Page 876 - Politics
Maha govt seeks help of housing societies to improve voting
The Maharashtra government is relying on office-bearers of housing societies to spread voter awareness and improve polling percentage in the Lok Sabha elections in the state. The government, through its cooperatives department and collectorates, has reminded housing societies about its seven-year-old directive to make their presidents and secretaries "booth-level volunteers" to ensure 100 per cent voting on their premises. The department had issued a directive in 2012 to office-bearers of housing societies asking them to make audit of their respective society mandatory and furnish a list of shifted, dead and new voters before July 31 every year. "This directive is still very much relevant and we are reminding the office-bearers of housing societies to ensure 100 per cent voting in coming elections," an official told PTI Tuesday. However, Dharmin Sampat, honorary secretary, Co- operative Societies Residents, Users and Welfare Association, is not impressed with the ...
Post Pulwama, govt grants more financial powers to 3 services to buy weapons
In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, the government has granted emergency powers to the three services to procure weapons and military hardware to enhance their operational preparedness along the border with Pakistan, official sources said. The government also relaxed certain rules to cut delays in military purchase like allowing the three services to procure required weapons and equipment from a single vendor. In March last year, the vice chiefs of the three services were granted additional financial powers to carry out specific procurement to ensure operational preparedness. Now, the government has granted more powers to the Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force to go for buying of critical weapons and equipment to help them effectively deal with any hostilities along the border with Pakistan. In March last year, the defence ministry enhanced the financial powers of the three vice chiefs from Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore for specific procurement arms and ammunition. Sources said .
Algeria top official quits as students keep up protest
In yet more upheaval for Algeria since the ousting of long-time leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the controversial head of the country's constitutional council quit Tuesday bowing to weeks of anger from protesters. Tayeb Belaiz's resignation was announced by state television and comes as the council prepares to oversee a presidential election. The 70-year-old is one of the "3B" top figures targeted by demonstrators in mass rallies which prompted the departure of Bouteflika this month. Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui and Abdelkader Bensalah -- who served as upper house speaker until being appointed interim president after Bouteflika quit -- have also faced calls to step down. "We will continue what we have started," said university student Linda, one of thousands taking part in a protest Tuesday in central Algiers. Police were massively deployed around the capital's post office building, the focal point of anti-government rallies which first erupted in February. "Free Algeria," chanted ...
Chg: Cong hopes for revival as campaign for 2nd phase ends
A vitriolic campaign for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh for three seats ended Monday during which the BJP and the Congress traded barbs over Rafale fighter jet deal and agricultural issues. A total of 36 candidates are in the fray from Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund and Kanker (ST) seats. Altogether, 49,07,489 voters, including 24,69,110 women, 24,38,320 men and 59 members of the third gender, are eligible to exercise their franchise. Fresh from its victory in the assembly elections last year after a 15 year gap, the Congress is hoping to improve its tally in the state against the BJP, which had won 10 out of 11 seats in 2014 beneral polls. "The campaign for the three constituencies ended at 5 pm," a poll official said, adding that political parties and candidates can take up door-to-door campaign before polling on April 18. The overall campaigning remained a low-key compared to the 2018 assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit ...
IT searches Kanimozhi's house
A team of Income Tax officials and the Election Commission's static surveillance team searched the house of DMK Lok Sabha candidate K. Kanimozhi in Thoothukodi in Tamil Nadu, an official said.
Voter desire for change will show on May 23: Vadra
Robert Vadra, husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, on Tuesday said the people wanted change and it would be visible after the results were declared on May 23.
PM "exploiting" valour of jawans, says Rahul Gandhi
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he was "exploiting" the valour of the jawans and their sacrifices for political gains. Criss-crossing through four districts of Kollam, Pathnamthitta, the ground zero of Sabarimala protests, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram, Gandhi targeted Modi on a host of issues and hit out at the Sangh Parivar but refrained from attacking the CPI-M-led LDF government in the state. "If the Army and Air force carries out an action, the credit is fully theirs," Gandhi said addressing a massive gathering of party workers in Thiruvanathapuram. "It is shameful that PM does not give them credit. Because they are the people who gave their blood.It is their families who suffer and they deserve the credit," Gandhi said. On the Pulwama terror attack, the Congress chief said his immediate reaction was not to politicise the matter. "This was not a political issue to be exploited. I refuse to exploit our martyrs and
Centre conspiring to stop KALIA scheme : Patnaik
Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik Tuesday campaigning for himself at Bijepur assembly constituency accused the BJP government at the Centre for conspiring to stop his government's KALIA scheme. "People of the area requested me to contest the elections from Bijepur and I decided to do so. Are you happy?" Patnaik asked the people. Patnaik this time has been contesting from two assembly segments - his home turf Hinjili in Ganjam district and Bijepur in Bargarh district. Patnaik was elected to the assembly from Hinjili four times in a row since 2000. He lambasted the BJP, which is all geared to put up a stiff fight this time, and accused it of conspiring to stop the KALIA scheme of Odisha Government. "No one can stop the KALIA yojana till I am alive," Patnaik said here. The KALIA (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) yojana has been launched by the Odisha government to gear up growth in the agriculture sector and alleviate the ...
Chincholi assly segment to go for bypolls on May 19
The Chincholi assembly segment that fell vacant with the resignation of Congress MLA Umesh Jadhav, who joined the BJP, will go for by-polls on May 19, the Election Commission said on Tuesday. "There is one clear vacancy from 42-Chincholi (SC) Assembly Constituency in the state legislative assembly of Karnataka, which needs to be filled up. After taking into consideration various factors like festivals and electoral rolls, the commission has decided to hold the by-election to fill this vacancy," an ECI release said. As per the poll events listed out by the commission for Chincholi by-polls, notification will be issued on April 22 and the last date to file nomination is on April 29. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 30 and last date for withdrawal of candidature is on May 2, it said, adding that counting of votes will take place on May 23, along with the Lok Sabha poll results. Jadhav, who had resigned as Congress MLA and joined BJP, is now the saffron ...
Yogendra Yadav campaigns for Kamal Haasan's MNM
Swaraj India National President Yogendra Yadav Tuesday claimed the AIADMK, DMK, national parties and others in Tamil Nadu have reached a "dead end" and backed actor Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), saying it offered "clean politics". Seeking votes for MNM candidates here on the last day of campaign for the April 18 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, he said Haasan's party "represented a new force for alternative and clean politics." "I believe that political establishment of TN which includes the DMK, AIADMK and national parties they all have reached a dead end," Yadav said. He alleged the country was facing 'unprecedented' challenge from the NDA regime at the centre and said the proposed "Mahagathbandhan" of opposition parties was in no position to counter it. "Therefore, this country needs new forces, new energies and new ideas - which should this time come from the south. New concept of nationalism should travel from south to north India," he said. Yadav, ...
Cong releases another list of three candidates
The Congress on Tuesday released a list of three more candidates for Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, pitting Acharya Pramod Krishnam against Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lucknow. With this, the party has so far announced 407 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. Besides Krishnam, the Congress fielded Vinay Kumar Pandey from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh and Pankaj Sanghvi from Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Indore is currently represented by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Speculation is rife about Shatrughan Sinha's wife Poonam Sinha being the Samajwadi Party candidate from Lucknow. Poonam Sinha joined the SP earlier on Tuesday.
As campaign ends, Udhampur awaits a battle of ballots among 4 Rajputs
A high-decibel campaign that Udhampur Lok Sabha seat witnessed despite killings of a senior RSS leader and his security guard in a terror strike last week in Kishtwar, ended Tuesday evening, leaving the constituency to await a battle of ballots among four key contenders -- all Rajputs. The parliamentary constituency mostly comprising mountainous areas and sharing borders with Pakistan and several neighbouring states, goes to polls on April 18 along with 96 other constituencies across 13 states in the second phase of elections. The April 18 voting, slated for over 16.85 lakh electorates of the constituency spread over 17 assembly segments across six districts -- Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Reasi, Udhampur and Kathua -- will decide the fate of 12 candidates. Prominent among the contestants include four Rajputs: Union minister Jitendra Singh seeking reelection on a BJP ticket, Dogra dynasty scion Vikramaditya Singh fighting as a Congress candidate, Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan founder Choudhary
BJP committed to resolving Goa mining crisis: Prabhu
Union Minister Suresh Prabhu said here on Tuesday the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was committed to resolve the crisis in Goa, following last year's ban on mining by the Supreme Court.
PM attacks Rahul Gandhi for "all Modis are thieves" remark
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his "chowkidar chor hai" barb, and said anyone challenging the "family" and "dynasty" faces abuse. Addressing poll rallies in Chhattisgarh, Modi said surgical and air strikes against Pakistan and demonstration of India's anti-satellite missile capability were all possible only because of the strength of people's vote. Addressing a poll rally at Bhatapara in Balodabazar district, he said the anti-BJP alliance has lost its sleep after seeing a "wave" in favour of the saffron party. "The Congress and its 'mahamilavati' (adulterated) friends have lost their sleep after seeing a wave in favour of the BJP in the entire country and in frustration they are hurling abuses at me. People of the country are seeing this," he said. "As soon as they (the Congress and opposition parties) will come to know the strength of crowd in my rally today, they will start abusing more, he said. Modi said, "They are ...
Rejected by tribals, Marandi chooses Koderma: Jharkhand CM
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president Babulal Marandi chose Koderma, a general seat, to contest the Lok Sabha elections as he knows that tribals have rejected him, state Chief Minister Raghubar Das Tuesday claimed. Das also alleged Marandi's domicile policy had triggered violence in the state in 2002 and 2003 when he was the chief minister of a BJP government. "Five out of 14 Lok Sabha seats are reserved for tribals (in Jharkhand). But he is contesting from a general seat as tribals have come to know that he talks about development but does not follow it at the ground level," the chief minister said. Marandi had won the Koderma Lok Sabha seat, currently held by Ravindra Ray of the BJP, thrice - in 2004, 2006 and 2009. He emerged third in the 2014 general elections. Marandi who filed his papers from Koderma on Monday was the first chief minister of Jharkhand, carved out of Bihar in 2000 when he was a BJP leader. He resigned from the saffron party in 2006 and ...
Rahul Gandhi praises 'spirit' of T'puram MP Shashi Tharoor
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Tuesday praised the "spirit" of Shashi Tharoor, seeking re-election from here, for joining him in campaigning despite suffering head injuries during a temple ritual a day ago. Gandhi, while addressing thousands of party workers in a poll campaign here, said he was worried when heard about Tharoor's injury. Tharoor, who sustained a head injury Monday resulting in six stitches, was seen in the poll campaign with his head wrapped with a scarf covering the stitch. "I was worried when Tharoor was hurt. But happy to see that he was back in action. Tells you about his spirit. As Congress president, I tell you, he represented you well in Parliament.... He speaks for you in the Parliament. He is an asset for Kerala," Gandhi said. The 63-year old MP was admitted to the medical college ICU here for observation yesterday and later discharged. Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was in the state for the BJP's poll campaign, visited
AAP not going to give more than two seats to Cong if alliance done in Delhi only: sources
The AAP is digging in its heels on the issue of alliance and is not ready to give more than two seats in Delhi to the Congress if the alliance is limited to the national capital, sources said. A meeting was held at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Tuesday and was attended by senior party leaders of Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Sanjay Singh and Satyendra Kumar Jain. Following the meeting, the party said it is ready to have further discussion with Congress and has appointed a representative to take the matter forward. AAP has appointed Singh to hold alliance talks with Congress but no representative has been hired by Congress yet. AAP sources said if Congress wants alliance only in Delhi then it has to be in the 5:2 ratio and if an alliance is sealed for both Delhi and Haryana then the ratio can be 4:3 in the national capital and 6:3:1 in Haryana. In the 6:3:1 ratio, Congress would contest six seats, Jannayak Janata Party three seats while AAP one seat, the sources ...
In Chautala vs Chautala, AAP shows a bias
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, has been accused of showing a political bias in the ongoing feud in the Chautala family in Haryana.
Congress MP's wife joins AAP in Punjab; to contest
On a day when Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met party legislators to control any rebellion in the party ranks, the ruling party was left embarrassed on Tuesday when the wife of a Congress Rajya Sabha member joined the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and was named a candidate in the Lok Sabha elections.
Trump, Sanders emerge top fundraisers in US race
The two aspirants for the party nominations for the 2020 presidential elections from the two extreme ends of the electoral spectrum, US President Donald Trump and self-described socialist Bernie Sanders, are leading the race in poll fund-raising.