Page 680 - Politics
Additional info on Azhar ensured his sanction by UNSC: Sources (Lead correcting headline)
China, which had been blocking the sanctioning of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), lifted its "technical hold" after "factual" and "sufficient" evidence was provided collectively by some countries, along with India, diplomatic sources said here on Friday.
Pak violates ceasefire in J-K's Poonch
The Pakistani army violated the ceasefire for the second consecutive day Friday by resorting to small arms fire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, an official spokesperson said. "At about 1600 hours, Pakistani army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation with firing of small arms along the LoC in Qasba Sector in Poonch district," the official said, adding that the Indian Army retaliated effectively, he said. Pakistani troops had resorted to shelling with mortars and firing of small arms on Thursday as well in Shahpur and Kirni sectors of Poonch district. Schools along the border have been kept closed for the past two days as a precautionary measure, officials said. Ten people, including four soldiers, have been killed and over 50 people injured in Rajouri and Poonch districts so far since India's February 26 air strike on a JeM terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot in response to the Pulwama terror strike that left 40 CRPF personnel dead.
Australian prime minister rejects candidate's Islam posts
Australia's prime minister said his Liberal Party rejected the anti-Muslim views of an election candidate who on Friday became the third to lose the conservative party's endorsement in as many days over their social media histories. The scandals surrounding candidates have become distractions for Prime Minister Scott Morrison and opposition leader Bill Shorten this week as they attempt to focus voters on policies ahead of the May 18 election. Candidates for both the Liberal Party and the center-left Labor Party opposition quit on Friday over their online pasts. Morrison had stood by Jessica Whelan, a Liberal candidate for the House of Representatives in Tasmania state, amid accusations on Thursday she made anti-Muslim posts on social media. Morrison said screenshots of Whelan's comments appeared to have been doctored and a complaint had been made to police. But Whelan stepped aside Friday over further posts published in a newspaper overnight, conceding that she was responsible for ...
Modi, Shah to address eight poll rallies in Haryana
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah will be addressing eight election rallies in Haryana, where polling for all 10 Lok Sabha seats is due on May 12. The two leaders will also be addressing poll meetings in areas where opposition Congress has fielded some of their stalwarts and senior leaders. Prime Minister Modi will address three rallies on May 8 and May 10, according to the schedule. On May 8, Modi will be addressing public gatherings in Fatehabad and Kurukshetra while on the last day of campaigning for the sixth phase on May 10, he will be addressing a poll rally in Rohtak district. Fatehabad falls in the Sirsa parliamentary constituency from where the BJP has fielded bureaucrat-turned-politician Sunita Duggal to take on Congress president Ashok Tanwar. In the outgoing Lok Sabha, Sirsa is represented by INLD's Charanjit Singh Rori, who is seeking re-election. From Kurukshetra, Congress has fielded former Minister Nirmal Singh against BJP's Nayab Saini, who is a ...
Trump's son-in-law may not provide 2 state-solution for Israel-Palestine peace process
Jared Kushner, the son-in-law law and senior adviser to United States President Donald Trump, on Thursday said that the US may pull back from the longstanding mentions of a two-state solution with Palestine and accept Jerusalem as Israel's capital.Kushner is expected to present the long-awaited deal next month on behalf of the Trump administration, which has closely aligned itself with Israel, Al Jazeera reported.Vowing to take a fresh approach, Kushner indicated that the plan will not propose two states for Israelis and Palestinians."If you say 'two-state,' it means one thing to the Israelis, it means one thing to the Palestinians," Kushner said at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy."We said, you know, let's just not say it. Let's just say, let's work on the details of what this means," he was quoted as saying.However, Kushner declined to provide further details about the plan before its release but, asked if it would cover the final status between Israelis and ...
Ex-BSF jawan's nomination from Varanasi nixed as 'fake chowkidar' scared of real one, says SP leader
Blaming the BJP for the rejection of former BSF jawan Tej Bahadur's nomination from Varanasi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking re-election, Samajwadi Party leader and MP Dharmendra Yadav Friday said the "fake chowkidar" was scared of a real one. "Rejection of nomination papers of Tej Bahadur from Varanasi seat was a BJP conspiracy. The naqli chowkidar got scared of the asli chowkidar... this is the reason why the entire BJP was sitting in the Election Commission and BJP president Amit Shah and UP CM Yogi Adityanath were camping in Varanasi that day," Yadav told media persons here. "They think they can weaken the fight of a jawan who has come out to fight for his rights. Farmers, youth and traders are all angry and will give a befitting reply through their votes," he added. Yadav said the SP's ties with Azamgarh had begun from the time of former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. "Chaudhary saheb used to say that he could leave Baghpat but not Azamgarh. Netaji Mulayam .
Digvijay, Surjewala received cuts from loot in Madhya Pradesh: GVL Narasimha Rao
Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Randeep Singh Surjewala "have received cuts from the loot" that took place in Madhya Pradesh under Chief Minister Kamal Nath government the Bharatiya Janata Party alleged on Friday."Two senior leaders of the Congress party, Digvijay Singh and Randeep Singh Surjewala received a cut of rupees 90 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, respectively, from the corruption in Madhya Pradesh. This has been noted in the diaries seized by the Income Tax authorities," said BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao at a press conference here.Rao asserted that a total of Rs 281 crores were recovered by the Income Tax authorities from the raids conducted at the close associates of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.He also pointed out that the figures would rise if more raids were conducted and alleged that a portion of it was sent to fill the Congress party coffers."A few weeks ago there were IT raids against some close associates of CM Kamal Nath. Rs 281 crore unaccounted cash ...
BJP attacks Rahul over his sister Priyanka's comments ahead of LS poll in Amethi
Claiming that Union minister Smriti Irani will defeat Rahul Gandhi in the battle for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, the BJP Friday took a dig at him, asking if Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's comments about her party putting up candidates to eat into BJP votes also referred to the Congress president. BJP leader and Union minister Piyush Goyal told a press conference that the people of Amethi do not want a MP like Gandhi who visits the constituency like a "tourist" once in five years, and that they will vote for Irani, the saffron party's nominee, to speed up development in the area. The Congress has "betrayed" Amethi, which goes to the poll on May 6, by keeping it mired in poverty and underdevelopment, he claimed. The BJP's attack on the Congress chief came a day before its scheduled roadshow in the constituency, which will be attended by its president Amit Shah, to boost its prospects in the Gandhi family's pocket borough. Goyal claimed that Irani would have defeated Gandhi in the 2014 polls if .
BJP's politics completely negative: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday slammed the BJP and said that their politics is completely negative and against the farmers and youths in the country."BJP has shown its real face in the last five years. In the last five years, they have shown that their politics is completely negative, against the country and against the farmers and youths. A government needs to stay committed to the people of the country. This government has neglected the people," Priyanka told ANI here.Earlier Priyanka had said that her focus is on both 2019 Lok Sabha elections and 2022 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and she is working towards defeating BJP."My focus is on both 2019 and 2022 (UP Assembly elections). For 2019, the focus is to defeat the BJP. By 2022, I want to strengthen the Congress so that we can fight well," she said.Slamming the claims made by BJP with regards to NYAY or the minimum income guarantee scheme, Priyanka said that the ruling party is
Azhar listing: China given additional evidence of his terror activities, say sources
China was given a set of additional evidence about Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar's involvement in terrorist activities, days after it blocked a fresh proposal at the UN on March 13 to designate him as a global terrorist, diplomatic sources said Friday. On Wednesday, the Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council declared him as a global terrorist after China removed its technical hold on a proposal moved by the UK, France and the US. Following the UN announcement of Azhar's listing, China said it took the decision after carefully studying the "revised materials". Sources, however, did not clarify whether the additional evidence given to China was on Azhar's involvement in terror strikes in India including the Pulwama attack, or his activities elsewhere. There was no reference to the Pulwama attack in the UN notification banning Azhar. France, the UK and the US had moved the fresh proposal to declare Azhar as global terrorist by the UN in the wake of the February 14 Pulwama ..
Modi's diplomacy helped in Azhar's designation as global terrorist, says Goyal
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomacy and friendly relations with world leaders helped in the designation of Masood Azhar by the United Nations as an international terrorist.Addressing a press conference, he said, "PM Modi used diplomacy to deal with terrorism and his friendly relations with popular leaders of the globe have helped India in getting the United Nations (UN) designate Masood Azhar as an international terrorist."Praising Modi, Goyal said, "India's emerging power in economy, diplomacy and the fight against terrorism should be credited to PM Modi and his leadership. The process of designating Masood Azhar as a global terrorist started in 2009 but Congress' leadership was weak. Today every citizen is proud that India has emerged as a powerful nation under PM Modi led NDA government.""Those who doubt and raise questions on surgical strikes and Balakot air strike find themselves standing for the terrorists, unfortunately," ..
Speak with some responsibility: Renuka Chowdhury to Yogi Adityanath on 'Babar ki aulad' remark
Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury on Friday slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his 'Babar ki aulad' remark at a rally and said that he should speak with some responsibility."He is supposed to be the Chief Minister! Come on, speak with some responsibility. You forget that you are in this saffron garb & you talk like that. Despicable," Chowdhury told ANI here.The Election Commission had on Thursday issued a notice to Yogi Adityanath over his 'Babar ki aulad' comment made during a rally in Sambhal on April 19.Adityanath had called Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Shafiqur Rahman Barq as 'Babar ki Aulad' (successor of Babar)."On the one hand, there is a candidate from a party which developed places linked to Baba Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Gautam Budhha. On the other hand, there is an Opposition candidate who calls himself a 'Babar ki Aulad'," Yogi said at an election rally.He said, "Once I was in Parliament, I asked the SP candidate, who was also an MP, as to who ...
Rahul Gandhi urges Amethi to vote for him, calls them his family in an open letter
Calling them his family, Amethi sitting MP and Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday appealed to the people of the parliamentary constituency to vote for him and stall a pro-people government at the Centre."Amethi is like my family. My Amethi family gives me the courage to stand with the truth, hear the pain of oppressed and raise their voices. It gives me the courage to take an oath for justice to all," Gandhi said in an open letter to the people of Amethi.Gandhi hinted that he was contesting from an additional seat, Wayanad in Kerala, in his efforts to unite the country "as per your teachings".He said, "I have tried to unite the nation from east to west and north to south as per your teachings."Gandhi alleged that the ruling BJP wanted to install a pro-rich government at the Centre."On one side, there is Congress ideology, emanated from my 'karmbhoomi' Amethi, which says we have to work for the welfare of farmers, women, small traders, the youth and poor. On the other side, it ..
KPCC chief meets Mandya party leaders over their dinner with
Karnataka Pradesh Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao Friday summoned party leaders fromMandya, who recently held a meeting with independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh, amid speculation that they worked against the coalition candidate in the Lok Sabha polls. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil from JD(S) was the ruling coalition's joint candidate from Mandya Lok Sabha constituency. According to party sources, former Ministers N Cheluvarayaswamy and P MNarendraswamy said during the meeting that as per the directions of the Congress, they had nowhere openly expressed support for Sumalatha or campaigned for her. Alleging they were being targeted, as JD(S)' planwas to weaken the Congress in Mandya, they also reportedly complained of Kumaraswamy's possible involvement inCCTV footage release about the dinner meeting tothe media, by influencing police. There are also reports about the Chief Minister complaining to AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal about the ...
Strong govt needed to give right direction to nation: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday a strong government is needed for speedy development and to give the right direction to the nation. "Decisions like surgical strike and air strike happen when there is a strong government in the country. When the government is strong, India can firmly stand when sensitive issues like Doklam (standoff) happens," Modi said in an election rally here. Attacking the Congress, Modi said the party did not acquire the property of those who had gone to Pakistan after partition. "This work should have been done in 1947 but the Congress delayed it due to vote bank," Modi said. He also questioned the will of the Congress against terrorism and said the party could not stop India's share of river water flowing into Pakistan. Modi also highlighted the might of India in the world and mentioned the induction of new modern weapons in the defence forces and said the country is leading in the solar energy sector too.
Opposition making ridiculous' charges against EC: MoS PMO Jitendra Singh
The opposition is making ridiculous charges against the Election Commission, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Friday, rejecting allegations that the BJP is in any way influencing the poll panel into giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi a clean chit for his speeches. In an interview to PTI, the minister also debunked the opposition's allegations of horse-trading against Modi for saying 40 MLAs of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress are in touch with him. The BJP has no reason to prevent somebody for joining it if leaders in other political parties feel suffocated for different reasons, he said. Singh said opposition parties like the Congress have no evidence to back their allegations. In fact, they are the ones with a history of misusing Constitutional bodies like the Election Commission and other agencies like the CBI for political gains, Singh, who is minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), said. He said charges of influencing the Election Commission are being ...
East Delhi RO issues show cause notice to AAP chief over audio messages sent to mobile phone users
Poll authorities in Delhi have issued a show cause notice to AAP supremo and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to submit certificate obtained by a monitoring panel, after receiving a complaint that a recorded audio message was allegedly sent by the party to mobile phone users for electoral campaigning. The Election Commission has set up media certification and monitoring committee (MCMC) at state and district levels to clear political advertisements and campaign material for the Lok Sabha election. East Delhi Returning Officer K Mahesh in the show cause notice dated May 2 has asked Kejriwal to submit relevant documents before 4 pm on Saturday. The MCMC has received a complaint through an app user on April 23 about a recorded message of Aam Aadmi Party "being sent to all mobile phone users for political campaigning", the notice says. "The MCMC has further examined the matter and confirmed that there are several recorded audio voice messages of AAP convener (Arvind Kejriwal) ...
Will sue Kejriwal for maligning my image: Hans Raj Hans over conversion issue
Punjabi singer and BJP candidate from North West Delhi in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls Hans Raj Hans on Friday said he would file a defamation case against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders for "maligning" his image. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused Hans of converting to Islam in 2014 and claimed that he cannot contest the election from North West Delhi as the seat is reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. "I am used to speaking Urdu but that does not mean I am a Muslim. Does a Muslim speaking Hindi become a Hindu?," Hans asked at a press conference here. In a tweet on Thursday, AAP supremo Kejriwal had claimed that Hans would finally be declared ineligible to contest the polls and urged the voters of North West Delhi not to waste their votes on him. Hans denied the charge and said he would have been disowned by his family had he changed his religion. "I was born in a Valmiki family and my mother worships Valmiki. She would have killed me had I ...
One election commissioner gave dissent on two decisions on complaints against PM: Sources
One of the two election commissioners had dissented in the decision of the 'full Election Election Commission' to give clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the two speeches made in Maharashtra last month, highly-placed sources aware of the development said Friday. In the last three days, the Commission gave its decision on as many complaints by the Congress against the prime minister, alleging violation of the model code. One of the election commissioners, according to the sources, gave his dissent in EC's decision to give clean chit to the prime minister on his speech at Wardha on April 1 where he attacked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for contesting from minority-dominated Wayanad seat and his appeal to first-time voters by invoking the Balakot air strikes and the Pulwama martyrs in Latur on April 9. The 'full Commission' which takes such decisions comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. The two ...
'Process of enlisting Masood Azhar began after Pulwama attack'
The process for listing Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN got fresh momentum after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel in South Kashmir, diplomatic sources said on Friday."The process of listing Masood Azhar was initiated after Pulwama attack. A strong statement was issued by UNSC (Security Council). Pulwama link is very obvious, it's a very factual process based on facts and evidence, have been in a position to provide sufficient evidence," the sources told ANI.In a huge diplomatic victory for India, the United Nations on Wednesday (May 1) designated Azhar as a "global terrorist". The decision came after China lifted its technical hold on a proposal to blacklist him under the Security Council's Sanctions Committee.The statement comes close on the heels of remarks by various parties including the Congress that the process to declare Azhar a global terrorist had first begun in 2009 under the UPA (United