Page 629 - Politics

Terrorism now limted to Kashmir due to Modi's actions: Rajnath

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday said terrorism in the country is now limited only to Kashmir due to strong actions taken by the Narendra Modi government. The international community also recognised India under the Modi government as a "super-power" after the air strike at Balakot in Pakistan, Singh said in an election rally in Dhanbad. "The Narendra Modi government has taken some strong actions due to which terrorism has now been limited only to Kashmir. Earlier, it used to prevail across the country," the senior BJP leader asserted. The central government is ready to resolve the problem from Kashmir also, Singh said. "The world has recognized India as a super power after the air strike following (the) Pulwama (incident)," the minister said. He was referring to the air strike at Balakot in Pakistan on February 26 after the Pulwama terror attack in Kashmir that left over 40 CRPF jawans dead on February 14. Price rise used to be the main election issue till 2014

Modi, BJP staring at poll defeat; Rahul to be next PM: Hardik

Congress leader Hardik Patel Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is staring at defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and claimed his party will get more seats than the BJP in Gujarat. He also slammed Modi over his remarks against former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. "After the five phases of Lok Sabha elections, the smile on Modi's face has worn out. The BJP and Modi know they are staring at defeat," he said. "Modi is still misleading the country," said the Patidar quota agitation leader from Gujarat while speaking to reporters here. "I don't claim the Congress will sweep the Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat. But I am sure the Congress will get one seat more than the BJP in Gujarat (which has 26 seats), said the 25-year-old activist-turned-politician. Slamming Modi for his remark against Rajiv Gandhi, he said, "I feel it (the statement) is very unfortunate for the nation." Speaking at an election rally at Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh last week, Modi had dubbed Rajiv Gandhi as .

Prakash Raj, Gul Panag campaign for AAP's Raghav Chadha

Actors Gul Panag and Prakash Raj campaigned for Aam Aadmi Party's South Delhi candidate, Raghav Chadha, on Tuesday, urging the people to vote for their constituency's representative and not for the prime ministerial candidate. "People need to realise that their vote is not for the prime minister, but for the candidate," Raj said. "People need to know whether the candidate knows about your problems, whether he will solve them or not. You are not electing the prime minister, you are electing your local representative." The actor-turned-politician, who is contesting as an Independent candidate from Bengaluru Central, supported AAP chief and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's demand of full statehood for Delhi. "Delhi needs and deserves full statehood. The AAP has done so much in just four years in both health and education. It is now their turn to take this governance model to the floor of the Parliament," the 54-year-old actor said. Raj urged the voters to vote on the basis of the work ...

Notification issued for bypolls in T'gana Legislative Council

: A notification was issued Tuesday for bye-elections to fill vacancies in Telangana Legislative Council from the Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda and Warangal Local Authorities' constituencies. According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, polling will be held on May 31. The last date for filing nominations is May 14 and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is May 17. Counting of votes will be taken up on June 3. The announcement of the election, however, was flayed by Congress and other opposition parties, who pointed out that rural local body polls to elect new zilla parishad territorial constituencies and mandal parishad territorial constituencies, who are the voters in the Council bye-election, are underway. The proposed bye-election is "illegal" as voters' list in Council bypolls was not available at least till Tuesday evening, state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged. He led a delegation of opposition parties to Chief Electoral Officer ...

Afghanistan's future be decided by its people: India, US

India and the US have agreed that Afghanistan's political future is for its people to decide through an inclusive and legitimate process, US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said on Tuesday after his talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and senior officials here.

After SC declines, opposition parties urge EC to expand VVPAT verification

The opposition parties on Tuesday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to expand the ambit of voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) verification after the Supreme Court rejected their plea to match 50 per cent electronic voting machines (EVMs) with VVPAT slips."We have demanded from the ECI to cross-check 50 per cent EVMs with VVPAT slips for the sake of the credibility of voting and the people's confidence in the poll body. We have also clarified that the Supreme Court has not restricted the poll body to take any decision in this regard," senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters.A delegation of leaders from 21 opposition parties visited the poll body headquarters here with their demands pertaining to VVPAT verification. The opposition leaders, however, did not specify the percentage of EMVs they want to be crosschecked with VVPATs and said that they have left the decision to be taken by the EC.Earlier in the day, the apex court turned down the review ...

Congress hands over loan waiver documents to Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was on Tuesday handed over a list of 21 lakh farmers whose farm loans have been waived, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday."I came to know that a white lie is being spread by the former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan regarding the farm loan waiver by our government. A delegation-led by Suresh Pachauri today handed Shivraj ji a list of 21 lakh farmers whose loans have been waived off," Kamal Nath said at press conference here."This is available on the Agriculture Department's portal. It seems Shivraj ji does not know how to access the portal. We provided the list for his convenience," he said.Earlier in the day, Chouhan accused the Congress government not waving ofarmer loans, even when party president Rahul Gandhi claimed to do so within 10 days after coming into power."On the one hand the Congress government here is claiming that they have waived the loans of all the farmers. However, farmers are still receiving notices .

Jaitley calls Congress 'Cry Baby', says tendency developed to allege MCC violation by their opponents

Calling the Congress Party as a 'Cry Baby' in the elections, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that a tendency has developed among the political parties to excessively allege violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by their opponents.Taking to Twitter, Jaitley said: "Of late, a tendency has developed amongst the political parties to excessively allege violation of the MCC by their opponents. In the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the Congress Party as the 'Cry Baby' of this election, is leading the pack.""The Right to Free Speech does not get suspended or diluted even during elections. Quite to the contrary, elections are the greatest celebration of Indian democracy. The sacrosanct Right of Free Speech has to be fully protected during this period," he said.The Finance Minister said that "the MCC and the Right to Free Speech have to co-exist"."In recent cases, where the PM appealed to the first time voters, no party or candidate was mentioned. In another case, he made a

NYAY surgical strike on poverty: Rahul Gandhi

Describing the ambitious Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) promised by his party as a "surgical strike on poverty", Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said an amount of Rs 3.60 lakh would be given to each of the five crore poor families if his party was voted to power in the Lok Sabha elections.

Punters say NDA experiencing engine drag after Phase-V (IANS Exclusive)

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally commended Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the evacuation and relief measures undertaken by his government for Cyclone Fani. In many other ways, it appeared the BJP was reaching out to the long-serving Biju Janata Dal strongman. Contrast that with the Prime Minister's election campaign in Odisha on April 23 when he derided Patnaik, telling him that his exit was imminent and a few officers were not enough to save him.

India has made many important contributions to Afghanistan's development: US

The US on Tuesday said its Special Representative for Afghan peace Zalmay Khalilzad has recognised the many important contributions India has made to Afghanistan's development in his talks with top Indian government officials during his two-day visit here. Khalilzad held consultations with Indian government officials and other stakeholders on the Afghan peace process during his May 6-7 visit here, the US Embassy said. Ambassador Khalilzad met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, and India's Ambassador to Afghanistan Vinay Kumar, among others. "During his meetings, Ambassador Khalilzad welcomed expressions of support for the Afghan peace process, which strengthens an emerging international consensus for peace efforts. He also recognized the many important contributions India has made to Afghanistan's development," the embassy said in a statement. It said Khalilzad and his counterparts discussed the many ...

Will conduct cabinet meeting on May 10, it's not violation of model code: Naidu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Tuesday said he has convened a cabinet meeting on May 10, asserting that it will not be a violation of the model code of conduct. "We will have our cabinet meeting on May 10. We are not defying any ECI norms. Even prime minister (Narendra Modi) had five cabinet meetings during election code. The same model code of conduct applies to him as well," Naidu told PTI after a meeting with the Election Commission here. Asserting that the rules are "uniform" for everybody, the Telugu Desam Party chief said, "The model code of conduct is uniform for prime minister, chief minister, and even MPs and MLAs." In the meeting, the Andhra Pradesh cabinet is likely to take up proposals on providing relief to Cyclone Fani victims, irrigation water supply and other farmers related matters, sources said. Earlier, the state chief electoral officer had asked Naidu not to hold review meetings citing the model code of conduct.

First-time Kashmiri voter questions separatist ideology

A local first-time voter belonging to Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district has written an open letter to Kashmiri separatists questioning their right to prevent people from voting in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.

EC should verify all VVPATs in case of discrepancy in existing five: Naidu

A delegation of 22 opposition parties, led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, on Tuesday approached the Election Commission requesting for verification of all Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) in an assembly segment if discrepancy is found in counting of VVPAT slips of five random machines. The delegation met the EC immediately after the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by opposition parties to review its judgment rejecting 50 per cent random physical verification of EVMs using VVPATs. The delegation also demanded that the EC "suo motu" increase the physical counting of VVPAT slips with Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) vote count in order to restore voters' confidence, credibility, transparency and robustness of institutional mechanism of counting process. The Supreme Court has directed the EC to count VVPAT slips of five random EVMs in each assembly segment. Senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel and Abhishek M Singhvi as well as National Conference leader ...

Govt ready to discuss constitutional amendment, says PM Oli

Nepal's Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Tuesday said his government was ready to hold talks with the parties demanding constitutional amendment as he feels that the Constitution is not any document which cannot be amended. Madheis parties, including Rastriya Janata Party Nepal and the leaders of newly formed outfit Samajwadi Party-Nepal, have been demanding a constitutional amendment to demarcate the provinces. The adoption of a new Constitution in 2015 that divided Nepal into seven provincial units and reportedly marginalised Madhesis, who are largely of Indian-origin and inhabitants of the Terai, triggered a six-month-long agitation during Oli's first tenure in which more than 50 people were killed. The agitation also hit India-Nepal bilateral ties. The Samajwadi Party-Nepal was formed on Monday following the merger of the Madhes-based Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal and the Naya Shakti Party Nepal of former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai. He also asked the parties not raise the ...

Politicians should mind their language: BJP veteran Shanta Kumar

Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and veteran BJP leader Shanta Kumar on Tuesday expressed concern over the language of politics in the country at present. "The language of leaders nowadays does not remain respectful," Kumar told reporters here, without naming anyone. "There is a need to maintain the status of politics for strengthening democracy. Every politician should also take care of his language." Besides, the former Union minister rued, a number of politicians had also switched their loyalties by joining other parties during the ongoing Lok Sabha election. The former chief minister claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would get more seats this time as compared to the 2014 general election, saying there was "no opposition". "Narendra Modi will again become the PM as he had done several remarkable work during his five-year tenure," he said. Kumar said the level of politics in the state had always remained high. "When I became an MLA for the first time in 1972, ...

SAD asks people of Punjab to vote for Modi

The Shiromani Akali Dal leaders Tuesday urged the people of Punjab to vote for the NDA candidates as the Narendra Modi government at the Centre provided justice to the families of 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims. SAD Member Parliament Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, former MP Tarlochan Singh and the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) President Manjinder Singh Sirsa, in a statement here hailed the prime minister for constituting an SIT to deliver justice to the victims of the anti-Sikh pogrom. "Modi government has given much needed relief to the Sikhs by constituting Special Investigation Team (SIT) for the 1984 Sikh massacre due to which Sajjan Kumar and others are nowbehind bars," the statement said. For the last 33 years, the Sikhs were waiting for justice in the worst ever genocide and the National Democratic Alliance government led by Narendra Modi did the job, they added. "It is right time to pay back to the NDA by voting for it. If NDA again forms the government at the Centre .

Jaitley calls Cong party 'cry baby', says MCC cannot encroach right to free speech

Calling the Congress party the "cry baby" of this election, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Tuesday said the model code of conduct cannot encroach the right to free speech. He said that political parties have developed a new tendency to excessively allege violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) by their opponents. Those complaining to the Election Commission about violation of model election code must keep in mind that right to free speech has not been diluted by the MCC in any way, Jaitley noted. "The MCC cannot encroach the right to free speech. The two have to exist harmoniously," Jaitley wrote in a blogpost titled 'Model Code of Conduct Does Not Take Away the Right to Free Speech'. Any power exercised by the Election Commission under Article 324 cannot relate to areas which are covered by the legislation or regulation but will be confined to areas where legislation does not occupy any space, he said. Article 324 of the Constitution gives to the Election Commission the power to .

AAP North West Delhi candidate releases manifesto, focuses on rural sector

AAP North West Delhi candidate Gugan Singh released his manifesto which focuses on rural areas and affordable education in the constituency. Singh told reporters that there are several severe issues plaguing the North West constituency. Full statehood for Delhi will give most benefits to this constituency and the manifesto has been made keeping that in mind," he said. Singh said he would work in the education sector that is affordable and helps children studying in rural areas be at par with the rest of the country. He said he would also use the Swaminathan report in formulating policies in the region. Delhi goes to polls on May 12 and the results would be announced on May 23. The North West Delhi constituency is a reserved seat. Singh is locked in a contest with BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans and Congress candidate Rajesh Lilothia.

BJP's 'guru-chela' to be out of power soon: Mayawati and Akhilesh

BSP supremo Mayawati and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said that their alliance will "shake the very roots" of the BJP and dislodge the "chowkidar of capitalists" from the prime minister's chair. Addressing election rallies in favour of Mahagathbandhan candidates in Machchlishahr and Jaunpur seats, they also targeted the Congress, alleging that it is "anti-dalit" like the BJP and wants the people to remain poor. "BJP's guru and chela are all set to be out of power at the Centre," Mayawati said at a rally in Bhadohi, attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. "This alliance is so strong that in the 2022 Assembly elections in UP, it will send Yogi baba back in his mutt," Mayawati said, referring to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The BSP supremo alleged that the BJP tried to break their alliance, but she "exposed" it in the media and gave a "befitting reply" to the saffron party. "The BJP is going out of power in these elections... it has failed .