Page 469 - Politics
May leaves room to hold second referendum in latest Brexit deal
UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday gave a chance to those in the Parliament asking for a second referendum on Brexit to have their way by introducing a new Brexit deal, even as she maintained her stand against the move."I've tried everything possible to find a way through," May said during a presser. The British leader's previously negotiated Withdrawal Agreement was rejected thrice by the UK Parliament."Today I am making a serious offer to MPs across Parliament -- a new Brexit deal," she added.The latest proposal is being viewed as a last-ditch effort by the PM to gather support for a deal on the lines of which, the UK will exit the European Union by October this year.The MPs supporting a second referendum would still need to pass the new deal in order to have their way, as per the British leader.Speaking on the second referendum, May said: "I recognise the genuine and sincere strength of feeling across the House on this important issue. The government will, therefore, include .
Outcome of Australia polls boosts Adani's mining plans
The outcome of Australia's federal election in which pro-mining coalition government has emerged as favourite to form the next government has given a boost to Adani's mining plans.
At NDA meeting, PM Modi expresses concern over 'needless controversy' over EVMs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday expressed concern over the "needless controversy" created by the Opposition over EVMs at a meeting of NDA leaders, even as the ruling alliance laid out its agenda for the next five years if it is elected to power again. At the BJP-led ruling alliance meeting, which was attended by 36 parties, a resolution was passed, terming the 2019 general election decisive for the country and pledging to make India "strong, developed, prosperous and inclusive" by 2022 when India completes 75 years of its independence, party leader and Union minister Rajnath Singh told reporters. In his address, Modi stressed on the need to change the narrative from caste lines and orient it for the poor, Singh said. The prime minister expressed concern over the Opposition making "needless controversy" over electronic voting machines, the home minister said. The resolution was proposed by BJP ally and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena ..
Over 60 arrested in Bengal's Bhatpara, political blame-game on
West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday continued to blame each other over the violence in Bhatpara Assembly constituency - that voted in a bypoll last Sunday - while over 60 people have been arrested.
Goa Congress pays tribute to Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee on Tuesday paid tribute to former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary.Congress leaders and party workers also offered wreath and flowers on the former Prime Minister's statue in Rajiv Gandhi memorial complex in Bambolim.Speaking on the occasion, the GPCC president Girish Chodankar remembered Gandhi's contribution to nation building.Senior Congress leader Pratapsingh Raoji Rane said that the democracy still exists in India due to the strong foundation laid down by the Gandhi family.Rane recollected how he was very closely associated with Rajiv Gandhi. He said that the former Prime Minister was well versed about the issues of Goa and had studied every issue including the demand of the statehood to Goa.Born on August 20, 1944, Rajiv Gandhi represented Uttar Pradesh's Amethi parliamentary constituency four times.A recipient of Bharat Ratna, Rajiv Gandhi served as the sixth Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after .
Cong Gen Secy Venugopal meets CM Kumaraswamy, party leaders
: Amid simmering discontent in the ruling coalition's alliance partner Congress, party General Secretary K C Venugopal Tuesday held discussions withtop Congress leaders in Karnataka and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on recent political developments and the Lok Sabha exit poll results. During the meeting with the Chief Minister, Venugopal is said to have assured there would be no threat to the coalition government, amid speculations about its survival after the Lok Sabha poll results, Congress sources said. JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy not attending the meeting of opposition leaders on the EVM issue is saidto have triggered the AICC General Secretary's meeting with theChief Minister and assurance about government's continuity. Kumaraswamy, who was scheduled to travel to Delhi Tuesday morning, cancelled it at the last moment. Ahead of the meeting with the Chief Minister, Venugopal,along with KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao, Deputy ChiefMinister G ...
NDA leaders slam Opposition for baseless allegations about EVMs
BJP-led NDA leaders have attacked the opposition parties for questioning the reliability of electronic voting machines (EVMs).Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said: "Regarding EVMs, the Supreme Court received four PILs given by 22 opposition parties.""After considering these four PILs, the Supreme Court directed the EC to allot five booths in every Assembly constituency for VVPAT counting."Speaking further, Rathore said: "Out of these 22 parties, there are 17 parties which have won the elections with EVMs. At that point, they had no complaint but when defeat is imminent, they are getting fidgety about EVMs."SAD leader and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said: "When they won three states, EVMs were good for them. But when the exit polls are out, showing their defeat, they are blaming EVMs."Asking for an apology from the opposition parties for their baseless allegations, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said: "They should apologise to the public for their baseless allegations. .
EC rejects demand to record dissenting views in its orders
The Election Commission on Tuesday decided that all dissenting opinions and minority decisions concerning violation of model code of conduct (MCC) will not be made part of final orders and the existing procedures will be followed.
PM meets Council of Ministers, says LS polls were 'unique'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described the Lok Sabha elections as "unique" as he met his Council of Ministers at a meeting convened by BJP chief Amit Shah for thanking them for their work.
Mumbai Congress concerned about EVMs safety before counting
Mumbai Congress President Milind M. Deora on Tuesday expressed apprehensions about the safety and security of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) stored at various strongrooms for the city's six Lok Sabha seats ahead of the counting on May 23.
Amit Shah hosts dinner for NDA allies ahead of Lok Sabha poll results
Leaders of NDA allies who fought the just concluded Lok Sabha elections together met on Tuesday here over dinner hosted by BJP president Amit Shah.The counting of votes will take place on May 23.The dinner was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Akali Dal president Parkash Singh Badal, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan, and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam among others.The allies presented shawls and bouquets to Prime Minister Modi.Earlier, Modi met his ministers at the BJP headquarters here.Majority of exit polls, which came out on Sunday, have predicted a second term for BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.
PM Modi meets top bureaucrats of key ministries
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday night held a meeting with top bureaucrats from key ministries, sources said. There was no official word about the agenda of the meeting, which comes ahead of the Lok Sabha election results on May 23. Sources said the Prime Minister is believed to have taken feedback on various issues, including about the state of the economy, from the bureaucrats. This is possibly the first time that Modi convened a meeting of top bureaucrats from key ministries after announcement of dates of general elections in March. Earlier in the day, Modi met his cabinet ministers and attended a dinner for leaders of NDA allies hosted by BJP president Amit Shah. Most exit polls have predicted Modi-led NDA coming back to power with a comfortable majority. According to the sources, the government has already asked all the ministries and departments to prepare their 100-day agenda.
Opposition parties demand VVPAT tallying be done first
Just two days ahead of counting of votes, 22 Opposition parties on Tuesday demanded that VVPAT slips at randomly selected five polling booths should be counted first, and if any discrepancy occurs, then VVPAT slips should be tallied for the entire assembly segments.
Theresa May sets out new' Brexit deal, offers Parliament vote on second referendum
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday set out what she called a "new" Brexit deal, with safeguards and legal assurances on aspects of her controversial withdrawal agreement in the hope of getting cross-party backing for the bill when it returns to the House of Commons next month. In a major compromise to a demand from the Opposition benches, she promised to include the option of a parliamentary vote on holding a second referendum on her deal if it clears the Commons next month. "I recognise the genuine and sincere strength of feeling across the House on this important issue. The government will therefore include in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill at introduction a requirement to vote on whether to hold a second referendum, she said in a speech in London on Tuesday. "This must take place before the Withdrawal Agreement can be ratified, she noted, even as she reiterated her continued opposition to holding another referendum. If the House of Commons were to vote for a referendum, ..
Parties engage in consultations ahead of counting of votes
Two days ahead of counting of votes, both the ruling and the opposition parties were engaged in consultations on Tuesday with BJP President Amit Shah hosting two key meetings, and leaders of 22 opposition parties coming together to take stock of the political situation. The opposition leaders also met the Election Commission (EC) with a demand that it should ensure transparency in the counting process by verifying EVM results with VVPATs. Amid projections of a return of the BJP-led NDA to power, Shah organised a meeting where Prime Minister Narendra Modi met senior Union ministers, described by the ruling party as an occasion to thank ministers for "their service to the nation" ahead of the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha election on May 23. Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, J P Nadda and Prakash Javadekar were among the key leaders from the BJP at the meeting. It was also attended by ministers from BJP allies, including Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok ...
Ukraine's leader disbands parliament, calls snap election
Ukraine's new president on Tuesday ordered the dissolution of the nation's legislature and called a snap election in two months, hoping to ride the wave of his electoral success to get his supporters into parliament. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a 41-year-old comedian who won 73 per cent of the vote last month, announced his intention to disband parliament in his inauguration speech Monday, saying that current lawmakers are focused on self-enrichment and lack public trust. He quickly fulfilled the promise in Tuesday's decree that set the parliamentary election for July 21. The election to the Verkhovna Rada was originally scheduled for Oct. 27, a situation that would have put Zelenskiy in a position where he would face a parliament dominated by supporters of former President Petro Poroshenko and would be unable to pursue his agenda for months. Zelenskiy, who has become famous for playing the role of a Ukrainian president in a widely popular TV sitcom, is gambling that his popularity will ...
US fingers Iran on Gulf attacks but eases tone
President Donald Trump's administration charged Tuesday it was "quite possible" Iran was responsible for sabotage of Gulf oil interests but said its robust response had stopped potential attacks on Americans. Top Trump officials appeared to be toning down weeks of fiery warnings to Iran before delivering a classified briefing to the full Congress, where rival Democrats have accused the administration of hyping intelligence and pushing the United States dangerously close to war. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States has not made "a definitive conclusion" that can be presented publicly over sabotage incidents of oil tankers off the United Arab Emirates or drone strikes on a crude pipeline in Saudi Arabia. "But given all the regional conflicts that we have seen over the past decade and the shape of these attacks, it seems like it's quite possible that Iran was behind these," Pompeo told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt before heading to Congress. "Most importantly, we .
NDA leaders meet ahead of Lok Sabha results
BJP chief Amit Shah Tuesday hosted a dinner for leaders of NDA allies that was attended by top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray among others. The dinner was followed by a meeting in which nearly two dozen allies facilitated Prime Minister Modi. All NDA partners came one after another and felicitated him with a shawl. Top leaders of the NDA were sitting on the dais with Modi, on whose one side was Shah and on other its was SAD's Parkash Singh Badal, the senior most leader of the alliance. Besides them Nitish, Thackeray, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari were also there. The meeting follows another meeting of the council of ministers called by Shah to thank them for "their service to the nation." The NDA meeting assumes significance as it has been called just days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll's results on May 23, in which almost all the exit polls have projected the ...
Buoyed by favourable exit polls, BJP sets eyes on 2020 Delhi assembly elections
Boosted by positive exit poll forecasts for the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is now laying foundation for the assembly elections in the city in 2020, party leaders said Tuesday. To improve the party's image here, the BJP leaders are focusing on performance of the three municipal corporations it has majority in, said a senior party leader. "Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari has already started meetings with municipal councilors. Two prominent issues that are coming up for discussion are corruption in building departments and insanitation in municipal areas," he said. The BJP leaders "are aware of the notorious reputation of the building department staff" of the three municipal corporations. There are large number of complaints against the department staff and their nexus with local councilors in "taking bribe" for construction work, the BJP leader said. "Tiwari has sought help from councilors on how to check rampant corruption in building department, so that the civic bodies' image can .
Civilian traffic restrictions on J-K highway to be lifted completely from May 27
Governor Satyapal Malik on Tuesday decided to lift the remaining restrictions on civilian movement on the Srinagar-Jammu highway from May 27 followed by a review of the security situation and the requirement of security forces' convoys in the state.In order to facilitate safe and secure movement of Security Forces' Convoys, the government had imposed a prohibition on civilian traffic after 40 CRPF were killed in Pulwama on February after their convoy was attacked by a suicide car bomber on the National Highway in Pulwama district."The Government had imposed a prohibition on civilian traffic on NH-44 from Baramulla to Udhampur twice a week, i.e. on Sunday and Wednesday from 4 AM to 5 PM. Elaborate arrangements were, however, made by the local administration to facilitate the movement of the public during the period of restriction," a release of state's PIB said."The restrictions had become necessary following the movement of security forces on an unprecedented scale after the Pulwama ..