Page 960 - Politics
Rafale deal: BJP accuses Rahul Gandhi of gross contempt of court
The BJP on Wednesday accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of "gross contempt of court", saying he attributed to the Supreme Court what it never said in its order on the Rafale deal. BJP leader and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also asserted that the court's order, which allowed leaked documents to be relied upon by petitioners seeking review of its Rafale judgment while rejecting the government's objections, was not a setback and that the Congress will not be able to "shows its face". The matter will become crystal clear in the court, she told reporters. Citing the order, Gandhi claimed the court has accepted that "chowkidar chor hai", a reference to his allegation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a thief, and that he gave money to industrialist Anil Ambani. Lashing out at the Congress chief, Sitharaman said he had crossed the line of decency in his comments on the court's order and added that it underlines his frustration that he was attributing words to the SC that it ..
Rafale case: SC observation no jolt to Centre, says Ravi Shankar Prasad
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed the opposition for terming the Supreme Court's observation Wednesday in the Rafale case as a jolt to the Modi government, claiming that the verdict on the merit of the case is yet to be delivered. he Supreme Court Wednesday allowed leaked documents to be relied upon by petitioners seeking review of its Rafale judgment and dismissed the government's preliminary objections claiming "privilege" over them. The opposition parties' stand that the Supreme Court's decision is a jolt to the government is "prayojit (sponsored)", Prasad told reporters at Bakhtiyarpur, about 50 km from the Bihar capital. "The court has merely said that it would examine even those documents which the government holds are privileged, or have been appended to the petition in an unauthorised manner," he said. Prasad said, "The Supreme Court is yet to come out with a verdict on the merit of the case on the review petitions." "The government is on a strong footing as the ..
Pro-poor schemes may sway vote in 5 Assam LS seats
The pro-poor welfare schemes of providing rice at Re 1 per kg and free 2 kg sugar, announced by the Assam government, are likely to help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in at least five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam going to polls on Thursday.
All 5 Uttarakhand LS seats go to polls on Thursday
In what is seen as a straight contest between the arch rivals BJP and Congress, Uttarakhand will go to the polls to elect five members of the Lok Sabha on Thursday in the first phase of the election.
Rahul lies as he's burdened by father's Bofors sins: Modi
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi without naming him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the Congress President lied a lot perhaps because he was burdened by the sins of his father who was allegedly involved in the Bofors artillery deal.
WikiLeaks claims 'extortion' over leaked Assange footage
WikiLeaks on Wednesday claimed that it was being blackmailed by "dubious characters" who had obtained security camera footage of founder Julian Assange inside Ecuador's embassy in London. Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, accused Ecuador authorities of gathering thousands of photographs and videos, which then found their way into the hands of a group in Spain, who were demanding $3 million (2.7 million euros) not to publish them. "We learned some individuals in Spain were passing around information, that they had a massive trove of documents... from inside the embassy," he told reporters in London. "I asked them what documents they had and I got an email back. He said 'this material has a price'." The documents include thousands of photographs and gigabytes of video footage showing Assange meeting with lawyers and visitors and of him receiving a medical check-up. "It's not hard to see that as extortion," said Hrafnsson, adding that the Spanish police had opened an ...
Stage set for Sikkim Assembly poll & lone LS seat in state
An electorate of over 4 lakh would exercise their franchise on Thursday to elect a new 32-member Sikkim Legislative Assembly as well as its only Lok Sabha member. All arrangements have been made to conduct simultaneous polls in a free and fair manner on 32 Assembly seats as well as the lone Lok Sabha as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India, Sikkim's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ravindra Telang told PTI. The polling will be held from 7 am to 5 pm at 567 polling stations spread over four districts in Sikkim, he said. There are 150 candidates in fray on 32 Assembly seats, while 11 candidates are contesting for the lone Lok Sabha seat. Prominent candidates include Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kimar Chamling, who is seeking a record eighth successive term as an MLA. He is contesting from two Assembly seats - Poklok-Kamrang and Namchi-Singhithang. Former footballer Bhaichung Bhutia, who is the working president of the Hamro Sikkim party (HSP) has entered ...
MHA defends highway ban; protests continue in Kashmir
Facing criticism for closing down the national highway connecting Jammu with Srinagar, the Union Home Ministry took refuge in statistics to claim the ban was for only 15 per cent of total weekly hours. Underlining that the ban became necessary in the backdrop of the Pulwama terror attack, it issued a statement on Wednesday and said the step has been taken for ensuring safe movement of forces till May 31. The statement comes at a time when the ministry has to file its reply to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court which has directed it to respond by April 19 to a bunch of petitions challenging the decision. In its statement, the ministry gave statistics in its defence stating the total duration of prohibition is for 24 hours out of 168 hours in a week, which amounts to only 15 per cent of the time. Terming it "deliberate and mischievous disinformation" campaign about traffic restrictions on the national highway connecting Jammu with Kashmir Valley, the ministry said, "The state ...
NDA will retain power as people want to see Modi as PM again: Chandigarh BJP chief
BJP's Chandigarh unit president Sanjay Tandon Wednesday claimed that the NDA will retain power at the Centre as people want to once again see Narendra Modi as the next prime minister as he has been leading the country on the path of progress. He also said the Modi government has taken decisive and big decisions on a host of measures, including national security, corruption and black money. "The NDA will retain power, there is no doubt in this. The yardstick of PM Modi ji's popularity and work done is evident by each section of society wanting him back. People feel here is a leader who has the ability to take big and tough decisions. The PM has been leading the country on the path of progress," he told reporters here. "People feel that the leader should be honest and Modi ji's honesty and integrity is beyond doubt," Tandon said. He said his party is comfortably placed in Chandigarh, which is currently represented by BJP's actor-turned-politician Kirron Kher, and claimed that the ...
China played constructive role in easing recent tension between India and Pak: Envoy
China played a constructive role in easing tension between India and Pakistan, Chinese Ambassador Luo Zhaohui has said, in a reference to heightened hostilities between the two countries following the Pulwama attack. On India's push to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, the envoy said China attaches importance to it and is willing to strengthen communication with New Delhi to find a "proper solution" to it. The Chinese envoy touched upon a range of issues, including contentious ones, in a write-up published in a Chinese embassy journal titled China-India Review. "The recent tension between India and Pakistan has drawn broad attention from the international community. China has actively promoted peaceful dialogue and played a constructive role in easing the tension," Luo wrote, without elaborating. The Pulwama terror attack, claimed by Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), escalated tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and ...
Transferred IG did not breach model code of conduct: Pb CM
The Punjab government Wednesday said there was no "breach" of the model code of conduct by IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh in giving an interview to the media which the EC had described as "politically motivated", leading to his transfer. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh wrote to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora seeking a review of the EC order relieving the Inspector General as member of the SIT, probing the sacrilege and police firing incidents. Following a complaint lodged by the Akali Dal against the IPS officer, the ECI had directed the Punjab government to divest him of his present post for "violating" the MCC. Singh has now been posted as IG Counter Intelligence (Amritsar). Asserting that there was nothing untoward or unusual about an investigating agency/team communicating with the press, Amarinder Singh said: "Such briefings/releases by investigating agencies are now a matter of norm and practice in the interest of transparency and public awareness." Even premier ...
Pb CM moves poll panel, seeks action against PM for poll code 'breach'
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of violating the model code of conduct by referring to Balakot air strikes, Punjab Chief Minister Wednesday moved the Election Commission of India seeking action against him. Amarinder Singh shot off a letter to the poll panel, seeking action against the prime minister. Terming Modi's reported speech in Maharashtra, shockingly disgraceful, the chief minister said it was a clear case of violation of the code of conduct, which constitutes the bedrock of free and fair election. Amarinder Singh also said the failure to check such instances suggested bias on the part of the Election Commission. In his letter to CEC Sunil Arora, the chief minister strongly protested against the prime minister for allegedly using the success of the Balakot air strikes by the Indian Air Force and the sacrifice of the martyrs of the Pulwama attacks to woo the first-time voters. That a person of the stature of the prime minister should indulge in such shameful acts makes a .
Gehlot welcomes SC's decision to allow use of leaked Rafale documents
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to allow leaked documents to be relied upon by petitioners seeking review of its Rafale fighter jet judgement. The chief minister said the entire country wanted to know details of the Rafale jet procurement deal but Prime Minister Narendra Modi was maintaining silence. "Rafale is a big issue. Entire country is seeking an answer but the prime minister and defence minister are not giving any answers. They are beating around the bush. I welcome the Supreme Court decision in the matter," Gehlot tweeted. "I hope that the Supreme Court will take up the allegations and the people will come to know about should have been done for the welfare of the country and what actually happened," he added. The Supreme Court Wednesday allowed leaked documents to be relied upon by the petitioners seeking review of its Rafale judgement and dismissed the government's preliminary objections claiming "privilege" over them.
Our PM still speaking 'language of tea-seller': Farooq Abdullah
NC president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday appreciated Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for his statement that war was not an option between India and Pakistan, but attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was "still speaking the language of a tea-seller". Addressing a rally at the Idgah area of the city, Abdullah said the Jammu and Kashmir issue is not a result of lack of development, rather it is "political" in nature, and a dialogue between the two countries was the only way out. "The issue has held hostage the development of the subcontinent. Our party has all along maintained that a dialogue between the two nations (India and Pakistan) affords a way out," said Abdullah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Srinagar. The former chief minister appreciated the Pakistan prime minister for his statement, wherein he cast aside war as an option between the two countries, and impressed for a dialogue to solve the issue. Imran Khan had last year said war is not a solution .
P.C. George's Kerala Janapaksham Secular joins NDA
Seven-time legislator P.C. George's Kerala Janapaksham Secular on Wednesday became the newest constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in Kerala.
Mehbooba asks people to defy highway ban, warns Centre of 'Palestine-like situation"
Asking people to defy the highway ban, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday stepped up her tirade against the Centre, warning it against turning relations with Jammu and Kashmir into an Israel-Palestine type confrontation. I think this (J-K's relation with the Union of India) is not an Israel-Palestine relation. If the government of India wants to convert our relation like the Palestine-Israel, then they will have to be ready for Palestine-like situation as well, Mehbooba told reporters here. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister asked the people of the state to defy the highway ban and alleged it was another attempt to "subjugate" them. This ban is another attempt to suppress the people of Jammu and Kashmir and is an attack on the state's economy and the fundamental rights of the people. "I have said this earlier as well and say it again that the people should defy this ban. People should drive their vehicles on the highway. We will see what they will do. We have taken ...
Notification for fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls issued
The Election Commission Wednesday issued notification for the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections to be held on May 5 in 51 seats across seven states. In this phase, the least number of constituencies are going for polls as compared to other phases. The seven-phase elections begins April 11 and will end on May 19. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal will head for voting in all the seven phases of the general elections. The election will pit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance against mostly different opposition groupings in various states, including of Congress, the Left and regional forces which are continuing to work out a grand alliance to minimise a division of votes against the saffron party. The BJP has worked out a seat-sharing formula with some new allies and several old partners. However, opposition parties are yet to do so in several states. Five seats in Bihar, four in Jharkhand, 17 in Uttar Pradesh, seven in West Bengal, one in Jammu and Kashmir and 12 in Jharkhand ...
Modi worse than Hitler, alleges Kumaraswamy
Furious over the recent Income Tax (I-T) raids on his partymen and a top I-T official seeking action against him, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has called Prime Minister Narendra Modi "worse than Hitler". The Janata Dal (United) leader is apparently upset over the recent statewide I-T crackdown on his partymen and others and the state Income Tax Commissioner's letter to the Election Commission (EC) seeking legal action against him and the Congress and JD(S) functionaries who protested against the action outside the I-T department here. "Modi is a dictator -- a man worse than Hitler. He is the worst prime minister who brought a bill to confiscate the personal properties of individuals," Kumaraswamy told his supporters here on Tuesday night. Principal Chief I-T Commissioner (Goa-Karnataka region) B R Balakrishnan has written to the state chief electoral officer, seeking action against Kumaraswamy and others for allegedly intimidating I-T officers and obstructing them from ...
Jallianwala Bagh tragedy 'shameful scar' on British Indian history: Theresa May
Theresa May on Wednesday described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar as a "shameful scar" on British Indian history but stopped short of a formal apology sought by a cross-section of Parliament in previous debates. In a statement, marking the 100th anniversary of the massacre, at the start of her weekly Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, she reiterated the "regret" already expressed by the British Government. The massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on Baisakhi in April 1919 when the British Indian Army troops, under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, fired machine guns at a crowd of people holding a pro-independence demonstration. According to the British government records, 379 people, including men, women and children were killed and around 1200 injured in the firing. "The tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh of 1919 is a shameful scar on British Indian history. As Her Majesty the Queen (Elizabeth II) said before visiting Jallianwala Bagh in 1997, .
Cooch Behar, Alipurduar to cast votes on Thursday in the first
Cooch Behar and Alipurduar will be the two constituencies in West Bengal to go to the polls in the first phase of elections to the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the BJP are the main contenders in the two north Bengal seats, while the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress would fight to prove their existence. Left Party constituent Forward Bloc will contest from Cooch Behar and RSP in Alipurduar. Issues ranging from corruption to communalism, the NRC to chitfund scams, development to security and tea garden issues featured in the election speeches of the warring party leaders. Cooch Behar district has the distinction of housing 51 enclaves which became part of India in 2015 after the exchange with Bangladesh. The enclaves have 15,000 dwellers. With the seat located on the Indo-Bangla border, infiltration, livelihood for the enclave dwellers and employment for the youth are the main poll issues. Alipurduar is reserved constituency