Page 995 - Politics
Don't play with fire: Mehbooba warns BJP on Article 370
The BJP should not play with fire when it comes to the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said on Monday and warned that abrogating Article 370 would lead to freedom for the state from India. "If you free Jammu and Kashmir from Article 370, you will free the state from country as well. I have said many times that Article 370 links J&K with the country. When you break this bridge, India loses its legitimacy over the state. It becomes an occupational force," Mufti said. The former chief minister was reacting to the Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto, in which the party has reiterated its commitment to abrogate Article 370 and annul Article 35A of the Constitution. "The BJP has failed on fronts, be it unemployment, farmer issues or it price rise. Now they are looking for issues which they can use to garner votes," Mufti said. The Peoples Democratic Party leader warned that the BJP should desist from playing with fire, saying any change in the special ...
Mayawati again blasts both BJP, Congress
BSP supremo Mayawati on Monday again targeted the Modi government and the Congress, asking the people to shun them both and vote for the BSP-SP-RLD alliance in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.
BJP manifesto pitches for smart fencing on all borders
The BJP on Monday promised smart fencing on all borders with maximum use of technology to make the country's security system stronger and effective.
US designates Iran's Revolutionary Guards as terrorist organisation: Trump
President Donald Trump on Monday announced the United States is designating Iran's elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a terrorist organisation. Trump said in a statement that the "unprecedented" move "recognizes the reality that Iran is not only a State Sponsor of Terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft.
Tough road ahead for BJP Uttarakhand chief Ajay Bhatt in fight against former CM Harish Rawat
Pitted against Congress leader and former chief minister Harish Rawat, wining the Nainital seat may prove to be an uphill task for BJP state chief Ajay Bhatt, who makes his debut in the Lok Sabha polls from the traditional Congress bastion. Given Rawat's political stature,the odds appear stacked against Bhatt who is a newcomer in comparison. However, the backing of BJP Nainital MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, who is campaigning aggressively for Bhatt, and the Narendra Modi factor may come to his rescue, poll watchers here feel. Koshiyari had wrested the seat from the Congress stronghold in 2014. But he chose to stay out of the fray this time to let the younger generation come forward. Enjoying a taller political stature, Rawat (70) seems to have an edge over his younger rival, but the upcoming election is going to be a high-stake battle for both Congress and BJP which appear to be locked in a close and straight contest on the seat. Both Bhatt and Rawat are struggling to regain lost ground .
More than Rs 5 crore unaccounted cash seized in Arunachal
More than Rs 5 crore unaccounted cash have been seized from different places in Arunachal Pradesh after the model code of conduct came into effect, a senior police officer said Monday. Election to the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly and two Lok Sabha seats in the state would be held on April 11. Inspector General of Police Sunil Garg said that as on date more than five crore in unaccounted cash had been seized from different places in the state. The Election Commission Sunday ordered poll authorities in Arunachal Pradesh to get an FIR lodged under a penal provision dealing with bribing voters, days after Rs 1.8 crore was recovered from two vehicles in the north eastern state. While one vehicle belonged to former MLA Dangi Perme, the other vehicle was registered in the name of a deputy secretary of state transport department. The money was recovered during raids by the Election Commission's expenditure monitoring committee. In a letter to state chief electoral ...
MP CM Kamal Nath, son to file poll nominations on Tue
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and his son Nakul will file their nomination papers for the Chhindwara Assembly bypoll and Lok Sabha elections respectively on Tuesday, MP Congress media cell chairperson Shobha Oza said. Nath (73), who is also MP Congress president, is contesting the Chhindwara bypoll as he needs to get elected to the Madhya Pradesh Assembly within six months of being sworn in to continue as state CM. Nath was sworn in as MP CM in December last year. Nath had not contested the Assembly polls in November last year in which the Congress ended the BJP's 15-year rule in MP. To facilitate Nath's entry into the MP House, Saxena had resigned as Chhindwara MLA. The MP CM is pitted against the BJP's Vivek Sahu, a leader of the latter's youth wing. Nath's son Nakul is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Chhindwara constituency for the first time, where he is up against the BJP's Natthan Shah, a tribal leader and former MLA. "Both Kamal Nath ji and his son .
Tripoli's only functioning airport says hit by air raid
A warplane carried out an air strike Monday against the Libyan capital's only functioning airport, authorities at the site said, as fighting raged for control of Tripoli. A security source at Mitiga airport east of the city said no side had yet claimed responsibility for the raid, which hit a runway without causing casualties. There has been heavy fighting near Tripoli since the forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar launched an assault on Thursday aimed at taking the capital. Oil-rich Libya has been rocked by violent power struggles between an array of armed groups since the NATO-backed overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. Haftar, a former Kadhafi military chief, has emerged as a major player, his self-styled Libyan National Army backing an administration in the country's east in opposition to the UN-backed government based in Tripoli. The capital's main airport was destroyed in fighting in 2014. Mitiga airport is on a former military base on the city's eastern ...
Congress' Vikramaditya a 'parachute candidate', seeking votes in name of erstwhile Dogra ruler: BJP
The BJP Monday launched a scathing attack on Congress candidate for Udhampur parliamentary constituency Vikramaditya Singh, saying he is a "parachute candidate" who is seeking votes in the name of his grandfather and erstwhile Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh. The party said he is also seeking help from the National Conference and the Congress "which crowned his father as 'Sadar-e-Riyasat' (first president of J-K) by defaming his grandfather". "Vikramaditiya is a parachute candidate who is seeking votes in the name of his grandfather Maharaja Hari Singh, whereas same Maharaja disowned his father and senior congress leader Dr Karan Singh who defamed him to gain the title of 'Sadar-e-Riyasat' with the help of those parties who defamed Maharaja Sahib," BJP leader Abhijeet Jasrotia told reporters here. Jasrotia also termed former BJP leader and Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan (DSS) chief Lal Singh, who is contesting from both Udhampur and Jammu Lok Sabha seats, as an "over ambitious person who ..
Guj BJP MLA gets show cause notice for 'threat' speech
Election authorities in Gujarat Monday issued a show cause notice for alleged model code violation to BJP MLA Madhu Srivastava who is accused of threatening voters during his speech at a rally in Waghodia area in Vadodara on April 3. The Congress had submitted a complaint and a CD of the purported speech of the Waghodia legislator to Vadodara district collector and election officer Shalini Agarwal Saturday. Srivastava, who is representing the constituency for a sixth term, had denied the charges against him. "We have issued a show cause notice to MLA Madhu Srivastava. He is required to submit his explanation about the video to us within two days of receiving the notice," said Agarwal. Voting for all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on April 23. In the video, which was submitted by local Congress leaders to the collector a few days back, Srivastava can be heard purportedly threatening people of Waghodia with dire consequences if they do not ...
1st Phase campaigning in Uttarakhand ends on Tuesday
After big rallies of top national leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, the campaigning for the five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand in the first phase of the 2019 general elections comes to an end on Tuesday evening.
Rahul Gandhi trolled for poorly photoshopped image
Just a couple of days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, a poorly photoshopped image of Congress President Rahul Gandhi embracing an elderly lady made him the butt of jokes on social networking platforms.
BJP writes to EC for disqualification of Jammu Cong candidate
The Bharatiya Janata Party lodged a complaint with the Election Commission on Monday, seeking disqualification of the Congress candidate from the Jammu Lok Sabha seat over his wife's alleged communal remarks. In the written complaint to the Jammu and Kashmir chief electoral officer, the BJP urged the commission to file an FIR against Indira Bhalla, who is the wife of Raman Bhalla, the Congress candidate for the Jammu-Poonch constituency. At a rally in Poonch last Tuesday, Indira Bhalla had purportedly described the Amarnath land agitation as communal, the BJP lawyers said. They accused Indira Bhalla of polarisation and hurting religious sentiments. A copy of the video clip has been provided to the CEO. During the Amarnath land row of 2008, there were widespread protests for and against the allotment of nearly 100 acres to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) for creating permanent facilities for pilgrims.
Sudan protesters seek talks with army on 'transition'
The Sudanese group spearheading months-long protests against President Omar al-Bashir's rule Monday called on the army to hold direct talks with demonstrators about forming a transitional government. "We call on the Sudanese armed forces to talk directly with the Alliance for Freedom and Change for facilitating the peaceful process of forming a transitional government," Omar el-Digeir, a senior member of the group, said in a statement outside the army headquarters where thousands of demonstrators have massed since Saturday. Digeir said the protest organisers had also formed a council to initiate talks with security forces and the international community aimed at agreeing a political transition that gives power to a "transitional government that represents the wish of the revolution". "We reiterate our people's demand that the head of the regime and his government have to immediately step down." "We also call on the Sudanese armed forces to withdraw their support for a regime that has .
BJP into empty talk, rhetoric: Cong spokesperson Khushboo
: Congress national spokesperson Khushboo Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was 'obsessed' with Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Addressing a press conference here, she said the Congress has been delivering on its promises in the last 60 years and ensured that the country was one of the strongest in the world. ''But, you (Modi) talk about building a temple, you talk about voting for Congress is voting for terrorism... these kinds of words coming from the Prime Minister send a message very clear how insecure a man can be,'' the actor-turned-politician said. She said the Congress promises what it can deliver and under the Congress-led UPA government, Rs 72,000- crore farm loan was waived off and farmers' loans were written off in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. ''There are no false promises, no lies, no 'fekuism' (empty talk) and no 'jumlabazi' (rhetoric), she said, alleging that the Modi government never intended to serve the people of the ...
Building Ram temple has been BJP's pledge since 1991
The BJP has been promising to build a grand Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya since 1991 -- even before the mosque was razed.
Now BJP Bihar MLA to contest polls as an Independent
After former MP Putul Kumari, Bharatiya Janata Party's Bihar legislator Sachidanand Rai on Monday revolted against the party, announcing that he will contest Lok Sabha polls from Maharajganj parliamentary seat.
Ensure that people of Sikkim exercise franchise without fear:
The Sikkim Congress president Bharat Basnett Monday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure that the people here get to exercise their franchise without fear as the SDF was "intimidating" voters. "The ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has vitiated the election process in Sikkim by pumping huge money amassed through corrupt means and also resorted to intimidation to voters and opposition parties to win the assembly polls by hook or crook," he told reporters. Elections to the 32-member Sikkim Assembly and the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state would be held on April 11. The Sikkim Democratic Front has denied the allegations of Basnett. Basnett, who is the Congress candidate for the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state, said that it was the duty of the Centre and EC to crack down against the use of money and intimidation tactics being resorted to by the ruling party by. The SPCC president alleged that Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling made "intimidating" ...
AAP to launch second phase of LS poll campaigning on April 10
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will launch its second phase of campaigning for the upcoming general election on April 10 with an aim to reach out to 35 lakh people, including the working-class population, and tell them about the importance of full statehood to Delhi. Delhi minister and senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said the booth-level workers of the party would go to people, instead of calling them to jan sabhas. "In the first phase, we held jan sabhas with people, now we will go to the people, including the working class, and tell them about the importance of full statehood," he said. Rai added that the campaigning would be held in three phases and the second phase would start from April 10. "We will be engaging 13,814 booth heads and train them over the next two days to convey the message of importance of full statehood to the people," he said. The AAP leader said the third phase of campaigning would be launched after the candidates file their nominations. Rai claimed that his party's ...
AAP capable of winning all seats in Delhi on its own: Gopal Rai
Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai on Monday said if the Congress is confident of winning in Punjab without an alliance, his party is also capable of winning all the seats in Delhi on its own. Questioning Congress leader Randeep Surjewala's statement where he said his party was not in talks with the AAP or any other party for an alliance in Haryana and Punjab, Rai asked whether the Congress has forgotten about its loss in the bypolls in Jind. "I do not understand why Congress is so self obsessed. It appears that it is in a state of maha-confusion," he said. "If Congress is confident of winning in Punjab without an alliance so even AAP is capable of winning all seats on its own in Delhi," he said. Rai said AAP took the decision of contesting on 35 seats in different states, keeping in mind that "it can contribute in defeating the BJP". "You can win in Punjab but what about Haryana. The Congress is ready to lose but not form an alliance in Haryana," he said. "Even people in Haryana are saying .