Page 941 - Politics
Azad woos Gujjars in Udhampur to vote for Cong
Seeking to woo the Gujjar community, veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad Thursday promised the community exclusive privileges, including free medical treatment, if the Congress is voted to power in the Centre. Azad, who was campaigning for the Congress' Vikramaditya Singh in the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat, also vowed free education up to Class 12 for students of the Gujjar community in the state. On poll campaign trail for Singh, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister made the promises while touring various areas like Chatroo and Bunjwah of Chenab valley comprising Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban, having a significant Gujjar population. Gujjars in Jammu and Kashmir happen to be Muslims. Stating that the Gujjar community has an important role to play in the society, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said, "But the Bharatiya Janata Party unfortunately neglected them since 2014. Azad also said the Congress will make new strict laws so that shocking incidents like Kathua rape .
Voters' enthusiasm marks first phase of polling in Jammu
Early morning breeze, coupled with a relaxing dip in the day temperatures, set the tone for the first phase of voting in the Jammu Lok Sabha seat as people thronged polling stations Thursday to exercise their franchise. The Jammu parliamentary constituency, along with the Baramulla seat of north Kashmir, went to polls in the first phase Thursday. Udhampur and Srinagar will go to polls on April 18, the Anantnag seat in south Kashmir will witness three-phased elections on April 23, 29 and May 6, while polling in the Ladakh parliamentary constituency is scheduled on May 6. Counting will be done on May 23. As the voting started at 7 am this morning, long queues of voters, who were eager to cast their votes, were witnessed across the Jammu seat spread over Jammu, Samba, Rajouri and Poonch districts and covering 20 assembly constituencies. In several places, excitement among youth, particularly the first-time voters at Mawakarora and Dhanger polling stations on the outskirts of Jammu was ...
BJP-led NDMC demolishes newly-built 'mohalla clinic'; AAP govt fumes
A "newly-built" mohalla clinic of the AAP government in Karol Bagh was Thursday allegedly demolished by the BJP-led north corporation, prompting a sharp reaction from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The move by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) comes ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi on May 12. North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta claimed the action was taken as the clinic at Har Dayal Singh Road in Karol Bagh area was being set-up "without any NOC (no-objection certificate)". The move drew prompt reaction from AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Kejriwal who took to Twitter to express his displeasure. "People shud remember this when they go out to vote in Delhi. Del govt constructed this mohalla clinic. BJP led MCD demolished it today (sic)," he wrote on the micro-blogging site, while sharing the tweet of a senior official. The senior government official had also shared pictures of the mohalla clinic site where the action was taken. "Shamefully criminal & blatantly ..
Congress contestant flays tax raids in Bengaluru
Congress candidate Rizwan Arshad for the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat on Thursday condemned the day-long Income-Tax raids conducted at his office and some of his associates across the city.
Over 60% polling recorded in Telangana
Over 60 per cent polling was recorded in all the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana till 5 p.m., officials said.
Excitement among first-time voters (Correcting headline)
Soon after polling started here on Thursday, a number of youths were seen queued at the booth to cast their first vote in the parliamentary elections. Even the soaring temperature could not lower their excitement for voting for the very first time.
Excistement among first-time voters in Ghaziabad
Soon after polling started here on Thursday, a number of youths were seen queued at the booth to cast their first vote in the parliamentary elections. Even the soaring temperature could not lower their excitement for voting for the very first time.
'Namo' food packs trigger row
Some security personnel on election duty in Noida were served meals in packets labelled "Namo Foods", triggering criticism from the opposition even after the local police said the packs only displayed the name of food shop. The Bahujan Samaj Party said it has complained to the Election Commission. "NaMo" are widely-recognised Hindi initials of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, previously seen on BJP merchandise and recently as the name of a TV channel. The packets were brought in the boot of a hatchback and distributed among police personnel in Noida's sector 15A around 9.30 am, while polling was on in the Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency under which the Delhi suburb falls. Union minister Mahesh Sharma is the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate seeking re-election there. The packets, coloured in a shade of saffron, had 'Namo Foods' emblazoned on top in Hindi. They soon started generating a buzz among curious onlookers. When contacted in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer L ...
Modi seeking votes in name of armed forces: Gehlot
Rajasthan Chief Miniter Ashok Gehlot Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of seeking votes in the name of the armed forces. Gehlot pointed out that the partition of Pakistan took place under the regime of former prime minister Indira Gandhi but she gave all the credit to the armed forces. "Indira Gandhi never said it was her achievement and never sought votes for the partition of Pakistan. The credit was given to the army but Modi wants to take credit of everything," Gehlot said at a rally here in support of party candidate from Jaipur constituency Jyoti Khandelwal. "He has no achievement to highlight therefore wants to win the election by hiding behind Army. We salute the soldiers and their gallant acts but Modi wants to win elections in their names," he added. The senior Congress leader further said that those who criticised Modi were tagged as anti-nationals and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was a fascist organisation pretending to be democratic. "They (BJP) say ...
Ugandans impressed by Indian enthusiasm in elections
A four-member Uganda delegation witnessed the Lok Sabha election process here on Thursday and were clearly impressed by the keen interest shown by voters to pick their new MP.
Over 62% voters cast ballots in Mizoram (Evening Lead)
Over 62 per cent of the 7,87,777 electorate cast their votes on Thursday for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram under heavy security cover, a top official said.
Sudanese President Bashir forced out in coup
Sudanese Army on Thursday removed President Omar al-Bashir from power after nearly 30 years, following widespread protests that escalated at the weekend, Defence Minister Awad Ibn Ouf said.
59.46% turnout in Assam's 5 LS seats in tea belt
Five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam that polled on Thursday saw a high voter turnout despite growing protests against the BJP-led government's move to pass the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.
Voting ends peacefully in Jammu, Baramulla LS seats (4th Lead)
Polling in Jammu and Baramulla Lok seats of Jammu and Kashmir ended on Thursday amid stray incidents of violence, some incidents of EVM malfunction and alleged misconduct by a security man at a polling station.
Sudan protesters reject 'regime coup', vow more demos
Organisers of protests for the ouster of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir rejected his toppling by the army Thursday as a "coup conducted by the regime" and vowed to keep up their campaign. "The regime has conducted a military coup by bringing back the same faces and the same institutions which our people rose against," the Alliance for Freedom and Change said in a statement. "We all reject what has been mentioned in the coup statement issued by the regime," said the alliance, an umbrella group of grass-roots organisers and opposition parties and rebel groups. "We call on our people to continue their sit-in in front of army headquarters and across all regions and in the streets.
IT sleuths search apartment belonging to Karna minister
Karnataka Minor Irrigation minister C S Puttaraju Thursday said Income Tax sleuths have carried out fresh searches at an apartment belonging to him at Mysuru. The minister is in charge of Mandya district and is overseeing election preparations of chief minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is contesting his maiden election from Mandya. The minister said income tax sleuths reached the fifth floor of Sankalp Central Park apartment and stayed there for two hours. Later, they handed over a notice to the cook, he told a TV channel. On March 28, the income tax department carried out raids at multiple locations in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, Ramanagara, Shivamogga and Hassan triggering a strong reaction from chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders who accused the Centre of promoting politics of vendetta. Kumaraswamy had even called the I-T officers as the agents of BJP and led a protest by the ruling Congress-JDS coalition in front of the IT ...
J-K: Kashmiri Pandits vote for returning to their ancestral land
Seventy-nine-year-old Avtar Krishen's last wish is to live the remainder of his life at his ancestral home in Kashmir, and like several displaced Kashmiri Pandits, the septuagenarian said he voted Thursday hoping a new government ends his three-decades "exile". Krishen is among the seven lakh-odd Kashmiri Pandits who had to flee the Valley in the wake of spread of terrorism in 1989-90. The Baramulla and Jammu parliamentary seats in Jammu and Kashmir went to polls in the first-phase of the general elections along with 89 other Lok Sabha seats in India on Thursday. "I have again voted with the hope that a new government will ensure my return and rehabilitation in my native place in Kashmir," said Krishen, who casted his vote at the polling booth in Jagati camp in Jammu for a candidate in Baramulla in Kashmir. The camp is one of four that houses displaced Kashmiri pandits. Jagati has around 15,000 residents. The 79-year-old, who fled his home in a remote hamlet in north Kashmir's Kupwara
Paralympian Deepa Malik named for New Zealand Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship
Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik has been named as the recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister's Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019."We are pleased to announce that the 2019 New Zealand Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship has been awarded to Indian Paralympic athlete Deepa Malik," a New Zealand High Commission release said.The first Indian woman to earn a medal at the Paralympic Games, Deepa has won 58 national and 23 international medals. A recipient of the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award, she has entered the Limca Book of World Records four times.As a Sir Edmund Hillary Prime Minister's Fellow for New Zealand, Deepa will travel to New Zealand and meet with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, undertake a series of visits to Paralympic sporting organisations, and engage with Kiwi athletes, students and the media as well as New Zealand's significant Indian Diaspora community.The Fellowship Program has been running since 2008, which aims to strengthen the relationship between ...
Just like Indira Gandhi, PM Modi too deserves credit for giving befitting reply to Pakistan: Rajnath Singh
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be given credit for giving befitting reply to Pakistan just the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was praised for the 1971 war and dividing Pakistan in two parts."Prime Minister Modi should be praised for giving befitting reply to Pakistan in a similar way in which former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was praised when she won the 1971 war and divided Pakistan into two parts," he said at an election rally here. He was campaigning for Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) candidate Chandu Lal Sahu.India has given a strong reply to terrorists in Pakistan and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be credited for this. The importance of India has increased worldwide and under Modi government, the country has emerged as a strong nation. Our economy is at the sixth spot globally in terms of growth," Singh added.Praising the work done by his government, the Home Minister said: "Till 2014 when ...
BJD writes to EC over alleged violation of EC guidelines by BJP
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has written to Chief Electoral Officer, Bhubaneswar, over alleged violation of Election Commission (EC) guidelines by BJP for holding a press meet on Thursday and details of the same being provided on scrolling news on OTV.The BJD has demanded strict action to be taken against BJP, its leaders and OTV.As per the Election Commission "during the silence period, star campaigners and other political leaders should refrain from addressing the media by way of press conferences and giving interviews on election matters," said the BJD in the communique to EC."However, it was shocking to note that BJP and its leader Samir Mohanty has given a press meet today afternoon. Further, OTV has been scrolling the content of this press meet continuously from 2 pm onwards," it read."We demand that strict and immediate action be taken against the BJP and its leaders as well as OTV for the violations," requested BJD.Out of 21, four Lok Sabha constituencies in Odisha are polling in the