Page 55 - Politics

Omar Abdullah calls yoga event at Budgam's sufi saint shrine 'photo-op'

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has criticised the holding of the International Yoga Day event on the lawns of a revered shrine in Budgam district, calling the programme a "photo-op." The Army had on Wednesday, in collaboration with the administration, organised a yoga session for school students on the lawns of the shrine of Sufi saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani, popularly known as Sheikh-Ul-Alam and Alamdar-e-Kashmir, at Charar-e-Shareef in the central Kashmir district. "The burial place of one of our most revered saints is used as a venue for a yoga day photo op!" Abdullah, the vice president of the National Conference (NC), said in a tweet. Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu too took exception to the event calling it "absolutely hare-brained." "An absolutely hare-brained, inconsiderate idea to organise a demonstration at the shrine of Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani, Sheikh-Ul-Alam (RA). "I'm all for Yoga but this is immensely problematic. Places of religious ..

Oppn to start 'Mission 2024' with Patna meet, chart course to take on BJP

Top leaders of Opposition parties will brainstorm at a meeting here on Friday to chalk out a roadmap for the formation of an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, with sources saying that they would look to avoid the prickly leadership question and emphasise on common ground. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Delhi counterpart and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, Maharashtra's former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP president Sharad Pawar are among the leaders expected to attend the first high-level opposition meeting. It is being hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav here. Sources said the meeting was being seen as a starting point for the Opposition to come together to take on the Narendra Modi-led BJP. Therefore, a basic outline and roadmap for Opposition unity are likely to be deliberated

There should be no hate politics in providing rice to poor: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that he has told Union Home Minister Amit Shah that there should be no "hate politics", in supply of rice to the state, for a scheme aimed at the poor. The Chief Minister met Shah on Wednesday night and held discussions regarding the supply of rice to the state, for its 'Anna Bhagya' scheme, which provides an additional 5 kg of rice for each member of BPL families. "I met Amit Shah last night. I have brought to his notice that FCI had agreed to supply rice and had also written a letter in this regard, but all of a sudden the very next day they said they cannot supply. Prima facie it looks like politics has been played here. Let there be no hate politics in this, as this is the programme for providing rice to the poor," Siddaramaiah said. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, he said, "Shah told me that he will speak to the union minister concerned and come back." Siddaramaiah and his ministers for the last few days, have been ...

Opposition parties to discuss Centre's ordinance on June 23 in Patna

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday announced that all opposition parties will discuss the ordinance imposed by the Central government in an upcoming meeting

Cong leader mocks Scindia, says BJP has made him 'bhai saheb from maharaja'

Madhya Pradesh Congress vice president Damodar Yadav has made controversial remarks on Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and state Home Minister Narottam Mishra

CM Baghel facing high anti-incumbency in Chhattisgarh: BJYM chief Tejasvi

Bharatiya Janata Party MP and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president Tejasvi Surya on Monday claimed that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is facing high anti-incumbency in the state

Apni Party protests in J-K against ration, electricity supply curtailment

Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) on Monday took out a protest march here against the curtailment in the supply of ration and electricity in the Valley. Scores of JKAP activists, led by the provincial president Kashmir Mohammad Ashraf Mir, assembled at the party office in Church Lane, in Sonwar area of the city and started their march towards the main road. However, a posse of police stopped the protesters near the main road and detained a few of them. Speaking to reporters, Mir said the protest is against the curtailment of ration and electricity which are the basic needs of the people. The cries of the people are falling on deaf ears. JKAP is the only party that wants to become the voice of the people. People are facing difficulties, he said. There is a curtailment in the electricity for the last six months, there is no accountability. People are suffering. It is the summer season and even then, there are problems in the electricity distribution, Mir told reporters. He claime

Cong criticises govt for conferring 2021 Gandhi Peace Prize to Gita Press

Congress criticised the government for conferring Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 to Gita Press saying that the decision is a travesty and is like awarding Savarkar and Godse

All states in country should implement Uniform Civil Code: U'khand CM Dhami

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday said that all the states in the country should implement Uniform Civil Code (UCC)

Govt fund should not be used for building any statue, says Nitin Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said he was against erecting any statue using government funds. He also said people do not value things which are given for free. Gadkari was speaking in Nagpur at the ground-breaking ceremony for the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the premises of the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU). I welcome the move of the committee which is constructing the statue from the contribution given by the people. I feel that government funds should not be used for erecting the statue. People do not value things which are given for free, the BJP MP said. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Smarak Samiti was formed in Nagpur in 2015 and the work, including obtaining necessary clearances and permissions, has been going on since then. Gadkari also announced to donate Rs 5 lakh to the works undertaken by this committee. Even if someone donates Rs 11 or Rs 51 for this work, it should be seen as the person's attachment to the work and teaching

Amit Shah targets Congress over corruption during its rule at Sirsa rally

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday targeted the Congress over corruption, alleging scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore had taken place under the party-led UPA government at the Centre. Whereas, the current government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is functioning in a transparent manner and even its opponents cannot point a finger of corruption at it, Shah said addressing a rally in Sirsa in Haryana. Targeting the erstwhile Congress dispensation in Haryana led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the senior BJP leader said it was a "3D government of darbaris (courtiers), daamad (son-in-law) and dealers". He listed various achievements of the Narendra Modi government and said it was strong and decisive. The Modi government took decisions such as scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution which accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, despite stiff opposition from several parties, including the Congress, he said. Targeting the previous UPA government at the Cent

Huge difference between pre-2014 & post-2014 India: BJP Chief Nadda

JP Nadda launched a veiled attack on the previous Congress-led UPA regime at the Centre, saying there was a huge difference between "pre-2014 and post-2014 India"

PM does not discriminate, has risen above votebank politics: Jitendra Singh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not discriminate among the people of the country and has risen above votebank politics, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday. Only under this government has development reached the last man in the queue, said Singh, the Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office. "Rising above vote politics, Modi has, in the last nine years, ensured equitable development of every region and justice to all," he said at a public rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also attended the rally and released a coffee table book depicting major projects launched by Singh as Udhampur MP over the past nine years. Singh said he has followed the same spirit and sought to emulate the same culture as the prime minister in his constituency, which encompasses the Udhampur-Kathua-Doda region. The best example of this, he said, is the Keediyan-Gadwal bridge -- constructed at a cost of Rs 150 crore -- to cater to just ...

PM Modi's US visit has potential to change political, tech landscape: ORF

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit has the potential to change the political and technology landscape for the future, according to geopolitical expert Samir Saran

PM Modi going on US tour instead of resolving Manipur crisis: Uddhav

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his scheduled visit to the US, and asked why he was going abroad instead of visiting Manipur to resolve the crisis in the violence-hit north-eastern state. Addressing a state-level convention of his party, the first since the rebellion split Shiv Sena last year, he also dared the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country. "One part of our country is in the grip of violence and Modi hasn't gone there or taken steps to resolve the crisis, but is going to America," Thackeray said. The PM will be going on a state visit to the US and Egypt from June 20 to 25. Thackeray alleged that there have been claims that PM Modi stopped the Russia-Ukraine war. "So Modi should stop the violence in Manipur and restore peace and then we will believe these claims," he added. More than 100 people have lost their lives in the ethnic violence ...

UPA-3 'very much possible' in 2024, Oppn must be ready to fight BJP: Sibal

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday said a UPA-3 government coming to power in 2024 is very much possible provided the Opposition parties have a commonality of purpose, an agenda reflecting it and are ready for give and take when fielding candidates to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. Sibal, a prominent Opposition voice and a former Congress leader, also said that instead of a common minimum programme, the Opposition parties should talk about a "new vision for India". His remarks come days before a crucial meeting of Opposition parties, hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on June 23, where top Opposition leaders such as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former AICC chief Rahul Gandhi, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, among others, are set to deliberate on the way forward for forming an anti-BJP coalition for the Lok Sabha polls next year. In an interview with PTI, Sibal said the Congress' win in Karnataka assembly polls was an

Those who can't manage trains, how will they run nation: Kejriwal slams BJP

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday attacked the BJP alleging that the AC and sleeper coaches of trains under the Indian Railways are "worse" than general ones and questioned how the saffron party can run the country if it is unable to run the railway system. Kejriwal's tweet was met with a sarcastic reply by the BJP, which attacked him over the condition of the Delhi Transport Corporation buses. The AAP national convener retweeted several tweets wherein people had complained about air-conditioned and sleeper coaches being overcrowded with people who did not have reservation. "They destroyed the fleet of the well-running railways. Today, even if you take reservation of AC coach, you will not get a seat to sit or sleep. AC and sleeper coaches are worse than general. They do not know how to run the government. They don't understand at all. Illiterate government. They are ruining every field," Kejriwal said. In another tweet, he said, "Those who cannot manage trains, how wi

World now listens to what India says as stature has risen in 9 yrs: Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that the stature of India in the international forums has risen in the past nine years and the world now listens to it attentively

Nehru name drop: Cong calls it 'petty', BJP hits back with 'modiabind' barb

The government has renamed the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society as Prime Ministers' Museum and Library Society, drawing strong condemnation on Friday from the Congress that termed the dropping of the name of India's first PM it as "petty act" and asserted that legacies don't get erased by renaming buildings. The BJP also slammed the Congress, saying they are suffering from "Modiabind" --blind opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP chief J P Nadda also said the Congress' inability to accept that there are leaders beyond "one dynasty" is a classic example of "political indigestion". The move to rename the Society comes nearly a year after the 'Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya' was inaugurated on the premises of the iconic Teen Murti Bhavan, which served as the official residence of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In a special meeting, presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who is the vice president of the Society, it was decided to change its name,

TN Governor R N Ravi re-allocates portfolios held by Senthil Balaji

Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Friday re-allocated the portfolios held by arrested state Minister V Senthil Balaji, on the recommendations of Chief Minister M K Stalin but "has not agreed" to the minister continuing in the cabinet, the Raj Bhavan said. With Balaji now becoming a minister without portfolio, Ravi opposed his continuing in the Stalin-led cabinet as he was facing criminal proceedings, a Raj Bhavan press release said. Ravi "has not agreed to Thiru V Senthil Balaji continuing any longer as a Member of the Council of Ministers, as he is facing criminal proceedings for moral turpitude and is currently in Judicial custody," it said. On Stalin's recommendations, the Electricity, Non-Conventional Energy Development portfolio held by Balaji has been allocated to Finance Minister Thangam Thennarsu, the release said. Further, the subjects Prohibition and Excise, Molasses held by Balaji has been allocated to Housing and Urban Development Minister S Muthusamy. Thennarau and ...