Page 932 - Politics
Tamil Nadu should not be ruled from Nagpur: Rahul
Tamil Nadu should be ruled by the people of Tamil Nadu and DMK President M.K. Stalin will become its next Chief Minister, Congress President Rahul Gandhi declared on Friday.
AAP fields sitting MLA Baljinder Kaur from Bathinda Lok Sabha seat
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday announced the name of its sitting MLA Baljinder Kaur as the Lok Sabha candidate from the high-stakes Bathinda parliamentary constituency. Kaur, the MLA from Talwandi Sabo and party's Punjab unit Mahila wing chief, has been nominated as the AAP's Lok Sabha candidate from Bathinda, a party statement said here. Kaur, a postgraduate in English, had a brief stint as a teacher at Fatehgarh Sahib, before joining the party ahead of the 2017 state assembly polls. She had contested from Talwandi Sabo assembly constituency on the AAP ticket in 2017 and won. With her candidature, the AAP has announced candidates for the 11 out of 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, which goes to polls in the final phase of polling on May 19. Bathinda Lok Sabha seat is represented by Union minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal. However, the SAD and the Congress are yet to announce nominees from Bathinda. Punjab legislator and Punjabi Ekta Party president Sukhpal
83.79 per cent polling recorded in two LS seats of West Bengal
An estimated 83.79 per cent of 34.52 lakh voters exercised their franchise in Cooch Behar and Alipurduar Lok Sabha constituencies in the first phase of polls in the state, an election department official said Friday. In Cooch Behar (SC), 83.88 per cent electorate cast their votes till 6 pm Thursday, while Alipurduar (ST) seat registered 83.70 per cent polling, he said. No incident of violence was reported from any part of the two constituencies and the first-phase of the seven-phase election in the state was largely "peaceful", he said. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) as well as the opposition BJP and the Congress, however, complained that polling was not undertaken in a free and fair manner in the two parliamentary seats. TMC leader and North Bengal Development Minister Rabindranath Ghosh alleged that EVMs malfunctioned in several booths and it could be part of the opposition's conspiracy to manipulate votes. A presiding officer at Sitalkuchi area of Cooch Behar ...
Will wait for final judgement: BJP on SC's interim order on electoral bonds
The BJP Friday said it will wait for the final judgement of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds and noted that the Union government has already placed its stand before the apex court. "Whatever is the order of the Supreme Court, it has to be complied with and it is always complied with. "As far as issues raised by the government is concerned, they have been placed before the court for its consideration. And we will await the final judgement," BJP spokesperson and Supreme Court lawyer Nalin Kohli said. The Supreme Court Friday did not stop political funding through electoral bonds but brought several checks on it to bring transparency by directing all political parties to furnish receipts of amounts received and details of identity of donors in a sealed cover to the Election Commission. In an interim order, the apex court also directed all political parties to provide details of the amount of the bond and bank account of donors by May 30 to the poll panel.
Trump to visit Normandy for 75th D-Day anniversary
US President Donald Trump has announced he will visit Normandy, France, in June to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
Both TDP, YSRCP confident of victory after high turnout
With about 77 per cent polling in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh, both the TDP and YSRCP on Friday exuded confidence of forming the next government in the state and winning a majority of Lok Sabha seats.
Mayawati blasts BJP after SC ruling on bonds
BSP supremo Mayawati on Friday called the Supreme Court interim ruling on electoral bonds "a shameful defeat" for the BJP which it said will now have to reveal from where it gets its major donations.
Neither UPA nor NDA will get more than 200 LS seats: TRS
Neither the Congress-led UPA nor the BJP-anchored NDA would win more than 200 seats leading to regional parties playing an important role in the formation of next government at the Centre, claimed a key TRS leader. B Vinod Kumar, who was deputy floor leader of the TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samiti) in the Lok Sabha, said Friday his outfit was in touch with "many" of the regional parties not aligned with the Congress and BJP. "Role of regional parties will be very important in the formation of the next government at Delhi," Kumar, who sought re-election from Karimnagar constituency, told PTI. Elections to all the 17 Lok Sabha segments in Telangana were held Thursday. "Both national parties (along with their allies) will be below 200 (seats); so the role of regional parties will be more in the next government," said Kumar, considered a confidant of the TRS President and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. KCR, as the CM is referred to by many, has been pushing for a ...
Malaysia revives China-backed rail link, cost cut by a third
Malaysia's government said Friday it has decided to resume a China-backed rail link project, after the Chinese contractor agreed to cut construction cost by one-third. The deal ended months of vacillating over the 688-kilometer (430-mile) East Coast Rail Link, which connects Malaysia's west coast to eastern rural states and is a key part of China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The prime minister's office said in a statement it welcomed the signing of a supplementary agreement between Malaysia Rail Link Sendirian Berhad and state-owned China Communications Construction Company Ltd. to revive the project. The agreement covering engineering, construction and other aspects of the project followed months of negotiations. It said the construction cost of the first two phases of the project will be cut to USD 10.7 billion, down one-third from the original cost of USD 15.9 billion. "This reduction will surely benefit Malaysia and lighten the burden on the country's financial ...
SC demolishes Modi, Jaitley, BJP's stand on electoral bonds: Yechury
Welcoming the Supreme Court's decision on electoral bonds, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury Friday said the apex court had "demolished" the stand taken by the BJP-led NDA government on the issue. The Supreme Court Friday did not stop political funding through electoral bonds but brought several checks on it to bring transparency by directing all political parties to furnish receipts of amounts received and details of identity of donors in a sealed cover to the Election Commission. In an interim order, the apex court also directed all political parties to provide details of the amount of the bond and bank account of donors by May 30 to the poll panel. "Supreme Court demolishes stance taken by Modi, Jaitley & BJP - which had pushed this as a Money bill, for opaque, secret Electoral bonds. The court says transparency is the basic principle of electoral funding. People have a right to know which party got how much, and from whom," Yechury tweeted. The Centre and the Election ..
BJP MP moves SC against Rahul's remarks on Rafale, SC to hear plea on April 15
BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking contempt action against Congress president Rahul Gandhi for allegedly attributing his remarks on the recent Rafale verdict to the apex court. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it will hear the plea on April 15. Lekhi, who is a sitting Lok Sabha MP from New Delhi constituency, in her plea alleged that Gandhi has attributed his personal remarks to the top court and tried to create prejudice. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Lekhi, told the bench that the Congress president reportedly made a remark that the "Supreme Court said chowkidaar chor hai" in the verdict. The Congress president had on April 10 claimed that the apex court has made it clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed a theft. He had made the statement while interacting with reporters in Amethi after filing his nomination papers where he is contesting against BJP leader and union minister Smriti Irani. Gandhi had also ...
Uncertainty over BJP fielding Kirron Kher from Chandigarh
With just five weeks to go for voting for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Chandigarh, uncertainty continues on whether the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will re-nominate sitting member of parliament (MP) Kirron Kher for this crucial seat.
Trump open to third meeting with N.Korea
US President Donald Trump has said he would be open to a third summit meeting with North Koreas Kim Jong-un, suggesting that he was keen to revive a high-stakes engagement that was abruptly suspended after the two leaders failed to strike a nuclear disarmament deal in Vietnam.
US mulled releasing migrants in 'sanctuary cities'
US President Donald Trumps top aides considered an idea to pressure immigration agencies to release apprehended migrants into so-called sanctuary cities represented by Democratic lawmakers, a media report said.
Mayawati accuses BJP of electoral malpractice, urges EC to take necessary action
After the first phase of general elections on April 11, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Friday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing it of engaging in electoral malpractice.Mayawati took to micro-blogging site Twitter and said that "with voters rejecting the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha polls, they have now decided to gain victory not by vote but by notes, EVM rigging, abuse of police/administration, and by getting the election staff to register vote for them."The BSP supremo also urged the Election Commission to take cognisance of what the saffron party has been resorting to so that the remaining six phases of elections could be free and fair."If the common man's faith in democracy is to be preserved, then it is the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission to take cognisance of the matter and take urgent measures so that the elections of the next phase can be free and fair," she added.
Rahul slams PM, says Modi ran govt for his 15 friends
Congress President Rahul Gandhi Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging he ran his government for 15 of his friends and he wondered why no big-ticket defaulters of bank loans like Vijay Mallya were not in jail. The Congress chief said the ones like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya, after taking bank loans, failed to return it and ran away from the country. "Not even a single one is in jail," he added. Gandhi said when his party is voted to power, no farmer "is going to be put in jail for not paying back his bank loan, it is not fair that the richest people do not go to jail but farmers go to jail for the same offence." He alleged the Prime Minister gave Rs 35,0000 crore to Nirav Modi, Rs 35,000 crore to Mehul Choksi and Rs 10,000 crore to Vijay Mallya. During the last five years, Modi ran a government for 15 people and you know the names, he said. "These are Anil Ambani, Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and they are Modi's friends," he said addressing a poll rally ...
HC terminates BJP MLA's election over defective nomination
The Gujarat High Court Friday invalidated the election of BJP MLA Pabubha Manek from Dwarka for submitting a defective nomination form. Manek's victory from the Dwarka Assembly constituency in 2017 was challenged in the HC by his opponent and Congress candidate Meraman Ahir. Ahir, in his petition, has said Manek's election should be set aside as he had submitted a defective nomination form. Admitting the contention raised by Ahir, Justice Paresh Upadhyay Friday cancelled the election held for the Dwarka seat in December 2017. Though Ahir also sought to declare himself as the winner, the court has not accepted that prayer and only ordered the cancellation of the election. In his petition, Ahir claimed that Manek forgot to write the name of the constituency in the form, a lapse which calls for cancellation of his election.
Kumaraswamy slams PM for politicising sacrifices made by defence forces
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "politicising" sacrifices made by defence forces.While addressing a public rally in Madduru on Thursday, Kumaraswamy said, "Those who safeguard the borders are not children of rich people. They are children from poor families who cannot afford two square meals. However, here is a Prime Minister who politicises their ultimate sacrifice."The statement from the Chief Minister came just days after the Prime Minister appealed the first-time voters at a public rally in Latur district of Maharashtra to dedicate their votes to those who carried out air strike in Balakot and sacrificed their lives in Pulwama terror attack."I want to tell the first-time voters: Can your first vote be dedicated to the valiant soldiers who carried out the air strike in Pakistan?" the Prime Minister had stated."Can your first vote be dedicated to the brave hearts of Pulwama (terror attack)?" PM Modi had said.
Electoral bonds remain, submit details by May 30: SC
The Supreme Court on Friday in an interim order refused to stay the Electoral bonds scheme of the government and put up the matter for final disposal later.
Modi again needles Pawar to attack Congress
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday again nudged Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar to speak out against the proposal for making two Prime Ministers - one for Jammu and Kashmir and another for India, as propounded by some of the Congress party's allies.