Page 841 - Politics
Priyanka Chaturvedi joins Shiv Sena, slams Congress
In an election season jolt to the Congress, its spokesperson Priyanka V. Chaturvedi formally joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of party chief Uddhav Thackeray here on Friday.
Macron meets officials, eyes Notre Dame for legacy-building
French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting officials from the United Nations' cultural agency, where he is expected to set out ideas for the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral. He will meet with state delegates from UNESCO, which oversees global heritage issues, in the Elysee Palace Friday. Macron's push for a speedy rebuild indicates he wants the fire-ravaged monument's reconstruction to be part of his legacy, and is seizing the moment to try to move on from the divisive yellow vest protests. His initial wish for it to be rebuilt in just five years was met with incredulity. Macron had been due to deliver an uneasy speech Monday setting out long-awaited plans to quell anti-government protests that have marred his presidency, but it was postponed after the fire broke out. Instead, the French leader immediately went on the scene of the fire and announced: "We will rebuild Notre Dame." According to an opinion poll by BVA institute published Friday the first one carried out since ...
JD(U) urges EC to cancel nominations of RJD candidates
The ruling Janata Dal (United) in Bihar on Friday wrote to the Election Commission seeking cancellation of nominations of RJD candidates in case they were issued tickets with Lalu Prasads signature, without the jailed leader taking permission from the court for the same. JD(U) MLC and spokesman Neeraj Kumar shot off a letter to this effect to the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar and sought to know whether Prasad, who was serving sentences in a number of fodder scam cases and currently recuperating in a Ranchi hospital, had sought the courts permission to sign the tickets granted to party candidates for their respective seats. "If not, these deserve to be cancelled," Kumar said. The RJD has fielded altogether 19 candidates in Bihar, leaving 20 for alliance partners in the 'Mahagathbandhan' and one for the CPI(ML) which has returned the favour by refraining from throwing its hat in the ring in Pataliputra from where Prasads eldest daughter Misa Bharti has been declared ...
Party-hopper Jagmeet Brar joins SAD; Amarinder mocks him
Having remained with the Congress and the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) earlier, former MP Jagmeet Singh Brar on Friday joined the opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab.
Mulayam Singh not a 'fake OBC' like PM Modi, says Mayawati
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Friday said Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav is the only "real" backward community leader in the country and not a 'fake OBC' leader like Prime Minister Narendra Modi."There is no doubt that he (Mulayam) has joined people from all groups of the society under the SP banner. He does not come from a fake backward community like PM Modi, he is real OBC leader," she said while addressing a rally here.Mayawati's statement comes after Modi while addressing a rally earlier this week in Solapur (Maharashtra), said Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's remark that all those with the surname 'Modi' were thieves was derogatory to the Prime Minister's "backward caste."Modi had said, "Congress and its allies say that all Modis in the society are thieves. Congress and its allies did not leave any shortcomings in abusing my backward caste and this time they have crossed all limits and abused the entire backward society."Talking about the decision to
Peace hopes suffer setback as Taliban-Afghan talks derailed
Hopes for a breakthrough in a push to end Afghanistan's gruelling conflict suffered a major setback Friday after a key summit between the Taliban and Afghan officials was indefinitely postponed. The so-called intra-Afghan dialogue, due to take place in Doha this weekend, fell apart at the last minute in a row over the large number of delegates Kabul wanted to send. The collapse comes at a critical time and amid continued bloodshed. The Taliban now control or influence about half of Afghanistan and 3,804 civilians were killed there last year, according to a UN tally. Washington, which is leading an effort to end the war, signalled its disappointment and urged both sides to return to the table, though organisers provided no hint about when the conference might be rescheduled. Sultan Barakat, who heads the group that was to host the event, said in a statement the postponement was "necessary to build further consensus as to who should participate". "Clearly the moment is not yet right," ..
PM Modi steals money from people and put it in hands of his friends: Rahul Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "stealing money from the wallets of people and giving it to his friends.""PM Modi stole the money from your wallets in the name of inflation and gave it to his friends -- Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya. If voted to power, I promise you that our party will bring back the money from his friends and transfer it into your accounts under the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY)," Gandhi said while addressing an election rally here."In a bid to empower women, our party will deposit the entire amount into the bank accounts of the women of the household," he added.In its election manifesto, the Congress promised to give Rs 72,000 per year to 20 per cent of India's poorest under the NYAY scheme.Reiterating his promise to bring in the one-tax regime, he said: "Within six months of forming the government, we will replace PM Modi's 'Gabber Singh Tax' (GST) with a 'real GST'.Congress president also ...
Mayawati shares stage with Mulayam, berates Modi
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Ministers Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday shared a stage for the first time in 25 years where the BSP chief praised the Samajwadi Party founder and dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "a fake backward".
Priyanka Chaturvedi quit party since Congress is a sinking ship, says Shahnawaz Hussein
Former union minister and BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain on Friday said that Congress is like a sinking ship and that is the reason why its spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi has left the party.Addressing a press conference here, Hussain said: "Congress party is like a sinking ship and its members are abandoning it, and that is why the Congress spokesperson also left the party."Speaking about the Lok Sabha elections and impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said: "After the second phase of voting, it has become clear that there is a Modi wave throughout the country. The opponent also knows this and that is why SP and BSP are conducting a rally with arch-rivals Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav coming together on one platform.""They are doing the rally together despite allegations that Mulayam Singh Yadav once planned to kill Mayawati," he added.The BJP leader further said, "Both SP and BSP are corrupt and dynastic parties. They are coming together because they are ...
Chaturvedi resigns from Congress; joins Shiv Sena
Congress national spokesperson and convenor of party's media cell Priyanka Chaturvedi, who was miffed at the reinstatement of some party workers who had misbehaved with her, resigned from the party and joined the Shiv Sena Friday. She joined the Shiv Sena in the presence of the party president Uddhav Thackeray, sources said. Earlier, after quitting all posts in the party, Chaturvedi sent her resignation to Congress President Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders. "In the last few weeks certain things have convinced me that my services are not valued in the organisation and that I have reached the end of the road. At the same time I also feel that more time that I spend in the organisation will be at the cost of my own self respect and dignity,"Chaturvedi said in her resignation letter. She has also changed her introduction in her Twitter account where she had made a clear mention earlier about posts she held in the party. "I am absolutely overwhelmed and grateful with the love and ...
1st meeting between Afghan leaders, Taliban cancelled
The first meeting between the Taliban and Afghan government representatives on ending the 18-year-old war in the war-torn country has been cancelled over a delegation dispute, officials said on Friday.
Northern Ireland: Woman killed during riots, police dubs it 'terrorist incident'
A woman was shot dead during riots in the city of Londonderry in Northern Ireland on Thursday night, the police said on Friday while dubbing the killing a "terrorist incident"."Sadly I can confirm that following shots being fired tonight in Creggan, a 29-year-old woman has been killed. We are treating this as a terrorist incident and we have launched a murder enquiry," Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton tweeted.Quoting the police, CNN reported that the Dissident republicans or the Irish Republican Army (IRA), revolutionaries who do not support the current peace agreements in Northern Ireland, are suspected to be responsible for the death of 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee.McKee, born in Belfast, had written for many publication houses, including The Atlantic and Buzzfeed News.In 2016, she was named as one of Forbes Magazine's 30 under 30 in media in Europe, CNN reported.The Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit organisation, said that McKee is the first journalist to be
Priyanka Chaturvedi joins Shiv Sena
Former Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi Friday joined the Shiv Sena. Addressing a press conference with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Chaturvedi said she left the Congress after being upset over reinstatement of party workers who misbehaved with her. "It is not true that I quit the Congress after being denied Lok Sabha ticket," Chaturvedi said in response to a query. Welcoming her in the party fold, Thackeray said Shiv Sena workers have got a "good sister" in Chaturvedi. Chaturvedi was miffed at the reinstatement of some party workers in Uttar Pradesh who had "misbehaved" and "threatened" her during her press conference in Mathura a few days ago. Chaturvedi had lashed out at the party in public on Thursday and accused it of giving preference to "lumpen goons" over those who had given their "sweat and blood" to the Congress. She said it was unfortunate and saddening that those who threatened her have got away without even "a rap on their knuckles". The Congress, .
BJP demands repoll in 40 booths in Darjeeling
Alleging that voters were not allowed to exercise their franchise freely and fairly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded a repoll in 40 polling booths in the Darjeeling parliamentary constituency of West Bengal that went to the hustings on Thursday.
Priyanka, Smriti in Wayanad on Saturday (Lead, Correcting headline)
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani will on Saturday visit Wayanad in Kerala from where Congress President Rahul Gandhi is contesting the Lok Sabha elections.
CPI condemns attack on Hardik Patel
: The CPI Friday condemned the attack on Congress leader Hardik Patel, who was slapped by an unidentified man while addressing a poll rally in a village in Gujarat's Surendranaga district. "CPI condemns attack on Hardik Patel. After all we are a democracy and in an election campaign, everyone is free to speak on policies and explain their positions to people. Nobody should resort to such violence. It should be condemned and appropriate action should be taken against the attacker," CPI National secretary D Raja told PTI. The incident was captured on cameras of news channels covering the rally. As soon as Hardik Patel started his speech at Baldana village under Wadhwan taluka, a man suddenly came on the stage and slapped him. The man, who looked angry and was seen saying something to Hardik Patel after slapping him, was overpowered by Congress workers, who also beat him up and took him away from the venue. The unidentified man was later handed over to the police. Congress
Priyanka Chaturvedi, Smriti in Wayanad on Saturday
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani will on Saturday visit Wayanad in Kerala from where Congress President Rahul Gandhi is contesting the Lok Sabha elections.
Hardik Patel files police complaint on slapping incident
Congress leader Hardik Patel on Friday filed a police complaint after he was slapped by an unidentified person during a rally here.The incident happened earlier in the day when Hardik was addressing a gathering at the Jan Akrosh Sabha.Hardik was in the middle of his speech when the attacker got on to the stage and slapped him.Subsequently, a scuffle broke out between the supporters of Hardik and the attacker.This incident comes a day after a shoe was hurled at BJP's national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao while he was addressing a media briefing in New Delhi. He, however, had a narrow escape as the shoe did not hit him.Patel emerged as the leader of the Patidar agitation demanding reservation for the community in Gujarat in 2015.On March 12, Patel officially joined Congress in Ahmedabad in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi and senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge.Prior to joining Congress, Hardik had said he would help strengthen the ideology of the party and take it to the ...
Priyanka Chaturvedi quits Congress, to join Shiv Sena
Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi has quit the party in protest against the misbehaviour by some colleagues in Mathura and is set to join the Shiv Sena on Friday.
Chaturvedi resigns from Congress; likely to join Shiv Sena
Congress national spokesperson and convenor of party's media cell Priyanka Chaturvedi who was miffed at the reinstatement of some party workers who had misbehaved with her, resigned from the party, sources said Friday. After quitting all posts in the party, Chaturvedi sent her resignation to Congress President Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders She has also changed her introduction in her Twitter account where she had made a clear mention earlier about posts she held in the party. Sources said that Chaturvedi is likely to join the Shiv Sena. "I am absolutely overwhelmed and grateful with the love and support I have got across board from the nation in the past 3 days. I consider myself blessed with this immense outpouring of support. Thank you to all who have been a part of this journey," Chaturvedi tweeted in a farewell message to the party. In her resignation to Gandhi, she said, "What saddens me is that despite the safety, dignity, empowerment of women being promoted by the party