Page 977 - Politics
Raj is helping us, Ambedkar is helping BJP: Prithviraj Chavan
Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan Tuesday slammed Prakash Ambedkar for 'trying to split' anti-BJP votes, and praised MNS chief Raj Thackeray for his effective campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ambedkar, a prominent Dalit face, is contesting the election under the banner of Vanchit Aghadi, joining hands with the AIMIM, after alliance talks with the Congress fell through. "Ambedkar's ulterior motive is clear. He wants to divide anti-Modi votes. Ambedkar hopes that the fact he is direct descendant of Dr B R Ambedkar will get him votes. He tried to use Ambedkar's name in Akola in 2014 but came in third," Chavan told PTI in an interview. The former Maharashtra chief minister said except Solapur, where Ambedkar himself is in the fray, there will be a straight fight everywhere between the alliances led by Congress-NCP and BJP-Shiv Sena. "I don't think Ambedkar will make a dent in Congress-NCP's prospects. Dalits should reflect that voting for Ambedkar will .
Condolences pour in for Mani;death"irreparable loss",says CM
Cutting across party lines, condolences from various leaders poured in for Kerala Congress (M) supremo and former State Finance Minister K M Mani, who died at a private hospital in Kochi Tuesday. Mani, 86, was representing Pala constituency in the State Assembly for over five decades. Undergoing treatment at the hospital for pulmonary disease for some days, Mani died at 4.57 PM, hospital sources said. Expressing "deep grief" over the leader's death, Governor P Sathasivam said the senior legislator had earned the people's unstinted support through welfare measures like pension for farmers and Karunya Lottery Benevolent scheme. "That he holds the record for continuously representing the Pala constituency since 1965 and presenting maximum number of state budgets, evince the acceptance he had earned through his work as a statesman," he said in his condolence message. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the death was an "irreparable loss" not only to KC(M) but to the entire ...
BJP urges EC to remove Bengal security advisor
The West Bengal BJP leadership on Tuesday accused state security advisor Surajit Kar Purkayastha of barring state police officers from "working freely" and urged the Election Commission (EC) to remove him immediately.
IPFT youth wing president joins Congress
The Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), an ally of the ruling BJP in Tripura suffered a jolt as its youth wing president Shuklacharan Noatia joined the opposition Congress. Noatia alleged there is no inner party democracy in the IPFT and the party has comprised on the Citizenship Amendment Bill. Noatia, who is also the chairman of Tripura Industries Development Corporation joined the Congress on Monday night hours after IPFT Vice-President Ananta Debbarma joined the Congress. Noatia alleged there is no democracy in IPFT, and three leaders are calling all the shots at the cost of 'Tipraland demand. "I have quit IPFT since the party has declined to speak up against Citizenship Amendment Bill. If passed, the CAB will damage tribal interests across the country. Congress is directly opposing the legislation. So, we have joined the party," Noatia said. Tripura Congress president Pradyot Kishore Debbarma welcomed Noatia and other IPFT leaders and said if the voted to .
Nirmohi Akhara opposes in SC Centre's plea to return acquired land around Ayodhya site to owners
Nirmohi Akhara, one of the litigants in the Ayodhya case, moved the Supreme Court Tuesday opposing the Centre's plea which seeks to return to the original owners the 67.390 acre of "non-disputed" land it had acquired around the disputed Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid site. The Allahabad High Court in 2010 had decided that the 2.77-acre of disputed land at the site would be divided into three equal parts and handed over to Nirmohi Akhara, Sunni Waqf Board, and Ram Lalla. The Nirmohi Akhara, in its fresh plea, has opposed the Centre's application by which it had sought modification of the Supreme Court's 2003 order so as to allow it to return to original owners the 67.390 acre of "non-disputed" acquired land around the disputed site. "The Central government has indicated one of the beneficiaries Ram Janm Bhumi Nyas to which the Central Government seeks to return the land. It is stated that from the application itself it is evident that the land which the Central Government seeks to return
LS polls: Rahul Gandhi to file nomination for Amethi on Apr 10
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will file his nomination papers for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat on Wednesday and also hold a road show in the constituency, party sources said Tuesday. The Congress president will file his nomination papers and also hold a road show here, district unit spokesman of the Congress, Anil Singh, said. Rahul Gandhi will be accompanied by his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi during the filing of nomination, Singh said. The Congress chief will undertake a 3-km-long road show from Munshiganj-Darpipur to Gauriganj before filing the nomination, he said. Rahul Gandhi, who has been representing the constituency for the past 15 years, will this time again face BJP's Smriti Irani who is likely to file her nomination papers a day later on Thursday. In the 2014 general elections, Irani was defeated by Rahul Gandhi by over one lakh votes. This time, the Congress president is contesting from two Lok Sabha seats. Last Thursday, Rahul Gandhi
Cong govt at centre will help Puducherry
Pitching for electing the Congress in coming Lok Sabha polls, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy Tuesday said if the party came back to power at the Centre all states and union territories would witness development. Canvassing votes for party nominee V Vaithilingam in the lone Lok Sabha in the union territory, he accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of 'discriminatory' approach towards Puducherry which hampered implementation of welfare schemes by the Congress government led by him. "There is every need for the Congress to stage a comeback at the Centre so that all the states and Union Territory of Puducherry could make development with the cooperation of the Central government," he said. The chief minister claimed the Centre had reduced grants to Puducherry to 24 per cent while full-fledged state were getting 46 per cent. He alleged Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi was also impeding development and implementation of welfare schemes. Noting that ...
Campaigning ends for 4 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar
Campaigning came to an end on Tuesday for four of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar going to polls in the first of seven-phase polls in the state on April 11.
BJP promises to tear bridge between India & J&K: Soz
Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz said here on Tuesday the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manifesto contains an obnoxious reference to the country's relationship with Jammu and Kashmir.
Western nations call for Sudan 'transition plan'
The United States, Britain and Norway said Tuesday that Sudanese authorities must now deliver a "credible plan for political transition" as anti-government protests rocked Khartoum. "The time has come for the Sudanese authorities to respond to these popular demands in a serious and credible way," the embassies of the three Western countries said in a joint statement in Khartoum. "The Sudanese authorities must now respond and deliver a credible plan for this political transition," it added as thousands of protesters massed outside the army headquarters in the capital demanding an end to President Omar al-Bashir's iron-fisted rule of three decades. The three countries also called on the authorities to release all political detainees and stop using violence against "peaceful protesters". The protests "continue to grow and the demand for political change from the courageous and resilient people of Sudan is becoming ever clearer and more powerful," the statement said. "The Sudanese people .
High decibel Arunachal Pradesh campaign ends
The high decibel campaigning for the simultaneous election to the Arunachal Assembly and the two Lok Sabha seats in the north-eastern ended on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the star campaigner of the BJP and addressed two election rallies in the state at Aalo in West Siang district on March 30 and Pasighat in East Siang district on April 3 while party president Amit Shah addressed a rally at Bordumsa in Changlang district on April 5 last. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has also addressed an election rally. Veteran Bollywood actor Ashrani addressed several election rallies across the state in support of Congress candidates. Altogether 181 candidates including 11 women are in the fray for 57 assembly constituencies out of total 60 seats in the state, while seven candidates including one woman are trying their luck in the Western Arunachal Parliamentary seat along with five candidates for the Eastern Parliamentary seat. The ruling BJP had already opened its ...
'Five yrs of Modi govt transformational': Goyal
Securing country's boundaries and taking development to all have been the top priorities of the Narendra Modi government, Union minister Piyush Goyal said Tuesday. "The surgical strikes after Uri and an even bigger counter terror offensive in the form of the airs trikes in Balakot across the LoC prove that Modi alone can provide the country the kind of leadership it needs in the present circumstances," he said. The railway minister was addressing a conference of intellectuals here as campaigning for all the five Lok Sabha seats of Uttarakhand going to polls on April 11 came to an end on Tuesday evening. "In just five years, 1.5 crore houses were built for the poor under the PM Awas Yojana. Toilets were built for over 10 crore households. Over 12 crore LPG connections were distributed in just five years which are many times more than a total of just 13 crore connections distributed since Independence," Goyal said. "It shows where the prime minister's priorities lie. He has plans to ...
NPF urges electorate to vote for Congress in Nagaland
Opposition Naga Peoples Front (NPF) Tuesday urged the people of Nagaland to vote for Congress nominee K L Chishi in the April 11 Lok Sabha polls in the state. NPF Spokesperson Achumbemo Kikon said that the party decided not to set up candidate in order to strengthen the secular party (Congress) which has asserted to protect the rights of the Nagas in particular and the indigenous people of North East in general. Addressing media persons Kikon said "NPF is not fielding any candidate to ensure that the interest of Naga people and entire North East is safeguarded and protected." He said the main issue confronting the Naga people and the North East is the Citizenship Amendment Bill passed by the BJP government in Lok Sabha but the secular parties have come together and managed to stop it in Rajya Sabha. He also maintained that during the meeting between Congress and NPF leaders, the former has assured to bring the vexed Naga political issue to an honorable conclusion if ...
Campaign ends for first phase Lok Sabha poll in Bengal
The high voltage campaign for the first of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal concluded on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, and top leaders of the Congress and Left parties have campaigned for this phase in which two seats of north Bengal will go to polls on April 11. Issues ranging from corruption to communalism, NRC to chitfund scams, and, development to security featured in the speeches of the warring party leaders. The high-pitched campaign was mainly polarised between Banerjee and Modi. The Trinamool Congress chief called upon the people to defeat the Modi government while the prime minister urged voters to exercise their franchise in his party's favour. The first phase electoral battle is going to be held in Cooch Behar (SC) and Alipurduar (ST) seats, both having a four-cornered contest among the TMC, the BJP, the Congress and Left Front constituents Forward Bloc and ...
Odisha Mahila Congress chief quits party
In a jolt to the opposition Congress ahead of the polls, Odisha Pradesh Mahila Congress president Sumitra Jena Tuesday resigned from the party. "I have resigned from the post of Mahila Congress president as well as from the primary membership of the party," Jena told reporters here. She accused the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik of ignoring women while selecting candidates for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Jena also accused the OPCC president of fielding weak candidates against the ruling BJD candidates. Expressing discontent over being denied a party ticket to contest from the Bhadrak assembly segment, Jena said, "I was an aspirant for the Bhadrak assembly seat, but the party ticket went to someone who was not even a primary member of the party," Jena said. The Congress has fielded Nalinikant Mohanty from the Bhadrak assembly seat against BJDs Sanjeev Mallick and BJPs Pradeep Naik. Launching a scathing attack on Patnaik, who ..
Haryana minister Abhimanyu, Gangwa in race for Hisar seat, Manish Grover from Rohtak
Haryana Finance minister Abhimanyu and former INLD MLA Ranbir Gangwa, who recently joined the BJP, are in contention for party ticket from the Hisar Lok Sabha seat and minister Manish Grover from the Rohtak parliamentary constituency. Two senior BJP leaders from the state Tuesday said Abhimanyu, Gangwa and Grover's names were being considered by the BJP to be fielded from the two parliamentary constituencies. "There are many names, but Abhimanyu and Ranbir Gangwa are among the frontrunners from Hisar, while Manish Grover's name is being actively considered from Rohtak," one of the party leaders, who did not wish to be named, said. Among other names, Union minister Birender Singh's bureaucrat son Brijendra Singh was also being considered from Hisar. Another leader, who too did not wish to be named, said apart from Grover, who is the BJP's sitting MLA from the Rohtak seat, the name of a former Congress leader who has since left the party, too was being considered from Rohtak, the only ..
JK governor condemns shooting incident at health centre
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Tuesday condemned the killing of an RSS leader and his personal security officer at a health centre in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar town. The RSS leader and his security guard were killed on Tuesday when a militant opened fire at a health centre in Kishtwar town, prompting authorities to impose curfew and call the army to maintain law and order in the communally sensitive region. In a condolence message, the governor prayed for peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families. The governor has directed civil and police administration to review the safety and security of all important installations, establishments and public places and maintain strict vigil to thwart "the nefarious designs of the forces inimical to peace." The governor has appealed to the people to cooperate with the administration.
Maoists kill BJP MLA, 4 more in Chhattisgarh
Maoists exploded an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday evening, killing BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi, his driver and three personal security officers in a forested part of Dantewada district, officials said.
EC announces bypolls for 4 more TN assembly seats
The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday announced by-elections for four more assembly constituencies -- Sulur, Ottapidaram, Aravakurichi and Thiruparankundram, in Tamil Nadu on May 19.
Panaji bypoll emotional affair due to Parrikar: BJP
The bypoll to the prestigious Panaji assembly seat, which was represented by four-time Chief Minister and former Defence Minister late Manohar Parrikar from 1994, will be an "emotional" affair, BJP spokesperson Dattaprasad Naik said on Tuesday, saying the party is already poll ready.