Page 957 - Politics

Not against electoral bonds but against anonymity of donors: EC tells SC

The Election Commission of India (EC) on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it was not against the issuance of electoral bonds for the funding of political parties but was against the anonymity of the donors and hence, wanted transparency in the scheme."We are not opposed to the Electoral Bonds as such, but we are opposed to the anonymity. We are against anonymity and we want transparency," senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi appearing for Election Commission told a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, which was hearing petitions filed by CPI-M and NGO Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).The petitions challenged the validity of electoral bonds, unlimited corporate funding, and transparency in political funding."Right to vote means making an informed choice. Knowing your candidate is only half the exercise. People should know the political parties who fund them. Disclosure is a must in the interest of democracy," said advocate Diwedi.Following this, the bench reminded the EC that it .

Pakistan Army takes defence attaches to Balakot aerial strike location: Sources

More than 40 days after Indian Air Force carried out aerial strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot, the Director General of Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (DG IPSR) took defence attaches to the strike site in an apparent attempt to prove that nothing happened there.According to sources, the ISPR took more than a dozen officials, including five to six women, by helicopter at Batarsi and then on vehicle before walking up to Jabba Top.India, after the aerial strikes on terror camps inside Pakistan on February 26, had said that it killed a large number of terrorists even as Pakistan called the claim "reckless" but said that it will respond "at the time and place of its choosing."Sources said, on Wednesday Pakistan authorities took the defence attaches to a seminary with 130 students. The military officials took the entourage to four surrounding areas as well where Indian bombs probably landed.Pakistan, as a face-saving exercise, is trying to deny any damage to ...

Manipuri journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem released from Shajiwa Central jail

Journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem was released on Wednesday from Shajiwa Central Jail after being detained for criticizing the state government and making derogatory remarks against Chief Minister N Biren Singh in a social media post.Wangkhem, detained under the National Security Act (NSA), was released after the Manipur High Court revoked the charges against him. He was warmly welcomed by his wife Ranjita and the counsel S Chittaranjan.Wangkhem while talking to ANI said: "I am quite happy. I am satisfied with the judgment of the High Court, especially because the court has upheld the right of 'freedom of expression and speech.""I feel that these days the freedom of speech and expression is suppressing. It is one of the examples to show how the voices are being gagged or suppressed," Wangkhem added.Wangkhem further said: "The present government must not try to suppress the voice of the people. I have been criticising this government even before they came to power because I belong to .

Ahead of CEC meet, Ahmed Patel meets Sheila Dikshit, discusses 'alliance' issue

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel met Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit at her residence here on Wednesday. According to sources, they are believed to have discussed among other things the issue of Congress-AAP alliance.Dikshit had last week rejected all talks about an alliance between her party and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the city-state where seven Lok Sabha seats are at stake.The Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting of the Congress party is scheduled for Thursday and Delhi Congress unit is said to be ready with the panel of candidates for the Lok Sabha constituencies.According to party sources, Ajay Maken, Sharmistha Mukherjee, and Archana Dalmia are top three contenders for the New Delhi seat while for the north-east Delhi Mudit Agarwal, Mateen Ahmed, and Ragini Nayak are in the fray.For Chandni Chowk seat, senior leader Kapil Sibal and Haroon Yusuf are in the fray. For East Delhi seat Sandeep Dikshit and Pawan Khera are top contenders etc.The CEC on Thursday is likely .

No bar on media from publishing 'secret' documents: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the media was well within its rights to publish Rafale-related documents, thereby rejecting a government claim that it cannot and would face action for doing so.

Punjab's OBC Cong leaders feel 'neglected' over denial of party ticket

OBC leaders in Punjab Congress have accused the party of neglecting them, saying it has not fielded a single candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls so far in the state. The Other Backward Classes leaders have raised the demand for fielding candidates from their community in a letter to the Congress central leadership, amid the party ongoing ticket distribution process for the general elections. The party is yet to decide candidates for the four Lok Sabha seats - Ferozepur, Sangrur, Bathinda and Anandpur Sahib. The Congress executive committee members from the OBC communities, including Surjit Singh Seota and Rajpal Singh, who is aspiring for the party ticket from Anandpur Sahib, said they were feeling ignored and neglected over denial of party tickets. Claiming that OBCs constitute 33 per cent of Punjab's nearly 2.80 crore population, the backward community leaders warned the party, saying "ignoring" the community may affect the prospects of Congress nominees on several seats ...

Nepal flags off team to remeasure Everest's height

An expedition team, assigned to remeasure the height of the world's tallest mountain peak, left for Mount Everest on Wednesday.

Jayant Sinha files nomination from Hazaribagh seat

Union Minister and BJP leader Jayant Sinha Wednesday filed his nomination papers for the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency. Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Union Minister Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu accompanied Sinha as he submitted the papers to the Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer. Later, addressing an election rally, Das said the 2019 general elections are vital as "India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to become world power." The chief minister alleged that the opposition 'Mahagathbandhan' neither has a vision to lead the country nor can it protect the country terrorism. Das claimed Modi alone could take effective decisions as seen during Uri and Balakot strikes. In his speech, Prabhu claimed none could prevent Modi from returning to power as the NDA government has done massive development works across the country in last five years. Sinha claimed that voters were so impressed with the performance of Modi that .

AAP rejects Congress offer, no alliance in Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday rejected the Congress' proposal for an alliance in Delhi. With this all hopes for a tie-up between the two parties have come to naught.

I&B Secy writes to PB CEO to ensure fair poll coverage

After Election Commission pulled up Doordarshan for not giving balanced poll coverage, Information and Broadcasting ministry secretary Amit Khare has written to Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vampati to ensure full compliance of Model Code of Conduct guidelines.

27pc Congress candidates, 19pc BJP candidates in first phase face serious criminal charges: ADR

Twenty-seven per cent of the Congress candidates and 19 per cent of the BJP candidates fielded for the first phase of Lok Sabha election, to be held on Thursday, have serious criminal charges registered against them, according to an analysis by ADR India, an advocacy group. The two national parties have fielded 83 candidates each for the first phase of the election. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has fielded eight candidates in the first phase, of which three, which comes to around nearly 38 per cent, have serious criminal charges registered against them, said a statement by Association of Democratic Reforms. The candidates have made self declaration about their pending serious criminal charges. Six candidates of the Nationalist Congress Party are in the fray, of which two, nearly 33 per cent, have serious criminal charges registered against them. Of the five candidates fielded by Trinamool Congress, none face criminal charges. The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded 32 candidates

Cong tried to grab power even as Parrikar was ailing: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday accused the opposition Congress in Goa of scheming to gain power when then chief minister Manohar Parrikar was fighting for life. Addressing a poll rally here, Modi paid tributes to the late leader, hailing his contribution as defence minister, especially during the surgical strike of September 2016. Parrikar died on March 17 after a year-long illness. "Congress tried to push Goa towards instability over Parrikar's health. When he was battling death, these people went to the Raj Bhavan, thinking this was their chance to grab power," Modi said. During Parrikar's prolonged illness, the Congress had petitioned the governor staking claim to form the government. "The kind of statements made by the Congress when Parrikar was ailing were not in keeping with the culture of Goa and of the country," he said. Recalling his association with Goa, Modi recalled that he was chosen as prime ministerial candidate at the meeting of the BJP executive ..

Retirement age cannot be fixed in politics: Sumitra Mahajan

Indore MP and outgoing Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan Wednesday said politics cannot have a fixed retirement age as is the case with government jobs, days after she opted out of the poll fray amidst speculations that the BJP was not keen to field leaders above 75 years of age. Mahajan, who has been winning from Indore constituency since 1989, also said she did not have any authentic information about her party's policy about not giving tickets to those leaders who 75 plus. As the BJP dithered on announcing the candidate for the Indore seat, Mahajan announced on April 5 that she would not contest the Lok Sabha elections. Mahajan had written to BJP chief Amit Shah stating that she has freed the party to make its choice for Indore seat. Mahajan turns 76 Friday. "Politics cannot be compared with government jobs. Retirement age in government service is pre-determined. However, this cannot be done in politics because politicians are directly involved with happiness and ...

Smriti Irani to file nomination from Amethi on Thursday

Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani will file her nomination papers from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are likely to accompany her. According to Durgesh Tripathi, the district chairperson of the BJP, Irani was to file her nomination on April 17, but due to a holiday on that day (Mahaveer Jayanti), she changed the date. Amethi figures in the fifth phase of the seven-phased general elections, and voting there will be held on May 6. Irani faces a poll battle with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who had filed his nomination papers on Wednesday. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi had defeated Smriti Irani by a margin of 1.07 lakh votes. Addressing a meeting of traders here, Irani targeted the Congress saying, "Do not support those who dream of disintegrating the country and dividing the society. This will weaken the country." "Amethi has given me respect as an ...

It's a contest between two Tamtas in Uttarakhand's Almora

The contest for Uttarakhand's Almora seat, one of the five in the state going to polls Thursday, will be a battle between two Tamtas, one from the BJP the other from opposition Congress. BJP's Ajay Tamta, a sitting MP and Union Minister of State for Textiles, and Congress' Pradeep Tamta, a Rajya Sabha member, are in the fray for the Almora Lok Sabha constituency, the only reserved seat in the state. While the BJP nominee has cited improved rail, road and air connectivity as his achievements in the last five years, the Congress candidate has talked of the failures of the Modi government in shaping a Himalayan policy. "Had the Modi government implemented the V K Chaturvedi Report on Himalayan development, the funds to spend on infrastructure projects of the state would have poured," Pradeep Tamta said. Ajay Tamta, on the other hand, has said that historic works has been done for development of the constituency during his tenure. "It was during my tenure that the broad gauge rail line ...

SC agrees to hear review petitions on Rafale verdict, dismisses Centre's objections on 'leaked' documents

In a jolt to the Centre, the Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to hear petitions for a review of its verdict in the Rafale jet deal on the basis of 'leaked' secret documents by dismissing its preliminary objections. The apex court in its verdict on December 14 rejected demands for a court-monitored probe into the Rafale deal and gave a clean chit to the Modi government on procurement of 36 fighter jets from French company Dassault Aviation, holding there was no irregularity in the decision-making process, pricing or selection of Indian Offset Partner. Dismissing the government's contention that sensitive documents accessed by the media on the Rafale deal can't be evidence by claiming privilege and that the petitions were not maintainable, the court Wednesday said it will examine the papers while reviewing on merits the review petitions. As the court order gave fresh ammunition to the Congress and other opposition parties to attack the Modi government ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, senior .

Rahul burdened by father's Bofors sins: Modi

Taking a potshot at Rahul Gandhi without taking his name, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that the Congress president lied incessantly perhaps because he was burdened by the sins of his father (Rajiv Gandhi) who was allegedly involved in the Bofors artillery deal.

SC to hear after summer break PIL on banning convicted leaders from holding party posts

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it would hear in July the PIL seeking banning of convicted persons from forming political parties and holding posts in them. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna said the relief sought in the PIL required a detailed hearing which was not possible before July. "Two days are left in this week and then the Constitution Bench would sit till the start of summer break," the bench said and ordered listing of the PIL filed by lawyer and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhayay for hearing in July after the summer break, which ends on June 30. The PIL, filed in 2017, has sought that convicted persons like RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav be restrained from forming and holding posts in political parties for the period they are disqualified under the election law. Earlier, the apex court had asked as to how can a convicted person be an office-bearer of a political party and select candidates for elections saying that ..

AAP rejects Cong's offer of formation of alliance in any state: AAP leader Sanjay Singh

The Aam Aadmi Party has rejected the Congress's offer to form an alliance in any state, senior leader Sanjay Singh said Wednesday. He said all the routes of an alliance with the Congress have been closed and the move will benefit the BJP. "In Punjab, where we have four MP and 20 MLA, a single seat is not being given to us," he said. "In Chandigarh, where we got 1.30 lakh votes, they are not giving us a single seat. In Goa, where we got six per cent vote, no seats there either. In Delhi, where the Congress has no presence, they want to give us three seats," Singh said. He said this offer has been rejected by the AAP and henceforth there would be no talks with the Congress on alliance.

Jayant Sinha files papers from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand

Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha on Wednesday filed his nomination for Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat in Jharkhand.