Archives for 2019

New Delhi, Apr 11: Refuting the media reports about the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) pilots were trained on Rafale fighter aircraft, France on Thursday termed the report as “fake news”.
“I can confirm that it is fake news,” French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler said in a tweet.
Mr Ziegler’s reaction came after there was fresh uproar on social media over the Rafale deal.
In February, Aviation International News had reported that the delivery of the first of 36 Rafale fighter jets for Qatar has been done. Aviation International News reported, “The first batch of pilots trained for Qatar in November 2017 was Pakistani exchange officers.”
After taking the Inter-Government Agreement (IGA) route for acquiring 36 Rafale aircraft from French government, the ruling dispensation is being criticised and the opposition especially the Congress party has levelled allegation of corruption in the deal.

Gopal Krishna Dwivedi appealed to the voters not to believe in rumours and that if anybody has any evidence to back up their allegations they can submit the same to EC to be resolved.

VIJAYAWADA: Refuting allegations by the TDP that 30 percent of EVMs are not functioning, Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Krishna Dwivedi has clarified that only 25 issues out of 344 reported are pending and that almost all the 92,000 EVMs in 45,920 polling centers are functioning smoothly.

He appealed to the voters not to believe in rumours and that if anybody has any evidence to back up their allegations they can submit the same to EC to be resolved. “There is no truth in the allegations. Anybody can make any statements is does not mean anything,” he said.

Speaking to media persons in his office at the Secretariat on Thursday afternoon, Dwivedi said at 11 am, 15 percent polling was reported across the state. “It is true that there has been some delay at a few places in the state in the commencement of polling. But, there is absolutely no problems anywhere. Mock polling was conducted to check the EVMs in presence of polling agents before the commencement of polling,” he explained.

According to him, 319 issues out of 344 issues reported pertaining to EVM functioning have been sorted out. “At 44 places, EVMs were replaced. At 6 places, EVMs have been damaged and polling continued. At all these places, cases were booked and offenders arrested. Minor incidents of clashes happened at 12 places. Police are restoring order at those places,” he said.

On the demand for repolling, Dwivedi said there have been no issues till now, necessitating repolling. “When we get the reports from the districts and if there is a need, we would go for repolling. If there is evidence with those making allegations and if they were proved true, we will go for repolling. We are fair and transparent,” he said and clarified that those who are in the queues at polling stations by 6 p.m. will be allowed to vote. He urged those who returned from polling stations without voting to return and exercise their franchise.

He was of opinion that EVMs are not at fault but the staff might have failed to properly set up the EVMs and said any technical issues will be resolved by the staff concerned and polling will not get hampered. On the complaints of lack of proper arrangements, the CEO said necessary instructions were given to district collectors to resolve those issues.

Agencies

Bengaluru, Apr 11 : Renowned Cinema star, Prakash Raj, who is contesting as an independent candidate in the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat, has opined that Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh is better candidate for Mandya Lok Sabha seat than JDS-Congress candidate Nikhil son of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.
Speaking at ‘Meet the Press’ jointly organized by the Bengaluru Press Club, and Bengaluru Reporters Guild here on Thursday, he said that in all respects Sumalatha is a better choice than Nikhil.
Prakash Raj, a known critic of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that I have no any personal grudge against Modi, but can not support his views which are not good for the nation.
He also clarified, that he never practiced politics based on religion and also spoke on Hinduism.
Prakash, who is supported by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), expressed confidence of his victory and said that ?If not I would be available for the service of the people in the constituency.
Replying to a question Prakash, a multi-lingual Cinema actor turned Politician said that unlike in the past, In future I will accept one or two Cinemas in a year.
Claiming that more than five thousand volunteers are working for him selflessly, he denied that because of his contest the BJP candidate is largely being benefiting.
He also expressed concern that more muscle and money power is playing in the elections.

Raipur 11 Apr : With about 34 per cent voting recorded till 1300 hrs in afternoon, polling in Chhattisgarh’s remote Naxal-infested Bastar parliamentary seat was underway on a peaceful note.

According to information from the Office of Chief Electoral Officer, till 1300 hrs, minimum 20.81 per cent voting was recorded at Konta while maximum 43.84 per cent at Bastar assembly constituency.

The Bastar parliamentary constituency is spread across eight assembly constituencies

Jagdalpur recorded 40.58 per cent, Chitrakot 42.32 per cent, Bijapur 26.17 per cent, Dantewada 32.31 per cent, Kondagaon 37.72 per cent and Narayanpur 28.93 per cent voting.

Shedding fear after death of Dantewada MLA Bhima Mandavi and four security jawans in Naxal attack in Dantewata on Tuesday, people are coming to polling booths to cast their votes. Voters were seen standing in beeline at Shyamgiri, the interior part of Dantewada since morning.

However, none of 32 Naxal-infested polling centres of three assembly constituencies could get even a
single vote.

In wee hours of Thursday, Naxalites triggered IED blast at two kilometres away from Dandvan polling centre in their attempt to intimidate voters in Narayanpur district, though no information is available about any injury in this explosion.

Polling in Dantewada, Bijapur, Konta and Narayanpur assembly constituencies coming under this parliamentary seat will conclude at 1500 hrs. Polling would last till 1700 hrs at remaining four assembly constituencies-Kondagaon, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot.

Jalgaon Apr 11 (UNI) Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan and former MLA B S Patil was manhandled by BJP Jalgaon president Uday Wagh and his supporters at an election rally in Amalner in Maharashtra.

The incident took place on Wednesday at a rally for party candidate Unmesh Patil, contesting from Jalgaon constituency.
Mr Wagh was upset as his wife MLC Smita Wagh was dropped as the Lok Sabha nominee from Jalgaon constituency and nomination was given to the MLA, Unmesh Patil.
During the rally on Wednesday, Mr Wagh and his supporters lost cool and manhandled Mr Patil and when Mr Mahjan intervened, he was also manhandled

New Delhi, Apr 11: After performing a pooja with her husband Zubin Irani, Smriti Irani fileD nomination from Amethi parliamentary constituency. She is pitted against Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

She was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Earlier, she held a four-kilometre roadshow, cheered by supporters.

Irani earlier left the guest house at Gauriganj, the district headquarters of Amethi, along with her husband Zubin Irani.

Irani was to file her nomination on April 17, but due to a holiday on that day (Mahaveer Jayanti), she changed the date.

Amethi figures in the fifth phase of the seven-phased general elections, and voting there will be held on May 6.

Irani faces a poll battle with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who had filed his nomination papers on Wednesday.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi had defeated Smriti Irani by a margin of 1.07 lakh votes.

The IT raids that have been conducted at my campaign office and on some of my associates are harrasment tactics that the BJP is using to try to cripple my campaign.I see these raids as vendetta of the ruling party at the Centre. They have consistently been engaging in orchestrating IT raids on several Congress leaders and opposition leaders, not only in Karnataka but also across the country. It shows that they are nervous and foresee defeat, which is why they are stooping to such low levels. It is a reflection of extreme insecurity of the BJP leadership. The Congress party will not be intimidated by such actions of the opposition. The people will give them a fitting reply as they are smart enough to see through their game plan.
Congress-JDS candidate for Bangalore Central Lok Sabha Constituency, Rizwan Arshad believes that the time for change has come and the people will vote the BJP out of power in the Centre. Addressing a media meeting at the at his office in Bengaluru, Rizwan Arshad said, “Over the last two weeks or so, I have covered the length and breadth of Bangalore Central Lok Sabha Constituency, meeting various kinds of people and interacting with them on a one-to-one basis. The general consensus that comes out is that the people want change. There are several complaints of very little and often no work being done by the incumbent MP of Bangalore Central. Traffic congestion, water problems, infrastructure issues plague Bangalore Central. There is the issue of the IT Corridor. We have a big IT belt. Despite them paying huge amount of taxes, there is no development there. People say that their elected MP has been missing from the constituency. The mood of the people is for change.  People know that I am a youngster and I am active. I am confident that I have the blessings of the people.”
Twitter War
 Rizwan Arshad has waged a ‘Twitter War’ against the incumbent MP of Bangalore Central, PC Mohan. “I have challenged Shri. P C Mohan to an Open Debate through Twitter, where I have been asking him several questions regarding the development works taken up over the last ten years. I have openly asked him whether he really has a vision for Bengaluru. I have challenged him to give an account on the 10,000 crore central government aid for infrastructure development. I have questioned him on his silence on HAL being sidelined by the Central Government. I have questioned him on why Bengaluru has not made it to the first list of smart cities. I have questioned him on why he has been conspicuously absent from media debates. I am still waiting for his reply.”
False Agenda of BJP
Commenting on BJPs promise to make Bengaluru the ‘Pride of India’ and a city that can boast of international standards, he says, “If you go through the BJP manifesto, which was released  last week, you will see that it is exactly the same as the last time. It lacks vision. There is no mention of how they will address the issue of job creation especially for the youth; there is neither accountability nor anything concrete to suggest how they will go about making Bengaluru as a city of international standards.”
“Some of the tall claims made by the BJP for Bengaluru in the Education Sector include the setting up of an IIT and the promise to set up a National Aeronautical University in Bengaluru as the city is an aviation hub of the country. Neither promise has been fulfilled.  In the healthcare sector, a branch of AIIMS was to be set up in Bengaluru. The promise of insurance for the poor too was made. These have not been fulfilled either. In the Railway Sector, a bullet train connecting Bangalore to Delhi among other metros was promised to the people. Extension of train connectivity to Kempegowda International Airport was also promised. But that too has hit a roadblock. The other issue is the suburban rail connectivity. Suburban Rail as a mass urban transport has a big role to play in controlling Bengaluru’s traffic. Suburban rail connectivity will also help decongest the road traffic towards the airport. This project has been crawling for more than a decade. The proposals for this came well before 2010. But no definite steps have been taken to make it a reality” he says.
Elaborating further, he said that under safety and security BJP promised to set up a three digit number service for all emergency situations. There was also the promise to set up a special fund for rehabilitation of rape victims. Both were not fulfilled. He stated that the manifesto also pledged to seek a grant of Rs. 1000 crores from the Central Government to upgrade the existing sporting infrastructure in the city to International Standards with the aim to enable the city to host national and international sporting events. He adds that there was also the promise by BJP to set up a dedicated power plant at Bidadi to cater to the increasing energy needs of the city along with a special project to make Bengaluru a solar powered city to be undertaken by the Central Government. Nothing has happened on that front either. There are several unanswered questions. “What happed to that? Whatever little development that has taken place in the city has been done only after a series of protests by the people demanding that particular issue be resolved” he states.
Refering to the issue of Bellandur Lake, Rizwan said that Bengaluru has been known to make International Headlines as the Innovation Capital of the World. But unfortunately, over the last few years, Bengaluru has also made headlines for the wrong reasons – the issue of Bellandur Lake.
“We need to face the fact that Bangalore Central is one of the most neglected constituencies. There is an urgent need for an MP who is active and is willing to raise his voice in Parliament to address the issues that are being faced by the people. Bangalore Central needs an active MP who will be the voice of the people in the corridors of power in New Delhi. I think it is the duty of the MP to take up these pressing issues using the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds. In the next few days, the Hon. Prime Minister of India . Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Bengaluru and address voters. I am quite sure that he will have nothing new to say as the current manifesto is almost a photocopy of the earlier one. I urge the people of Bengaluru to go out and vote and make an educated choice.” he said.

Arshad said BJP lose all his seats in bangalore and he reminded that BJP leaders promises made during 2014 Election such has AIIMS.IIT, Bullet Train has not be fulfilled even HAL has not got any offset order.They have not filled any promises of the people.

IT department has become puppet under the BJP rule and people whos houses and offices which they have raided.He said P C Mohan behind the IT raid.
“I think it is truly ‘Time for Change’ but at the Centre” Rizwan Arshad concludes.

A group of voters in Shamli tried to cast votes without showing their voter ID cards, which promoted the BSF to fire in the air.

BSF personnel engage in a brawl with the voters in Shamli on Thursday.

BSF personnel guarding a polling booth in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli resorted to firing several rounds in the air on Thursday when a group of voters allegedly tried to forcefully cast their votes without Voter ID cards.

According to media, the district magistrate said, BSF personnel fired in air for security reasons after some people without voter ID tried to cast vote. Voting has resumed now.”

Security personnel fired shots in air after some ppl tried to cast vote without voter ID at a polling station in Shamli. District Magistrate says,“BSF personnel, fired in air for security reasons after some ppl without voter ID tried to cast vote. Voting has resumed now.”y
According to reports, the voters engaged in a brawl with the BSF personnel in Shamli’s Kandhla area on Thursday during the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.

Guwahati, Apr 11 : Around 43 per cent was registered so far for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram where voting is underway for the first phase of polling today.

Voting began at 0700 hrs and will continue till 1600 hrs.

ECI sources said that till 1400 hrs 43 per cent polling has been recorded across the state.

In few areas problem with EVM malfunctioning were encountered which was rectified.

An electorate of 7,87,777 would seal the fate of six candidates for the Lok Sabha seat.

Mizo National Front (MNF) has fielded C Lalrosanga, a former Indian Broadcasting Programme Service (IBPS) officer and retired Director General of Doordarshan.
Sports journalist Lalnghinglova Hmar, also known as Tetea Hmar, is contesting as an Independent candidate backed by key opposition parties Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) and Congress.

BJP has fielded Nirupam Chakma, a veteran Chakma leader as well as the state vice-president of the party.

TBC Lalvenchhunga of the newly-floated People’s Representation for Identity and Status of Mizoram (PRISM) is also in the fray.

Lastly, independent candidates Lalhriatrenga Chhangte and Lalthlamuani are also taking part in the contest.

Lalthlamuani, who runs an NGO for the Jewish community, is the only woman candidate contesting from the Mizoram seat.

Mandya, Apr 11 : Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), taking strong objection to party leaders indulging in anti-party activities and not campaigning for Nikhil Kumaraswamy in the Lok Sabha election has suspended its seven Block Presidents.
The suspension was based on complaints received from JDS-Congress leaders against them.
A section of Congress workers are supporting Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh and even some of them participated in the campaign by holding Congress flags.
The suspended Block Presidents included H Appaji, Mandya Rural, A S Rajeev, Bharati Nagar, Putraramu, Malavalli Rural, K J Devaraju, Malavalli City, M Prasanna, Nagamangala, K R Ravindra Babu, K R Pet and S B Prakash, Melkote. .
The suspension came after repeated warnings from the Congress leadership. The party is particularly irked with the dissidence because Sumalatha has found support from the BJP, Congress is worried that if its party workers do not cooperate with the JD(S) in Mandya, the regional party’s cadre could return the favour in the Mysore Lok Sabha constituency, which the Congress is desperate to wrest from the BJP.
The suspension comes ahead of AICC President Rahul Gandhi’s campaign scheduled to be held at Krishnarajanagara of the Mandya Lok Sabha segment on April 13. JD(S) supremo H D Devegowda and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah are slated to hold a joint campaign there on April 12.