Page 860 - Politics
BJP names 4 more LS candidates from Madhya Pradesh
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday announced four candidates for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Madhya Pradesh including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts.
I-T dept yet to inform MP CEO about cash recovery during raids
Madhya Pradesh's top election officer Wednesday said the Income Tax Department has not yet informed them that Rs 14.6 crore in cash found during raids at the premises of close aides of Chief Minister Kamal Nath was suspected to be for misuse in national elections. Ten days ago, the I-T department had conducted raids at 52 locations, including in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, against close aides of Nath and others on charges of tax evasion and hawala transactions. Talking to reporters here, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V L Kantha Rao, "We have not received any report yet (from the department). "The I-T Delhi did inform us two days after the raids that it has apprised the Election Commission directly about the recovery of the cash (Rs 14.6 crore)." Rao was responding when asked whether the I-T department has informed him that the recovered cash was suspected to be for misuse in Lok Sabha polls. However, he maintained that the I-T department, in its report, did say that that ..
Karunanidhi clan continues to dominate TN politics
When one thinks of political dynasties in South India, the first to come to mind is the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) clan of late M. Karunanidhi, which includes his extended family -- the Marans.
Shah slams Congress for coining saffron terror
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Wednesday slammed the Congress saying the party had tried to defame the country across the world by linking Hindus with terror.
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka: Top 5 seats to watch
With all the 38 parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu -- after elections in Vellore was withheld -- and 14 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka set for the battle of the ballots in the second phase of polling on Thursday, IANS takes a look at the top five constituencies in each state and the issues facing the electorates there.
Priyanka drank Ganga water because we cleaned it: Gadkari
It is only because the National Democratic Alliance government cleaned the waters of the Ganges that Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi could drink the river's water and sail in a boat on her Ganga yatra, said Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday.
No alliance talks in Haryana: Azad
Amid suggestions by AAP for an alliance in Hayrana, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Wednesday that there had been no seat sharing talks in the state.
Congress spokeswoman rues no action in misbehaving case
Congress spokeswoman Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday hit out at the party for reinstating members who had been suspended recently for misbehaving with her at a press conference in Mathura recently, saying that "those who threatened her within the party got away with not even a rap".
Jhunjhunwala doubts BJP getting majority
Changing his earlier stance, billionaire investor and trader Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has said that the ruling BJP may not get a clear majority in the Lok Sabha elections.
Amarinder condemns 'beheadings' of two Punjabis in Saudi Arabia as 'barbaric'
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday condemned as "totally barbaric and inhuman" the reported recent beheadings of two Punjabi men in Saudi Arabia and said he would seek a detailed report from India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). According to a media report, the two men, identified as Satwinder Kumar of Hoshiarpur and Harjeet Singh of Ludhiana, were executed in connection with a muder case. Expressing shock and grief over the "vicious act", which he claimed has been confirmed by the MEA to have taken place on February 28, Singh said it was atrocious that such incidents continued to happen in civilised nations even today. The chief minister also criticised the MEA "for failing to prevent, and then not disclosing the execution of the two men till it was forced to do so by a petition filed by Satwinder's wife in Hoshiarpur district." Singh said he would approach External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for more details about the execution. He said he would seek from ..
France to try Syrian President Assad's uncle on graft charges
The uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is to stand trial in France on charges of building up a big property empire in the country using funds from Syrian state coffers, legal sources said on Wednesday. An investigating magistrate ordered Rifaat al-Assad to stand trial for organised money laundering in building the 90 million euro ($102 million) property portfolio in France, according to the order for the trial seen by AFP. Its date has yet to be set. Rifaat al-Assad, dubbed the "Butcher of Hama" for allegedly commanding the troops that bloodily put down an uprising in central Syria in 1982, has been under investigation in France since 2014. In a written decision dated March 8, seen by AFP on Thursday, the office of the financial crimes prosecutor called for Assad to stand trial for laundering the proceeds of aggravated tax fraud, embezzling Syrian state funds, and failing to register French security and cleaning staff. Assad, who splits his time between France and Britain, ...
Hold elections to Vellore seat: DMK candidate Kathir Anand
DMK Vellore Lok Sabha constituency candidate Kathir Anand Wednesday urged the Election Commission to reivew its order cancelling election in the seat and hold it as scheduled as he alleged the entire move to stall the poll appeared to be "politically motivated". Anand, son of DMK treasurer Duraimurugan, in a memorandum sent to the EC said if his plea for holding the polls as scheduled on Thursday was not considered he will be "constrained to initiate appropriate action," by approaching the court and also seek damages against the poll panel. Since the notification cancelling polls was issued barely two days before the April 18 elections and without granting an opportunity of being heard, the entire move appeared to be politically motivated, he alleged in the memorandum, a copy of which was released to media here. He claimed it appeared the Election Commission was toeing the BJP's line to help the AIADMK-led alliance candidates in Tamil Nadu. BJP is part of the ...
Amit Shah holds roadshow in Odisha
BJP President Amit Shah held a massive roadshow here on Wednesday evening to bolster the BJP's prospects in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections being simultaneously in Odisha. A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a roadshow in Bhubaneswar, the BJP chief began the over 3 km long journey in an open vehicle amid tight security from Buxi Bazar in the millennium city. Thousands of people gathered on both sides of the streets and chants of "Modi, Modi" and "Amit Shah Zindabad" rent the air as his campaign vehicle moved through the streets of Odisha's old capital. Shah, with BJP's Cuttack Lok Sabha candidate Prakash Mishra beside him, waved at the crowd as his carcade proceeded towards the Chandi Mandir. The people showered flower petals on him as the roadshow passed through Tinkonia Bagicha, Daragha Bazar, Naya Sadak, Balu Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Sheikh Bazar and Mohammadia Bazar before culminating near the Chandi Mandir. BJP supporters wearing masks of Prime Minister .
More central forces in second phase in Bengal: EC
Stating that security of voters and polling officials was its topmost priority, the Election Commission on Wednesday said there would be sufficient number of central forces as also state police for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal on Thursday.
BJP moves EC against other Bangladeshi actor in poll row
The BJP on Wednesday moved the Election Commission seeking strong action against Bangladesh actor Gazi Abdun Noor for allegedly campaigning for a Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha candidate, even as a Trinamool leader rubbished the saffron outfit's charge.
Under Congress, poverty of its leaders was eradicated: Gadkari
Senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said here Wednesday that four generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family have promised to eradicate poverty without success. Only the poverty of Congress leaders was alleviated in the process, he quipped, addressing BJP workers in Mandrem Assembly constituency in Goa. A by-election will be held in Mandrem on April 23. The Union minister said that Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's first prime minister, fought elections on the plank of poverty eradication. "But people remained poor...Later Indira Gandhi fought the elections on the same issue but she too could do nothing," Gadkari said. Rajiv Gandhi as prime minister and Sonia Gandhi when she became Congress president repeated the same 'Garibi Hatao' slogan, he said. "In the current election, the great grandson of Nehru (Congress president Rahul Gandhi) is contesting on the same plank of Garibi Hatao (eradicate poverty)," he said. "Why is that the Congress, despite ruling the country, could not ...
Prague honours late Chinese dissident Liu with bust
A Prague art gallery has unveiled a brass bust of the late Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. "It's his first bust in the world so far," Hana Janisova, spokeswoman for the Dox Centre for Contemporary Art, told AFP. A joint project of Amnesty International, Art for Amnesty, Humanitarian China and Dox, the bust by Czech sculptress Marie Seborova was unveiled on Monday as part of an exhibition marking the anniversary. Liu, a writer and philosopher, veteran of the Tiananmen protests and the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, died of liver cancer at age 61 in 2017 after serving several prison terms for his activities. Liu's widow Liu Xia, a 58-year-old poet, had been expected to take part in the opening ceremony, but she excused herself at the last moment "for serious personal reasons," said Janisova. Liu Xia's photographs are on display in the same room as the bust. Dox has kept them since an exhibition in ...
Priyanka poses no threat to Modi, he will win Varanasi: Naqvi
Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Wednesday said Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra poses no threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi even if she contests against him from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. He also criticised Congress president Rahul Gandhi for creating a "fake narrative" against the BJP. "Someone is going to be there in the fray (from Varanasi). But Priyanka does not pose any challenge to Modi. The so-called 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) is already falling apart...," Naqvi said here. "I am not even sure how many parties will contest against Modi in Varanasi, but the outcome is not going to be different. Modi will definitely win the seat," the BJP leader added. There has been a speculation that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may take on Modi from Varanasi seat. She formally entered politics and was appointed the Congress general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh in February. Taunting Robert Vadra, the minority affairs minister said he appeared to have ..
LS polls: 11 states, 1 UT to vote in second phase tomorrow
The second phase of the Lok Sabha elections will see ninety-five parliamentary constituencies, spread over 11 states and 1 Union Territory, going to polls on Thursday.In the second phase, the polling will be held in Assam (five seats), Bihar (five seats), Chhattisgarh (three seats), Jammu and Kashmir (two seats), Karnataka (14 seats), Maharashtra (10 seats), Manipur (one seat), Odisha (five seats), Tamil Nadu (38 seats), Uttar Pradesh (eight seats), West Bengal (three seats), and Union Territory Puducherry (one seat).Earlier on Tuesday, on the recommendation of the Election Commission of India (ECI), President Ram Nath Kovind had cancelled voting in Tamil Nadu's Vellore Lok Sabha constituency, in the wake of seizures of large amounts of unaccounted cash from the state.Vellore was scheduled to go to polls on Thursday along with 38 other Parliamentary constituencies in the state.Also, polling in East Tripura constituency has been deferred from April 18 to April 23 based on inputs ...
2019 polls to decide fate of democracy: Raj Thackeray
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray on Wednesday warned the people of the country to beware as the 2019 parliamentary elections outcome would decide whether democracy will survive or pave the way for autocracy.