Page 553 - Politics
Sonowal condemns attack on Shah's roadshow
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal condemned the attack on BJP president Amit Shah's roadshow by miscreants in Kolkata on Tuesday. In a statement here, Sonowal said such attacks disregarding democracy is highly condemnable. Asserting those involved in the attack deserve to receive severe punishment, Sonowal demanded immediate intervention of the President in the matter. He also thanked his party president for showing restraint during the incident.
China's state media hits back at US on trade
Beijing unleashed its tightly controlled media this week after keeping a lid on rhetoric for months as the trade war with Washington reignited, with fiery clips from state media ricocheting around the internet. The spree of editorials and commentaries in China's state media Monday and Tuesday ramped up attacks on Washington and its trade tactics, with Beijing rolling out the propaganda campaign in synch with its retaliation on US goods. China announced Monday it would raise tariffs on USD 60 billion in US exports by next month, responding in kind to President Donald Trump's decision last week to hike duties on hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese merchandise. The barrage began Monday night during state broadcaster CCTV's primetime newscast watched across China. "China has already given its answer: talk and the door is open, fight and we'll fight you to the end," an anchor read, looking directly at the camera. "Through 5,000 years of ups and downs, what kind of battle has the ...
AP CM chairs Cabinet meeting
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Tuesday chaired a cabinet meeting here, a day after the Election Commission granted conditional permission for the State government to conduct it. While granting permission for the Cabinet meeting, the ECI, in a communique on Monday, had said: "ECI has no objection regarding convening of meeting of Council of Ministers, subject to conditions that any new decisions or revision of rates or any outstanding payment will require permission of the Commission before implementation. It also said no media announcement of enhancement of rates should be done in the meeting. Naidu had sought to conduct regular official meetings citing the wide gap between the polling day and the (vote) counting date. The ECI, however, asserted that the model code of conduct would remain in place till the completion of poll process (May 29) and, as such, no official meetings could be held without prior consent. Naidu had accused the Election ...
Trump denies planning to send 120,000 troops to counter Iran
President Donald Trump on Monday rejected a report that he is considering sending 120,000 troops to counter Iran, but didn't rule out sending "a hell of a lot more" soldiers in the future. "I think it's fake news," Trump said of a New York Times report that the White House is considering a plan to send 120,000 troops to the region as part of a tightening pressure campaign against the Iranian government. "Now, would I do that? Absolutely. But we have not planned for that," Trump told reporters. "Hopefully we're not going to have to plan for that. If we did that, we'd send a hell of a lot more troops than that." The Pentagon has already dispatched an aircraft carrier and nuclear-capable bomber planes to the region in the last few days.
13 Pak nationals repatriated through Attari-Wagah border
Thirteen Pakistani nationals, including four fishermen, were repatriated to Pakistan on Tuesday through the Attari-Wagah border, the country's High Commission here said. They were handed over to Pakistani authorities in the presence of officials of the Pakistan High Commission, it said. Thirteen Pakistani nationals -- nine civil prisoners and four fishermen, were repatriated on May 14 through the Attari-Wagah border, the mission said in a statement. The Pakistan High Commission here worked closely with the Indian authorities for the release and repatriation of these Pakistani civil prisoners and fishermen, it said.
Rahul Gandhi moves to Italy whenever there is crisis in India: Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Tuesday attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi, alleging that whenever there is a crisis in the country he "moves to Italy". The chief minister addressed rallies in Ballia, Bansgaon, Khajani, Hata and Doheriya on Tuesday, ahead of the seventh and final phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections on May 19. "Whenever there is a crisis in the country, Rahul moves to Italy," he said, alluding to the Congress chief's mother Sonia Gandhi's Italian origins. "If Congress' 'Shehjadi' (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) and (her brother) Rahul have nothing to do with the people of our country, then they should better move to Italy and ask for votes there," Adityanath said. Bringing up Monday's scuffle between Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) workers in Ghazipur, he said, "Yesterday, SP and BSP workers were fighting with each other.The goons of the SP were brutally beating up the BSP workers." "Mayawati (BSP chief) is sharing the stage with .
Has Bengal acquired a 'government of gangsters', asks Jaitley
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Tuesday deplored the violence during BJP President Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata and wondered if West Bengal is being run by a "government of gangsters". All eyes will be now on the Election Commission of India to ensure free and fair Lok Sabha polls in the state in the last phase on May 19, he said in a series of tweets. BJP and TMC supporters fought pitched battles on the streets of Kolkata during a massive roadshow by Amit Shah, who escaped unhurt but was forced to cut short the jamboree and had to be escorted to safety by police. Parts of the city plunged into a welter of violence as the BJP president's convoy was attacked with stones by alleged TMC supporters from inside the hostel of Vidyasagar College, triggering a clash between supporters of the two parties, officials said. "Has Bengal acquired a Government of Gangsters? The attack on Amit Shah's peaceful rally by the TMC is deplorable. "Is a free & fair Poll possible in Bengal? All ...
Swaraj holds constructive discussions with Iranian Foreign Minister
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Tuesday held "constructive" talks with her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and conveyed to him that India will take a decision on import of Iranian oil after the Lok Sabha polls, keeping in mind its commercial, economic and energy security interests. The talks between the two foreign ministers came 12 days after the US ended six-month-long exemptions from sanctions to India and seven other countries to buy oil from Iran. Zarif's visit here came amid escalating face-off between Iran and the United States on Tehran's nuclear programme. In a tweet, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar described the discussions between Swaraj and Zarif as "constructive". "EAM @SushmaSwaraj and Iranian Foreign Minister @JZarif held constructive discussions on all bilateral issues of mutual interest. Good exchange of views on the evolving regional situation, including Afghanistan," he said. Official sources said Swaraj reiterated the position that a ...
Aiyar justifies 'neech' slur against PM; Cong condemns, PM dubs such abuses as 'gifts'
After months of silence, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar was back in the news on Tuesday with an article justifying his "neech" slur against Narendra Modi, and also calling him the most "foul-mouthed" prime minister the country has seen. The article, published in Rising Kashmir and The Print, drew condemnation from the Congress and the BJP, which called Aiyar "abuser-in-chief" and described his party as arrogant. Addressing an election rally, Modi attacked Aiyar and the Congress, saying he takes such abuses as "gifts" and the public will respond to each and every abuses by electing the BJP. In the article, just days before the last phase of voting for the high-stakes Lok Sabha polls, Aiyar said,"remember how I described him on 7 December 2017? Was I not prophetic?" In 2017, the former Union minister called Modi "neech aadmi" following which he was suspended from the Congress party. Justifying the slur, Aiyar in his article said,"Modi will, in any case, be ousted by the people of ...
78% polling in final phase of Telangana rural civic election
About 78 per cent of over 46lakh voters exercised their franchise in the third and final phase of elections to Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies and zilla parishad territorial constituencies. The poll percentage stood at 77.63 per cent, according to the figures supplied by the State Election Commission. The election was held for 161 ZPTCs, for which 741 candidates are in the fray. Polling was held for 1708 MPTCs, with 5726 candidates. The total poll percentage for all the three phases stood at 77.81 per cent. Polling was held from 7 AM to 5 PM, while in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas, it started at 7 AM and concluded at 4 PM, officials said. The first phase of polling, which was held on May 6, witnessed 76.80 per cent voter turnout while it was 77.63 per cent in the second phase on May 10. The Telangana State Election Commission had last month released the election schedule for 5,817 MPTCs and 539 ZPTCs and announced that the first phase polls would be ..
Priyanka blames SAD for desecration of Guru Granth Sahib
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday blamed BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal for the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib, an emotive issue in Punjab. In her first election rally in Punjab for the Lok Sabha polls, Priyanka Gandhi also mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for suggesting that a cloud cover had helped IAF planes evade Pakistani radars during the Balakot air strikes. "The soul of Punjab will be lost if anything happens to Guru Granth Sahib. Their (BJP's) own ally indulged in sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib for political gains and votes," she said at the rally in Bathinda, an Akali Dal bastion where Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal is contesting against the Congress' Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. The Congress and the SAD have been trading barbs at each other over the sacrilege incident at the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015. Protests over a series of such incidents resulted in police firing in which two persons were killed. Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress general secretary in .
AAP, BJP indulge in blame game over killing of Moti Nagar businessman
The AAP and the BJP traded allegations on Tuesday over the brutal killing of a businessman in Moti Nagar after he objected to eve-teasing with his daughter, with the former saying the incident should not be given a "religious colour". BJPs Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta questioned the Kejriwal government why it was "silent" on the incident. "Will they speak only if they see some political advantage in reacting or they do not want to react as the accused belong to a particular community and it will adversely affect their vote bank," Gupta charged. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanded that police take the "strongest" action against the guilty. AAP's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh condemned the attack, saying "political forces" should not give a religious colour to the incident. "It was an unfortunate incident which should not be mixed with religion. Some fringe groups are trying to give the incident a religious angle but that is unacceptable," he ...
In video message, Priyanka urges voters in HP to support Cong's Mandi candidate
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who failed to attend a rally here due to adverse weather conditions, Tuesday sent a video clip urging voters to extend their support to party's Mandi candidate Aashray Sharma. In the 55-second-long video clip, she appealed to the people to vote for the Congress if they wish to see development in their constituency. Priyanka was scheduled to address a rally in Sundernagar in support of Aashray Sharma. He is pitted against sitting BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma. Aashray Sharma is the grandson of former Union minister Sukh Ram. Aashray's father Anil Sharma has recently resigned from the state cabinet. All the four Lok Sahba seats in Himachal Pradesh will go to polls on May 19. Anil Sharma, along with his son Ashray and father Sukh Ram, had switched over to the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2017 assembly polls. He won the Mandi Vidhan Sabha seat and became power minister in the BJP government. In Priyanka's absence, former chief minister .
Aiyar's expulsion from Congress over his 'Neech' remark against me was drama: PM Modi
In view of Mani Shankar Aiyar's 'Neech aadmi' remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, saying that his expulsion from the party for his 'Neech' remark against him was a 'drama.'"Remember, when Gujarat elections were there, a minister (Mani Shankar Aiyar) in their (UPA) government had said -- Modi is 'Neech' (low class). Someone said Modi is of 'Neech Jaati' (low caste). There was a storm in Gujarat. Then they did a drama by expelling him from the party. After some time, they took him back," said Prime Minister Modi, while addressing an election rally here.Referring to Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) president Sam Pitroda's controversial 'Hua to hua' (Happened, so what) remark over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Prime Minister Modi said: "As soon as elections in Punjab is over, he (Congress president Rahul Gandhi) will once again start hugging his Guru (Sam Pitroda).""The Congress party does not think what he (Mani Shankar Aiyar) did .
EC probing cash-for-votes charge against Shivakumar
The Election Commission (EC) has ordered an inquiry into a charge by the BJP that Karnataka Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar distributed cash to voters ahead of the May 19 by-election in the Kundagola Assembly segment in Dharwad, an official said on Tuesday.
Shah should be made to squat holding ears for 'kangal Bangla'
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee Tuesday said BJP president Amit Shah should be made to squat holding his ears for his 'Kangal Bangla' remark, and alleged that his party is transporting money in CRPF vehicles to be distributed among people of the state. She also attacked the Election Cmmission claiming that efforts to check entry of money into the state were hampered after the poll panel changed the police commissioners of Kolkata and neighbouring Bidhannagar. Wondering whether the BJP president knows the meaning of 'kangal', she said, "How dare he say Bengal is kangal.... He should be made to squat holding his ears for saying this," Banerjee at election rallies here. Shah had on Monday claimed at a BJP rally that under the TMC rule, 'Sonar (golden) Bangla' has been turned into "kangal (pauper) Bangla" and that it is the saffron party which can bring back the lost glory of the state. The chief minister did not react to Shah's 'kangal Bangla' comment Monday, but
Priyanka faces protest over Pitroda's remarks
Hundreds of victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots on Tuesday protested against the visit of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi here for campaigning in favour of her party's candidate Sunil Jakhar.
Telangana engineers restoration 34 km of power lines in Odisha
Engineers of Telangana power utilities working in cyclone Fani hit Odisha to restore electricity at that government's request have laid 34 km of lines in and around Bhubaneshwar, the Chief Minister's office said here Tuesday. It said restoration work by employees of various power utilities in Telananga were bearing fruit in the affected areas and that 34 km of power lines were laid and electricity supply restored Earlier the Odisha government had requested the Telangana Government to render help to restore power in the state, which was impacted in the recent cyclone. Rao then directed Chief Secretary S K Joshi and Transco Chairman and Managing Director D Prabhakar Rao to take it up, the release said. On May 7, 1000 employees from various power utilities of Telangana moved to Odisha in special vehicles to start the restoration works, the release added.
BJP asks Goa government to shut offshore casinos
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Goa unit president Vinay Tendulkar here on Tuesday said he had requested the BJP-led coalition government to shut the offshore casino industry, after the licences of the current casino operations expire.
Suspicions, prejudices hinder ties: Lavrov tells Pompeo
Russia would like to rebuild ties with the US through a dialogue built on trust because suspicions and prejudices had only served to hinder bilateral security, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday at a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.