in the European ballot compared to more than 33 per cent for the main opposition conservative party New Democracy. And in local elections, early results showed New Democracy in control, or securing outright, the bulk of Greece's 13 regions. "I will not run away or quit the struggle for equality, solidarity, social justice," said Tsipras, Greece's youngest prime minister in 150 years and the first avowed atheist leader. "The electoral result... is not worthy of our expectations," he said. New Democracy leader Kyriakos

Greece's New Democracy party wins European Parliament polls

Greek main opposition conservative New Democracy (ND) party leads European Parliament elections, garnering 32.7 per cent of the vote against 24 per cent for the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA party, according to estimates based on the first official results announced on national broadcaster ERT.

Shaktikanta Das meets Jaitley; govt says reports on FM's health 'baseless'

Jaitley's college friend and media baron Rajat Sharma as well as Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta also rejected reports on deteriorating health of the senior BJP leader