PESHAWAR: Taliban militants have completed their pullback from a district just 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the Pakistani capital and troops have fanned out in their wake, a senior official said on Saturday. The Taliban's retreat to their stronghold in the Swat Valley brings some relief for Pakistani officials trying to salvage a controversial peace deal that halted nearly two years of bloody fighting in the northwestern region.But US officials kept up their pressure for more forceful action against...
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Arun Shourie touts Narendra Modi as Advani's successor
NEW DELHI: In what may be the first clear advocacy of Narendra Modi for PM by a senior BJP leader, former minister Arun Shourie said the Gujarat chief minister's leadership of his state was exemplary as he had already implemented programmes being promised by political parties in their manifestos.Speaking in Ahmedabad, Shourie suggested that it could be Modi's turn to be projected as BJP's prime ministerial nominee after L K Advani as he said, "You have an opportunity to elect the PM not only this...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sri Lankans in 'catastrophic' situation: Red Cross
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Sri Lanka's northern war zone face a "catastrophic" situation, the Red Cross said, amid fears a final assault against the Tamil Tiger rebels would lead to a dramatic rise in casualties.The United Nations and others have called for a negotiated truce to allow civilians to leave the rebel-held coastal strip and the government says more than 52,000 had escaped since Monday.But it has refused to heed the international pleas to halt the fighting,...
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
EC biased towards Congress, alleges Mayawati
NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Tuesday launched a scathing attack against the Election Commission during a press briefing. Mayawati alleged that the Election Commission was biased in favour of Congress and working on its directions."I would like to say that the EC officials are acting on the directives of the Congress and its allies. The EC under political pressure is trying to stop BSP to gain power despite the party having peoples' support in its favour," Mayawati claimed.Taking...
Thousands flee Sri Lanka as deadline passes
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA: Tens of thousands of civilians fled Sri Lanka's northern war zone in a record exodus ahead of the government 's deadline on Tuesday for separatist Tamil rebels to surrender, officials said. More than 39,000 civilians arrived at military checkpoints, within hours of a military operation that saw Sri Lankan soldiers break through a barrier that the Tamil Tiger rebels had erected to defend their ever-shrinking slice of territory along the northern coast.The number of fleeing civilians...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Taliban want Sharia law enforced throughout Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: A resurgent Taliban in Pakistan's northwestern Swat valley on Monday vowed to enforce Islamic laws across the country while ruling outthe possibility of laying down arms following the implementation of Sharia in the region.The Sharia or Islamic law regime approved recently by President Asif Ali Zardari will not be confined to Malakand division, which includes Swat, and the Taliban wants the system to be enforced in other parts of Pakistan, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said today."(Sharia)...
NDA will cross magic figure of 272: Swaraj
BHOPAL: Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj today expressed confidence that the NDA would definitely cross the magic figure of 272 in the Lok Sabha elections.Not only would the NDA get a majority on its own, the BJP would also emerge as the single largest party, Swaraj said while addressing a press conference at the Madhya Pradesh BJP office.Asked to specify the number of seats that the BJP was likely to win, she said that the party would win anything between 180 to 200 seats on its own.The senior BJP...
Paswan defends Lalu on Babri statement against Congress
PATNA: Coming out in defence of his ally Lalu Prasad, locked in a bitter verbal duel with the Congress over Babri mosque demolition, LJP president Ramvilas Paswan today said that nobody can dispute what the RJD leader had said on the issue."Lalu ji has just said that there was a Congress government in Delhi led by P V Narasimha Rao when the Babri mosque was pulled down. Who can dispute this fact?," Paswan told reporters at the airport here before leaving for electioneering.Paswan slammed the Congress...
I never said LTTE is not a terror group: Karunanidhi
NEW DELHI: A day after Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi called LTTE chief V Prabhakaran “a good friend”, he sought to clarify his remarkssaying his earlier comments had been twisted and taken out of context.“I never said LTTE is not a terror group,” Karunanidhi said on Monday. “I expressed concern for the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka,” he added. “But the LTTE did not start as a terrorist organization, it became a terror group later,” he said. ( Watch )“We cannot forgive the LTTE for killing Rajiv...
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Varun thankful for party support during detention under NSA
NEW DELHI: BJP candidate Varun Gandhi on Saturday expressed his gratitude to the party leader L K Advani for having stood by him during his incarceration after being booked under NSA for his alleged hate speeches. 29-year-old Varun, who was released on two-week parole from Etah jail in UP on Thursday, met Advani at his residence here.During the nearly hour-long meeting, Varun is understood to have expressed his gratitude to the party for having stood by him "staunchly in his hour of crisis," party...
Sanjay Dutt in trouble for ‘sexist’ remarks against Mayawati
NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor and Samajwadi Party General Secretary Sanjay Dutt is courting controversy yet again after he offered ‘jaadu ki jhappi'to Mayawati.Dutt has been slapped with a notice by the district magistrate of Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh for passing ‘sexist’ comments against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, according to Times Now."I will give Mayawati a hug and a kiss (jaadu ki jhappi). In her governance there are taps but no water, bulbs but no electricity, and hospitals without...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Jail that can hold me is yet to be built: Narendra Modi
BALASINOR (Gujarat): Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi today took a dig at science and technology minister, Kapil Sibal for asking him to be prepared to go to jail for speaking "nonsense" about Congress."My dear Congress friends, a jail that can hold Modi is yet to be built," the Gujarat chief minister told an election gathering here, in response to Sibal's remarks that Modi should stop speaking nonsense about Congress or else be prepared to go to jail."I would like to tell the Congress people...
Varun not a criminal, why drastic measure like NSA: SC
NEW DELHI: "Varun Gandhi is not a criminal, why were such drastic measures invoked against him," asked the Supreme Courton Monday, triggering aVarun GandhiVarun Gandhi addresses media representatives in New Delhi. (AP Photo)rethink in the Mayawati government, which had slapped stringent National Security Act provisions against the young BJP leader for his communal speech at Pilibhit.This observation from a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam indicated that Varun...
Hate speech: BJP's candidate from Kandhamal, Ashok Sahu, arrested
BHUBANESWAR: The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Lok Sabha candidate Ashok Sahu was arrested on Tuesday for making an inflammatory speech inOrissa's Kandhamal region earlier this month."Sahu was arrested from Phulbani town," Kandhamal district collector Krishan Kumar said.Sahu, who is the BJP's candidate for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat, is accused of delivering a communally charged speech on April 5 at a public meeting in Raikia town. He allegedly accused the church of indulging in conversion.Kandhamal...
Monday, April 13, 2009
Amar Singh accuses Congress of cutting secular votes in UP
BALLIA: Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh on Monday accused the Congressparty of trying to cut through the secular vote bank in Uttar Pradesh, called the party a 'vote-cutter'.Alleged that the Congress was not a true well wisher of Muslims, Singh said, "In the Congress ruled states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Assam, atrocities against Muslims are on the rise."He completely ruled out any possibility of a post-poll tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party.Addressing two rallies, Amar...
Poll panel finds Lalu, Rabri, Uddhav replies 'not satisfactory'
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Monday said the replies filed by railways minister Lalu Prasad, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray to the panel's notices on poll code violation were not satisfactory."The Election Commission did not find the reply satisfactory and have conveyed its strong displeasure," Deputy Election Commissioner R. Balakrishnan told reporters here.On April 9, the poll panel had issued notices to Lalu Prasad and his wife...
IJP candidate found dead, protests held
JAUNPUR (UP): Body of an Indian Justice Party (IJP) candidate from Jaunpur parliamentary constituency was found hanging from a tree near hisIJP candidate found dead residence here today, triggering massive protests in the area. The body of 35-year-old Vijay Bahadur Sonker was found hanging from a tree in Raja Saheb Ka Pokhra locality this morning, IG Police, Varanasi, Kamal Saxena said.Family members of the deceased have alleged BSP candidate from Jaunpur Dhananjay Singh's hand in the murder. ASP...
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Varun national threat, Mayawati govt tells SC
NEW DELHI: Mayawati government has strongly opposed Varun Gandhi's challenge to his detention under the National Security Act. In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court through the district magistrate of Pilibhit, the UP government has justified the detention of BJP candidate by calling him a threat to public order and accusing him of causing fear among Muslims. The next hearing is on Monday.The strong defence of Varun's detention is significant in view of the sharp reactions the case has drawn....
Friday, April 10, 2009
Muslims are harassed in name of terror: PM
NEW DELHI: Acknowledging that Muslim youth are sometimes harassed in the "name of terrorists", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday night asked security forces to observe "zero tolerance" for fundamental human rights violations while dealing with such cases.Interacting with a group of senior Urdu journalists here, he said the entire community could not be suspected of being terrorists and that being a Sikh, he understands the concerns of Muslims.He suggested that committees, comprising respected...
BJP for creation of smaller states: Jaswant Singh
SILIGURI (WB): BJP candidate from Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat Jaswant Singh on Friday said his party was in favour of smaller states but refrainedfrom saying if it was for creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland.He said BJP in principle favoured creation of smaller states and the NDA government had created three states in the country.Without uttering the word 'Gorkhaland', Singh told a press conference that his party would 'sympathetically and appropriately' examine and consider the long-pending...
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Praja Rajyam spokesman spits venom, quits
HYDERABAD: In a major setback to Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam ahead of the elections, its spokesman Parakala Prabhakar on Thursday quit the party describing it as a "poisonous tree"."I am one of the founding members of the party. I had even signed on the documents to register the Praja Rajyam as a political party. I expected that the party would strive for clean politics. But it proved to be otherwise. This is a poisonous tree," he told reporters at the party office.Prabhakar alleged that all is not...
'No govt at Centre possible without SP, RJD, LJP'
SAIFAI (UP): In their first show of strength in Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday addressed ajoint rally in Saifai, claiming that the next government at the Centre cannot be formed without them.Addressing the public meeting here, also his home town, SP supremo Mulayam Singh said, "No government at the Centre is possible without the three parties."RJD chief Lalu Prasad said "Three brothers have come together, not only to win Lok Sabha elections, but...
Congress may dump Tytler to secure Sikh votes
NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: The fate of Congress leader Jagdish Tytler's nomination from Delhi North-East is hanging by a slender thread. With the"shoe throwing" protest by journalist Jarnail Singh triggering sharp reaction among Sikhs, Congress leadership is seriously considering to dump Tytler to secure its prospects in Punjab. ( Watch )The resentment triggered by Jarnail's action swept Punjab as dozens of Sikh groups held up trains at several places in the state on Wednesday, fuelling the Tytler issue...
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Mayawati slams EC for transferring top state officer
LUCKNOW: Criticizing the Election Commission for transferring a top state official, UP chief minister Mayawati on Wednesday said that such actioncould demoralize the officialdom ahead of the first phase of polling and may lead to law and order problems in the state."Removing of the officer just due to political reasons on basis of their baseless allegation will demoralize officers of the state due to which law and order problem could erupt in the state. EC will be responsible if there is any terrorist...
Maneka lodges complaint against Lalu for Varun remarks
BADAUN (UP): BJP MP Maneka Gandhi on Wednesday lodged a complaint with police against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad for his alleged remarks that hewould have "crushed" her son Varun Gandhi under a roller for his anti-Muslim speeches."The RJD chief Lalu Yadav has threatened to kill Varun Gandhi by crushing him with a road roller in front of crowd of thousands of people and used derogatory words," she said in a letter to SSP, N Ravindran here."I came to know about this during my Badaun visit", Maneka said...
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Cong may review Tytler, Sajjan candidatures
NEW DELHI: Apparently concerned over the political fallout of hurling of shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram, Congress on Tuesday indicated it was open to review the candidatures of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who were facing allegations of involvement in the anti-Sikh riots. "Congress is a large party and it takes considered decisions at appropriate time. Let us see what solutions emerge in the future," party spokesman Ashwini Kumar said at the AICC briefing held hours after the incident.Kumar...
Chiranjeevi ready to lend support to form fourth front
HYDERABAD: Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi has expressed his support to the efforts to forge a "Fourth Front" at the national level."Being secular we cannot join BJP. Since TDP is part of Third Front and Congress part of UPA, we cannot join them. I thought like-minded parties will be there who are looking for support to form a "Fourth Front". This is mutual," Chiranjeevi, Praja Rajyam Party chief told reporters after a meeting with Samajwadi Party leaders Amar Singh and Sanjay Dutt on Monday."I...
Rift in SP as Amar Singh threatens to quit
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh has threatened to quit over party member Azam Khan, who he said insulted him. “SP can exist without me but not without Azam Khan, it appears,’ said an upset Amar Singh. Trouble started when actress Jayaprada was renominated as the SP candidate from Rampur. Azam Khan asked the leadership to remove Jaya from what he saw as his political turf.Mulayam Singh Yadav then asked a sulking Azam Khan to contest the high-profile minority seat himse...
Monday, April 6, 2009
I would have crushed Varun under a roller: Lalu
KISHANGANJ(Bihar): RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Monday said he would have "crushed" BJP candidate Varun Gandhiunder a roller for his anti-Muslimspeeches if he had been the country's Home Minister."Had I been the country's home minister, I would have crushed Varun Gandhi under a roller and destroyed him without caring for the consequences for his hate speech against Muslims," Prasad told an election meeting here.The Railway minister recalled how he and his party had frustrated the "communal" BJP's bid...
BJP gives 9 seats to allies in UP
LUCKNOW: BJP has alloted nine seats to its allies Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Janta Dal(U) in UP. RLD will contest on seven parliamentary seatswhile JD (U) will fight on two seats. BJP will contest on 71 out of total 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.JD (U) has been given Salempur and Badaun seats. From Salempur, Ravi Shankar Singh alias Pappu Singh, MLC from Ballia, is expected to be JD(U)'s candidate. Singh is the grandson of late prime minister Chandrashekhar's brother, disclosed a party source.Earlier,...
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Before accusing UPA, remember Parliament attack: Sonia to Advani
GORAKHPUR: Lashing out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi onSunday said those who did not have any other issue were raising the issue of terrorism.The BJP, before accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, should also remember the riots during the tenure of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, she said addressing a rally in the Bansgaon constituency in Gorkhpur district, 300 km from Lucknow."Advani, before...
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Rahul Gandhi files nomination papers from Amethi
LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Saturday filed his nomination papers from Amethi parliamentary constituency.Rahul was accompanied by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadara, brother-in-law Robert Vadara and state unit chief Reeta Bahuguna Joshi to Sultanpur district headquarters.Sonia will file her nomination papers at Rae Bareli on April 6, he sa...
Mayawati slams Maneka over Varun row
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Saturday hit out at Pilibhit MP Maneka Gandhi for politicising the Varun Gandhirow.In a snub to Maneka Gandhi, Mayawati said if the BJP MP knew a mother's pain, she would not have endorsed the hate speeches of her son Varun Gandhi for which he has been booked under NSA, PTI reported.Hitting back at Maneka, who had said that the UP Chief Minister did not understand a mother's pain since she was not one, Mayawati said that if she was a good mother...
Friday, April 3, 2009
In jail, Kandhmal riots accused gets BJP ticket
PHULBANI: Manoj Pradhan is the prime accused in last year's ethno-communal riots in Kandhmal and currently behind bars. But that hasn't stoppedBJP from giving a ticket to Pradhan to contest from the communally-split G Udayagiri assembly seat.More than 600 people were arrested in connection with the violence that left over 40 people dead in Kandhmal after the killing of senior VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in August last year. Cops described Pradhan as a "prize catch". "Pradhan, in his...
BJP promises to rebuild Ram temple
NEW DELHI: The BJP has revived its pet Hindutva themes of rebuilding Ram temple at Ayodhya and abrogation of Article 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir as it released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The saffron party also promised to give 35 kg rice or wheat per month at Rs two per kg for BPL families, which is seen as a counter to Congress' offer of rice at Rs three per kg.The BJP manifesto comes after 11 years as the party had released NDA manifestos along with...
Both Lalu, Paswan eyeing PM's post
PATNA: Though the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party have formed an alliance severing ties with the Congress, there is competition for the post of the prime minister.While RJD boss Lalu Prasad has always been vocal about his desire to become the prime minister, LJP counterpart Ramvilas Paswan, too harbours the amibition for the country's top job."Every person in politics wants to become the prime minister. If I don't say that it would be hypocrisy," Paswan says."All politiciansdream to...
Thursday, April 2, 2009
BSP eyes Muslim, north Indian votes
MUMBAI: The BSP is eyeing north Indian and Muslim votes in the metropolis, with four of its six candidates from Mumbai seats being either of the two communities."The party will soon declare names of the two remaining candidates, who will also be either Muslim or north Indian, in a couple days," BSP state president Vilas Garud said on Thursday."North Indians, Muslims and Dalits form a major chunk of voters in the city. However, these communities are being neglected. They want somebody who is from...
SC issues notices to EC, Praja Rajyam Party on symbol issue
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notices to the Election Commission and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi's party Praja Rajyam on the poll body's decision to allot the rail engine symbol to the southern party.A Bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam sought response from the Election Commission on a petition filed by Rashtriya Krantikari Samajwadi Party (RKSP).In its petition, the RKSP claimed it was an unrecognized national party with influence in states like...
Kirorilal Meena, Cong engaged in a war of nerves
NEW DELHI: Kirorilal Meena. The man is widely believed to have sounded the death knell of Vasundhara Raje's dream of bucking anti-incumbency inRajasthan while helping Ashok Gehlot form the government.But the ambitious Meena strongman is now bargaining hard with Congressfor nominees of his choice in the tribal seats, triggering a deadlock on seven of 25 seats.If in three months, Congress is seeing a villain in Meena after toasting him as Raje's nemesis, it speaks about the importance of one-caste...
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
AIADMK front may split over seats
CHENNAI: The deadlock over seat-sharing among allies in the AIADMK camp has apparently assumed crisis proportions with discontented alliancepartners - MDMK and CPM - reportedly thinking of “exploring other options” if party chief J Jayalalithaa does not concede their demands.As several rounds of discussions failed, the ball is now in Jayalalithaa’s court. The CPM, which was offered three seats, has been insisting on Tirupur, while the MDMK, an AIADMK ally since 2006, wants at least five seats against...
Mulayam says he is not in the run for the PM's post
GORAKHPUR (UP): Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has said he is not in the race for prime minister'spost, but his aim is to form a"secular" government at the Centre.He said for this reason only his party had supported the Congress on nuclear deal issue."The post of the prime minister or a union minister is not important for me than forming a secular governmentat the Centre. I am not in the race for the Prime Minister's post," Yadav said.Addressing public meetings in Majhgawan (Bansgaon...
PM says Pakistan epicentre of world terrorism
LONDON: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Pakistan as the "epicentre of terrorism in the world" and said it had failed to take effectiveaction against militants, in an interview published Wednesday.Speaking to the Financial Times, Singh said Islamabad was either "unable" or "unwilling" to control Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which New Delhi accuses of staging the November attacks on Mumbai that killed 165 people."The proof of the pudding is in the eating," he said.Singh...
'02 riot-hit Muslim ex-cop joins BJP
AHMEDABAD: Retired IPS officer Abdullah Ibrahim Saiyad, who was attacked by a mob during the 2002 Gujarat riots, has sprung a surprise by joining Abdullah Ibrahim the BJP, in another indication of the image make-over that Chief Minister Narendra Modi is striving for ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.He told TOI on Tuesday that he joined the BJP because of Modi. “Modi belongs to the same district as I, and he is one person who does what he says,” says Saiyad, who is from Ganwada village in Mehsana...
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