Page 593 - Politics
End Modi, Kejriwal's 'arrogance' democratically: Dikshit
Former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who is contesting from North East Delhi Lok Sabha seat, on Friday appealed the people to end the "arrogance" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a democratic way for the city's development.
BJP will win all 42 LS seats in West Bengal: Rajnath
The BJP will win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, riding on a saffron wave sweeping across the state, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh claimed on Friday. Singh said this has ruffled Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party, the Trinamool Congress, to the extent that she is not responding to calls of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Didi (Banerjee) is so tense because of the BJP wave that she doesn't even pick up the calls made by the prime minister," the senior BJP leader told a rally in Kanthi in East Midnapore district. "The whole country can sense that this wave is spreading across Bengal, and the party will unfurl the victory flag in every Lok Sabha seat in the state," he asserted. Kanthi will go to polls on May 12 in the sixth and penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Speaking at a recent election rally, BJP chief Amit Shah had said the party will win "more than 23 Lok Sabha seats" in West Bengal. Singh also alleged that Banerjee failed to keep .
After Trump invite, Iran commander says: No talks with US
A top commander in Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said Friday that Tehran will not talk with the United States, an Iranian news agency reported a day after President Donald Trump said he'd like Iranian leaders to "call me." The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Gen Yadollah Javani as saying that "there will be no negotiations with America." The Iranian commander also claimed the US would not dare take military action against Iran but did not elaborate. The verbal exchange comes as tensions escalate between Washington and Tehran. The Trump administration sent the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and a bomber squadron to the region in response to unspecified threats by Iran against American interests. And on Wednesday, Iran threatened to renew some nuclear enrichment that had been halted under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers a year after Trump pulled America from the accord, saying it does nothing to stop Iran from developing missiles or destabilising the Middle
Pitroda's remark completely out of line, he must apologise: Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday said party leader Sam Pitroda has said something completely "out of line" and should apologise for his remarks on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Earlier in the day, the Congress distanced itself from the "so what" remarks of Pitroda about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and asked the leaders of the party to be careful and sensitive in future. Pitroda, a close aide of Rahul Gandhi and Overseas Congress' head, on Thursday said, 'hua to hua' (So what, it happened) about the anti-Sikh riots. He made this remark in response to a question on the riots by a newsman in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. "What Mr Sam Pitroda has said is absolutely and completely out of line and is not appreciated. I will be communicating this to him directly. He must apologise for his comment," Gandhi said. He noted that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were a needless tragedy that caused tremendous pain, and said "justice has to be done" and anybody guilty must be punished. Rahul Gandhi said .
CM lauds SC ruling on Karnataka law on SC/ST promotions
Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court judgement upholding the state's Reservation Act, 2018 to give promotions to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes.
Congress indulging in petty politics: Smriti Irani
Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani Friday accused the Congress of indulging in petty politics and appealed to the electorate to shun the 'milawati' (adulterated) SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh. Addressing an election meeting here, the BJP leader also took a swipe at Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying he would soon land in jail. "Those indulging in petty politics, Rahul Gandhi and Robert Vadra, are upset over the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Robert Vadra has reached the courts and in time to come he will also reach the jail," Irani said. The BJP leader who was here to campaign for party candidate from Salempur seat , Ravindra Kushwaha, asked the electorate to shun the politics of 'milawat', referring to the grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh- the term often used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Those who were opposed to each other are today together and are enacting a political drama... the lady leader has forgotten her ...
Give Cong befitting reply though the power of votes: CM Raghubar Das
Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Friday said people will give a befitting reply with "ballot bombs" to the Congress party, which has dared to question the bravery of soldiers who carried out February airstrikes at terror camps in Pakistan's Balakot.Addressing an election rally here, Das said: "We have to give a befitting reply to those who are questioning the bravery of our soldiers, in the same way our jawans have responded to terrorists using bullets and bombs. On May 12, we have to give an answer to the Congress which is questioning the bravery of our soldiers.""Our soldiers are using bombs, we have to use 'ballot bombs'. You have to press 'Lotus' on May 12. We have to use ballot bomb to defeat the Congress, which talks about the interests of terrorists," he said.The Chief Minister said that the people should not vote to power those leaders who give them money for their votes."There are some contractors of votes. I am poor but I also have my respect. This election is for the country.
Konkan Railways signs agreement with Nepal
Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd (KRCL) on Friday signed an agreement with Nepal's Department of Railways under which the former will supply two 1600 HP DEMU train sets.The agreement was signed in Kathmandu in the presence of Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Manjeev Singh Puri, and Nepalese Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Secretary, Madhusudan Adhikari.The said trains will run on the 34 km long stretch between Jayanagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal.Manufactured by the Integrated Coach Factory located in Chennai, each train will consist of three coaches, including an air-conditioned coach.The Jayanagar-Kurtha Railway Link has been built by IRCON with a financial grant from the Government of India (GoI) under the India-Nepal Development Partnership program.KRCL is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of GoI, under the Ministry of Railways.
Derogatory pamphlets: AAP sends legal notice to BJP, Gambhir
The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday sent a legal notice to the BJP and its East Delhi candidate Gautam Gambhir over defamatory statements in wake of "derogatory pamphlet" circulated in the constituency against its candidate Atishi.
BJP, Congress in direct fight in 373 seats: Report
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are contesting 435 and 420 seats in this Lok Sabha elections, respectively, and they are in a direct fight with each other in 373 seats, according to PRS India, an NGO.
77.63 pc polling in 2nd phase of rural local body polls
The second phase of polls to Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies saw 77.63 per cent of over 50 lakh voters exercised their franchise, the State Election Commission said here Friday. The election was held for 179 ZPTCs, for which 805 candidates, including 162 independents, are in the fray. Officials said polling was held for 1850 MPTCs, for which 6,146 candidates are in the fray. The SEC said the poll percentage stood at 77.63 per cent. The elections were 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. Unanimous elections had earlier been held for 63 MPTCs and one ZPTC seat. The first phase of polling on May 6 witnessed 76.80 per cent voter turnout. 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 held on May 6, the second on
Sidhu in fresh EC trouble for his remarks against PM Modi
The Election Commission Friday issued a fresh show cause notice to Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for prima facie violating the model code of conduct by making alleged disparaging remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has been given a day to reply to the notice. The poll panel had received a complaint from the BJP that Sidhu, during a rally in Madhya Pradesh on April 29, had made disparaging comments about PM Modi. He had reportedly accused the prime minister of "making money in the Rafale jet deal" as also "allowing" the rich to escape the country after "robbing" nationalised banks. The poll panel had in April censured Sidhu for allegedly warning the Muslim community that efforts were on to divide their votes in Bihar, and barred him from campaigning for 72 hours.
Student who shared BBC story about Thai king freed from jail
A student activist who was imprisoned for sharing a BBC article about Thailand's king on Facebook was released Friday under a royal pardon. Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, also known as Pai Dao Din, was sentenced in August 2017 to 2 years in prison after pleading guilty on charges of insulting the monarchy. He had been due to complete his sentence on June 19. He was arrested in December 2016 for sharing a profile by the BBC's Thai-language service of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who took the throne after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The profile included mentions of the king's past personal life that are not openly discussed in Thailand. A crowd of family and friends greeted Jatupat as he was released from the prison in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen. Friends sang songs and clapped along as they posed for photos with him. Five members of Thailand's royalist Yellow Shirt movement who led a takeover of the prime minister's office in 2008 were also released Friday ...
ANC win closely-watched South Africa poll with absolute majority
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's ruling ANC won re-election on Friday with an absolute majority in parliament, results showed, but with diminished support, complicating economic revival and anti-corruption efforts. The results, published by the electoral commission, are the party's worst national showing since Nelson Mandela led it to victory in the first multi-racial polls after apartheid ended in 1994. The African National Congress (ANC) held a comfortable lead with 57.73 per cent at 1615 GMT after 95 per cent of voting districts were officially tallied following Wednesday's vote. That means they will be mathematically assured more than 50 per cent of votes cast in the final official tally, due to be announced Saturday. Seats in parliament are allocated based on vote share and the party with the most representatives selects the president, who will be sworn in on May 25. President Ramaphosa, 66, took over last year when the ANC forced then-president Jacob Zuma to resign ...
Indo-US trade could rise to USD 500 billion by 2023-24: IACC
Trade between India and the US could jump to USD 500 billion by 2023-24 from about USD 142 billion at present, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) said on Friday. Issues relating to e-commerce and high tariffs, however, could slow down trade between the two countries, and need to be resolved, a US government official said. "Current Indo-US bilateral trade is at USD 142.1 billion and we hope this can jump to USD 500 billion (by 2023-24). There are short-term issues concerning e-commerce, Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) and medical equipment," IACC president S K Sarkar said. Sarkar was speaking at an event to highlight the 'Select USA Investment Summit' here in presence of the Director General of US and Foreign Commercial Service, Department of Commerce, Ian Steff. "Whether it is e-commerce issues or high tariffs, these are issues that threaten to slow down the trade relationship that we intend to build. This is something that we need to take care of. I ..
People's zeal reflects BJP will win all Delhi seats: Sitharaman
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that people's enthusiasm in the capital showed that the BJP was going to win all the seven seats in Delhi.
Archery Controversy: Acting president Sharma "rejects" secretary's election notification
The factional feud of the Archery Association of India (AAI) came out in the open after acting president Sunil Sharma rejected the June 9 date for elections finalised by the Committee of Administrators in consultation with secretary Maha Singh. Acting president Sharma had earlier sent a notice for conducting the association election on May 26, which the secretary had then termed "unauthorized" and "contempt of court". The ugly fight between the two warring factions of former presidents VK Malhotra and Rao has now come out in the open. On Friday, secretary Maha met five members in Chandigarh to discuss the "way forward" and decided on June 9 as the new election date but on expected lines, Sharma rejected it terming the meeting "unauthorised". "For such a meeting to be convened, one needs to give 12 days' notice. An emergent meeting may be convened by the secretary in consultation with the president on an urgent specific matter with five days' notice," Sharma told PTI from Jammu, ...
Rahul responds to EC show cause notice, says did not violate model code
Congress president Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have told the Election Commission that he has not violated the model code by his claim that the Narendra Modi government has enacted a new law that allowed tribals to be shot at. Responding to the show cause notice, Gandhi is learnt to have told the poll panel that he had tried to summarise a proposed amendment to the Indian Forest Act in a simple language during a political speech. He also told the Commission that he had no intention of misleading the people by stating unverified facts. Gandhi is also learnt to have told the poll panel that the complaint was lodged against him to distract him from campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. Citing his speech in Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh on April 23, the poll panel had on May 1 issued the show-cause notice to Gandhi, highlighting a provision of the Model Code of Conduct that barred "unverified" allegations against political opponents. Two BJP workers had approached the EC with the complaint, ...
'84 riots a stain that Congress can never clean: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hit out at the Congress over its leader Sam Pitroda's reported remarks "Hua to hua" (it just happened)on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying the "genocide" was stain that the opposition party can never clean.
Cong accuses BJP of violating poll code, urges EC for action
The Congress accused the BJP on Friday of indulging in "corrupt practices" by "brazenly violating" the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and electoral laws, while urging the Election Commission (EC) to take immediate action. A delegation of Congress leaders, led by party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi, met EC officials and handed over a memorandum demanding action against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for alleged poll code violations. Singhvi accused BJP workers of indulging in "outrageous and egregious corrupt practices" through the central government's ministries and departments. He charged a woman officer of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce with writing an e-mail to the officials in the ministry and seeking details of various schemes and initiatives as the same were to be included in the BJP's vision document and manifesto ahead of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. Singhvi alleged that the officer had written the e-mail on ...