Page 636 - Politics
Modi's anti-Rajiv comments spur more to join campaign
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's utterances on former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi seems to have spurred activists from different sectors to make a beeline to campaign against the BJP in the last two rounds of Lok Sabha elections.
Masood Azhar getting designated as global terrorist big win for BJP: Adityanath
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said, Masood Azhar getting designated as a global terrorist by the United Nations, was a big win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP."Compare five years of Modi government with fifty-five years of Congress rule and the work done under Narendra Modi will come out on top. Under the guidance of Modiji, BJP also succeeded in getting Masood Azhar designated as a global terrorist, it means just like Osama Bin Laden, his days too are numbered," Yogi said at an election rally here.He also took a dig at Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's statement where she had accepted that the Congress was fielding some candidates only to cut votes."Everybody knows Congress is now reduced to a level where it fights not to win but to cut the votes of other parties, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has herself accepted that," he said.He also targeted Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 'mahagathbandhan' in Uttar Pradesh and said, "The two ..
Digvijaya Singh performs yagna with Computer Baba to ensure win in Lok Sabha elections
Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday performed a 'havan' in the presence of Namdas Tyagi also known as Computer Baba and other sadhus at a Maha Yagna organised in Bhopal on Tuesday.Tyagi said that the Yagna was a form of 'Hath Yoga' to ensure Digvijaya's win in the Lok Sabha elections and added that BJP had "fooled" the community of seers by using the Ram Mandir issue as a political tool."BJP has fooled not just the public but the community of seers as well. All sadhus who are with me unanimously say that without a Ram Mandir there will not be a Modi government again, we are holding the Yagna to ensure Digvijay Singh's win," Tyagi said here.Namdas Tyagi or 'Computer Baba' was appointed the Minister of State (MoS) position under the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. However, he had openly rebelled against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after being denied the party ticket for the state assembly elections held in Madhya Pradesh.At the ...
Pondy CM "intimidates" officials to implement govt orders:
The AIADMK in Puducherry Tuesday charged Chief Minister V Narayanasamy with "intimidating" officials to implement government orders lest they should face contempt of court proceedings. Addressing reporters here, the AIADMK legislature wing leader A Anbalagan said the Chief Minister was adopting "intimidatory tactics" after the Madras High Court had held that Lt Governor Kiran Bedi "cannot interfere" in the day-to-day affairs of the elected government of the Union Territory. Anbalagan also termed as "amusing and untenablem" the Chief Minister's stand that Lt Governor Kiran Bedi could not go on appeal against the High Court order. "It is the right of any individual to go on appeal and the stand of the Chief Minister that Lt Governor could not go on appeal without prior concurrence of the government is utterly unacceptable and amusing." In the wake of the order of the High Court the Chief Minister had been telling officials that they would face contempt proceedings if they
Kerala CM says meet with with KCR was 'highly significant'
"A new government will come at the Centre which will follow federal system and secularism. The state will effectively lend support to anyone who supports the development of the state. Yesterday's meeting with KCR was highly significant," said Vijayan."KCR discussed the national political scenario. According to KCR both fronts may not get the majority and so regional parties will get a prominent role," said Vijayan."There were no discussions about prime minister candidate", he added.KCR had proposed the idea of 'Federal Front' in March last year and initiated efforts to provide an alternative to both the BJP and Congress at the Centre. Subsequently, he had met leaders of the Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal(S) and the DMK. He had also invited YSR Congress Party to join the proposed front.Telangana went to polls in a single phase for all 17 seats on April 11. The results will be announced on May 23.
No meeting is yet fixed between KCR and MK Stalin: K Kavitha
After reports emerged that DMK was unlikely to meet Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) on Tuesday said that no meeting has been fixed yet between the two.TRS MP and Rao's daughter K Kavitha made the comments after reports came that Stalin was busy in campaigning for Assembly elections and may not be meeting Rao. Reports said that the two leaders were to meet on May 13.On Monday, Rao met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram at Vijayan's official residence. According to sources, both the Chief Ministers held discussions on contemporary politics in view of ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
UK PM to meet senior Tory amid calls to resign
UK Prime Minister Theresa May will meet Graham Brady, the chairman of an influential committee of backbench Tory MPs, amid calls for her to set a resignation date, the media reported on Tuesday.
BJP's J-K functionary surrenders security cover, demands protection for party activists
A senior functionary of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of BJP Tuesday surrendered his security here as a mark of protest against the withdrawal of security to the party activists by the government and the killing of party' leader by terrorists on Saturday. BJP's state general secretary (organization) Ashok Kaul surrendered his security and a vehicle provided by the Security Wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police after a protest at Press Enclave here against the killing of party's district vice-president for Anantnag, Gul Mohammad Mir, on Saturday and the failure of the administration to provide security to political activists in the valley. Kaul said he was surrendering his security as a mark of protest till all political activists in the state were not given security. Condemning Mir's killing, the BJP state general secretary said the party leader's killing was a failure of the state administration. "He (Mir) was given security in June 2018 after we requested the government. A constable and a ..
United Front-type govt "only likelihood" now: TRS leader
A United Front-type government of regional parties supported by the Congress is the "only likelihood" after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, a key TRS leader said Tuesday. B Vinod Kumar, sitting Lok Sabha member from Karimnagar and a confidant of TRS President and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, claimed that regional parties would win more seats than BJP-led NDA or Congress-anchored UPA. "United Front experiment was...Congress supporting from outside. This time also there is every likelihood of such a proposition. No doubt," Kumar, the deputy floor leader of TRS in Lok Sabha, told PTI. On his assessment of the Lok Sabha election results, he said, "Congress crossing 100 (seats) and reaching 120-130 will be a herculean task for them (Congress). And BJP definitely not more than 170 (seats)". According to him, the idea of United Front "surfaced" after the election results in 1996, but "now I hope that even before the results (on May 23), that talk is on". "I think that ..
EC gives clean chit to PM Modi over Pulwama remark, 'roadshow' in Ahmedabad: Sources
The Election Commission has given a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Pulwama remark in Chitradurga, Karnataka, on April 9, where he reportedly asked voters to vote for the heroes of the Balakot air strike, sources said.The Prime Minister has also has been given a clean chit by the electoral body for his "roadshow" in Ahmedabad held on April 23, sources added.On April 23, Lok Sabha elections were held in Gujarat. Prime Minister Modi took a ride in an open SUV in Ahmedabad as he made his way to cast his vote in the third phase of the elections.The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections started on April 11 and will go on till May 19. The result will be announced on May 23.
Qatar allocates USD 480 mn in aid to Palestinians
Qatar said Tuesday it has allocated USD 480 million in aid to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority to support education and health services and provide urgent humanitarian relief. The authority led by president Mahmud Abbas has been hit by the cutting of two of its leading sources of revenues. Washington has ended all bilateral US aid in response to the Palestinians' severing of contacts after it recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017. A row with Israel has meanwhile led to a halt to transfers of customs duties it levies on goods destined for Palestinian markets. "The state of Qatar has allocated USD 300 million in the form of grants and loans to support the health and education sectors' budgets with the Palestinian Authority," the official Qatar News Agency reported. It said that Doha has also allocated another USD 180 million in "urgent relief and humanitarian aid and in support of UN programmes in Palestine." Aid will also go to the power sector to
Countdown has begun for Modi, 5 horrible years to end: Salman Khurshid
Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said that the countdown for Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun and "five horrible years" of the NDA government will end after its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections."Indian democracy and freedom of conscience are confronting toxic mix of state and non-state actors. Whilst latter have prospered state-ruling party patronage for five years, PM no longer hides his vicious barbs even against martyrs of the land," Khurshid wrote on Twitter."The countdown has begun for Modi: 16 days and no more. Soon rats will jump the sinking ship. Five horrible years to end. Jai Ho Democracy. He did his best to debase and defile it but truth prevails. We shall overcome," he added.Khurshid, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Rajiv Shukla and other Congress leaders had met officials of the Election Commission on Monday and apprised the poll panel about their objection over a statement made by Prime Minister Modi against former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi."We have appealed to
Post LS polls, parties in Assam focus on RS seats
Following the completion of the Lok Sabha polls in Assam, parties in the state are now focussing on the two Rajya Sabha seats which are set to fall vacant next month.
China confirms top trade negotiator Liu He to lead US trade talks Thursday
China confirmed Tuesday that top trade negotiator Liu He will visit the United States for a new round of talks this week despite a US pledge to go ahead with a tariff hike. The commerce ministry said in a statement that Liu will be in the US on Thursday and Friday for the 11th round of high-level negotiations. The talks had originally been expected to begin on Wednesday and China had not confirmed whether Liu would still travel to Washington after President Donald Trump said he would hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods on Friday.
Stalin may not meet KCR on May 13
The DMK Tuesday indicated its party chief MK Stalin may not meet K Chandrasekar Rao on May 13, as announced by the Telangana Chief Minister's Office earlier. Sources close to the DMK President only said Stalin was 'busy' with his campaign schedule for the May 19 by-polls to four constituencies in the state and declined to divulge more details. Earlier, a statement from the Telangana Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had said that Rao would meet the DMK chief at his residence here on May 13. He had met his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday, even as Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy also rang up Rao after learning about his visits to Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Rao, who had floated the idea of a non-Congress, non-BJP front some time ago, had met Stalin in April last as part of his outreach to regional parties, with the DMK leader hosting lunch for the visiting TRS supremo and his party colleagues. However, the Dravidian party later entered into a poll pact with .
Moon expected to call Trump to discuss North Korea's weapon test
South Korea President Moon Jae-in is likely to place a call to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday to discuss the rise in tension in the Korean peninsula region after the recent weapon tests by North Korea.The leaders are expected to talk over the phone during Tuesday night (Seoul's time), reported Yonhap News Agency.On May 4, North Korea launched several short-range projectiles off its east coast in the wake of stalled de-nuclearisation talks with the United States.Following this, North Korea's state media reported that military drills had taken place in the country for "assessing (the military's) ability to handle large-calibre long-range artillery and tactical guided weapons, as well as the accuracy of fire missions and the combat capability of defence units."Despite the launches, US President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support to Kim, tweeting that the North Korean leader would not "break his promise." The reclusive state's leader had vowed to completely denuclearise during the .
Mnuchin denies Democrats request to divulge Trump's tax details
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has denied a request from Democrats to make public personal tax returns of President Donald Trump."I am informing you now that the Department may not lawfully fulfil the Committee's request," Mnuchin wrote in his one-page letter on Monday.The letter came after Mnuchin missed two deadlines in the last month to divulge taxes details.Mnuchin has said that the request by the Democrats is "unprecedented" arguing that it raises "serious constitutional questions" that could have "dire consequences" for taxpayer privacy.After becoming a presidential candidate, Trump has refused to release any details of his tax returns.Democrats suspect the tax information could reveal evidence of wrongdoings by Trump. Democrats have made the tax information one of their top priorities after taking control of the House in January.Representative Richard E. Neal on April 3 formally requested the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to hand over six years of President Donald ...
Digvijaya hits back at Shivraj, asks if he bathes after campaigning for Pragya Thakur
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh hit back at former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday as the war of words continues over the latter campaigning for BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal, Pragya Singh Thakur.Chouhan, while addressing a rally here in March, had slammed Singh for questioning the outcome of the air strike carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Balakot earlier this year."There is one person here who has been the chief minister of the state for ten years, I will not take his name otherwise I will have to take a bath. He insults soldiers, those who lost their lives and in order to oppose Modi he insults Bharat Mata, will you tolerate such people?" the BJP leader had said.In a sharp retort to Chouhan's comment, Singh said, "These days, 'Mamaji' says he should not take Digvijaya Singh's name or else he would have to take a bath...Pragya Singh alleges that she was tortured because of me.""When I was the Chief Minister, there was no case ...
Rahul Gandhi cheated farmers of Madhya Pradesh, claims Chouhan
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday slammed the Congress-led state government for not waving off farmer loans, even when party president Rahul Gandhi claimed to do so within 10 days after coming into power."On one hand the Congress government here is claiming that they have waived off the loans of all the farmers, however, farmers are still receiving notices for not paying their debts. I appeal to the state government and Chief Minister Kamal Nath that they should satisfy the farmers rather than making me feel contended by paying money to the banks," Chouhan told media here."You will get to know on May 23 when the Lok Sabha election results will come out. There is no meaning of sending me a pen drive like this. Rahul Gandhi had said that within 10 days after forming government in Madhya Pradesh they will waive off the farmer loans. This has not been done yet. They have cheated lakhs of farmers... They should bring bank documents to me," he ...
Pirates abduct 5 Indian sailors in Nigeria, confirms Sushma Swaraj
Five Indian sailors posted in Nigeria have been "abducted" by pirates, confirmed External Minister Sushma Swaraj.She has also asked Indian Ambassador in Nigeria Abhay Thakur to "take the matter" with the Government of Nigeria to ensure an immediate release of sailors."I have seen news reports about abduction of five Indian sailors by pirates in Nigeria," tweeted Swaraj on Monday."I am asking Indian High Commissioner to take this up at the highest level with Government of Nigeria for their release," she added.This comes days after Indian media reported that pirates have abducted five Indian sailors last month and took their ship MT Apecus in Bonny Outer anchorage in Nigeria.