Page 818 - Politics
Pakistan, India must change to normalize ties: Chidambaram
Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Sunday said that if India wants to change Pakistan's behaviour towards it, it should examine and change some of its conduct towards the neighbouring country.
Vote for saving country from "narrow minded ideology":Priyanka
Terming the ongoing Lok Sabha elections as no ordinary polls, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Sunday asked people to vote for saving the country from "narrow minded ideology" as she accused the NDA government of undermining democracy and suppressing dissent. In an interaction with media here after visiting the family of CRPF jawan V V Vasanthkumar martyred in the Pulwama terror attack, she said Congress was not contesting the polls for power but for the larger idea of the country and to strengthen the forces of democracy. "This election is to save the country that we all love, the country that we all believe in. The country in which all of us are equal, in which all of us are free to express ourselves, our religion, our ways of eating, our ways of living," she said. Priyanka, who has been campaigning for her brother and Congress president Rahul Gandhi contesting the polls from Wayanad constituency in Kerala besides in his traditional Amethi seat, appealed to the ...
Top Navy Commanders to review security preparedness in maritime domain
Top commanders of the Navy will extensively deliberate on emerging challenges facing the country in the maritime domain and review the evolving security dynamics in the region at a three-day conclave beginning Tuesday. Navy officials said the naval commanders conference is expected to fine-tune the Navy's strategy for responding to any possible threats and added that it will discuss overall security challenges in the backdrop of the Pulwama attack and developments thereafter. "The conference assumes greater significance in the backdrop of Pulwama associated events that have brought the country's defence under sharper focus and will provide the higher naval leadership a forum to discuss the emerging challenges in the maritime domain," the Navy said in a statement. The conference is the apex forum within the Navy for interaction between the naval commanders. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba will review major operational, materiel, logistics, training, human resources and ...
PM Modi accuses Cong of vote bank politics, using power to fill coffers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress party of betraying the people, saying injustice was done to the country's growth potential and its resources. "Post-independence people trusted the Congress for five decades, but the party betrayed the people. Injustice was meted out to resources and potential of the country. Congress did vote bank politics and made power a medium to fill its coffers," Modi said, at an election rally in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh constituency. He said smaller nations which got freedom in the same period as when India got its independence had developed far more than India. "There are three things in the conduct and culture of the Congress, which are 'naamdar parivar' (dynastic family), corruption and plenty of false promises," Modi said. The prime minister said his government had changed the system in five years and several schemes and programmes for the people had been launched and successfully executed, benefitting the people. "We fought ...
Idea of smart city not clear even to Modi: Digvijaya
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress's Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal Digvijaya Singh Sunday said the idea of smart city was not clear to Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. He was referring to the Modi government's flagship 'Smart Cities Mission', which is aimed at developing 100 smart cities, including Bhopal, in the country. "The definition of a smart city is not clear to Narendra Modi himself. What is a smart city?...The greenery of Bhopal was destroyed for developing it as a smart city," Singh said in a press conference, where he shared his vision document for Bhopal. Singh said the capital of Madhya Pradesh could be developed as a global city. "The master plan of Bhopal would be released by 2020, after seeking suggestions from all the stakeholders," he said. "According to the city's needs and as per the law, the master plan of Bhopal should be prepared every ten years...But the (erstwhile) BJP government skipped two master plans of the city in the .
RSF urges court to acquit Cyprus journalists over Erdogan 'insult'
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged authorities in northern Cyprus to acquit two journalists facing up to five years in prison on charges of insulting and defaming Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Sener Levent, the editor of Turkish-language daily Afrika, and the paper's reporter Ali Osman Tabak are on trial over a cartoon showing a Greek statue urinating on Erdogan's head. The image first appeared online at the time of the Turkish leader's 2017 visit to Greece, and Afrika later published it with the caption "seen through Greek eyes". RSF said the two journalists are charged with defaming and insulting a foreign leader and "inciting hatred against a foreign leader with the aim of spoiling the friendly and peaceful relations between the two countries." Their lawyer, who will deliver their final arguments in court Monday, will argue that they should be acquitted, his assistant said. The journalists deny the charges and say the trial threatens freedom of expression and the .
Campaign ends for third phase polling in Assam
Campaigning for the third and final phase of polling in four Lok Sabha seats of Assam ended at 4 PM on Sunday. Polling will be held in Kokrajhar (ST), Dhubri, Barpeta and Gauhati constituencies on Tuesday to decide the fate of 54 candidates, including nine women. The ruling BJP concentrated on the initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to develop Assam and the Northeastern region, including the inauguration of three bridges in the state. The oppostion Congress and other parties highlighted the BJP's attempt to bring in the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and the alleged failure of the Modi government to fulfill the promises made before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Campaigning for the third phase was relatively low key though Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned for the BJP's Gauhati candidate Queen Oja on April 11. Most of the campaigning was done by state unit leaders. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Finance Minister ..
AAP announces three candidates in Haryana
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday announced its Lok Sabha candidates for three seats in Haryana which it will contest in alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).
EC special observers abusing people of West Bengal: Mamata
Claiming that officers sent by the Election Commission as special observers are abusing and insulting the people of West Bengal, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday accused the BJP of trying to run a parallel government in the state. The chief minister also alleged that the poll panel has deputed the two retired officers to run the government in Bengal. "The officers are abusing and insulting the people of the state," she said, reacting to Special Observer Ajay V Nayak's observation that the situation in Bengal is similar to what it was in Bihar around 10 to 15 years ago. The people have lost faith in the state police, and therefore, their demand for deployment of central forces at all polling booths has increased, Nayak, a former chief electoral officer of Bihar, said on Saturday. "The BJP is trying to run a parallel govt in the state," she said, adding, "Two retired officers have been sent to run the government, this is unconstitutional. They are ...
Cong makes public its report on national security
The Congress Sunday made public a report on national security by a task force headed by Lt Gen (retd) D S Hooda and said the issue was important but it would be "completely wrong" to say that it was dominating the poll narrative. The party said the top three issues affecting the people were unemployment, farm distress and the security of people. The Congress unveiled the report in the presence of senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh and said that its approach towards national security is "not ad hoc and not impulsive". "The number one issue remains unemployment. The number two issue is farm distress and the number three issue is security of various sections of the people, women, Dalits, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, forest dwellers, journalists, academicians, NGOs," Chidambaram told reporters. Asked whether this report, which has been made public during the Lok Sabha elections, is meant to change the narrative on national security, he said, "National security .
Yogi accuses SP, BSP for poor law and order situation, ignoring farmers' plights
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for ignoring the plight of the farmers and the poor law and order situation, during the tenure of the respective governments."Under BJP, we have been working under the plank of development. Infrastructural development has boomed in the last five years. New highways, roads and rail lines have been built. But under SP and BSP, farmers were ignored and their lands were usurped. Our girls were also not safe and violence used to happen often," Adityanath said in a rally here.He claimed that the BJP improved the law and order situation in the last two years after his government came to power and took a tough stand against miscreants."We waived off farmers' loans for small and marginal farmers. We have initiated work for giving pensions to small traders. We have given free power connections to one crore poor. We have provided 24 lakh houses to the poor in just two years. ...
Lt Gen Hooda laments Pragya's remark on Karkare
Lt Gen (retired) D.S. Hooda on Sunday said he was hurt by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sadhvi Pragya Thakur's remarks on police officer Hemant Karkare, killed in the 26/11 terror attack.
Ladakh LS seat: BJP candidate facing defamation case, Cong nominee only crorepati
Among the seven contestants from Ladakh parliamentary constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, BJP candidate Jamyang Tsering Namgyal is facing investigation in a four-year-old defamation case, while the Congress nominee Rigzin Spalbar, a hotelier by profession, is the only crorepati trying his luck from the seat. The last date for withdrawal of nomination is April 22 in the constituency that is going to the polls in the last phase of the five-phased elections in the state on May 6. Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency is the largest in India in terms of area. Out of six parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh has the distinction of having the least number of polling stations, 559, for the lowest number of voters, 1,71,819. Leh and Kargil districts have 294 and 265 polling stations, respectively. Besides candidates of the Congress and the BJP, five independents are also in the fray, who included a Congress rebel and former MLA Asgar Ali Karbalai and journalist turned politician ...
A tough poll battle on cards in picturesque Ladakh
The electoral battle in the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat of Jammu and Kashmir has become interesting for poll watchers, but tough for contestants.
Congress was quenching Pak's thirst, will create separate ministry for water: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the Congress party was giving water to Pakistan, which was meant for India, and he promised to set up a separate ministry to address water-related issues."What is the Congress party's attitude towards water? The Congress party took a vote from you, but they kept giving the water of your share to Pakistan. You were thirsty and the Congress kept worrying about quenching Pakistan's thirst," the Prime Minister said while addressing an election rally here."If the Congress had stopped the water from our share according to the Indus Waters Treaty flowing into Pakistan, then Rajasthan would not have had the water shortage. Now after so many years, our government has started working on a dam project to check the water going to Pakistan. In the coming time, you will get water of your right, not Pakistan," he said.The Prime Minister announced that a separate ministry will be created for water if the BJP is voted to power after the ongoing ...
In UP's third phase, poll battle enters Yadav land
As the Lok Sabha election enters its third phase in Uttar Pradesh, the battle is now taking place in Yadav land with the prestige and stature of the Mulayam Singh Yadav clan on test.
Pope urges Libya peace, return of refugees to Syria
Pope Francis on Sunday urged world leaders to try again to bring peace to Libya and in Syria where millions of refugees and people displaced by conflict should be helped to return home. In his traditional Easter Sunday address to the faithful at the Vatican, where some 70,000 were gathered in Saint Peter's square, the pope also expressed his "sadness" at news of the deadly bomb attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. Francis noted how in Libya violence has flared up again as strongman Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army attacked Tripoli, seat of the UN-backed government. "May conflict and bloodshed cease in Libya, where defenceless people are once more dying in recent weeks," Francis said. "I urge the parties involved to choose dialogue over force and to avoid reopening wounds left by a decade of conflicts and political instability." In Syria, where President Bashar Al-Assad has steadily recovered territory lost to rebel groups, the pope lamented the fate of "the beloved Syrian
Campaign ends for third phase polling in Chhattisgarh
The high-decibel campaign for the third phase of Lok Sabha polls in Chhattisgarh's seven seats ended on Sunday, which saw acrimonious exchanges between the main rivals BJP and Congress over issues like corruption, poverty and farmers' woes. The third phase of polling on April 23 will mark the completion of Lok Sabha elections in the state. Total 123 candidates are in the fray in seven Lok Sabha seats Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Korba, Janjgir-Champa (SC), Surguja (ST) and Raigarh (ST) - that will go to polls in the third phase, state chief electoral officer (CEO) Subrat Sahoo said in a statement. "The campaign for the seven seats ended at 5 pm on Sunday," he said. Raipur and Bilaspur seats have the maximum 25 candidates each, followed by Durg-21, Jangir-Champa - 15, Raigarh -14, Korba-13 and Surguja-10, he said. Total 1,27,13,816 voters, including 64,16,252 men, 62,96,992 women and 572 members of third gender, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the third phase for .
'Civil Services Day not being observed due to general elections'
There were no celebrations on Sunday on the occasion of Civil Services Day due to ongoing general elections, a senior official said here. The civil services day is celebrated on April 21 every year when bureaucrats rededicate themselves to public service, and awards for excellence in public administration are also conferred. Prime Minister gives away awards of excellence to the civil servants for their exemplary work in promoting good governance and the government's programmes. "The civil services day is not being observed due to the general elections. Its date will be decided once the new government takes over," said V Srinivas, Additional Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. He said the government may consider clubbing this year's celebrations with the next year's programme. Srinivas said though the award for excellence in public administration may be held after the formation of new government. Civil servants and their association took to social ...
Naveen Patnaik hits out at Jay Panda, lists three reasons for estrangement
Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], Apr 21 (ANI): Breaking his silence on family friend and a former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member Baijayant 'Jay' Panda, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik listed out three main reasons for severing ties with the Kendrapara MP in an exclusive interview to ANI.Patnaik alleged that a rumour campaign was spearheaded by Mr Panda that came as a "shock" to the former.When asked on the sequence of events that led to the estrangement of the former family friends, Naveen Patnaik mentioned three instances that led to Panda quitting the BJD and shifting alliances to the BJP. "I was pursuing the development of railways in Kendrapara. It is the only district in the coast which has no rail development. A former Railways Minister laughed and said that 'you are pursuing development of railways in Kendrapara but your MP (Jay Panda) is only concerned about railway development to his mining companies.' This shocked me," exclaimed Naveen Patnaik.He went on to add that this was