Page 511 - Politics
Lavasa's letter: EC to meet on Tuesday (2nd Lead)
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Saturday termed as "unsavoury and avoidable" the controversy surrounding the recording of minority decisions on the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa's letter to him in this regard.
Badal, Amarinder families hand in glove, says Mann
Bhagwant Mann, the Aam Aadmi Party Punjab unit chief, said, here on Saturday, Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has put his stamp on the allegations of Sukhbir Badal-Amarinder Singh bonhomie that the AAP has been levelling since the Congress government came to power in the state.
YSRCP seeks deployment of central forces in Andhra Pradesh on day of counting
The YSR Congress on Saturday urged the Election Commission (EC) to deploy additional central forces in Andhra Pradesh on the day of counting.The party has also urged the poll body to take action against Chittoor district collector and Rapthadu returning officer for allegedly supporting TDP during the poll process.Speaking to reporters after submitting a representation to the EC here, YSRCP National General Secretary V Vijayasai Reddy said, "TDP has been planning to create law and order problem at places where the results are going against them. They have been training the counting agents as provocateurs.""We have urged the EC to provide additional forces during the counting in all the centres to thwart any untoward incident," he added.Reddy further said, "We have also made a strong appeal to restrain Chittoor district collector Pradyumna from taking part in the election duty on May 23 as he had behaved like a TDP worker and same is the case with Rapthadu Returning Officer in Anantapur
Differences erupt in open in EC, meeting on May 21 to thrash out issues
Differences in the Election Commission have burst out in the open with Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa boycotting the meetings of the full Commission over his dissent on crucial decisions not being recorded but Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora sought to downplay the controversy saying all the Commissioners are "not expected to be template or clones of each other".Arora, virtually hit back at Lavasa, saying "ill-timed" controversies should be avoided and has called a meeting of the full Commission on May 21 to discuss and thrash out issues.Lavasa, who had dissented on the series of clean chits given by the Commission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah on their speeches during the election campaign, has written a letter to Arora on May 16 even hinting at "taking recourse to other measures" for restoring the "lawful" functioning of the Commission in terms of recording minority decisions."I am being forced to stay away from the meetings of the full ...
UP: FIR filed against OP Rajbhar for abusing, threatening BJP workers
A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Saturday for allegedly abusing and threatening BJP workers at a public meeting on Friday in Ghazipur.The complaint was filed by BJP worker Anoop Singh Chandan earlier today at Hasratganj Kotawali Police Station."An FIR has been registered against OP Rajbhar for mistreating and abusing BJP workers at a public meeting in Ghazipur. He has even asked his supporters and party cadres to thrash BJP workers if they attempt to spread any misinformation ahead of the last phase of the polling," Anoop Singh Chandan told ANI.He further claimed that Rabhar, who attended his party's candidate Arvind's rally, asked his supporters to hit BJP leaders with "boots at least 10 times" if they are found spreading any rumours about SBSP.Chandan said if police administration will not take any action against the SBSP chief then he will lock Rajbhar's Lucknow residence on 26 May."Rajbhar is a ...
N Chandrababu Naidu meets Rahul Gandhi
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders here.It is learnt that he discussed among other things the possibility of forming an alternative government at the Centre if the BJP does not get enough numbers to retain power.Naidu's meeting with Congress and other opposition party leaders comes a day before the last leg of Lok Sabha election on Sunday during which 59 seats will go to polls in seven States and one Union territory.TDP chief Naidu also met NCP leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar, CPI leaders S Sudhakar Reddy, D Raja, and Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) leader Sharad Yadav.Naidu is slated to fly to Lucknow later in the day to meet Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati.Naidu had met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Friday regarding re-election at five polling stations ..
DMK moves EC against AIADMK on cash distribution
The DMK on Saturday complained to the Election Commission that Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK was allegedly distributing money to voters in one of the four Assembly constituency where bypolls will be held on Sunday.
Attacks on Kejriwal: We do not trust Delhi Police, says AAP MLA
AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj on Saturday slammed the Delhi Police for not taking action against the accused who had attacked Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the past.On May 5, Kejriwal was slapped by a man in west Delhi's Moti Nagar area while he was campaigning.While reacting on Arvind Kejriwal's statement, that his security officers report to BJP and there is a threat to his life, Bhardwaj told ANI, "After Kejriwal became the chief minister of Delhi, he was attacked six times. He was attacked in the presence of Z plus security and even in presence of Delhi police. We have no trust in Delhi police.""This is a big security failure and even after this incident, the Police Commissioner of Delhi was not suspended. There was no enquiry done on any senior police official, which indicates that the Centre is protecting the police."Referring to Indira Gandhi's assassination, The AAP leader said, "In past, one of our former Prime Minister was killed by her own bodyguard. So the security of
Austrian far-right leader resigns over 'Ibiza affair'
Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, a key figure of the European far-right, resigned Saturday after explosive revelations from a hidden camera sting, just days before key EU elections. "I tendered my resignation as vice-chancellor of Austria to Chancellor Kurz, and he accepted this decision," an emotional Strache said in a televised statement. Media reports emerged on Friday alleging that Strache promised public contracts in return for campaign help from a fake Russian backer he met in a luxury villa on the island of Ibiza a few months before 2017's parliamentary elections in Austria. On Saturday Strache insisted he was the "victim of a targeted political attack" which had used illegal means, but that he was leaving in order to avoid further damage to the government. Germany's Der Spiegel and Sueddeutsche Zeitung published hidden-camera recordings of the sophisticated sting operation. In the recordings Strache and his party's group leader in parliament Johann Gudenus are
Oppn leaders step up talks to form coalition, TDP chief Naidu meets Rahul, others
A day before the last phase of polling, leaders of opposition parties have stepped up efforts to cobble up a coalition for formation of the next government, with TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu meeting Congress, CPI, NCP and other leaders here. Naidu met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and discussed with him the possibilities of all opposition parties uniting and forging a joint opposition alliance. The Andhra Pradesh chief minister also met CPI leader G Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja over breakfast, asking them to "come together". Naidu also met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and LJD leader Sharad Yadav. The TDP chief has already held several rounds of discussions with various opposition leaders, including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Sources said he is also likely to meet BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow in the evening. "Naidu reportedly told all the leaders that we all should come ...
Karnataka: Kumaraswamy urges JDS-Congress leaders not to make controversial remarks against each-other
After some sniping between the coalition partners, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday asked leaders of Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and of ally Congress to abstain from commenting against each other."We are on the verge of forming a new government at the Centre. At this juncture, where all efforts are being made to form a non-BJP government at the Centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners Congress-JDS may mar such efforts," a tweet by Kumaraswamy read.In his second tweet, he said "Hence my humble request to the leaders of both the parties to restrain from making contradictory- controversial statements in public and to support the cause," his second tweet read.Congress and JDS are in an uneasy coalition with differences within coming out in open often.Most recently, in a veiled jibe at his predecessor Siddaramaia of the Congress, Kumaraswamy said on Tuesday, "Mallikarjun Kharge should have become the Chief Minister long ago. I feel that ...
North Korea sends letter to UN chief, critising US' seizure of its cargo ship
North Korea's top envoy to the United Nations Kim Song on Friday sent a letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres, criticising the US' recent seizure of its cargo ship as an "outrageous and unlawful" move, Pyongyang's state media said on Saturday."Recently, the U.S. committed an unlawful and outrageous act of taking the DPRK's cargo ship to Samoa, linking the ship to the violation of the American domestic law, and this act of dispossession has clearly indicated that the United States is indeed a gangster country that does not care at all about international laws," Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted Song as saying.The top envoy urged the UN to take "urgent measures as a way of contributing to the stability of the Korean peninsula and proving the impartiality of the U.N," reported Yonhap news agency.Last week, the US Department of Justice announced that it has seized the North Korea's cargo ship while accusing the secluded nation of illicit coal shipments in violation of United Nations .
Cong of 2019 different from 2014; giving more space to regional leaders: Amarinder
The Congress of 2019 is different from that of 2014 as the party is giving more importance to regional leaders than it was doing earlier and has also become more aggressive, says Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Singh, under whose leadership the Congress won the assembly elections in Punjab in 2017 after facing a drubbing in the 2014 general polls, in an interview to PTI said that in the past five years "regional leaders of the party have been given more say in the affairs of the Congress and its policies for states." Punjab might have brought it more starkly to the fore but the realisation to give more importance to regional leaders started dawning much earlier, he said. Underlining that regional leaders have a better connect with the people in the states, he said the Congress therefore has a deeper insight into the aspirations of people across the country today. "The party is giving more importance to regional leaders than it was doing earlier," Singh said in response to his ..
Nadiu suggests EC to count votes through VVPATs
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu urged the Election Commission to count votes through Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) instead of EVMs during counting for the Lok Sabha polls.At an event held for discussing measures to increase transparency in elections, Naidu said, "The Election Commission has allowed for five per cent random matching of EVMs in an assembly segment with VVPAT. The poll watch body has argued that the matching cannot be exceeded to 50 per cent because it will take six additional days to declare the result of the polls. I am asking why can't the Election Commission counts VVPAT directly instead of counting EVMs, which I feel is a more complicated process.""The officials will count EVMs first then they will check 5 per cent of EVMs with VVPAT. After this, if there is any discrepancy is found then they will take VVPAT count as final. If such is the case then why can't the officials directly count VVPAT trails," he added.Earlier on Friday Naidu hit
Don't make controversial statements, we are closing to forming government in center: HD Kumaraswamy
After some sniping between the coalition partners. Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday asked leaders of his own party Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and of Congress to abstain from commenting against each other."We are on the verge of forming a new government at the Centre. At this juncture, where all efforts are being made to form non-BJP government at the centre, the contradictory statements by leaders of coalition partners #Congress-#JDS may mar such efforts," a tweet by Kumaraswamy read.In his second tweet, he said "Hence my humble request to the leaders of both the parties to restrain from making contradictory- controversial statements in public and to support the cause," his second tweet read.Congress and JDS are in an uneasy coalition with differences within coming out in open often.Most recently, in a veiled jibe at his predecessor Siddaramaia of the Congress, Kumaraswamy said on Tuesday, "Mallikarjun Kharge should have become the Chief Minister long ago. I ...
Congress demands Goa Chief Minister's resignation
The Congress on Saturday demanded the resignation of Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, claiming that the BJP-led coalition government was unable to even track down those responsible for the alleged attack on its own party's candidate for the Panaji Assembly bypoll.
Internal matter of EC: Ravi Shankar Prasad
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday refused to comment on the controversy surrounding the Election Commission (EC) and said that reports of rifts in the EC were its internal matter.
Kashmiri migrant employees stage protest, demand early completion of their accommodation
Kashmiri migrant employees, who were given government jobs in the Valley under Prime Minister's package for migrants, Saturday staged a protest here demanding early completion of residential accommodation for them. The employees, most of them Kashmiri pandits, assembled at Pratap Park here to stage the protest in support of their demands. The main demand of the employees was independent accommodation for all 6,000 PM package employees in a stipulated time frame. One of the protesting employees said nine years have passed since they were employed but the government has failed in providing them accommodation.
Final phase polling in Pb to decide fate of Sukhbir Badal, two union ministers
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and two union ministers-- Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri are among the 278 candidates including 24 women whose fate will be decided in the seventh and final phase of polls for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab on Sunday. Besides Punjab, more than 6 lakh voters in the union territory of Chandigarh will choose between sitting MP and BJP candidate Kirron Kher and former railway minister and Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal on May 19. Polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm in the 13 parliamentary constituencies in Punjab and the lone Chandigarh constituency. Actor turned politician Sunny Deol, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann are among the prominent candidates who are in the fray. Banking on his stardom and roots in Punjab, the Bollywood star, whose real name is Ajay Singh Deol, is contesting from Gurdaspur constituency where he faces sitting MP ...
YSRCP writes to EC, urges for re-polling in 2 booths in Hyderabad
The YSR Congress Party on Saturday approached the Election Commission of India seeking immediate intervention and necessary orders to ensure free and fair elections in Chandragiri Assembly segment of Andhra Pradesh.The party has also urged the poll body for re-polling in two booths- Peddagorupadu and Chandragiri constituencies after conducting an inquiry based on CCTV footage.As per YSR Congress Party, Dalits were threatened on the day of voting and were not allowed to vote in some of the villages in Chandragiri Assembly constituency. The party also stated that DEO/RO did not take up the matter seriously and made no arrangements, either in terms of security or separate booths, to take care of the vulnerable sections that are under threat by the undemocratic forces and anti-social elements from freely exercising their vote."Since that didn't happen, as usual, the elections were rigged and Dalits were not allowed to vote in these booths. The DEO despite the availability of CC camera ...