Page 936 - Politics
Country will be finished if PM Modi retains power for second term: Navjot Singh Sidhu
Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the country will get finished if he becomes PM for the second term."If Modi comes to power for the second tern, then the country would be finished," said Sidhu."Where the world is going! China is constructing a rail line under the ocean. America has gone to Mars and is finding for the traces of life there. Russia is building a Robotic Army and you are making 'Chowkidar' and that too a thief," said Sidhu.He praised the Congress, saying that there is no difference between what the party says and what it does."There is no difference between what Congress says and what it does. Soon after coming to power the government waived off farmer's loan here up to Rs 11-15 lakh," he said.As much as 45 per cent votes were polled in the Naxal-affected Bastar constituency in Chhattisgarh in the first phase of polling on Thursday.Chhattisgarh will also vote for the LokSabhapolls on the second and ...
someone is changing the goalpost, can't predict the possibility of alliance with AAP : PC Chacko
After the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting here n Thursday, senior Congress leader PC Chacko said that he cannot predict anything on the possibility of an alliance between Congress and AAP as "someone is changing the goal post."He said that names of Congress candidates for all the seven seats in Delhi were discussed in the CEC meeting. Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit was also present in the meeting."Today we were discussing only our candidates who should contest the 7 seats in Delhi," said PC Chacko.The meeting took place at the residence of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.Over the question of whether there is still any room left for the alliance with AAP, he said: "I can't say that because someone is changing the goalpost and hence we cannot predict anything.""We were ready, we responded to it positively but now it appears that they are changing the goalpost."Earlier in the day, Chacko ended speculations of an alliance with the AAP, stating that his party will contest the ...
Sikkim records over 74 pc polling
Over 74 per cent votes were cast as polling continued beyond the deadline in Sikkim on Thursday in simultaneous elections for the 32-member state Assembly and the lone Lok Sabha seat.
Trump floats idea of third North Korea summit
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he is considering a potential third nuclear summit with North Korea's leader. "We will be discussing that and potential meetings, further meetings with North Korea and Kim Jong Un," Trump said in the Oval Office at the start of talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. A third summit would follow on Trump's historic breakthrough last year, when he met Kim in Singapore, and a follow-up this February in Hanoi that ended without progress in getting North Korea to give up nuclear weapons. Both Trump and Moon are heavily invested in bringing North Korea out of the cold. But the unsuccessful summit in Vietnam was a setback for the two allies that has yet to be resolved. At the White House, Trump insisted that a peaceful resolution of the North Korea standoff remains within reach, and that he continues to place considerable hope in his personal brand of diplomacy. "I enjoy the summits, I enjoy being with the chairman," he said. Kim is "a person ...
Over 800 voters in UP village boycott election
Over 828 voters of Bacham, the village adopted by Rajya Sabha MP and Congress candidate from Almora parliamentary constituency Pradeep Tamta, boycotted polling as the seat along with four others went to polls in the first phase of the general elections on Thursday. The village in Kapkot Assembly constituency of Bageswar district boycotted the election, citing neglect in development schemes by the state government. "We have repeatedly been reminding the state government, asking it to upgrade our junior high school into a high school but the state government did not pay heed to our demands. So we have opted to boycott the polls," said Anand Ram, Gram Pradhan of Bacham. According to Tamta, who had adopted the village under Adarsh Gram Yojana announced by the prime minister, the state government did not cooperate in completing development schemes in the area. "The proposal of the junior high school, which was to be upgraded as high school, has already been sent by me to the government ...
BJP ally MGP to support Congress for LS polls
In a late twist which could define both the result of the Lok Sabha polls in Goa as well as the future of the BJP-led coalition government, the MGP, a regional party which is in alliance with the BJP in Goa, on Thursday resolved to support the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections, executive president of the party Narayan Sawant said.
Learn from my mother's devotion to Rae Bareli: Priyanka
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday praised her mother Sonia Gandhi after she filed her nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli, saying every politician should learn from her.
66% turnout in Arunachal, stray violence reported
An estimated 66 per cent voters on Thursday exercised their franchise in elections to the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly and the state's two Lok Sabha seats.
EC serves notice to Yogi for poll code violation
The Election Commission on Thursday served a notice to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his "Ali and Bajrang Bali" comment made on Tuesday during electioneering in Meerut, stating that it violated the model code of conduct (MCC) and provisions of the Representation of People's Act.
Amarinder's media adviser quits; SAD complains to EC
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's Media Adviser has resigned from his post, sources said here on Thursday.
Day ahead of Rahul's address, stage collapses in TN; none hurt
A stage erected for Congress president Rahul Gandhi to address an election campaign meeting on Friday in Theni town in Tamil Nadu collapsed, but no one was injured. Gandhi is to address the meeting in support of the party candidate E V K S Ilangovan. The stage was put up on a grand scale on Theni-Annanji road. Congress workers were working round-the-clock to repair the stage. Party leaders said Gandhi will address the meeting as scheduled.
2 pc vote swing may affect TDP fortunes
Andhra Pradesh, where simultaneous voting took place in phase one for the 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats, has come to occupy a unique political stature in the face of tough adversaries trying to outsmart each other by claiming a wafer-thin vote edge of as little as over 2 per cent. Like it happened in 2014 in united AP when friends-now-foes TDP and BJP fought together. That's where the puzzle of victory lies.
US bars entry to Palestinian founder of Israel boycott group
A founder of the Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel has been blocked from entering the United States. The movement says in a statement that Omar Barghouti (bar-GOO'-tee) was travelling to the US for a speaking tour, including meetings with journalists and policymakers in Washington. It says Barghouti was told by airline staff at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport that his US visa was revoked for "immigration reasons" and he wasn't allowed to board his flight. The State Department is declining comment, citing the confidentiality of visa records. The BDS movement advocates boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israeli businesses, universities and cultural institutions. It's made significant gains in recent years, particularly among foreign artists and university students. Israel says the movement masks its motives to delegitimise or destroy the Jewish state.
Cong seeks CBI probe into BJP's links with UPL
Pressing for CBI inquiry into alleged links between the BJP and United Phosphorous (UPL), the Congress alleged Thursday that a senior official of the company was given an important post by the BJP government in Maharashtra. State Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant reiterated the demand of CBI probe two days after the Election Commission raided the company's factory in Khar here, where electronic propaganda material was being allegedly made for the BJP. Sawant alleged Thursday said UPL's vice president Sandra R Shroff was appointed chairperson of the state-run Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) within few months of the saffron party coming to power in Maharashtra. UPL officials were not available for comments.
Voting peaceful in Meghalaya, turnout 67.03%
Out of the total 19,14,795 voters in the state, an estimated 67.03 per cent exercised their franchise on Thursday to elect the two new members to the Lok Sabha from Shillong and Tura parliamentary seats in Meghalaya.
EC bars NaMo TV from airing political content
The Election Commission on Thursday ruled that since political content being aired on NaMo TV - a channel dedicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rallies and speeches - has not been pre-certified, it should be immediately removed.
Opposition parties approach Bengal CEO, seek repoll
Delegations of Left parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party approached the Election Commission on Thursday with complaints of violence and demanding repolling.
Clooney says Bashir toppling not enough for Sudan
Actor and activist George Clooney said Thursday that the fall of Sudan's veteran strongman Omar al-Bashir was not enough and called for the dismantling of the military-led system. The Hollywood heartthrob, who has been arrested protesting against Sudan's campaign in Darfur that the United States described as genocide, called for Bashir to be extradited and prosecuted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. "The people of Sudan have been waiting for this day for a long time, but it is only a tentative first step towards real change," Clooney said in a joint statement with John Prendergast, the human rights campaigner with whom the actor founded The Sentry Project, which researches illicit money and war crimes in Africa. The two said that Defense Minister Awad Ibnouf, who announced Bashir's detention and declared two years of military rule, was just as deeply involved in the bloody, racially tinged war in Darfur. "Removing the leader of a violent, corrupt system without ...
LS Polls 2019: Voters turn out in large numbers to elect 91 MPs in 1st phase; 2 killed in Andhra
The world's largest polling exercise began Thursday with an estimated 9 crore Indians coming out to vote for electing 91 parliamentarians in the first phase of over-a-month-long Lok Sabha elections for which the Modi government has made nationalism its core pitch against a fragmented opposition, even as poll-related violence saw at least two deaths. Complaints poured in about missing voter names and glitches in electronic voting machines in some areas, while Naxal-affected regions of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh saw IED blasts and clashes with security forces, though officials maintained the polling was largely peaceful with moderate-to-large voter turnout. West Bengal, where voting took place for two Lok Sabha seats, saw the maximum 81 per cent voting, while state election officers put the voting percentage at 73 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, where violent clashes left at least two persons dead. Some reports put the number of deaths in poll-related clashes at three. The 91 Lok Sabha ...
Amnesty calls for Sudan's Bashir to be handed to ICC
Ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir should be handed over to the International Criminal Court, Amnesty International said after the army overthrew his three-decade iron rule on Thursday. The London-based human rights organisation also urged the military authorities to ensure that new emergency laws do not undermine civil liberties. "Bashir is wanted for some of the most odious human rights violations of our generation, and we need to finally see him held accountable," Amnesty secretary general Kumi Naidoo said in a statement. "The Sudanese authorities should now turn Bashir... over to the International Criminal Court so that the victims of these unspeakable crimes can see that justice is done." The 75-year-old is wanted by the ICC in The Hague on charges of genocide and war crimes. Amnesty said it was "alarmed" by the new emergency measures that have been installed under the incoming transitional military council. "Sudan's military authorities should ensure that emergency laws ...