Page 697 - Politics
Two Meena women slug it out in Rajasthan's Dausa
It's a clash of two women from the same community in Rajasthan's Dausa constituency, reserved for Scheduled Tribes. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee is former Union Minister Jaskaur Meena, the Congress has named Savita Meena, wife of sitting MLA Murari Meena, as candidate.
JD-U downplays Nitish's silence during 'Vande Matram'
Bihar's ruling JD-U on Wednesday downplayed reports of any contradictions within the NDA after a video went viral in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen chanting "Vande Mataram" at an election rally but Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not join in.
Jaish chief Masood Azhar declared global terrorist by UNSC
In a huge diplomatic victory for India, the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday declared Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, two and a half months after his outfit carried out the ghastly terror attack in Kashmir's Pulwama.
Burqa ban call not party's official stand: Shiv Sena
The Shiv Sena on Wednesday evening officially dissociated itself from the 'ban on burqa' demand in the party's official mouthpieces earlier in the day, following a massive furore on the issue just five days before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins.
Akhilesh targets BJP after nomination of SP Varanasi candidate rejected
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday targeted Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) after his party nominee and former BSF soldier Tej Bahadur Yadav's nomination against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi was rejected."If the BJP could ask for a vote in the name of nationalism, then why they cannot face a soldier in the elections. If the BJP is so patriotic, then they should have faced a soldier in the polls," said Yadav, while talking to ANI.He said: "BJP is afraid of contesting against Tej Bahadur because he will ask tough questions. The former BSF jawan will ask what is more important, bullet train or bulletproof jacket.""The only fault of Tej Bahadur was to question the quality of food and the present government dismissed him from his job because of such a small question. People of Varanasi will not support such kind of behaviour," he said.The former chief minister also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his 'pakora' remark, saying, "People supported the ...
UN designates JeM chief Masood Azhar as global terrorist
United Nations on Wednesday designated Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.The announcement comes a day after China, on Tuesday, called for "political consultation within the framework of 1267 Committee" to resolve the issue pertaining to the listing of Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN.Syed Akbaruddin, India's Ambassador to the UN, took to Twitter saying, "Big, small, all join together. Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist in UN Sanctions list."JeM was behind Pulwama terror attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed in south Kashmir.On March 13, China, for the fourth time, had blocked a proposal by the US, the UK, and France, among others, to enlist Azhar as a global terrorist before the UNSC committee.India had many times expressed disappointment over China's move but vowed to continue to pursue "all available avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens" are brought to justice.The ...
Pulwama attack was BJP's conspiracy just like Godhra, says Shankersinh Vaghela
Pulwama terror attack was the BJP's conspiracy as was Godhra, said former Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela here on Wednesday."The vehicle with RDX which was used in Pulwama attack was bearing the registration initial of Gujarat -- GJ. Godhra was a conspiracy," said Vaghela, who is now in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).Talking to media persons, Vaghela said: "Terrorism is used by the BJP government to win elections. A number of terrorist attacks have taken place since the last five years.""No one was killed in Balakot air strike. Even none of the international agency was able to prove that 200 militants were killed. Balakot airstrike was a planned conspiracy. It was supposed to happen," Vaghela said."Even after getting information from intelligence sources regarding Pulwama attack, no pre-emptive measures were taken. And if you had information about Balakot, then why didn't you take action against these camps. Why were you waiting for something like Pulwama to happen," he ...
Giriraj Singh supports Shiv Sena's demand of imposing ban on burqa in India
Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh on Wednesday backed Shiv Sena's demand of imposing a ban on burqa in India, asserting that many blasts have occurred all over the world and in India in the guise of burqa.Citing a ban on the burqa in Sri Lanka after the deadly Easter Sunday attacks, Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna' on Wednesday demanded the imposition of a similar ban in India."In the country and all over the world several blasts have occurred in the guise of burqa. The burqa should be banned particularly at the time of elections. The Shiv Sena has demanded nothing wrong," said Giriraj Singh.The Sena's proposal, however, was rejected by another NDA ally, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party of India, who said that burqa should not be banned as it forms part of the country's tradition.The Shiv Sena editorial states "It has happened in Ravan's Lanka. When will it happen in Ram's Ayodhya? We ask this question to the PM as he is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on ...
Poll-related violence continues in Bengal
Polling agents of opposition parties' candidates and party workers were attacked and houses set ablaze as poll-related violence singed West Bengal, officials said on Wednesday.
Troubling that PM is so ill-informed: Patel on claim of Cong contesting lowest seats
Rebutting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that the Congress is contesting the lowest number of seats in the Lok Sabha polls, senior party leader Ahmed Patel Wednesday said it is "troubling" that the PM is so ill-informed and this has reflected on his governance. Taking to Twitter, Patel posted a video clip of Modi's interview to a news channel in which he says that in 2019, the Congress is contesting on lowest number of seats in the general election. "It is troubling that PM is so ill-informed & this has reflected on his governance. But I will clarify two things -- 1)Congress is not contesting its lowest ever seats,hence media is not highlighting his false claims. 2)In 2004 we contested even lesser seats & still formed govt," he tweeted. The BJP has fielded 437 candidates in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the highest number of seats the party has contested so far and perhaps for the first time more than its principal rival Congress. The BJP had contested 427 seats in 2014 and .
NYAY scheme is surgical strike on poverty, says Rahul Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that the party's proposed minimum income guarantee scheme NYAY is a surgical strike on poverty.Speaking at an election rally here, the Congress president said, "Under NYAY, when Rs 72,000 per year will be sent directly to people's bank account then their purchasing power will increase which will lead to increase in production and employment.""Till your income is less than Rs 12,000, you will get Rs 72,000 per year. This scheme is a surgical strike on poverty," he added.The Congress president said, "There will be a separate budget for farmers from 2019 onwards. You will get to know in Barabanki what type of food processing units will be installed, how much MSP will be increased, details about compensation and insurance.""When NYAY scheme will begin then youth can start their own business. Earlier, if you wanted to start business then you had to offer bribery to the Yogi Adityanath government. If we are voted to power in 2019, there will
Masood Azhar declared global terrorist by UNSC
In a major victory for India, Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was on Wednesday declared as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council.
Congress people hate me so much that they dream of killing me: PM
Dubbing the Congress as a "dishonest" party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday alleged it is only sincere in propagating dynastic rule and corruption. Addressing a rally here, Modi said the Congress culture was to "hold back" development schemes. He said Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress came to power in December last year, was facing acute water shortage because of the ruling party's policy of not expediting irrigation schemes. "The Congress is a dishonest party at all levels. It is only honest in propagating dynastic rule and corruption. "The BJP works in a mission mode for overall development of the country. The Congress works for welfare of new generation of dynasts," he said. "The Congress people have so much hatred for your Modi that they are even dreaming of killing Modi. But they are forgetting that people from Madhya Pradesh and India are batting for me," Modi said while referring to alleged statement of a Congress leader against him. Modi also referred to ...
PM aware his govt on its way out, BJP misusing govt machinery to influence polls: Mayawati
BSP president Mayawati said Wednesday that Prime Minister is aware that despite all conspiracies, the "autocratic" BJP government is on its way out and so they have resorted to every means to "scare" senior leaders of the opposition parties. In a tweet, the BSP president said, "Prime Minister Modi knows that despite hatching conspiracies of all kinds his autocratic government is going and that is why in non-BJP states, they are indulging in violence and are misusing CBI, ED, I-T to scare key opposition leaders, including of SP, BSP." In another tweet, she spoke about the prime minister's claims that 40 TMC legislators were "in touch with me" and termed it the height of political conspiracy. "Recently their anti-public ego spoke so high that they openly threatened to pull down the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal by bringing 40 TMC MLAs in their fold. This statement is the height of political conspiracy. People of Bengal and country will never forgive them," she said. On ...
Palaniswami flays Stalin for seeking removal of TN Assembly speaker
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Wednesday flayed DMK president M K Stalin for seeking Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal's removal for issuing notices to three AIADMK MLAs siding with rival leader and AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran, saying it showed the "proximity" between the two opposition parties. The AIADMK Joint Coordinator sought to know why Stalin, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, was "getting outraged" over the ruling party's internal affairs and said he did not know on what basis the DMK moved the resolution seeking the speaker's removal. Dhanapal had on Tuesday issued notices to three AIADMK MLAs loyal to T T V Dhinakaran, the general secretary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), days after the ruling party petitioned the Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker for action against them for alleged anti-party activities. The notices were issued to Kallakurichi legislator A Prabhu, V T Kalaiselvan (Vriddhachalam) and E Rathinasabapathy (Aranthangi) based on a petition filed
Dismissed BSF jawan's nomination papers rejected; says he is 'asli chowkidar'
Amid high drama, dismissed BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav's nomination as the Samajwadi Party candidate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency was Wednesday rejected by poll authorities. The former Border Security Force (BSF) constable had hit the headlines after his video of the alleged poor quality of food being served to the jawans had gone viral on social media. He was subsequently dismissed. Yadav was served notices on Tuesday by the Varanasi returning officer over "discrepancies" in the two sets of nomination papers submitted by him. In the first set of papers on April 24, he had mentioned that he was dismissed from the BSF. On April 29 he submitted a second set of papers - this time as the SP nominee for the Lok Sabha seat - but did not give out this information. He was also required to submit a no-objection certificate from the BSF, giving reasons for his dismissal. District Magistrate Surendra Singh referred to Section 9 and Section 33 of The .
EC notice to Sidhu for remarks against PM
The Election Commission has issued a show cause notice to Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Citing a complaint by a BJP worker in Gujarat, the EC notice reproduced excerpts of his speech in which the Congress star campaigner had described the prime minister as a 'thief' while addressing an election meeting on April 17 in Ahmedabad. The Commission reminded Sidhu of a provision in the model code which bars candidates and leaders from making personal remarks against rivals during electioneering. The notice, issued on Tuesday, gave Sidhu time till May 2 evening to respond, failing which EC would take a decision without further reference to him. The Election Commission had last month banned Sidhu from campaigning for 72 hours for controversial remarks made by him which was seen in violation of the poll code. While addressing a poll rally in Bihar's Katihar, the Punjab leader had stoked a controversy when he urged Muslim voters to vote .
Modi, Rupani to intensify BJP campaign in Delhi
With just 11 days to go for polls to the seven seats in the national capital, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to add a little more star power to its campaign with a public meeting by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a road show by Bollywood actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol or his brother Bobby Deol.
Modi's policy of inclusive growth has ushered development in the country: Naqvi
The BJP government at the Centre launched a "jihad against corruption" and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy of inclusive growth has ushered development throughout the country, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Wednesday. The BJP leader was campaigning for the party's Ladakh Lok Sabha seat candidate Jamyang Tsering Namgyal. "The policy of inclusive growth of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created marks of development from Kanyakumari to Kargil," Naqvi said at a public meeting in Jammu and Kashmir's Kargil district. The Ladakh seat, of which Leh and Kargil are a part, is the largest in India in terms of area and goes to polls on May 6, the fifth phase of the general elections. The central government led by Modi launched a "jihad against corruption and it created panic and depression among those who were involved in loot of public money from Kanyakumari to Kargil", Naqvi said. Taking a dig at previous Congress and National Conference governments in the state, he said even if
Israeli envoy discusses Brahmaputra water management, flood
Israeli Ambassador to India Dr Ron Malka and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday discussed issues such as technological solutions to problems in the fields of the Brahmaputra water management, flood control and agriculture in the state. In a meeting here, they also emphasised on strengthening relations between Assam and Israel for mutual benefits and Sonowal requested Malka to arrange for setting up a consulate office of Israel in Guwahati, an official release said here. The meeting decided to work on forming a group of innovators who will be visiting Assam as well as Israel to scale up the skill quotient of the youth of the state. Referring to Israel's technological advancement, the chief minister sought its assistance in the Brahmaputra Water Management system and enhancing the output of the state's agriculture sector, the release said. The envoy also offered help in furthering Assam-Israel relations in the strategic sectors for the betterment of ...