Page 739 - Politics
Chief Minister Adityanath slams SP-BSP alliance
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attacked the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 'gathbandhan' by referring to the incident where a bull had entered the grounds while their rally was in progress in Kannauj. "Even the bovine breed is now unwilling to forgive the criminals," he said."I was recently there in Kannauj where the people told me that a bull had entered the venue of 'gathbandhan' rally, probably to find out which of the slaughterhouse operators were there and to treat them accordingly," he said."I prayed to the bull to keep doing his job while we take care of the ones who mistreat the poor, put roadblocks in the state's development and have forced the youth to leave the state," he said at an election rally here.A bull had entered the 'gathbandhan' rally held in Kannauj on April 25 before the commencement of the rally.Chief Minister Yogi also said that the people of India are now pitching hard for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 in numbers far exceeding ..
Cong threatens to move SC over re-poll in 'rigged' LS seat in
The opposition Congress in Tripura on Saturday threatened to move the Supreme Court if re-poll is not ordered in at least 850 polling stations of the total 1679 in West Tripura Lok Sabha constituency where polling was held on April 11. Opposition parties like the Congress and the CPI(M) have alleged large scale rigging by the ruling BJP in West Tripura seat and demanded repoll in many booths. "We have information from reliable sources that the EC is under pressure from the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order re-poll in only a few polling stations," state Congress vice-president Pijush Biswas told a press conference here. "If the EC succumbs to the pressure and declare re-poll in less than 850 polling stations, we will file a case in the Supreme court," he said. To a question, Biswas said the party has observed that EC has not taken any action so far on any complaint filed against the prime minister. The Congress leader said, the party had earlier made ..
AAP's Mohalla Clinics no substitute for Ayushman Bharat: Harsh Vardhan
The AAP government's Mohalla Clinics initiative in Delhi is no substitute for the Ayushman Bharat scheme, BJP candidate from Chandni Chowk constituency Harsh Vardhan said during campaign on Saturday. He alleged lack of quality health services in Delhi government-run hospitals. The Union minister asserted that the BJP was going to repeat its 2014 success of winning all the seven seats in Delhi and the Congress and the AAP were no match to it in the Lok Sabha polls. Vardhan, who is seeking re-election from Chandni Chowk, is engaged in a triangular contest with Congress candidate J P Agarwal and AAP's Pankaj Gupta. He met people in various parts of the constituency, including Pitampura, Trinagar and Sadar, during a padayatra and door-to-door canvassing. "Mohalla clinics are no substitute for Ayushman Bharat scheme, which is the largest healthcare scheme for the poor in the world," he said. The condition of Delhi government hospitals is "pathetic" as a large number of patients are not ...
Modi slams Mayawati over alliance with SP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took a pot-shot at the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) over its alliance with the Samajwadi Party, saying it has forgotten the insult to Dalit icon Babasaheb Ambedkar by the Akhilesh Yadav-led party.
Considering Pakistan as friendly nation will be our biggest weakness: VK Singh
Union minister VK Singh cautioned on Saturday against considering Pakistan as a friendly nation, saying it will be India's "biggest weakness". "I was told in Barmer that a candidate has said that there is no danger from Pakistan," the minister of state for external affairs told reporters at the BJP office here. "This will be our biggest weakness if we consider a country, which is seen as a centre of terrorism and is engaged in proxy war against India, as a friendly nation," Singh, the former Indian Army chief, said. Responding to a question on allegations that the BJP was politicising the armed forces, he said the bravery of the forces has been praised in the past as well and there is no politics in it. "Being a former chief of the Army, I can say that forces in the country are not involved in politics. They are apolitical. Whenever our forces showed their valour, be it in 1971, 1962 and 1965 or in 1999, their bravery has been praised," he said. "If such praises now are taken as ...
Modi failed to carry forward Vajpayee's legacy: Abdullah
National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi "failed" to carry forward the legacy of A B Vajpayee during his stint in power. "Modi has failed to carry forward the legacy of Vajpayee. The people of J-K did not see him (Modi) put into practice the catch words of 'Jamhooriyat, Insaniyat and Kashmiriyat', Abdullah said addressing a public meet at Damhal Hanjipura in Kulgam district of south Kashmir. The NC president said the people of the state have not seen Modi deliver on his promises. "His (Modi's) words have been confined to rhetoric only. Had he the sincerity of thought to implement it, he would have done so since 2014, however, no concrete step was taken by the incumbent BJP government led by PM Modi to realize it on ground. "Today we see him tout 'Vajpayee formula', why didn't he implement it on ground for past five years. We didn't see him do justice either with the people of our state. On the contrary the people of our state have ..
Model Code of Conduct has become 'Modi code of conduct':Cong
Alleging that the Model Code of Conduct has become "Modi code of conduct", the Congress Saturday questioned the EC's "silence" over poll code "violations" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, and said it may approach courts to seek action against the duo. The two leaders have "cheated" on the issue of level playing field for all parties during elections and questioned the "silence of mega policeman" Election Commission (EC), Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi alleged at a press conference. "We have a right to approach the courts seeking action over model code violations... we can exercise that option... the mega policeman has turned a blind eye," Singhvi said, adding that silence can be construed as approval. Taking a jibe at the poll panel, he said the Congress is saddened to say that it seems that from the second word of Election Commission, 'C' has been dropped, and it has become "Election Omission" for the Modi-Shah duo. Singhvi wondered whether Modi
Assam govt on recruitment drive violating model code: Congress
The opposition Congress on Saturday alleged that the state-owned power distribution company of BJP-ruled Assam is on a recruitment drive violating the model code of conduct (MCC). Lodging a complaint with the Election Commission in this regard, state Congress general secretary Ranjan Bora said the Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) is set to organise a written examination for recruitment on April 28. The written test is being held to hire people for the post of Office-cum-Field Assistants and Sahayaks, he claimed. "This is a clear instance of violation of the MCC by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the state of Assam since the MCC continues to be applicable till the declaration of the results of the Lok Sabha Election on May 23, 2019," he said in the complaint. Besides, the Congress alleged that admit cards to appear for the examination have not been sent to a large number of candidates at the behest of the BJP. Bora said he sought "appropriate action ...
Modi toured entire world, didn't visit single village in Varanasi: Priyanka Gandhi
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi filed his nomination seeking re-election from Varanasi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Saturday accused him of not visiting a single village there. "The prime minister travels across the globe, undertakes boat rides in Varanasi, but he has not visited the villages in his parliamentary constituency," she said during a roadshow in favour of Congress' Unnao candidate Annu Tandon. "The prime minister should at least visit a village in his constituency, speak to the people and try to understand the reality," she said. Similar remarks by Priyanka Gandhi earlier had fuelled speculation that she may contest against PM Modi from Varanasi, but the party Thursday fielded Ajay Rai from the seat, ending the possibility of a face off between the two. Before embarking on the roadshow in Unnao, the Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh east garlanded a statue of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. During the campaign, she spoke to ...
Former Ethiopian president Negasso Gidada dead at 75
Former Ethiopian president Negasso Gidada has died in Germany where he was undergoing medical treatment for an unspecified illness, state broadcaster EBC reported on Saturday. Negasso, who was 75, was president between 1995 and 2001 and was the first head of state after Ethiopia adopted a new constitution transforming the country into a federal state, with increased autonomy given to the different regions. The role of president in Ethiopia is largely ceremonial, with the prime minister holding most of the power. Before he stepped down in 2001, Negasso publicly fell out with the then prime minister, Meles Zenawi. In 2015, Negasso was elected to parliament as an independent, but then joined the opposition three years later. More recently, he was rehabilitated by the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), to which he was appointed an advisor in 2017.
Biggest work PM has done is to secure country: Amit Shah
BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday claimed that the "biggest work" Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done is to secure the country."The biggest work that PM Modi has done is to secure this country. Prime Minister ordered our Air Force and they bombed terrorists in Balakot," Shah said while addressing an election rally here.Taking a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Shah alleged, after the Balakot strikes, "Rahul and his company is so sad as if they have lost their cousins."Referring to National Conference leader Omar Abdullah's comments on a separate Prime Minister and President for Kashmir, Shah said, "Right now Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister. He is returning again. I assure that someday even when BJP is not in power, as long as BJP workers are alive, no one can separate Kashmir from India."Earlier, while addressing a rally in Mayurbhanj, Shah slammed Congress leader PC Chacko for his comments on separatist leader Yasin Malik."PC Chacko said Narendra Modi government should
BJP leaders in racket to swap demonetised currency, Sibal repeats allegation
Repeating his allegation made earlier this month, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said Saturday government officials and some BJP leaders were involved in a racket which swapped demonetised currency with valid notes. Presenting a video clip of a "sting operation", Sibal claimed that a huge amount of currency was swapped for a commission of up to 40 per cent from January 2017 -- after the deadline for depositing scrapped notes with banks expired -- to mid-2018. The senior lawyer, however, said he could not vouch for authenticity of the video clips. Addressing the media at the Mumbai Press Club, Sibal screened a 10-minute-long video containing several clips which purportedly showed some people discussing currency exchange for a commission. The same allegation, accompanied by a video clip, was made by Sibal at a press conference in Delhi on April 9. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had then rejected the allegations. "Demonetisation is the biggest-ever scam in Indian history. High ...
Sudan opposition leader says Bashir ouster 'not military coup'
A top opposition leader called Saturday for Sudan to join the International Criminal Court which has indicted its ousted president Omar al-Bashir, as protesters and the military met to discuss civilian rule. Sadiq al-Mahdi, a former prime minister and head of the opposition National Umma Party that has backed the protests, also told reporters that the army's ouster of Bashir was "not a military coup". His comments came as a joint committee representing the ruling military leadership and protesters held their first meeting to discuss a demand by demonstrators for a handover to civilian rule. Bashir was ousted by the army on April 11 after months-long protests that rocked his three-decade-old rule. Thousands of protesters reached the sprawling military headquarters in central Khartoum on April 6, demanding that the army support the demonstrations against Bashir. Five days later, the army ousted Bashir but then took power into its own hands through a 10-member transitional military ...
US says new airstrike on IS target in Somalia kills 3
US forces in Africa have launched an airstrike against the Islamic State group in Somalia, just weeks after another strike killed the jihadist group's second in command there, a military statement said Saturday. Three IS militants were killed in the strike Friday in the Golis Mountains in northern Somalia, the US Africa Command, or Africom, said in the statement. No civilians were killed or wounded, it said. "This airstrike eliminated ISIS-Somalia members staged in a remote location in northern Somalia," said Major General Gregg Olson, Africom's director of operations, using the abbreviation for the Islamic State in Somalia. "Removing these extremists impacts ISIS-Somalia's ability to terrorize innocent Somalis in the region and it creates confusion within the terrorist network." The Islamic State has a relatively small presence in Somalia compared to the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab. But IS has been particularly active in the northern Puntland region, where its fighters have established ...
AAP moves Delhi HC against BJP's South Delhi candidate
Aam Aadmi Party's South Delhi candidate Raghav Chadha on Saturday moved the Delhi High Court, seeking disqualification of his BJP rival and sitting MP Ramesh Bidhuri's candidature.
BJP spreading lies to cover up real issues: Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday accused the BJP of diverting the people's attention from real issues affecting them by "spreading lies".
'Gathbandhan' will get majority of LS seats, says Mulayam Singh Yadav
Everyone knows that 'Gathbandhan' will get the majority of seats in Uttar Pradesh, said SP veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav here on Saturday."Gathbandhan will get the majority (in Uttar Pradesh). Everyone knows it," said Yadav, also former Chief Minister, while talking to ANI at the party headquarters here.SP, BSP and Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) are contesting the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh as an alliance. As per the seat-sharing arrangement, BSP, SP, and RLD are contesting 38, 37 and three Lok Sabha seats respectively in the state.Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited the SP veteran at his residence and inquired about his health."Today, I met and inquired about the health of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav at his residence in Lucknow. I wish for his good health and long life," Singh tweeted after the meeting.After going through regular health check up on Friday, Yadav met party workers at the state party office and discussed
Mention of Jinnah a slip of tongue, nothing to be apologetic
Facing flak from the BJP for having recounted Mohd Ali Jinnah among the stalwarts of the Congress party at an election rally, Patna Sahib candidate Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday asserted that he saw nothing to be apologetic about the slip of tongue. Sinha said he wished to speak about Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, but due to slip of tongue ended up saying Mohd Ali Jinnah. The actor-politician had made the faux pas at a rally at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh the previous night while he was rattling off the names of towering personalities associated with the Grand Old Party. As news channels beamed the relevant excerpt, BJP with which the actor-turned-politician had severed his three decades long ties recently mocked the former Union minister for speaking of the founder of Pakistan in the same breath as Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. Shatrughan Sinha has just gone to the Congress. When he was in BJP he used to talk about nationalism. Now, he says that Jinnah was also a ...
US oil embargo will see Venezuela turn to China, Russia for salvation
The US oil embargo on Venezuela that comes into effect on Sunday will deepen the South American country's economic crisis without necessarily forcing President Nicolas Maduro from power and force Caracas to turn to China and Russia for salvation. Until now, US sanctions directly targeted the upper echelons of Maduro's regime in the hope of weakening his grip on power in favour of a transition to opposition leader Juan Guaido, who in January declared himself acting president. Then, Washington led more than 50 countries in endorsing his claim. But these new sanctions will bite hard in a country that has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities such as food and medicines. Venezuela is almost entirely reliant on oil revenue, with 96 percent of its income from crude and the US its single largest customer. Michael Shifter from Inter-American Dialogue says "there is certainly no guarantee that the petroleum embargo will result in the end of Maduro's ...
Former PM Manmohan Singh kept 'silent' when terrorists beheaded Indian soldiers: Shah
BJP president Amit Shah Saturday slammed the UPA government, alleging that former prime minister Manmohan Singh kept "silent" when terrorists from Pakistan beheaded Indian soldiers. But, now for every bullet fired from across the border, the response is given with double the force, he told a rally in Jharkhand's Daltonganj town. "Under former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Pakistan's alia, malia and balia (referring to terrorists) used to come and take away heads of our jawans after killing them. "Even today, I can't forget the incident of Hemraj's beheading and his disrespect. But 'mouni (silent) baba' Manmohan Singh did not even utter a word," Shah said. On January 8, 2013, Lance Naik Hemraj was beheaded by Pakistan's Border Action Team along the Indo-Pak border, triggering a nationwide outrage. The BJP chief said, "ab goli ka jawab gola se, int ka jawab pathar se". Shah was campaigning for BJP's sitting MP from Palamu and former DGP Vishun Dayal Ram. He hit out at National ...