Page 585 - Politics
Government should allot house to CPI leader Nallakannu: Stalin
DMK President M.K. Stalin on Saturday condemned the ruling AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu for asking veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader R. Nallakannu to vacate the house where he was living.
BJP, JDS ridicule 'Siddaramaiah-for-CM' chorus
The 'Siddaramaiah-for-CM' clamour within a section of the Congress in Karnataka has come in for ridicule from the JDS, its ruling coalition ally, and the opposition BJP. The JD(S) dubbed the campaign as an act of 'chamchagiri' (sycophancy) while the BJP called it anarchy within the Congress by Siddaramaiah and his four or five 'chelas' (supporters). Over the past few days, several Congress leaders, including ministers in the Kumaraswamy government, have pitched for Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah becoming the CM again. Reacting to the statements of Home Minister M B Patil and a few others in this regard, JD(S) state president A H Vishwanath told reporters at Haveri Saturday that such remarks smack of 'chamchagiri'. Patil's statements gave rise to questions whether he was doing so to appease somebody or he was only toeing some standard line, the JDS leader said. "This is not sane. It does not make sense when a minister, who understands ...
Congress alleges AAP making promotional calls on poll eve
The Congress on Saturday complained to the Election Commission that Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party was violating the Model Code of Conduct with automated calls during the "silence period" before polling in the city in the penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha election.
Ready to back any party except BJP that supports full statehood for Delhi: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said post-elections they would be ready to back any party, except the BJP, that supports full statehood for the national capital. The AAP national convenor, in an interview to PTI, said their only aim is to stop the Modi-Shah duo from coming back to power and for that they will support any party. "We will support those who grant full statehood to Delhi. Our only aim is to stop the Modi-Shah duo from coming back to power. We have absolutely no problem with whoever comes at the Centre," Kejriwal said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made the demand of full statehood for Delhi its poll plank. The party says that a slew of issues, including expansion of health and education infrastructure, remains unresolved as it does not lie in the hands of the Delhi government. Kejriwal claimed that people are "extremely happy" with the work of the AAP in Delhi, especially in the fields of education, health, water, electricity, road, sewage. "But the ..
Sunny Deol in search of career in politics: Punjab CM
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Saturday that Bollywood star Sunny Deol had come from Mumbai in search of a career in politics since his acting career was virtually over.
It was 'difficult' to celebrate festivals during previous governments in UP: Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Saturday attacked the SP and the BSP, claiming that the previous governments in the state did not provide an environment to celebrate festivals. "It was difficult to celebrate festivals like Janmashtmi and Durga Puja during previous governments due to anarchy and riots in festive season," he said. "We gave out a clear message to all that the place for 'gundas' is either in jail or in 'ram naam satya hai yatra' (funeral procession)," the chief minister said in a public meeting in Khorabar here. The governments of the Congress, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) were not concerned with development, whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi worked for women, the poor and farmers, Adityanath said. "Riots, anarchy, scams and corruption were features of their government. After independence, the benefits of welfare schemes didn't reach the poor, but now, they are reaching the people, thus people want Modiji once again as their ..
BJP slams AAP and Kejriwal on 'seat trading' allegations
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the 'seat-trading' allegations levelled against them.Speaking about AAP's West Delhi candidate Balbir Jakhar's son's accusations that his father allegedly paid a huge bribe to get a party ticket, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, "Balbir Jakhar's son has accused that he has bought the West Delhi seat for Rs 6 crore. His son has also indicated that he has links with Sajjan Kumar who is an accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. This is a very serious matter and now Delhi CM Kejriwal should answer."Earlier in the day, Jakhar's son Uday accused him of giving Rs 6 crore to the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai in exchange for the West Delhi ticket. "Six crore rupees were given to Arvind Kejriwal and Gopal Rai by my father in exchange for the West Delhi ticket. He joined politics in January and prior to that, he had no experience in the political arena. .
Cong leader Raj Kumar Chauhan joins BJP
Dissatisfied with not getting a ticket from the Congress party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, former Delhi minister and Congress leader Raj Kumar Chauhan joined the BJP on Saturday.Chauhan formally joined the BJP in the presence of Delhi unit BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, Union Minister Vijay Goel and other senior leaders of the party.The 4-time MLA and former minister in Sheila Dikshit Cabinet, Chauhan was seeking ticket from North-West Delhi parliamentary constituency.While joining the ruling party at the Centre, Chauhan said that his ticket had got cleared by senior Congress leaders but was denied at the eleventh hour."A ticket, cleared by the election board comprising top leaders of the party, got rejected and was given to somebody else," Chauhan told media persons after joining the BJP.The Congress party has fielded Delhi Congress working president Rajesh Lilothia from the North West Delhi constituency.On April 21, his supporters in the Congress party had also protested outside ...
EC must check vehicles of the PM and union ministers : Mamata
Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee Saturday alleged that BJP is using money to buy votes and demanded that all vehicles, including helicopters used by the prime minister and union ministers be checked by the Election Commission. Banerjee asked the Election Commission to check even cars and the helicopter used by her if needed. She cautioned voters about outsiders, Banerjee said union ministers travelling with Z anfd Y category security are carrying funds in their vehicles. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's frequent visits to the state ahead of the various phases of the Lok Sabha polls, Banerjee, who is among his severest critics, said "Why is he coming so often to Bengal? He wants to create division among the people. He is coming with loads of money to distribute to the people." "I request the Election Commission please also check my car and my helicopter. But check all the union ministers cars and helicopters too. They cannot be exempted. They are
Amarinder slams Modi over Time magazine article
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday slammed Narendra Modi over a Time magazine article which called the prime minister "divider in chief", and asked people to vote for the Congress for "country's unity". While addressing a poll rally here, Singh cited the article and said, "It showed what the international community thought of Modi who lowered India's prestige in the global arena". The piece, a sharp criticism of Modi's leadership, has been written by Aatish Taseer, son of Indian journalist Tavleen Singh and late Pakistani politician and businessman Salmaan Taseer. Singh said leaders like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had earned for the nation at global forums such as the United Nations. He alleged Modi's "shameful" attempts to "destroy" the secular fabric of the country were a "threat" to its very existence. He exhorted people to vote for the future and unity of India, whose diversity and secularism were its core strengths. "India needs a government .
Haryana dynasties locked in fight of primacy in Hisar
The Hisar Lok Sabha seat on Sunday will witness an gripping fight of supremacy among Haryana's three bigwig political dynasties -- two belonging to the fourth generation and one to the third.
Congress in J&K protests remarks against Rajiv Gandhi
Congress leaders in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday took out a protest march here against remarks made by Governor Satya Pal Malik and Prime Minister Narendra Modi about former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi.
Cong leaders discuss MLC bypolls, DCCs to select nominees
Senior Congress leaders in Telangana Saturday discussed selection of candidates for bypolls to be held to fill three vacancies in the Legislative Council. It was decided at the meeting that the job of selecting candidates has been entrusted with the District Congress Committees (DCCs), Congress sources said. A statement from the Congress said the party state president N Uttam Kumar Reddy was wondering how the election can be conducted allegedly without the voters' list. The party would appeal in the Supreme Court vis-a-vis bypolls, the statement quoted Reddy as saying. Congress had Thursday urged the Election Commission to either cancel the notification issued for by-elections to three vacancies in the Legislative Council as no voters' list had been published or extend the time to have new voters' list. The notification for the bypolls to fill vacancies in the Council from the Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda and Warangal Local Authorities' constituencies was issued Tuesday ...
BJP to get highest tally from northeastern states: Jitendra Singh
The BJP will get the highest tally from the northeastern states, thus opening a new chapter in the history of electoral politics of northeast India, Union minister Jitendra Singh claimed on Saturday. This tally will get further added on by the seats to be won by BJP allies under the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), he said. Sharing his assessment of the voting trends, Singh, who has been the minister in-charge of the northeastern states for the last five years, recalled that in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had won only eight out of 25 seats in these states, which included seven from Assam and one from Arunachal Pradesh. This time, however, he predicted that the jinx will break and the BJP will also record a decisive victory from states like Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur from where last time it did not get a single seat. The contribution of the northeastern states to the overall BJP tally in the Lok Sabha will not only mark a definite departure from the past trends, but .
Preparations complete for third phase of LS polls in MP on Sunday
Eight Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh will go to polls on Sunday at the end of an acrimonious duel between the BJP and the Congress centred around farm loan waiver. MP Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao said all preparations for the polls have been completed. In Bhopal, Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh is locked in a battle with BJP nominee and Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, while Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia is seeking re-election from the Guna seat. Union Minister Narendra Tomar, sitting MP from Gwalior, is seeking election from Morena Lok Sabha seat. Vidisha, once represented by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and newspaper baron Ramnath Goenka, also goes to polls on Sunday. Union Minister Sushma Swaraj, MP from Vidisha, opted out of electoral politics this time due to health reasons. Other seats which are going to polls are Bhind (SC), Gwalior, Sagar and Rajgarh. Of the eight seats, seven were won by the BJP in 2014. A total .
Cong leader, other office-bearers resign from party alleging humiliation by Priyanka
The district unit president of the Congress and some other office bearers Saturday resigned from the party alleging humiliation by AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra after they approached her with a complaint regarding the candidate. "A complaint was made to Priyanka Gandhi about Congress candidate Ramakant Yadav not coordinating with anyone in the unit Friday and she was also told that none of the office bearers were invited for a rally here," Congress's Bhadohi district president Neelam Misra told newspersons here. Priyanka Gandhi addressed an election rally in Bhadohi in support of the party candidate Yadav on Friday. Misra alleged that Priyanka Gandhi not only ignored their grievance but also used "strong words" against her publicly. "But the AICC general secretary paid no heed and said if they are feeling humiliated over this then they can continue to feel this way," Misra claimed. Misra said she and other office-bearers had approached Priyanka Gandhi as she is the ...
Biggest haul: Over 1,800 kg of narcotic drugs seized from Greater Noida
A day before Delhi goes to the polls in the penultimate phase of the general election, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday claimed to have seized the biggets-ever consignment of more than 1,800-kg of contraband drug pseudoephedrine -- used for manufacturing party drug methamphetamine -- outside the premises of a factory in Greater Noida and arrested three foreign nationals. The NCB also seized 2kg of cocaine.
Gehlot and Raje 'helping each other' politically in Rajasthan
If political sources in Rajasthan are to be believed, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and chief minister Ashok Gehlot are working in ways that appear to help each other's political prospects.
With no big names in fray, Vidisha loses sheen
After two-time Vidisha MP Sushma Swaraj announced that she will not contest the Lok Sabha elections this year, the high-profile constituency, considered a BJP bastion, appears to have lost its sheen. The BJP has fielded debutante Ramakant Bhargav from the seat which saw the likes of former prime minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee in the running in the early 1990s. Bhargav is pitted against Shailendra Patel of the Congress. With no big names in the fray, the electioneering in Vidisha has been low-key and it has failed to grab the media's attention, Bhopal-based political commentator Girija Shankar said. "Vidisha Lok Sabha seat has been taken for granted since it became the traditional seat of a political party. So, whenever the party wanted to ensure the victory of any candidate, it fielded him or her from this seat. Now, when no VIP candidate is here, the election is a low-key affair," he said, without naming any party. However, the question that is looming large is whether the BJP will be .
I may come from low caste, but trying to uplift every poor person, says PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that he might come from a low caste but he is "trying day and night to uplift each and every person from the lower caste and every poor person in the country."Claiming that the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) all through their campaign targeted him for coming from a "lower" caste, Prime Minister Modi said: "I might come from a low caste but I am trying day and night to uplift each and every person from the lower caste and every poor person in the country."Prime Minister Modi was addressing an election rally in favour of Union Minister Manoj Sinha, who is seeking re-election from this seat. Ghazipur goes to poll on May 19, the last phase of seven-phased Lok Sabha polling. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.Expressing his dismay over the Congress government in Rajasthan for allegedly burying Alwar gang rape case due to polls, Modi said: "You must have heard of the incident from Rajasthan's Alwar district ..