Category Archives: politics

Muslim clerics to protest Congress leaders’ Azamgarh visit

Expressing resentment over alleged harassment of youth from the minority community by police on the pretext of tackling terror, a Muslim clerics’ organisation Tuesday said it would hold protests against Congress leaders, who would visit Azamgarh district.

‘We will sport black badges and will also wave black flags at the Congress leaders, including Digvijay Singh [...]

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Digvijay Singh to go ahead with Azamgarh visit

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said Tuesday he would go ahead with his visit to Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh town Wednesday, despite objections by some political parties and groups, to probe allegations that some local youth had been picked up by police without reason.

‘People have told me that some innocent youth had been picked up [...]

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Arrested Maoist magazine editor dies in hospital

The arrested editor of the Bengali edition of the banned Maoist magazine People’s March, Swapan Dasgupta, a blood cancer patient, died in a state-run hospital Tuesday, sparking allegations that the authorities had hastened his death through neglect and lack of proper treatment.

A senior official of the SSKM hospital said a post-mortem and forensic examination [...]

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Khimi Ram to remain Himachal BJP chief

Khimi Ram, the incumbent president of the Himachal Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will retain his post. BJP national president Nitin Gadkari has cleared his name, a senior party leader said here Tuesday.

‘After more than four hours of deliberations, BJP national president Nitin Gadkari late last (Monday) night finally cleared the [...]

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Manoj Tiwari resigns from Samajwadi Party

Well-known Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari resigned from the Samajwadi Party (SP) Tuesday in support of Amar Singh, who was expelled from the party earlier in the day.

Tiwari said in a statement that he had been brought into the party by Amar Singh and he no longer felt like continuing in the party.

‘Amar Singh brought [...]

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Maximise benefits of rural jobs scheme : PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday called for better coordination between the government’s flagship rural jobs scheme and other matching welfare programmes to accelerate the development of rural areas.

Addressing the ‘Mahatma Gandhi NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) Sammelan’ here organised by the rural development ministry to mark four years of the employment programme, [...]

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Congress non-committal on Amar Singh joining party

Congress leaders Tuesday declined to comment on the possibility of inducting expelled Samajwadi Party (SP) general secretary Amar Singh into the party.

Replying to a barrage of queries from media persons here on the issue, Congress general secretary and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Digvijay Singh said the party has a laid down procedure to induct someone. [...]

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‘Not wearing lungi in Tamil Nadu can cost you election’

Stressing the political importance of preserving and promoting ethnic identity, Congress Rajya Sabha member from Goa Shantaram Naik Tuesday said no one can win an election in Tamil Nadu if he does not wear a ‘lungi’.

He cited union Home Minister P.Chidambaram’s sartorial preference to buttress his argument.

‘In Tamil Nadu, unless a politician [...]

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I will quit if asked to, says Jaya Bachchan

‘Sad and hurt’ over the ‘wrong’ decision to expel Amar Singh from the Samajwadi Party (SP), actor-MP Jaya Bachchan Tuesday said she would quit the party if asked to.

‘I am sad and hurt. This is a very wrong decision and would hurt the party in future,’ Jaya Bachchan told reporters here, shortly after Amar [...]

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Shiv Sena keeps up offensive, Shah Rukh defiant

The Shiv Sena was on collision course Tuesday, taking on Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. The actor, who was in New York, said he would ’stand up’ for his comment on the exclusion of Pakistani cricketers from the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Shiv Sena said if Shah Rukh [...]

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All I want to say is et tu Brute: Amar Singh

‘Et tu Brute’. That’s what Amar Singh said Tuesday after being expelled from the Samajwadi Party (SP) by his one-time mentor Mulayam Singh Yadav who he stressed had not just betrayed him but also ‘Talibanised’ the ‘primitive’ party.

‘All I want to say is et tu Brute. ‘Brutus tum bhi’. But it has come with [...]

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NREGA a role model but needs improvement: Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said Tuesday that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was a ‘role model’ for other developments schemes and had given jobs to lakhs of rural people. However, it can be improved by addressing complaints of false job cards and less payment of wages.

Speaking at the `MGREGA Sameelan’ [...]

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Top CPI-M leaders stay off Basu’s condolence meet

Top Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leaders, including West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, stayed away from a condolence meeting organised by various trade organisations Tuesday to pay homage to the late Marxist icon Jyoti Basu.

Though Bhattacharjee’s name was mentioned in the official invite issued by leading business association Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce (MCC), [...]

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Jaya Prada to work with Amar Singh in Lok Manch

Jaya Prada, who was expelled Tuesday from Samajawadi Party (SP) along former general secretary Amar Singh, said she would work with him in a non-political outfit to serve the downtrodden.

She said the Lok Manch had been floated as a ‘non-political’ outfit by Amar Singh and she will work in it to reach out to [...]

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Yeddyurappa warns against moral policing on V-Day

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa Tuesday warned against ‘moral policing’ on Valentine’s Day Feb 14 and promised security to those celebrating the day.

The warning followed threats by pro-Hindu outfit Sri Rama Sene (army of Lord Rama) that it would, like last year, oppose Valentine’s Day celebrations.

‘Action will be taken against those indulging in [...]

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Russian ballet at tribal fest criticised by Congress

The Congress Tuesday slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh for the performance by a skimpily-clad Russian ballet troupe at a tribal festival organised at the shrine of a Sufi saint by the state tribal welfare ministry in Khandwa district.

The Adivasi Kala Utsav or Malgaon festival is a six-day event organised [...]

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SP expels Amar Singh and ‘close compatriot’ Jaya Prada

The Samajwadi Party (SP) Tuesday expelled its high profile leaders Amar Singh and Jaya Prada for their anti-party activities. Former general secretary Amar Singh hit back within minutes to describe the expulsion as ‘a blessing in disguise’.

‘Amar Singh and Jaya Prada, one Rajya Sabha member and the other Lok Sabha member, have been expelled [...]

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Goa to raise special tourist security force

The Goa tourism department is in the process of raising a special tourist security force in the wake of crimes against tourists in the state especially foreign women tourists.

Speaking to reporters in Panaji Tuesday, state tourism minister Mickky Pacheco said the force would comprise ex-servicemen specially recruited to safeguard the lakhs of tourists who [...]

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Amar Singh, Jaya Prada expelled from Samajwadi Party

The Samajwadi Party (SP) Tuesday expelled its high profile leaders Amar Singh and Jaya Prada for their anti-party activities. Former general secretary Amar Singh hit back within minutes to describe the expulsion as ‘a blessing in disguise’.

‘Amar Singh and Jaya Prada, one Rajya Sabha member and other Lok Sabha member, have been expelled from [...]

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Expulsion is blessing in disguise: Amar Singh

Expelled Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh Tuesday said the decision by the party to sack him was a ‘blessing in disguise’.

In a response that came minutes after the party’s newly-appointed general secretary Mohan Singh announced the expulsions, including that of actress turned politician Jaya Prada, Amar Singh said the move was dictatorial.

‘I had asked [...]

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Change that Bihar needs not happening: Rahul Gandhi

Unimpressed with Bihar’s growth rate of 11.03 percent, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said the state remained unchanged and the Nitish Kumar-led government had failed to take the benefits of development funds to the poor.

Gandhi slammed the Janata Dal-United government for its failure to properly implement central government-sponsored development programmes, particularly the rural [...]

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Amar Singh, Jaya Prada expelled from Samajwadi Party

The Samajwadi Party (SP) Tuesday expelled rebel leaders Amar Singh and Jaya Prada and four Uttar Pradesh legislators for criticising the party leadership publicly.

Newly-appointed general secretary Mohan Singh told reporters here that they were trying to split the party.

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Every part of India belongs to every Indian: Rahul Gandhi

Every part of India belongs to every Indian, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said Tuesday while hitting out at the Shiv Sena for its ‘Mumbai for Marathis’ slogan and asserted that he would not remain silent if migrant workers in Maharashtra were subjected to violence.

‘India belongs to every Indian. Every part of India belongs [...]

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Khimi Ram to continue as Himachal BJP chief

Incumbent president of the Himachal Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Khimi Ram, will continue in his post. His name was cleared by BJP national president Nitin Gadkari Monday, a senior party leader said here Tuesday.

‘After more than four hours of deliberations, BJP national president Nitin Gadkari late last (Monday) night finally cleared [...]

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Rahul slams Sena, says India for all Indians

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Tuesday slammed the Shiv Sena for its controversial ‘Mumbai for Marathis’ slogan and stressed that every part of India belongs to every Indian.

The Shiv Sena was silent, Gandhi said, when National Security Guard (NSG) personnel from various parts of India fought Pakistani terrorists during the Nov 26-29, 2008 attacks [...]

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Benefits of welfare plans not reaching end-users: Rahul Gandhi

Slamming the Bihar government for its alleged failure to implement central government-sponsored development schemes, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said benefits of welfare plans were not reaching end-users in the state.

‘The Bihar government has failed in implementing these schemes. It is not a question of intention. I am talking of implementation. The benefits [...]

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Globalisation never benefited the working classes: CITU chief

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) president M.K. Pandhe Monday said globalisation never benefited the working classes and urged all the labourers to come under one umbrella to fight against the growing imperialism and capitalist exploitation.

‘Globalisation has never helped the working classes. It has never solved any problem worldwide. The trend has only helped [...]

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Bihar JD-U chief resigns

The Janata Dal-United (JD-U)’s Bihar unit president Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan Monday submitted his resignation to party president Sharad Yadav following differences with state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, party sources said.

However, the resignation has not been accepted by the party leadership as it wants to resolve the differences between the two leaders ahead of [...]

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Judicial glasnost: Delhi High Court loves it, apex court is chary

The Delhi High Court appears to love judicial glasnost, while the Supreme Court seems to be chary of it – going by their diametrically opposite responses to an RTI plea.

A plea for information on total number of cases, pending for judgment after conclusion of arguments in the last three years, has left the apex [...]

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Faldu named new Gujarat BJP chief

R.C. Faldu, a three-time legislator, was Monday named the next chief of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Gujarat unit.

Gopinath Munde, the BJP general secretary, made the announcement after a meeting of the state executive committee. Faldu will take charge Tuesday.

Faldu was the only candidate to file his nomination for the post Sunday, a day after [...]

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