Page 486 - Politics
Seven killed, including two police, in Mali border attack
Four civilians, two Malian police officers and a customs official were killed in an attack on a border post on Mali's frontier with Burkina Faso, security sources and government officials said Monday. "Armed men attacked the border post at Kouri on Sunday night," a local policeman said, who asked not to be identified. "Two gendarmes, a customs officer and four civilians, including two Ghanaians, were killed." Another security source confirmed the toll and said the two Ghanaians were lorry drivers. "The assailants arrived on three motorbikes and in a car," the source said. "They fired at the gendarmes, the customs officers and the civilian truck drivers." "Right now, we can't confirm who the attackers were. They arrived in Kouri from two directions," a government official said. "We were told that they took the soldiers' boots as they left." Kouri is a major crossing point for goods entering or leaving Mali. Mali has been embroiled in conflict since Islamist militias seized the north of
TMC dismisses exit polls forecast, claims internal reports
The Trinamool Congress, which has dubbed exit polls as "gossip", sais on Monday its internal reports from districts and every constituencies clearly say the party will win this time too. Unfazed by exit polls projections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led TMC exuded confidence that it would play a major role in the formation of a new government for which it is in touch with various opposition parties. Some of the exit polls have suggested TMC getting 24 seats, the BJP bagging 16, the Congress two and the Left Front drawing a blank. West Bengal has a total of 42 Lok Sabha seats, third highest after Uttar Pradesh 80 and Maharashtra's 48. At the national level too, exit polls have forecast a second term for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. The TMC supremo had on Sunday dubbed the exit polls as "gossip". Banerjee said she did not trust such surveys as the "game plan" was to use them for "manipulation" of EVMs. Dismissing the exit poll predictions, TMC secretary general ...
BJP-led NDA will surpass exit poll projections: Patel
Elated by some of the exit polls that have forecast a majority for the BJP-led NDA, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on Monday said the saffron party will get more number of seats than predicted. He claimed that from the day the general elections were announced, people made up their mind to reinstate Narendra Modi as the country's prime minister. "Under Modi, the country got the strongest-ever government in 2014. And, people had already decided that they want to hand over the reins to the Modi government for another five years. This is being reflected in all the major exit poll projections," Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar. He said while campaign for the Lok Sabha polls across the country, he and other BJP leaders knew that their party and its allies will certainly win. "I am confident that the BJP and NDA will get more seats than what is being forecast in the exit polls. Many exit polls even suggested that the NDA's tally would surpass the existing numbers .
TN outfit moves HC for conducting anti-Godse meeting
A Tamil Nadu-based outfit has approached the Madras High Court seeking a direction to authorities for granting permission to conduct a meeting here to inform the public that Nathuram Godse was a 'Hindu fundamentalist' and Mahatma Gandhi's assassin. Advocate Doraisamy filed the plea on behalf of the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam. The petition comes against the backdrop of the row triggered by actor-politician Kamal Haasan's remark that free India's first extremist was a Hindu, a reference to Mahatma Gandhi assassin Godse. At an election rally in Aravakurichi last week, Haasan had said "Free India's first terrorist was a Hindu, his name is Nathuram Godse. There it (terrorism, apparently) starts." The outfit sought permission for conducting the meeting at Mylapore on May 26.
Increase security at counting centre as political opponents plan to manipulate EVMs: AAP to EC
The Aam Aadmi Party Monday asked the Election Commission to provide additional security at a counting centre in South Delhi, alleging that political opponents plan to manipulate EVMs ahead of the announcement of poll results on May 23. The letter by AAP's South Delhi candidate and spokesperson Raghav Chadha said that "he has strong reasons to believe that the political adversaries will attempt to open the strong rooms and manipulate or replace the machines as a handful of such incidents have been seen in the past". "Alarming as it may be, this would not be the first time that an attack on the electoral system may take place," he said in the letter to CEC Sunil Arora. Chadha also sought the appointment of another independent observer by the EC. "We request that the CRPF security at Jijabai Institute where South Delhi's EVMs are housed be tightened. It is further requested that additional CRPF personnel may be deployed to keep watch over the strong rooms around the clocks," he said. He .
Raj: Exit polls bring cheer to BJP, Cong waiting for May 23
The exit poll projections indicating a big win for the BJP in Rajasthan has left the party workers ecstatic, while the ruling Congress said that it was waiting for the result on May 23, asserting it would fare much better. Most exit polls Sunday forecast another term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with some of them projecting that BJP-led NDA will get more than 300 seats to comfortably cross the majority mark of 272 in the Lok Sabha. In Rajasthan, the Congress is predicted to win only 5 of the 25 seats while the remaining are expected to be bagged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The favourable prediction by a majority of pollsters has raised the interest and excitement of the workers who gathered at the state BJP headquarters here on Monday as the party's state president Madan Lal Saini and general secretary (organisation) held a meeting of all office bearers. The workers of the saffron party were relaxed and expressed confidence that the people of the country as well as ...
'Chowkidar' to khaki underwear: abuses, epithets and insults galore this election
Reopening wounds, referencing popular culture to deliver insults and sexist jibes, it was all par for the electoral course in a season that tumbled to a name-calling close in a medley of chowkidar', bhrashtachari', Aurangzeb, Mogambo and more. It was not about one party or one politician in the just concluded electoral season of many an epithet, making it difficult to determine whether it was tongues that were sharper or the minds behind the campaigns. The humble watchman came into prominence with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his party making 'chowkidar chor hai' the centre of their campaign to hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP was quick to react and ran a 'main bhi chowkidar' campaign to counter the grand old party. There was some humour but mostly vitriol as the war of words hit new lows through the seven-phase elections that ended on Sunday. Malegaon blast accused and BJP's Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh Thakur's remarks targeting Mumbai attacks martyr Hemant .
Exit polls track record not good in the past, says Cong leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu
Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu on Monday said that the track record of exit polls in the past has not been very good.Talking to ANI here he said, "Opinion polls' track record is not good. It has made a mistake in predicting assembly polls result in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. There are two days left and whoever has been voted by the people will emerge victorious in the polls""Coalition form of government is in the interest of the country. Whatever the absolute majority government of NDA had done in the past five years for the country was not in the interest of democracy and the Federal system of the government," added the Congress leader.The Exit polls on television channels on Sunday projected the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to retain power at the Centre with most of the pollsters giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi a clear majority again in the 543-member Lok Sabha.On being asked about the tension between Punjab Chief Minister Captain ...
Turkey orders arrest of 249 foreign ministry staff
Turkish authorities on Monday ordered the arrest of 249 past and present foreign ministry personnel suspected of ties to the group blamed for a failed 2016 coup, the prosecutor's office said. At least 78 have already been detained, the office in the capital Ankara said. The latest crackdown is part of a probe in 42 cities into alleged irregularities in the foreign ministry entrance exam in favour of members of a movement led by US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen. The suspects joined the foreign ministry between 2010 and 2013, according to the prosecutor's office. Fourteen are currently serving in the ministry, while the rest had already been removed from their posts, a judicial source told AFP. Ankara blames Gulen and his followers for orchestrating a failed coup in 2016 aimed at unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The movement denies the allegations and insists it is a peaceful group promoting education and moderate Islam. Tens of thousands of public sector workers, ...
RSS general secretary Bhaiyaji Joshi meets Nitin Gadkari
RSS general secretary Bhaiyaji Joshi on Monday met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari here.The meeting takes place in view of the exit polls on Sunday, projecting absolute majority for the BJP-led NDA in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls.CNN News 18-IPSOS exit poll has given the BJP and its allies the highest number of 336 seats with the saffron party on its own getting 276 seats, four more than it had won in the 2014 elections. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is projected to get 82 seats of which the Congress will get 46, two more than it bagged in the last elections.ABP-Nielsen poll has projected 267 seats for the NDA, 127 for the UPA and 148 for 'others.' Of the 'others,' the grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh is getting an estimated 50 seats.Times Now-VMR has projected 306 seats for the BJP and its allies, while Republic TV-C-Voter put it at one seat less.In the Times Now poll, the UPA, including the Congress and its allies have been projected to get 132 seats, while 'Others' are ...
Vijayan dismisses exit poll results as 'speculations'
Rejecting the exit poll results which predicted the return of the NDA government at the Centre, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Monday said there is no need to rely on "speculations based on speculation". Vijayan, who met mediapersons soon after he returned from a 13-day Europe trip, exuded confidence that the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) will record an impressive win in the Lok Sabha polls. The exit polls have forecast a poor showing by the ruling Left Front in Kerala. The polls also showed that the Congress-led United Democratic Front would garner maximum seats from the state. "There have been many instances earlier when the exit polls have failed to accurately predict the election results. Majority of the exit polls in 2004 had predicted continuation of NDA rule at the Centre, but this was proved wrong. So there is no need to rely on speculations based on speculation," Vijayan said, adding that he would wait till May 23. "There is no doubt that the LDF will ...
'1000% confident" TDP will win elections in Andhra Pradesh: Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said he is "1000 per cent confident" that TDP will win the elections in the state."I am 1,000 per cent confident that TDP will win the elections. I do not have even 0.1 per cent doubt. We are going to win," he told a press conference here.Simultaneous elections to the 175-member strong Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats across Andhra Pradesh were held on April 11. Counting of votes will begin on May 23.Reiterating his demand for counting of votes in 50 per cent of VVPATs, the TDP supremo said, "I have been fighting over this issue for the last ten years. VVPAT slips are the main issue for us. If we get a printout, we will believe. Now VVPATs will be counted in only five polling booths (per Assembly segment).""The Election Commission is complicating the issue by saying that it will take six to seven days to count VVPATs. SY Qureshi (former Chief Election Commissioner) supported our arguments. Not only us, but even former EC ...
TDP requests EC to ensure YSRCP doesn't disturb counting process
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure the YSRCP doesn't disturb the counting of Lok Sabha and Assembly votes in the state on May 23.In a letter written to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Monday, TDP Rajya Sabha member Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar has sought adequate security in the counting premises to ensure the "YSRCP members do not disturb the counting process" in the state.Accusing YSRCP of mischievous game plan like the deletion of genuine voters of TDP by filing applications in bulk in the name of unknown persons from places like Pune and Kolkata, Kumar wrote: "We request the Election Commission to provide adequate security in the counting premises to ensure the YSRCP doesn't disturb the counting process."The letter further states: "As the political parties are not allowed to carry food inside the counting hall premises, necessary arrangements have to be made by the concerned Returning Officers (ROs) to provide ...
Cong's Madhya Pradesh government will fall on its own: BJP
Chief Minister Kamal Nath led Congress government in the state will fall on its own, says BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Gopal Bhargava."You can yourself analyse the current situation. They have the support of one SP MLA, one MLA of BSP and four Independent MLAs. There is bickering within the party," he said while talking to ANI on Monday."This government will fall on its own. I don't believe in horse-trading but I feel the government's time has come. It will have to go soon," he said."For some, the Congress government is of two and a half CMs; for some of three CMs and for others of 3.5 CMs. There is widespread anarchy in the state under the current dispensation," said Bhargava.He also spoke about the leadership crisis in the Congress."You can see the Congress has a leadership crisis as well. This is the main reason for the Congress' decline. We are winning in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh just after six months that we lost in the Assembly polls, .
'Mamata didi' is now 'Mamata dadagiri', says Manoj Tiwari on Bengal violence
Coming down heavily on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over poll-related violence in the state, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari on Monday dubbed TMC supremo as "Mamata dadagiri.""Mamata Banerjee doesn't trust people of West Bengal. During polls, she attacked our workers and did not allow people to vote. She is no longer Mamata didi. She is now Mamata dadagiri," Tiwari told ANI.Alleging that Banerjee "ruined" West Bengal's culture, the actor-turned-politician exuded confidence that BJP will win more than 20 seats in the state."In the exit polls, we saw 17. I believe that we can win over 20 seats. The days of Mamata Banerjee government is being numbered. If she cannot trust the people, then how can she trust exit polls," Tiwari said.Several exit polls on television channels have projected that the BJP-led NDA will retain power at the Centre with most pollsters giving Modi a clear majority again in the 543-member Lok Sabha.The Opposition, however, has rejected the exit polls .
NDA will win all 14 seats in Jharkhand: CM
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Monday asserted that the NDA would win all the 14 seats in the state even though the exit polls predicted six to eight seats for the alliance.
Congress workers put on brave face despite gloomy exit poll projections
Exit polls painted a grim picture for the Congress but party workers remain unfazed, asserting that the results on May 23 would not be onesided as projected, and their party would perform better. Most exit polls Sunday forecast another term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with some of them projecting that BJP-led NDA will get more than 300 seats to comfortably cross the majority mark of 272 in the Lok Sabha. Even as the atmosphere at the Congress headquarters remained sombre Monday morning, party workers rejected the exit polls and said May 23 would give results quite different from the projections. Some of them suggested the BJP might use the exit poll projections to indulge in EVM manipulation. "The exit polls are an attempt by the BJP to spread rumours and they might try to manipulate EVMs after creating such atmosphere," said Congress worker Jagdish Sharma. "We will perform better and win. It would not be onesided as projected. We have seen the real atmosphere at the ground and .
Swaraj to attend SCO foreign ministers meet in Bishkek from Tuesday
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will attend a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), beginning Tuesday, in Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, during which several pressing issues including threat of terrorism are expected to be discussed. The External Affairs Ministry said the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) will exchange views on topical issues of international and regional importance, besides reviewing the preparation for the SCO Summit in Bishkek from June 13-14. "External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be representing India in the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to be held in Bishkek on May 21-22," it said. India became a full member of the the China-dominated grouping in 2017 and New Delhi's entry has increased the bloc's heft in regional geo-politics, besides giving it a pan-Asian hue. India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism ...
China asks US envoy to make 'unbiased judgement' during his Tibet visit
China, which granted a rare permit for US Ambassador Terry Branstad to visit Tibet, on Monday hoped that the American envoy would make an "unbiased judgement" about the conditions in the Himalayan region especially on religion and the Tibetan culture. Branstad was travelling to China's Qinhai province and the bordering Tibet Autonomous Region from May 19 to May 25, making the first trip by an American envoy to the highly restricted area in four years. During his visit, Branstad is due to have meetings with local officials and visit religious and cultural heritage sites. His visit is taking place amid escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies. China's permission to him came after US early this year passed Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018 warning equal and reciprocal measures if Beijing denied access to American citizens, government officials and journalists to Tibet, the homeland of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The new law would impose
Exit polls indicate Congress issues of corruption, welfare may not have clicked
The prediction by the exit polls about dismal performance by the Congress suggests that the party got it all wrong and the issues like the Rafale deal, NYAY, unemployment and alleged "arrogance" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised by it during the election campaign failed the impress the voters.