Page 733 - Politics
TMC moves EC over "The Great Khali" campaigning for BJP
After the BJP accused the Trinamool Congress of inviting Bangladeshi actors in its campaign in the state, it is the TMC's turn to move the EC alleging that "American" wrestler "The Great Khali" had taken part in the electioneering of a saffron party nominee here. The TMC has lodged a complaint with the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer that BJP's candidate for Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency, Anupam Hazra, had taken the wrestler along while campaigning on April 26. Dalip Singh Rana aka "The Great Khali" holds US citizenship and the BJP was trying to influence Indian voters by using his "celebrity status", the complaint said. "A foreigner should not be allowed to influence the minds of the Indian electors as he has little or no knowledge as to who should be an appropriate MP in India," the complaint lodged by the TMC said. In an interview to the media, Khali had said, "Whenever he (Hazra) calls me, wherever I am called, I will make it. I have specially come from America
It's nationalism vs regional vision in Rajasthan
Caught between the cacophony of nationalism and regional vision -- on issues of farm distress, unemployment, water crisis and poor connectivity -- the voters in Rajasthan seem to be dwindling towards the former.
59 candidates in fray in Jharkhand's first phase
The fate of 59 candidates will be decided by 45,26,691 voters in Jharkhand's first phase of polling in three Maoist-affected Lok Sabha seats on Monday.
Big fights, star candidates hallmark of Bengal's fourth phase
The intensely contested Lok Sabha battle in West Bengal is set to witness some big fights that would determine the fortune of several star candidates, including two Union Ministers, in the fourth phase on Monday, when eight seats are up for grabs on Monday.
Unlike Rahul who needs holiday every few months, Modi has been
BJP president Amit Shah Sunday charged the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress and its allies with lack of resolve, while in power, to act decisively against terror and take affirmative action in favour of the backward classes and the poor in the unreserved category. Addressing back-to-back election rallies in Sitamarhi and Saran Lok Sabha segments set to go to polls in the fifth phase of general elections Shah also drew a contrast between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, claiming that the prime minister has been working "tirelessly for the past 20 years" unlike the Congress president "who needs a prolonged holiday every few months". Lambasting the Congress-led UPA for its alleged inadequate response to the beheading of Lance Naik Hemraj six years ago, images of which had gone viral on the social media triggering outrage, Shah said, "When militants backed by Pakistan dared to attack the Uri army camp, we gave a befitting reply with surgical strikes". "They did not learn their ...
Paradip: Where contestants' wives are the star campaigners
The Paradip assembly seat, which goes to polls on April 29, witnessed an interesting election campaign as the wives of three prominent candidates campaigned extensively to garner support for them. The Paradip assembly segment was carved out in 2009 and is currently held by Damodar Rout, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after being ousted from the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD). The seat will witness a three-cornered contest between BJD's Sambit Routray, also Rout's son, Congress's Arindam Sarkhel and BJP's Sampad Chandra Swain. Routray's father is the BJP's Odisha campaign committee chief and stayed away from the debutant's campaign. However, the BJD candidate's wife, Gitanjali, was always by his side. "I am from a political family. My father-in-law is in politics for 45 years. Therefore, it was not difficult for me to campaign," said the housewife. "People know about Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his welfare schemes. Therefore, campaigning was very smooth for me
BJP's Ajay Bhatt woos Uttarakhandis in Lucknow
Uttarakhand Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Ajay Bhatt on Sunday urged Garhwali and Kumaoni people residing in Lucknow to vote for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. Around 300,000 people from Uttarakhand live in Lucknow.
BJP leader, several others offer voluntary arrest to protest recent killings in JK's Kishtwar
A BJP leader and former minister led members of a local religious group Sunday to offer voluntary arrest in Kishtwar to protest recent killings, including that of an RSS leader and his security guard, in the district, officials said. The development comes a day after an angry mob ransacked the deputy commissioner's office and damaged official vehicles during a protest rally in the communally sensitive town, they said. BJP leder Sunil Kumar Sharma along with over half-a-dozen office bearers of Sanatan Dharam Sabha (SDS), a local religious group, staged a demonstration and raised slogans against Governor Satya Pal Malik and the district administration before walking inside the Kishtwar police station for offering voluntary arrest, the officials said. They said senior civil and police officials had reached the police station. A mob Saturday ransacked a government building housing the office of deputy commissioner, damaged several official vehicles and set ablaze an effigy of Jammu and ..
Mumbai slum dwellers, tenants to get own homes post Cong win:
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Sunday said slum dwellers and tenants in Mumbai will get homes of their own if his party comes to power after the April-May Lok Sabha polls. All six seats of Mumbai will go to polls on Monday. In a tweet in Marathi, Gandhi said that he had backed the proposal of his party colleagues that slum dwellers and tenants be given houses with a minimum area of 500 square feet. "I assure Mumbaikars that if the Congress is voted to power, slum dwellers and tenants will get homes of their own," Gandhi's tweet stated.
Cong will form next govt, Rahul will be PM: Sawant
The Maharashtra Congress on Sunday claimed its government will be formed at the Centre after the ongoing Lok Sabha polls and that party chief Rahul Gandhi will become the prime minister. State Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said this while reacting to NCP chief Sharad Pawar's comments in a section of media that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, BSP head Mayawati and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee will be the top contenders for the prime minister's post if the NDA does not get the required numbers. Pawar also mentioned in his remarks that Gandhi on many occasions earlier ruled himself out of the prime ministerial race. Reacting to it, Sawant in a statement said, "The Congress is getting good response and support all over the country. The next government will be led by the Congress and Rahul Gandhi will be the prime minister." Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut also rejected Pawar's claim, asserting that the leaders mentioned by the NCP chief
Former MLA, and not Parrikar's son, gets BJP Panaji bypoll
The BJP Sunday announced the candidature of former MLA Siddharth Kunkolienkar for the Panaji Assembly bypoll scheduled for May 19. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting MLA and former chief minister Manohar Parrikar on March 17. While there was speculation that Parrikar's elder son Utpal would be given a ticket, a statement on the BJP's website about Kunkolienkar's candidature put an end to it. The BJP's Central Election Committee secretary Jagat Prakash Nadda announced the candidature of Kunkolienkar on Sunday afternoon. Incidentally, Kunkolienkar had won the seat in the 2017 Assembly polls before vacating it on May 10 that year to allow Parrikar to contest and enter the 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly. Parrikar, who was then Union defence minister, was brought back to helm the state government after the BJP fell short of a simple majority and had to ally with other parties like Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, as well as ...
BJP denies Parrikar's son ticket for Panaji bypoll
The BJP on Sunday nominated late Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's aide Sidharth Kuncalienkar as its candidate for the Panaji assembly seat bypolls, ignoring the candidature of his son Utpal Parrikar.
RBI should disclose the list of defaulters: Congress
Latching on to the recent Supreme Court judgement giving the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) a "last opportunity" to disclose the list of defaulters under the Right to Information Act (RTI), the Congress party on Sunday alleged that the government favours crony capitalists.
China diplomat: Huawei should be allowed to upgrade 5G in UK
China's ambassador to Britain says tech giant Huawei should be allowed to help upgrade the U.K.'s communications network, urging the government to resist "protectionism" and ignore pressure from other countries. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming argues that British authorities should act independently and "in accordance with their national interests." He says the "last thing China expects from a truly open and fair 'global Britain' is a playing field that is not level." The United States has lobbied allies to exclude Huawei from so-called 5G networks amid concern the company could provide a back door for Chinese security officials to access critical infrastructure. Huawei officials have denied any security risk, saying the maker of tech gear has no links to the Chinese government and operates like any other international company.
Gambhir hits back at AAP's allegation on voter IDs
Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir on Sunday hit back at AAP's Atishi Marlena over her allegations that he has two voter IDs, saying one makes such allegations to hide lack of vision and poor performance.
Spain votes in early election marked by far-right resurgence
Spain voted Sunday in an uncertain snap general election marked by a resurgence of the far-right after more than four decades on the outer margins of politics. Opinion polls give outgoing socialist premier Pedro Sanchez a win but without the necessary majority to govern alone, meaning he will have to seek alliances in a political environment that has soured since Catalonia's failed secession bid. By far the novelty of these elections is the emergence of far-right party Vox, which burst onto the scene in December regional polls in southern Andalusia and looks set to make its first-ever entrance into the national parliament. Polls predict it could take more than 10 per cent of the votes in a country that had no far-right party to speak of since the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, in what is likely to cause further concern in Europe. "What I ask Spaniards is to send a clear majority that can provide stability," Sanchez told reporters after he cast his ballot at a cultural ...
'We already have majority', Amarinder on AAP allegations of 'buying MLAs'
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Sunday trashed AAP's allegations that opposition MLAs were offered money and plum posts to switch over to the Congress, saying the Arvind Kejriwal-led party was frustrated over its failure in garnering support in the state and indulging in gimmickry. He asked why would the Congress buy opposition MLAs when it already has a majority in the state assembly. "It's a case of sheer frustration over AAP's complete failure to mop up support and keep the party intact in Punjab," he said. "AAP has completely lost its narrative in Punjab and was reduced to indulging in all kinds of gimmickry and fabrications in a desperate bid to retain some semblance of being a serious party," he added. The chief minister said hurling false accusations at the Congress was not going to help the AAP regain lost ground. Aam Aadmi Party's state unit president and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann had earlier alleged that the Congress had been offering up to Rs 10 crore and plum posts to
Rahul lying on Amethi food park issue: Irani
Targeting Congress president and Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi, Union minister Smriti Irani said on Sunday it was the erstwhile Congress-led government which denied permission for a mega food park in the constituency. Speaking to reporters, Irani, who is the BJP candidate against Gandhi here, said, "The food park, which Rahul Gandhi has been talking about, the decision to not supply gas to it was given in writing by the then government headed by Manmohan Singh. The letter has been presented before the country long time ago. Rahul is misguiding people by telling lies." Gandhi has been accusing the BJP of putting up hurdles in the way of setting up a mega food park in Amethi. Targeting Gandhi, Irani said, "The Congress president talks about interests of farmers, but the land of the farmers have been grabbed in the name of setting up factories. Even three years after the passage of orders of the court, Rahul has not returned the land to the farmers." Slamming the Congress, she said, "The ...
UP Cabinet may undergo reshuffle soon after polls
With four Uttar Pradesh ministers fighting the ongoing Lok Sabha polls and standing "bright chances" to win their seats, the Adityanath government may have to undertake its first Cabinet reshuffle soon after the elections are over. The four state ministers in the poll fray include Rita Bahuguna Joshi from Allahabad, S P Singh Baghel from Agra , Satyadev Pachauri from Kanpur and Mukut Bihari from Ambedkarnagar parliamentary constituencies. "The names of ministers were zeroed in on for fielding, seeing their track record, utility and effectiveness in respective areas, dedication towards the party, communication with party workers and their overall performance, the names of ministers were zeroed in on," state BJP spokesperson Hero Bajpai told PTI. "They all stand bright chances of winning their respective seats," he added. Asked by PTI recently if any Cabinet reshuffle is on cards, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said, "First let the elections get over." The whole election process ...
Chinese Prez Xi meets Imran Khan, calls for improvement of Indo-Pak relations
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday and expressed hope that Pakistan and India can meet each other halfway to improve their strained relations following the Pulwama terror attack by a JeM suicide bomber. Both leaders also exchanged views on the situations in South Asia, an official Chinese statement here said about the meeting between Xi and Khan. The India-Pakistan relations reportedly figured prominently in the meeting. Xi expressed hope that Pakistan and India can meet each other halfway and promote the stabilisation and improvement of India-Pakistan relations, it said. Khan arrived in China on April 25 and attended China's 2nd Belt and Road Forum (BRF) held on April 26-27. The BRF meeting was held to highlight the achievement of the trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) started by Xi in 2013 in which USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an important component. India skipped the meeting for the second time, protesting ..