November, 2019
Karnataka Bypolls: BJP Pitches Disqualified MLAs as Ministers; Congress, JD(S) Vow Defeat
Karnataka’s ruling BJP is presenting most of its candidates in the by-elections to 15 assembly seats, many of them disqualified rebel MLAs, as future ministers, as the results will be crucial to its government’s survival. The Congress and the JD(S), whose coalition government the rebels brought down in July, have vowed to defeat them. The contest The December 5 bypolls followed the resignations and absence of 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs, whom the then Speaker later disqualified under the anti-defection law. Monday was the last day for nominations. The Supreme Court allowedRead More
Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar Likely to Discuss Alliance With Shiv Sena on November 17
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar are expected to hold talks in Delhi on November 17 about a possible tie-up with the Shiv Sena to form a government in Maharashtra, sources said on Thursday. Common minimum programme According to the sources, the Congress and the NCP would work with the Sena on a common minimum programme (CMP), to be taken up later by Gandhi and Pawar. It was not clear if or when Sena president Uddhav Thackeray would meet the two leaders after the CMP was ready.Read More
Musharraf Says in Video Clip That Pakistan Trained Kashmiris to Fight Indian Army
Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has said that Kashmiris were trained in Pakistan to fight the Indian Army in Kashmir, according to an undated interview clip shared on Twitter on Wednesday by Pakistani politician Farhatullah Babar. What Musharraf said In the clip, Musharraf says that Kashmiris who came to Pakistan were welcomed as heroes. “We used to train them and support them,” he says, adding that they were regarded as mujahideen who would fight India’s army. He also says that groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba emerged during this period, and describesRead More
Chhattisgarh Minister Likens Roads to ‘Hema Malini’s Cheeks’, BJP Demands Apology
Kawasi Lakhma, the Congress minister in charge of Commercial Tax (Excise) and Industry in Chhattisgarh, on Tuesday compared the roads in his Konta assembly constituency to the cheeks of actor and BJP MP Hema Malini, drawing condemnation from the opposition BJP. The remark Speaking at a programme in the Kurud development block of Dhamtari district, Lakhma said that although Konta was a naxal-affected area, its roads were like Hema Malini’s cheeks. He contrasted them with roads in the Kurud area, which he said were full of potholes because of corruptionRead More
Four-Time Karnataka BJP MLA Raju Kage to Join Congress After Being Denied Bypoll Ticket
Raju Kage, a former BJP MLA from Kagwad in Karnataka, has decided to join the Congress after the BJP refused to give him a ticket for the December 5 by-elections. Nominations for the bypolls have opened, and the ruling BJP is expected to face dissent in several seats. Kage’s move Kage said he had been with the BJP for 15-20 years without its backing, and that with the party firmly deciding against fielding him, he had no option but to contest on a Congress ticket. He lost the 2018 assemblyRead More