Page 667 - Politics
BJP giving Rs 20,000 to village pradhans in Amethi: Priyanka Gandhi
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Saturday attacked the BJP, alleging that the party was distributing Rs 20,000 to village pradhans in Amethi, instead of handing out its election manifestoes. Addressing an election meeting here, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Money is being distributed here. The Congress has distributed its election manifesto among the public, but the BJP is not distributing manifestoes, it is distributing Rs 20,000 to village pradhans." Priyanka Gandhi also attacked Union minister Smriti Irani, who is contesting from Amethi on BJP ticket. "She is doing drama in your constituency. She has herself come here 16 times, while your MP has visited the place twice as much. He has even stayed in villages," the Congress leader said. "She comes here with the media and distributes shoes. She wants to insult you. She has been unable to understand what the public of Amethi wants," she said. Priyanka Gandhi also said farmers were in debt, and about 12,000 of them had ...
Trump says confident N Korea's Kim won't 'break promise'
US President Donald Trump voiced confidence Saturday that North Korea's Kim Jong Un would not "break his promise," after South Korea said Pyongyang had launched several unidentified projectiles into the sea. "Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realises the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," Trump tweeted. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!" added the US president, in response to what could be Pyongyang's first short-range missile launch for more than a year.
Sri Lanka disregarded Turkey warnings: Ex-Minister
Amid the apparent failure of the Sri Lankan government to act on intelligence on Easter Sunday's suicide bombings, information has now surfaced that the defence authorities had also ignored Turkish government alerts that 50 members of the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) had arrived in the island country.
Not going in alliance with AAP wise decision: J.P. Agarwal
Amid the Congress' hope of winning all seven seats of Delhi, party's Chandni Chowk candidate J.P. Agarwal feels that not going into an alliance with the ruling AAP was a wise decision.
Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants demand Indian citizenship
Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants, who returned from across the Line of Control under a rehabilitation scheme for surrendered militants, Saturday appealed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to either grant them Indian citizenship or deport them. The women sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as well as Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to end their plight. "It is our right to have the citizenship of the state. We should me made citizens here as is the case with women who marry men in any country. We appeal the Government of India and the state government to either grant us citizenship or deport us," one of the protesters, Zeba, told reporters here. These women arrived in Kashmir during the past decade along with their husbands. They allege that the state government was denying them travel documents to visit their families in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). "Ours is a humanitarian ...
You don't trust Ram, hence you teach abusive language to children: Yogi Adityanath to Priyanka Gandhi
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday slammed Priyanka Gandhi over her recent video with children and alleged that she instructed young children use abusive language as she "does not trust Lord Ram."The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had recently issued a notice to Priyanka Gandhi over a video in which children were seen using abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in front of her.Addressing an election rally here, Adityanath said Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka came to Uttar Pradesh and indulged in lies as their party was left with no option in the face of an alliance between SP and BSP."When Congress found it is left with no other option, the brother-sister duo have come to UP and are creating new records in spreading lies. I know that Rahul Gandhi speaks a new lie everyday and then seeks apology in the Supreme Court. I want to ask who all will the Congress and the brother-sister duo seek ...
Modi lacks courage to speak about poll promises he made in 2014: Rahul Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lacks courage to speak even a word about the poll promises, including on jobs, that he had made in 2014 and said a strong leader should be able to apologise for failing to keep his word. Addressing an election meeting here, Gandhi repeated the claim that six surgical strikes were conducted during the tenure of the UPA and said his party never used it for political benefit. He said the prime minister must tell as to how the youngsters will be given employment after 2019. "Modi is unable to speak even a word about his earlier promises. "If Modi had the guts, then he would have said that I had spoken about giving two crore jobs every year in a rush of blood but I have made a mistake. But, this man lacks courage.... "A strong leader is the one who accepts the truth. A strong leader is the one who would tender an apology for failing to provide two crore jobs to youngsters and Rs 15 lakh, and then talk ...
PM Modi to hold poll rallies on May 10, 13 in Punjab
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address election rallies on May 10 and May 13 in Punjab, where polling for all the 13 Lok Sabha seats will be held on May 19. Modi will address first rally in Hoshiarpur on May 10 and second in Mansa on May 13, former Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma said on Saturday. The BJP has fielded Phagwara legislator Som Prakash from the Hoshiarpur (reserve) seat and he is pitted against Congress candidate and MLA Raj Kumar Chabbewal. Modi's second rally will be held in Mansa which falls in the Bathinda parliamentary constituency from where Akali candidate and sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal is contesting for the third time. BJP chief Amit Shah will also hold rallies on May 5 in Pathankot and on May 12 in Amritsar, said BJP's national secretary Tarun Chugh. As per the seat-sharing arrangement, Akalis will contest on 10 seats while the BJP on three seats.
BJP's Kirron Kher gets EC notice for using children in poll campaign
The Election Commission has issued a notice to BJP's Chandigarh candidate Kirron Kher, seeking a reply after she shared a video on Twitter in which children were seen campaigning for her. However, in her reply, Kher said it was done "unintentionally", acknowledging that it was "wrong". The poll panel had asked the actor-turned-politician to reply within 24 hours. "You have shared a video on your Twitter account which shows that children are being used for election campaign in your favour through slogan 'Vote for Kirron Kher' and 'Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar'," the notice issued on May 3 said. In the notice, it was mentioned that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in January 2017 had requested the Election Commission to ensure that children are not involved in any form with election-related activities, by either election officials or political parties. The EC had subsequently instructed that it should be ensured by all political parties and election officials that ...
Kejriwal slapped by man in roadshow in Moti Nagar; AAP accuses BJP
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was slapped by a man during a roadshow in Moti Nagar in the New Delhi constituency, prompting a strong reaction from the AAP which alleged the BJP was behind the "cowardly act". Police said the man has been taken into the custody and an investigation into the matter is underway. Kejriwal was on an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before he was pulled off the jeep. DCP (West) Monika Bhardwaj said the man has been identified as Suresh, 33, and he deals in spare parts in Kailash Park area. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia slammed the BJP after the incident. "Do Modi and Amit Shah want Kejriwal to be murdered?" Sisodia tweeted, attacking the prime minister and the BJP chief. He said the BJP could not break the morale of Kejriwal and could not defeat him in elections in five years despite putting in all its might. "Now you want him removed form your way like this. You cowards! ...
Another AAP MLA joins Congress in Punjab
In a setback to the AAP ahead of the Lok Sabha election in Punjab, its another legislator, Amarjit Singh Sandoa, joined the Congress Saturday in the presence of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Sandoa, who represents Roopnagar in the Assembly, is the second AAP MLA to join the Congress ahead of the parliamentary polls. Sandoa said he felt "disenchanted" with the AAP due to the top leadership's "high-handed" approach towards Punjab and decided to join the Congress for its politics of development and inclusiveness. Earlier, AAP MLA from Mansa constituency Nazar Singh Manshahia had joined the party on April 29. Welcoming Sandoa into the party fold, the chief minister said it would boost the Congress's prospects. He said the development was a clear endorsement of his government's path-breaking initiatives in the past two years. "AAP national president Arvind Kejirwal's autocratic style of functioning and the chaos in the state wing of the party were making its legislators feel suffocated, .
Another setback to AAP in Punjab, MLA joins Congress
In another setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, its sitting Roopnagar legislator Amarjit Singh Sandoya on Saturday joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
Harsimrat claims stalling of wheat procurement in Bathinda
SAD candidate from the Bathinda seat Harsimrat Kaur Badal Saturday accused the Punjab government of failing to procure gunny bags that led to "stalling" of wheat procurement process in the constituency. "The Congress government's criminal negligence in failing to procure gunny bags has choked all the grain markets in the constituency, besides stalling the wheat procurement process and causing untold misery to farmers," she claimed. Holding Amarinder Singh responsible for farmers' "hardships", the Union minister said the farmers had the right to know why their chief minister had "let them down". "Raja Sahab you are accountable to the people. You should tell farmers why your government failed to procure gunny bags in advance by placing orders in time. It is condemnable that you are still not paying attention to this problem forget about identifying those responsible for this lapse and taking strict action against them," she said. She advised Singh to lead from the front and address ...
'Viable alternative govt' will be formed after May 23: Pawar
NCP chief Sharad Pawar Saturday exuded confidence that a "viable alternative government" will be formed at the Centre after the Lok Sabha election results are declared on May 23. Addressing a press conference here, Pawar said, "I can't say whether the viable alternative government will come next day of the results or in a fortnight because it is the prerogative of the President of India to invite (parties) to form the next government. But, whoever is called, has to prove majority on the floor of the Lok Sabha." Pawar recalled that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was formed after the 2004 Lok Sabha results and it was in power for ten years. "After the results are declared on May 23, we will all sit together and discuss government formation. In Maharashtra, the Congress and NCP contested the Lok Sabha polls in an alliance. But, we deliberately avoided a national level alliance," Pawar said. Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for personally targeting ...
PM Modi accuses Congress, RJD of deceiving Bihar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused Congress party and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of deceiving the people of Bihar for decades, predicting that the two parties were about to be wiped out as they have formed a coalition only to thwart the state's progress."Congress, RJD and their friends thwarted Bihar's development. They never let the state to prosper. Today Nitishji is bringing development to every nook and corner of the state, but they want to take Bihar back again to the lamp (RJD's poll symbol) age. The light of LED bulbs is coming to your homes after Nitishji removed the lamp," said PM Modi while addressing an election rally here.The Congress, which ruled the state for several years, lost to power to the Janata Dal, which formed the government in the state in 1990 under the leadership of Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi remained in power for 15 almost years before losing the battle to Nitish Kumar in 2005. However, Kumar's JDU and RJD ...
PM Modi shouldn't forget Hafiz Saeed, Lakhvi named as global terrorist during UPA's rule: P Chidambaram
Slamming BJP and its leaders for attcking Congress on the issue of UN designating Mazhoor Azhar as a global terrorist, Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not forget that Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and its militant Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi were named as a global terrorists during UPA's rule. "Who got Hafiz Saeed named as a global terrorist? Have you forgotten Lakhvi? Two people were named as global terrorists when Congress was in power, Masood Azhar is not the first person," said Chidambaram during a press conference here.Taking a dig at Prime Minister for saying that the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was declared as a 'global terrorist' due to efforts taken by his government, Chidambaram saidSince then, Modi and other BJP leaders have been attcacking Congress on the issue..
Kejriwal attacked during road show in Delhi
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal was on Saturday slapped during a road show in the national capital by an unidentified attacker.
Stalin hits out at AIADMK govt for not holding civic polls
DMK president M K Stalin Saturday blamed the ruling AIADMK government for not holding civic polls and said it was the reason for problems related to provision of basic amenities like drinking water and roads. Addressing people in Tirupparankundram Assembly constituency here, which goes to the bypolls on May 19, Stalin said his party had held over 12,500 village level meetings (Ooratchi Sabai) and listened to the grievances of the people. "You have listed the problems of your region. If you look at the basic problems, there are several of them like providing drinking water, road and bus facilities, and sanitation and hygiene," he said. "If you ask the reason for such problems, this government has not held the local body elections. Had civic polls been conducted (and if elected bodies had taken charge) there is no scope for such grievances," he observed. Local body elections were originally scheduled to be held in October 2016. Subsequently, the DMK moved the Madras High ...
Can't win polls by repressing BJP workers, Shah warns MP CM
BJP chief Amit Shah Saturday accused the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government of "repressing" his party workers and claimed that legs of Chief Minister Kamal Nath's chair will shake after Lok Sabha results are declared on May 23. Addressing a rally in Govindgarh in Rewa, Shah claimed that BJP workers involved in poll campaigning were being externed from districts by state authorities, and two of them were killed and some slapped with murder charges. "Kamal Nath, you think you can win elections in a democracy by repressing our workers? Let Lok Sabha results be declared on May 23 and all four legs of your chair will tremble," he said, adding that the "Congress's way" of suppressing the opposition would not work anymore. "During recent visits, I heard the ordeal of our workers. Those engaged in campaigning were externed from the districts, cases of murder were filed against them, and two workers were killed," Shah alleged. The BJP chief also accused the state government of encouraging .
Azhar's "global terrorist" designation unlikely to have negative impact: Pak envoy
There will be no negative repercussions of UN's designation of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist", Pakistan's ambassador to the US has said, asserting that the move only reinforces Islamabad's commitment with the international community to fight terrorism. The United Nations on Wednesday designated Pakistan-based Azhar as a "global terrorist" after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist him. China removed its hold on the proposal, which was moved by France, the UK and the US in the Security Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee in February just days after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack carried out by the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan, who is on a rare visit to Houston this week, noted that the United States also appreciated Pakistan's commitment in its first reaction to the designation on Thursday, the Dawn reported. Before the adoption, China and Pakistan worked jointly to delink the ...