Page 802 - Politics
Ask PM what he got in return for helping Ambani under Rafale deal: Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Monday exhorted the people to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi what he received in return for "giving" Anil Ambani Rs 30,000 crore under the Rafale deal. Addressing a poll meeting in his parliamentary constituency here, Gandhi said, "When the prime minister comes and makes false claims, ask him one question. Why has he has given Rs 30,000 crore to Ambani and what has Ambani done in return for him." Speaking in Tiloi area, he said, "Soon after the Congress comes to power after the Lok Sabha polls, a probe will be held in the Rafale deal and the truth will be before everyone...what ex-French president Francois Hollande said and what is in the French defence files will come out...only two persons' names will come out, first Anil Ambani and second Narendra Modi." Asking if anyone has seen chowkidar in front of a farmer or labourer's house, he said that for the past some time, every farmer has been forced to do 'chowkidari' of his agriculture field. "Modiji .
India studies new US decision against Iran oil waiver
India has seen the US announcement which says that five major countries including India will no longer be exempt from penalties if they continue to import oil from Iran, and is studying the implications of the decision, said informed sources on Monday.
Priyanka accuses Irani of distributing shoes to insult Rahul; Union minister hits back
Dubbing the BJP's Amethi candidate Smriti Irani as an "outsider", Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused her of distributing shoes in order to insult Rahul Gandhi and said the people in the Congress chief's Lok Sabha constituency are not beggars. Interacting with the voters in this key parliamentary constituency, the Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh said the people of Amethi and Rae Bareli have self-respect and they do not beg from anyone. "...if anyone has to beg, it is them (BJP), who will beg for your votes," a visibly agitated Priyanka told the voters in the presence of reporters at a "nukkad sabha". She also slammed "outsider" Irani for distributing shoes in Amethi. "She (Irani) thinks she can insult Rahul Gandhi by doing this," Priyanka said, adding that the Union minister was in fact insulting the people of Amethi. "The people of Amethi are very sensible. You all know who was going to open a food park in Amethi and the fact that it .
FS Vijay Gokhale raises Azhar issue with Chinese Foreign Minister
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Monday raised with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi the issue of Beijing blocking the latest bid at the UN to declare Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist while emphasising that both countries should be sensitive to each other's concerns. India has shared with China all evidences of terror activities of JeM and its leader Azhar, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in response to a question on whether ban on Azhar was raised during Gokhale's ongoing China visit. "It is now for the 1267 Sanctions Committee and other authorised bodies of the UN to take a decision on the listing of Azhar as a global terrorist. India will continue to pursue all available avenues to ensure that terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are brought to justice," Kumar said. On a visit to Beijing, Gokhale met Wang and held talks with Executive Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng and Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou. Official ...
Six AAP candidates file nomination in Delhi
Six of the seven candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi on Monday filed their nominations for the Lok Sabha elections following road shows in their respective constituencies.
Trump: Congress 'can't impeach' him
President Donald Trump said Monday that Congress "can't impeach" him over the findings of the Mueller report into Russian election meddling and his attempts to hamper the investigation. "Only high crimes and misdemeanors can lead to impeachment. There were no crimes by me (No Collusion, No Obstruction), so you can't impeach," Trump stated on Twitter. "It was the Democrats that committed the crimes, not your Republican President! Tables are finally turning on the Witch Hunt!" A redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's approximately 450 page report was published last week after two years of intense investigations. It confirmed that Russian operatives had attempted to interfere in the 2016 election to help Trump beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, including by hacking into email accounts. The report also found that Trump's campaign took advantage of the impact on Clinton, but did not deliberately reach out to collude with the Russians. During the probe, Trump ...
Cong, Left working together to make Modi PM again: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday alleged that the Congress and the Left are working together to help the BJP in the ongoing LS polls so that Narendra Modi could become the prime minister again. She said those who used to support the Left Front during their rule in the state, have changed sides to join hands with the BJP in West Bengal. "The Congress and the CPI(M) have joined hands to help the BJP so that Modi can become the prime minister again. The three - BJP as 'Ram' in the middle with 'Baam' (the Left Front) on its the left and 'Shyam' (Congress) sitting on the right side - are together, Banerjee said addressing a rally here in Burdwan district. "Those who were 'harmads' of the CPIM have now become bosses in the BJP," the Trinamool Congress supremo said. Goons, antisocial elements and armed cadres are often referred to as 'harmads' in West Bengal. She also urged people not to vote for the CPI(M) or the Congress. "If you vote for the CPI(M) or the ...
Western Army Commander reviews operational preparedness of Yol Cantonment
Army Commander, western command, Lieutenant General Surinder Singh Monday reviewed the operational preparedness of Yol Cantonment in Himachal Pradesh, a defence spokesperson said. The Army Commander was briefed by General Officer Commanding, Rising Star Corps, Lieutenant General J S Nain on the operational preparedness and upgradation of security infrastructure, the spokesman said. Later, the Commander interacted with the troops, the official added. The Army Commander expressed confidence in the operational preparedness of the Indian Army to meet any threat manifested by inimical and anti-national elements, he said.
Harsh Vardhan, Manoj Tiwari file nominations in Delhi
BJP candidates from Delhi, Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, Manoj Tiwari and Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma filed their nominations on Monday, a day after the party announced their names retaining the four sitting MPs, including Ramesh Bidhuri from South Delhi.
Tejashwi taunts JD-U's failure to issue manifesto
A day ahead of the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in Bihar, leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav on Monday taunted the ruling JD-U of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for not coming out with its own manifesto.
In BJD bastion, a shift of power in Odisha BJP
At a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying hard to make inroads in Odisha, a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) bastion, it seems there has been a power shift in the state unit of the saffron party.
Demonstration staged outside Bihar Cong HQ denouncing Shotgun;
A demonstration was staged here Monday outside the state Congress headquarters by a group of persons who carried placards dubbing actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha as a dalaal (broker) of Lalu Prasads RJD and raised slogans demanding cancellation of his candidature from the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency. BPCC spokesman H K Verma, however, asserted that the demonstrators were "not in any way associated with the party" and suspected that they were sent to the Sadaqat Ashram by rivals at a time when Sinha was not inside the premises. Sinha trashed the incident as meant for publicity by a handful of people who might have been send by the BJP. State Congress office said that police has been informed about the incident. Sources in Patliputra police station here said that when they reached the venue the agitators had fled. They said they are investigation the matter. The demonstrators alleged that Sinha was "dropped from a parachute" at RJD's behest and accused BPCC chief ..
PM's remarks on nukes 'highly irresponsible': Amarinder Singh
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Monday termed as "highly irresponsible" the remarks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on nuclear arsenal, saying the statement was made with an eye on the polls. He appealed to the people to support the Congress' 'jung' (war) to protect the country, which the BJP-led government at the Centre has plunged into a state of "ruin and devastation". Modi, at an election rally in Rajasthan's Barmer, Sunday said India is no more afraid of nuclear threats of Pakistan. "Otherwise, Pakistan used to give nuclear threats. What do we have? Have we kept it for 'Diwali'? (Warna aay din nuclear button hai, ye kehte the. Hamare paas kya hai? Ye Diwali ke liye rakha hai kya)," the prime minister had said. Singh said, "The prime minister's threat to trigger a nuclear war, clearly as a tool to be re-elected, was highly irresponsible." He was accompanying Congress' candidate from Jalandhar parliamentary seat Santokh Singh Chaudhary during filing of the latter's nomination
US ends waivers for India to buy Iranian oil
The US announced on Monday it is ending the waiver given to India to buy Iranian oil and has threatened sanctions if it did not comply with the embargo.
Assocham Secretary General U K Varma resigns
Uday Kumar Varma, a former bureaucrat who took over as the Secretary General of Assocham in August last year, has resigned from the post. According to sources, Verma resigned from the industry chamber last week and Assocham Deputy Secretary General Saurabh Sanyal is discharging the duties of secretary general at present. When contacted, Verma told PTI that he has flagged some issues pertaining to the organisation in his resignation letter to Assocham President B K Goenka. But he did not divulge further details. An email sent to Assocham did not elicit a response. Verma retired from the post of Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on June 30, 2013. He had extensive administrative experience at the highest levels of administration both in the state government (of Madhya Pradesh) and central government. He had succeeded D S Rawat who held the position for nearly 14 years.
Youth does 'surgical strike' on Digvijaya at poll rally
Congress Lok Sabha candidate Digvijaya Singh faced embarrassment at a rally here Monday when a youth he had called up on the dais started praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi over surgical strike. Singh, addressing a rally in Berasia here, was lashing out at Modi for not fulfilling his 2014 pre-poll promise of depositing Rs 15 lakh into the accounts of people when the embarrassing incident took place. When Singh asked the people assembled there if they had received the promised amount in their accounts, a youngster raised his hand and got promptly invited on the stage by the veteran Congressman. "Tumhare khate me aa gaye...aa jao...aa jao...idhar aa jao. Account number le aao tumahra. Hum tumhara nagrik abhinandan karenge. "Tumhare khate me 15 lakh aa gaye. Aa jao beta, idhar aa jao (Come here. Bring your account number. I will publicly felicitate you. You got Rs 15 lakh in your account)," Singh said. However, the red-shirted youth, once on the stage, started praising .
BJP will win all 26 seats in Guj, Cong rejected: Vaghani
The BJP will win all 26 seats in Gujarat since people of the state are proud that Narendra Modi will be prime minister again, state unit chief Jitu Vaghani said Monday, a day before the state goes to polls in a single phase. He also said party workers are "full of enthusiasm" as its national chief Amit Shah is contesting from the state's Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat. "The Congress is not going to defeat the BJP on any of the 26 seats in Gujarat. The Congress' negative campaigning is going to be rejected by the people of Gujarat," Vaghani told reporters at Kamalam, the BJP's headquarters in the state. "People understand that Narendrabhai belongs to us (Gujarat being his home state). He has found a place in the heart of the people by his service that rises above caste and religion. People of Gujarat are proud and happy that he will again become prime minister," Vaghani said. "The Congress national leadership's campaign in Gujarat was rejected by the people. The response that
Act against PM for violating election norms: Yechury
CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has urged the Election Commission to act against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "constantly flouting" guidelines that matters of national security should not be used as fodder for election speeches.
Stage set for largest phase of LS election covering 14 states, UTs; Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi in fray
Polling will be held on Tuesday for the third and largest phase of Lok Sabha election in 116 seats, including all constituencies in Gujarat and Kerala, with BJP president Amit Shah, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and several Union ministers among prominent candidates in the fray. The stakes are high for the ruling BJP and its allies as they bagged 66 seats out of these 116 spread across 14 states and Union Territories in 2014 general election, while the Congress and its alliance partners won 27, and the rest went to other opposition parties and Independents. Besides all seats in Gujarat (26) and Kerala (20), voting will be held in four seats in Assam, five in Bihar, seven in Chhattisgarh, 14 each in Karnataka and Maharashtra, six in Odisha, 10 in Uttar Pradesh, five in West Bengal, two in Goa, and one each in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Tripura. The polling in Tripura East constituency, which was earlier scheduled for April 18, will be held in this phase, as also in a part .
Trump says Congress 'can't impeach' him
President Donald Trump said Monday that Congress "can't impeach" him over the findings of the Mueller report into Russia election meddling and his attempts to hamper the investigation. "Only high crimes and misdemeanors can lead to impeachment. There were no crimes by me (No Collusion, No Obstruction), so you can't impeach," Trump stated on Twitter.