Page 781 - Politics
US decision on Iran oil an assault on India's sovereignty: Congress
The Congress on Tuesday said the US decision to impose sanctions on countries that buy oil from Iran "is a direct assault on Indias political and economic sovereignty" and termed it as a failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomacy and his government.
Rahul's second seat, Wayanad, sees more turnout than 2014
Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, from where Congress President Rahul Gandhi is trying his electoral luck for the first time, saw a turnout of over 79 per cent on Tuesday.
BPL people to become APL if NDA returns to power, says Rajnath
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday claimed that now only six crore people are living below poverty line (BPL) and they will be raised above it if the NDA government returns to power. He charged the Congress with failing to eradicate poverty in the country since the time of Indira Gandhi. "The country is growing under the dynamic leadership of Narendra Modi. Only six crore people are BPL now. If the NDA government returns to power, all of them will be raised above it in a few years through the schemes launched by the Centre," Singh said while addressing an election meeting here. "The Congress has been bluffing the people by propagating Garibi Hathao. But it had never succeeded. Right from the days of Indira Gandhi, it has made several schemes for removing poverty but failed every time," Singh said. But poverty has been removed to a great extent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through his poverty alleviation schemes, the senior BJP leader claimed. Canvassing for BJP .
BJP fields singer Hans Raj Hans from North-West Delhi Lok Sabha seat, amid protests by sitting MP
The BJP had a hard time declaring Hans Raj Hans as its candidate from the North West Delhi parliamentary seat, hours before the deadline for filing of nomination on Tuesday, amid vocal protest by sitting party MP Udit Raj. Raj, the incumbent from the constituency, had threatened to resign and contest the polls independently, if denied party ticket from the seat. This was one of the reasons behind the delay in announcing Hans' candidature, party insiders said. Hans filed his nomination papers from the constituency later on even as Raj sulked and asked BJP to tell him why he was replaced by the Punjabi singer. On Monday, Raj had held a press conference to express his resentment and later accompanied his supporters to march for Delhi BJP office in the midnight. His supporters created rucks at the party office where Hans was preparing his papers for nomination with the help of other leaders, sources in the party said. Raj claimed that Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari had assured him a few
Pragya was framed in false cases to defame India's culture: Shah
BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday said that their Bhopal candidate and Malegaon blast accused Pragya Singh Thakur was framed in the name of Hindu terror to defame the culture of the country.Responding to a question during a press conference on whether there will be any impact of Pragya's recent controversial remarks on poll results of Madhya Pradesh, he said that there will definitely be an impact of her statement as the people of the country were "very angry" over the use of term 'saffron terror' by the Congress party."A fake case was framed against Pragya Thakur and the culture of India was defamed in the world. People are very angry. Our culture was presented in a bad light in the name of Hindu terror and saffron terror," Shah told reporters here."Can Hindu be a terrorist?" he asked.The BJP president claimed the Congress theory of Hindu terror could not stand in the court.Shah asked Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to apologise to the country for allegedly bringing a bad name to the ...
No Modi wave like in 2014, BJP at loss: Raj Thackeray
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray on Tuesday claimed there is "no wave now like 2014" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party and its leaders are now bewildered what to do.
Congress a vote cutter in Delhi: AAP
The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday called the Congress a 'vote cutter party' saying voting for the grand national party in Delhi will mean voting the BJP.
Gujarat turnout hovers near all-time high; Modi, Shah vote
Gujarat Tuesday recorded a high voter turnout of 63.67 per cent across the 26 Lok Sabha seats in a single phase polling amid reports of glitches in EVMs and stray incidents of intimidation and violence. Key political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, party veteran L K Advani, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Congress leader Ahmed Patel and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani exercised their franchise at different places in the state. The turnout figure of 63.67 per cent, just a notch above what was posted in 2014, is tentative and is expected to increase. In the 2014 general elections, the voter turnout was 63.6 per cent - the second highest in the state's history after the all-time high of 63.77 per cent recorded in 1967. The voter turnout in bypolls to four assembly seats -- Unjha, Dhrangadhra, Jamnagar (Rural) and Manavadar held along with the Lok Sabha polls was an average 62.77 per cent. These assembly seats had fallen ...
BJP just opened accounts, we will deposit cash in them: Rahul
Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that grave injustice was done to India's poor for the last five years, but his party's government would do "Nyay" (justice), referring to the party's minimum income scheme promise.
Holiday mood dampens Goa's poll spirit; 74.04% voting (Roundup)
Holiday mood may have dampened the voting spirit in Goa, poll officials said, as the coastal state polled a relatively low 72.04 per cent (provisional) voting for the two Lok Sabha seats and 78.95 per cent voting for the three assembly bypolls which where held on Tuesday. There were minor EVM hiccups, officials said.
Udit Raj targets BJP over denial of ticket (2nd Lead)
Denied a ticket, BJP Lok Sabha member Udit Raj on Tuesday attacked the party, saying candidates are being chosen on the basis of "some inscrutable internal standards" while ignoring the hard work of aspirants.
Might have been denied ticket as I protested SC order on Dalit law: Udit Raj
Upset over refusal of ticket for the Lok Sabha polls, BJP sitting MP from North West Delhi Udit Raj Tuesday said the party might have decided to drop him for protesting against the apex court's order that nullified the stringent provisions of the Dalit protection law. The BJP has replaced Raj from the North West Lok Sabha constituency with Punjabi Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans. Raj, who had earlier said he would contest as an independent candidate if the party did not announce his candidature, said he will decide his future course of action after consulting his supporters. "I will not contest as an independent candidate. They (BJP) are forcing me to leave the party but I have not taken a decision on quitting. I will consult my supporters from across the country," he said. Talking about the possible reasons why he was denied a ticket, Raj said, "When there was bandh in 2018 on SC-ST amendment, I protested, that's why the party leadership seemed to be unhappy with me. When there was no ...
Tripura: oppn complain of voter intimidation by BJP, CP(M)
Opposition parties in Tripura complained of intimidation of voters by the ruling BJP workers during the Lok Sabha elections Tuesday, and the CPI(M) sitting MP and candidate said he failed to cast his vote as he was in another district to instil courage among the people there. The BJP, however, denied the charge and said people voted in a festive mood. An estimated 80.4 percent of 12,61,861 electorate cast their votes till 5 pm in the Tripura East (ST) constituency. The EC had deferred elections in the seat from April 18 to April 23, saying the prevailing law-and-order situation there is not conducive for holding free and fair poll. Opposition parties had demanded fresh polls in Tripura West, the other Lok Sabha constituency of the state, that the April 11 election was "heavily rigged" by the ruling BJP. CPI(M) MP Jitendra Chowdhury, who is seeking re- election from Tripura East said he could not vote because he was away from home. "There was largescale intimidation to ...
A Hindu can never be a 'terrorist': Amit Shah
A Hindu can never be a 'terrorist', said BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday while defending the party's decision to field Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from Bhopal in the ongoing polls. Addressing an election rally here, Shah said, "A Hindu can never be a terrorist. Hindu culture has never harmed anyone but Congress gave a tag of terrorist to it. Sadhvi Pragya Thakur's nomination from Bhopal is our Satyagraha against it.""The people of Madhya Pradesh are waiting for Diggi Raja (Congress leader Digvijay Singh) as they want to take him on over the issue of Hindu terror," he added.Continuing his tirade against Congress, Shah accused the grand old party of indulging in vote bank politics. "But the security of maa Bharti is the first priority for the BJP," he mentioned.Shah also hit out at National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah for demanding two prime ministers in the country. "I have been asking Rahul Baba whether he agrees with Omar or not. It has been 12 days but .
Women, youth, farmers have voted against BJP: Priyanka Gandhi
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said that the Congress party has done "pretty well" in the first three phases of Lok Sabha elections."I think women, youth and farmers have voted against the BJP. They were exploited by the BJP. According to our reports of the first three phases, everything is going good for the Congress party," Vadra told ANI.Earlier in the day, the Congress leader met locals and visited shops in Amethi during her election campaign.Elections for two Congress bastions- Amethi and Rae Bareli- represented by Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, respectively, will be held in the fifth phase of polling on May 6.Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
ISIS conspiracy case: NIA arrests 14th accused from Delhi
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested a key conspirator who was planning to carry out terrorist attacks in the national capital region of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh." Mohd Faiz was found to be the main member of the Pro-IS module Harkat-Ul-Harb-E-Islam, who was instrumental in bringing other members besides founding the group. The investigation has revealed that he was closely involved in the procurement of arms and ammunition for the group to carry out terrorist acts in and around the National Capital Region," an NIA release said.Faiz, a resident of Delhi, is the fourteenth accused arrested in the case so far." The case pertains to a group of Pro-IS terrorists who formed a terrorist gang which was engaged in acts preparatory to the commission of terror attacks with a view to wage war against the Indian Government. The group was found to be inspired by the ideology of ISIS and was conspiring and preparing to target places of importance in and around NCT of Delhi," ..
MP: Rahul calls Amit Shah 'murder accused', his son 'magician'
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday referred to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah as a "murder accused" and his son Jay Shah as a "magician" at a public rally in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur."Murder accused BJP President Amit Shah....waah! kya shaan hai (wow! what a pride)....Have you heard Jay Shah's name? He is a magician, he made Rs 50,000 into Rs 80 crore in three months," Gandhi said while addressing a rally here.Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his alleged involvement in the Rafale fighter jet deal with France, Gandhi said, "An inquiry will be initiated on Rafale issue. Only two names will be revealed - Narendra Modi and Anil Ambani."In December 2014, a special CBI Court had discharged Shah from both Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter cases citing lack of evidence.Talking about Congress' ambitious 'Nyuntam Aay Yojana' (NYAY) scheme mentioned in the party's manifesto for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi said, "Narendra ...
Cong seeks 48-72 hrs ban on campaigning by PM Modi, Shah for violating Model Code of Conduct
The Congress party on Tuesday sought to impose 48 to 72 hours ban on campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).A Congress delegation led by Abhishek Manu Singhvi met the Election Commission officials here and sought action against PM Modi for holding a procession after casting his vote on Tuesday in Ahmedabad.They also requested the EC to act against BJP president Shah for repeatedly citing the services of armed forces in his election rallies."The Prime Minister is violating the Model Code Conduct (MCC) shamelessly and advertently. He made political statements, held a procession after casting his votes today," Singhvi told reporters here.The Congress spokesman said: "On Monday we had filed a written complaint to the EC that PM Modi would violate the Model Code of Conduct by holding a procession after casting his vote."Singhvi termed Prime Minister Modi as a "habitual, egregious and completely ...
Imran Khan openly confessed that Pakistan is epicentre of terrorism: Altaf Hussain
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain said his apprehensions have once again been proved right as Prime Minister Imran Khan openly confessed that Pakistan is an epicentre of terrorism.Hussain went on to say that in the past, Khan said terrorists had used his country's soil to carry out attacks in Iran.Commenting on Khan's statement, Hussain said in a Twitter message that the United Nations and international bodies must take serious note of Khan's acceptance of Pakistan's involvement in breeding terrorism on its soil.As per Dawn, Khan, while addressing a joint presser with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the end of his two-day trip to Tehran, had said, "I know Iran has suffered from terrorism (perpetrated) by groups operating from Pakistan. We (need to) have trust in each other that both countries will not allow any terrorist activity from their soil. We hope this will build confidence between us".
Mumbai: Police personnel suspended for participating in poll campaigning
The election commission has suspended a police personnel for taking part in a poll campaign.As per the orders of Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Dileep Shinde, the police official named Narsingh Yadav deployed in the armed division of Mumbai Police has been suspended for taking part in the election campaign of Congress candidate Sanjay Nirupam on Sunday.A case in this regard was also registered at Amboli Police station on Monday afternoon.In Maharashtra, voting for 14 Lok Sabha seats was done in the third phase of polling on Tuesday.BJP is contesting in the state in alliance with Shiv Sena, while they face a tough battle from Congress and Sharad Pawar-led NCP.Among the Lok Sabha constituencies which went for polls today are Jalgaon, Raver, Jalna, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Madha, Sangli, Raigad, Pune, Baramati, Satara, Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Kolhapur and Hatkanangle.Polling for 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held on April 29..