Page 46 - Politics

Cong suspends Punjab legislator Sandeep Jakhar for 'anti-party' activities

Punjab Congress Saturday suspended Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar from the party for allegedly indulging in "anti-party activities." The action against Jakhar came following a complaint filed by Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Jakhar is the nephew of Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar who had last year left the Congress. Punjab Congress posted a communication on X and said, "Sandeep Jakhar is suspended from the party with immediate effect." According to the party's communication to Jakhar, Congress general secretary Tariq Anwar said "You have not been participating in any of the party programmes including Bharat Jodo Yatra" and also "The house in which you stay is a common accommodation on which a BJP flag flies atop." The communication also alleged open rebellion against party's on Jakhar's part. "You have been speaking against the party and the PCC president and also you are openly defending your uncle Sunil Jakhar," it read. "After careful consideration, the DAC ...

Dy CM Ajit Pawar, 8 NCP ministers given charge to build party organisation

Nine NCP ministers have been entrusted with the task of strengthening the party organisation in Maharashtra with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar being given charge of Pune, Satara, Sangli and Solapur districts, a statement said on Friday. Praful Patel, national working president of the NCP faction of Ajit Pawar, has been given the responsibility of strengthening the organisation in Bhandara, Gondia, Amravati, Wardha and Nagpur by the state unit chief, it said. In all, the nine ministers have been given the task of building the party organisation in 36 districts. Minister Chhagan Bhujbal will look after Nashik, Mumbai city and Mumbai suburbs, it said. On July 2, Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde government, resulting in a vertical split in the Sharad Pawar founded Nationalist Congress Party.

Pakistan caretaker PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar's 18-member cabinet takes oath

16 federal ministers took oath while the interim prime minister has also appointed three advisers

12% of sitting RS MPs billionaires, highest percentage from Andhra: ADR

About 12 per cent of sitting MPs of Rajya Sabha are billionaires with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana having the highest percentage of such parliamentarians, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Election Watch (NEW) have analysed and updated the criminal, financial and other background details of 225 out of 233 Rajya Sabha MPs. In the current Rajya Sabha, one seat is vacant According to the report, 5 (45 per cent) out of 11 MPs from Andhra Pradesh, 3 (43 per cent) out of 7 MPs from Telangana, 3 (16 per cent) out of 19 MPs from Maharashtra, 1 (33 per cent) out of 3 MPs from Delhi, 2 (29 per cent) out of 7 MPs from Punjab, 1 (20 per cent) out of 5 MPs from Haryana and 2 (18 per cent) out of 11 MPs from Madhya Pradesh have declared assets worth more than Rs 100 crore. The total assets of seven Members of Parliament (MPs) analysed from Telangana is Rs 5,596 crore, that of 11 MPs from Andhra Pradesh is Rs 3,823 .

Spain parl holds crucial vote that could pave way for another leftist govt

Spain's newly elected Parliament meets on Thursday to choose the chamber's speaker and presiding council, a normally routine vote but which this time will be read as a bellwether of a future government. Inconclusive national elections on July 23 left no party with an easy path to cobble together the support needed to lead a government. Parties on the left and right of the spectrum are delicately poised in the fight for power. Acting Prime Minister Pedro Snchez appears to have a slight edge over his conservative and rightwing rivals, but nothing is guaranteed and a new election in the coming months is still a real possibility. Thursday's council vote by the 350 new lawmakers could therefore indicate whether Snchez's Socialists are making headway in building support among smaller parties. These include separatist parties in Catalonia that appear likely to decide both the speaker's vote and the future session to elect a prime minister. Snchez's Socialists, the left-wing Sumar (Joini

Congress reviews poll preparedness in J'khand for 2024 Lok Sabha elections

The Congress on Wednesday reviewed the preparedness of its Jharkhand unit for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will try to win all 14 parliamentary seats in the state. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said preparations of the party's Jharkhand unit for the general elections were reviewed at a meeting. "We are committed to a stable government in the state of Jharkhand, and are continuously striving for the betterment of the people," he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, and added that the Congress "is dedicated to Jharkhand's water, forest, land rights and development". The Congress is part of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led government in the state. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal said the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee's preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections was reviewed at the meeting chaired by Kharge. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and senior .

Nigeriens call for mass recruitment of volunteers as junta faces invasion

Nigeriens are preparing for a possible invasion by countries in the region, three weeks after mutinous soldiers ousted the nation's democratically elected president. Residents in the capital, Niamey, are calling for the mass recruitment of volunteers to assist the army in the face of a growing threat by the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, which says it will use military force if the junta doesn't reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum. ECOWAS has activated a standby force" to restore order in Niger after the junta ignored a deadline to release and reinstate Bazoum. The initiative, spearhead by a group of locals in Niamey, aims to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers from across the country to register for the Volunteers for the Defence of Niger. The group would fight, assist with medical care, and provide technical and engineering logistics among other functions, in case the junta needs help, Amsarou Bako, one of the founders, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "It's

Mizoram polls 2023: Ex-IPS officer Lalduhoma leads the charge against MNF

Zoram People's Movement's Lalduhoma was the security in-charge of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

Mizoram polls 2023: Who is Zoramthanga? A look at the rebel-turned-leader

After completing graduation from DM College in Manipur, Zoramthanga joined the Mizo National Front (MNF) movement

Corruption in infra projects taking nation on 'highway to hell': Cong

The Congress on Tuesday cited a Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India report on the 'Bharatmala Pariyojana' highway projects to accuse the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of corruption and said it is "taking the nation on a highway to hell". The opposition party also asked if Modi will take responsibility for the "incompetence and corruption in the Bharatmala projects under his direct watch". Citing the CAG report, Kharge said Modi should look within before harping on corruption by his political opponents. "BJP's corruption and loot is (are) taking the nation on a highway to hell," Kharge said on X, formerly Twitter. In a scathing report against the Modi government, he said, the CAG has pointed out that the 'Bharatmala Pariyojana' is being built with "innumerable deficiencies, non-compliance of outcome parameters, clear violation of tender bidding process and huge funding mismanagement". Kharge said the CAG has exposed that the "cost of this project was originally

India's deprived do not want freebies, but ask for 5 things from govts

Good politics can be good economics if evidence-based feedback become the basis of public policy

In contrast to UPA years, NER's economy has seen gradual growth in NDA rule

Shifting focus to population, the NER housed 45.5 million individuals, accounting for 3.7 per cent of the country's total population of 1.21 billion, according to the 2011 Census

BJP trying to restrict tribals to jungles by calling them 'vanvasis': Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused the ruling BJP at the Centre of attempting to restrict the tribal communities to the jungles and deny their status as original owners of the land by calling them "Vanvasi" instead of 'Adivasi'. The Wayanad MP reiterated the issue which he had raised a fews days ago in Rajasthan while addressing a party rally where he had said that the BJP "insults" the tribal community by calling them "Vanvasi" instead of Adivasi and snatches away their forest land to hand it over to industrialists. Today, after inaugurating the HT Connection at Dr Ambedkar District Memorial Cancer Centre at Nalloornad in Mananthavady area of Wayanad district of the state, Gandhi alleged that there was a "perverted logic" behind calling tribals as vanvasis. "It is to deny that you (tribals) are the original owners of the land and also restrict you to the jungle. "The idea is that you belong in the jungle and should not leave the jungle," he said. The Congress leader s

Dedicate yourselves to make India great in 'Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal': Shah

Ahead of India's 77th Independence Day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah here on Sunday appealed to the youth to dedicate themselves to Bharat Mata for 25 years of the "Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal" to make India a great nation. Shah and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel flagged off the 'Tiranga Yatra' organised by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in the city. "We no longer need to die for the country because we are independent. But, nobody can stop us from living for our country," Shah said. On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal, every house hoisted the national flag on August 15, 2022, he said. If each of the one crore families in Gujarat hoist the tricolour on their houses, then the entire state and the country will become "tirangamay", the Union minister said. Shah said PM Modi has appealed to people to celebrate 25 years (from 2022) till August 15, 2047 as "Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal" and use it to make the country great and number 1 in every sphere. "This 'Amrit Kaal' is of

2-hour-long speech filled with irrelevant talk: Priyanka's dig at PM Modi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his reply to the no-confidence debate in Lok Sabha, saying that he should have talked about peace efforts in Manipur but his over two-hour-long speech was filled with jokes, sarcasm and irrelevant talk. In his over 130-minute reply in Lok Sabha to the no-confidence brought by opposition parties, Modi on Thursday slammed the opposition alliance INDIA as a collection of arrogant dynasties who will take India back by two centuries as he exuded confidence that people will bless 'garib ka beta' with a record-breaking mandate in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Several opposition parties, including the Congress, had walked out by the time Modi touched on the Manipur issue, accusing him of not speaking on the matter. "According to the dignity of his post, it does not suit the Prime Minister to laugh-mock over a serious and sensitive issue like Manipur," Priyanka Gandhi said on X, formerly known as ...

Rajya Sabha bids farewell to retiring members, recalls their contribution

The Rajya Sabha on Friday bid farewell to five members, including BJP leader Jugalsinh Lokhandwala who will retire on August 18, and recalled their contribution to the House. Out of the nine retiring members, four have been re-elected and the House will miss the presence of other five members, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said. Four members -- S Jaishankar of the BJP and three AITC members Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Derek O Brien and Dola Sen -- have been re-elected to the Upper House while the five retiring members are Jugalsinh Lokhandwala and Dineshchandra Jemalbhai Anavadiya of the BJP, Sushmita Dev and Shanta Chhetri from the AITC and Pradip Bhattacharya from the Congress. "The five retiring members have made rich and significant contribution to the proceedings of the House during the course of their tenure. I am sure they would cherish the unique honour of their association with the House and will continue with their contribution to the nation at large," Dhankhar said. The chairman .

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NDA partner Mizoram's MNF to back oppn's no-confidence motion in Parliament

The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) in Mizoram, a partner of the NDA, will back the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against the BJP-led government at the Centre, Lok Sabha MP C Lalrosanga said on Thursday. Lalrosanga told PTI that he will vote in favour of the no-confidence motion over the Manipur government and the Centre's "failure to handle" the ethnic violence in the neighbouring state. "I will back the opposition's no-confidence motion. It is not because I support the Congress or (want to) go against the BJP, but to show our outright distress and opposition to the complete failure of the governments, especially the Manipur government, in handling the situation," he said. The MNF is deeply hurt over the condition of the Zo ethnic people in strife-torn Manipur, he said. Lalrosanga said he discussed the issue with party president Zoramthanga, the chief minister of Mizoram, and other leaders and they agreed to back the no-confidence motion. The MNF is a constituent

Govt wants to ensure control over Election Commission in poll year: Cong

The Congress on Friday alleged that the Modi government wants to ensure control over the Election Commission in a poll year. Sharing a letter written in June 2012 by veteran BJP leader L K Advani to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said even he had said that the appointments to constitutional bodies should be done in a bipartisan manner to remove any impression of bias. The Centre on Thursday tabled a contentious bill in Rajya Sabha that seeks to replace the Chief Justice of India with a cabinet minister in the panel for selection of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners, in a move that will allow the government to have more control in the appointments of members of the poll panel. Ramesh said Advani had also proposed a panel at that time with the Chief Justice of India and leaders of opposition in both houses, besides the prime minister. "In its current form, the CEC Bill will ensure executive interference with its 2:1 dominanc

BRS leader Rama Rao questions LS Speaker over BJP MP 'denigrating' KCR

Taking strong exception to BJP General Secretary Bandi Sanjay Kumar's comments on Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Parliament, State Minister and BRS Working President K T Rama Rao on Friday asked Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla as to what action he would take against the MP. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Rama Rao, apparently referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, questioned the Speaker's stand on the BJP leader citing the example of disqualification of "an MP" following a court's judgment over his remarks on people having 'Modi' surname. Hitting out at the Congress and ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, Karimnagar Lok Sabha member Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Thursday described the BRS as 'Bhrashtachar Rakshasa Samithi' (roughly translated as corrupt and demonic association). "So, an MP of Congress was disqualified from his membership for calling out PM's surname in a derogatory way. Now, a BJP MP from Telangana goes to great lengths and denigrates Telangana's