Wednesday, August 21st, 2019
Article 370 India’s Internal Matter, Rajnath Singh Tells US Defence Secretary
US Defence Secretary Mark T Esper accepted India’s position that recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir are an internal matter, during a telephone conversation with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a defence ministry spokesperson said in New Delhi. Esper expressed the hope that any issue between India and Pakistan would be settled bilaterally. India’s message Singh raised cross-border terrorism and thanked the US for supporting India’s efforts to keep the region peaceful and stable, the spokesperson said. He told Esper that withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was an internal decisionRead More
Ready to Contest Against Mamata Banerjee, Says Sovan Chatterjee After Joining BJP
Former Trinamool Congress leader Sovan Chatterjee, who recently joined the BJP, said in Kolkata on Tuesday that he was willing to take on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee when the state votes in 2021 if his new party wanted him to. Addressing the media for the first time at the BJP’s state office, he said he had been a loyal soldier of the TMC and would now be one for the BJP. Jibes at the TMC Once a trusted aide of Banerjee, Chatterjee mocked the TMC for hiring poll strategist PrashantRead More
Andhra Govt Plans to End Industrial Incentives, Bring 75% Local Job Quota in New Policy
The Andhra Pradesh government plans to introduce a new industrial policy that will try to attract companies through transparency, commitment and honesty rather than incentives, following an international diplomatic outreach programme held in the state. Industries and IT Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said in Amaravathi that incentives would soon be withdrawn because they weigh heavily on a state running a large revenue deficit. What the minister said Goutham Reddy said the government would not offer incentives the way its predecessor did. He said the previous government had committed incentives worthRead More
Churning in Bihar: RJD Leaders Woo Nitish Kumar to Lead Opposition as Tejashwi Stays Away
Leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Patna are urging Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to lead socialist-leaning parties, arguing that the opposition lacks an acceptable national leader. With RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in jail, senior party leader Shivanand Tiwari has openly invited Kumar to head an opposition left in disarray by the Lok Sabha election. Overtures to Nitish Tiwari said the Janata Dal (United) was making a historic mistake by staying in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in Bihar and at the Centre. He argued that withRead More
Yogi Adityanath Expands UP Council of Ministers as 23 Take Oath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expanded his council of ministers on August 21, when 23 ministers were sworn in at the Raj Bhavan. It was the first reshuffle of his ministry since he took office in 2017. Who was sworn in Four leaders who had been ministers of state with independent charge were elevated to cabinet rank, while two newcomers entered directly at cabinet rank: Ram Naresh Agnihotri and Kamla Rani Varun. Six leaders were inducted as ministers of state with independent charge, and 11 new ministers of stateRead More