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Bengaluru gets Congress Mayor after BJP skips civic poll

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Congress woman corporator Gangambike Mallikarjun was on Friday elected the Mayor of Bengaluru’s municipal corporation after the BJP walked out of the civic poll, said an official.

Gangambike Mallikarjun of the Congress was declared elected as Bengaluru’s 52nd Mayor by 130 votes, Regional Commissioner Shivayogi Kalasad said.

Gangambike’s opponent was the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Shobha Anjanappa but the party did not take part in the election.

Even though the BJP has more corporators, a pre-poll tie-up between the ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and Congress denied it the coveted mayoral post for a second consecutive year.

Alleging that the Congress and JD-S alliance had “hijacked” Independent corporators who offered support to the BJP, its legislators and corporators staged a walkout.

JD-S corporator Ramila Umashankar was elected the Deputy Mayor.

Of the 198 corporators in the civic body, the BJP has 100, Congress 75, JD-S 15 and there are eight Independents.

IANS

Bangladeshi PM asks for early repatriation of Rohingya refugees

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Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked for early repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

In her speech at the UN General Assembly General Debate here on Thursday, Hasina regretted the fact that repatriation had not started in a permanent and sustainable manner, reports Xinhua news agency.

“Myanmar is one of our neighbours. From the outset, we have been trying to find a peaceful solution to the Rohingya crisis through bilateral consultations,” she said.

“So far, three bilateral arrangements have been concluded between Bangladesh and Myanmar for Rohingya repatriation. Despite their verbal commitment to take back the Rohingya, in reality the Myanmar authorities are yet to accept them back.

“The Rohingya crisis has had its origin in Myanmar. As such, its solution has to be found in Myanmar… We want an early, peaceful solution to the Rohingya crisis,” the Prime Minister added.

The Rohingya in Bangladesh are living in an uncertain situation, she said.

Bangladesh has made arrangements for their food, clothing, health care, child care and security to the best of its ability. Many countries and organisations, including the UN and the Commonwealth, have shown solidarity with the Rohingya and extended support and assistance for them.

Bangladesh has started working on a new housing facility for the refugees.

“So long the Rohingya are not able to return home, they should, as a temporary arrangement, be able to live in a good and healthy condition,” she said.

Hasina called upon international organisations to work with her country in the relocation of the Rohingya to the new facility.

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), over 720,000 Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority living in mostly Myanmar’s Rakhine state, have fled to Bangladesh since violence broke out in August 2017.

They joined another 200,000 Rohingya who earlier fled into adjacent Bangladesh, said the UNHCR.

(IANS)

Parrikar conferred honorary doctorate by NIT Goa

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Ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was conferred an honorary doctorate by the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Goa, for his contribution to the coastal state and the country.

The honorary doctorate was handed over by Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu and received on Parrikar’s behalf by NIT Goa Director Ganesh Mugeraya.

Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said that Parrikar is one of the “best ideal political leaders of the country”.

“Manohar, as I could see from earlier days to now, is one of the exemplary characters. Honest, disciplined, very innovative and how could a man who was Defence Minister of the country leave the post to become the Chief Minister of his own state,” Naidu said.

Parrikar is currently admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the national capital where he is being treated for advanced pancreatic cancer.

The Vice President also wished Parrikar good health.

Lok Sabha Polls 2019 : EC says over 17 lakh VVPAT machines for polls

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The over 17 lakh paper trail machines required for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls will be supplied by the two public sector undertakings (PSUs) by the end of November, the Election Commission (EC) said on Wednesday.

The EC said it is committed to 100 percent deployment of paper trail machines at all polling stations in future Lok Sabha and legislative Assembly elections.

In a statement issued in New Delhi, it said in order to meet the requirement of 100 percent Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines for all polling stations for the Lok Sabha election, it had placed an order of 17.45 lakh units to Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bangalore, and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad.

“Till date, 9.45 lakh units have been produced by the PSUs. Both PSUs have assured the Commission that the remaining VVPAT units (8 lakh) will be manufactured and supplied to the various states/Union Territories comfortably before end of November, 2018,” the statement said.

The statement said the poll panel would like to allay any “unfounded apprehensions” regarding the supply of VVPATs for the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.

The statement is apparently in response to certain media reports reportedly questioning the availability of the machines ordered for the LS polls.

The commission, the statement said, has been consistently and periodically reviewing the status of production and supply of VVPATs with the heads of the two PSUs, as well as the Technical Expert Committee (TEC), to ensure that the design, production and supply activities of all the units of EVMs and VVPATs is streamlined and completed in a time-bound manner.

The commission has enhanced the requirement of additional VVPATs from 125 percent to 135 percent considering the trend of failure rate of the machines in past elections.

“The commission has estimated 171 percent Ballot Units, 125 percent Control Units and 135 percent VVPATs requirements for upcoming Lok Sabha elections… in case of any error in VVPAT, only VVPAT is replaced… in case of any error in Ballot Unit or Control Unit of the EVM, entire set of Ballot Unit, Control Unit and VVPAT is changed, resulting in an increase in requirement of VVPATs than the requirement of Control Units of EVMs,” the poll watchdog said.

VVPAT is a machine which dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party for which a person has voted for. The slip drops in a box but the voter cannot take it home.

The voters see voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slip for seven seconds, which would be an acknowledgement receipt for the party they voted for in the election.

The Supreme Court has supported the EC endeavour to use VVPATs in a phased manner to usher in more transparency in voting.

PTI

Trump ‘looks forward’ to visiting India: US official

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US President Donald Trump “looks forward” to visiting India but the timing will depend on his other commitments, according to a senior State Department official.

“I am certain that President Trump looks forward to being able to visit India at an appropriate time,” Alice Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia, told IANS in an interview.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Trump to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations next year.

Asked if Trump would come to the celebrations or would schedule his visit for another time, Wells said that the White House will decide taking into account “both the domestic commitments he has here in the US as well as overseas”.

Wells pointed to the steady stream of US officials who visit India as a symbol of the close ties between the two countries at the official level.

“As somebody who helps manage India relationship, it’s amazing the number of cabinet officials and high-level visitors that we have in India every month of the year,” she said.

“That too reflects the density of the ties between our countries that I think we have over 40 major dialogues that take place between our government agencies and departments.”

Modi first met Trump in Washington in 2017, and also at other multilateral meetings.

A military parade is the centre of the Republic Day celebrations and Trump has been a fan of such parades and wants the US to have one, too.

While these parades are held annually across the globe world as part of patriotic celebrations, the US does not have one.

At Trump’s suggestion a parade was scheduled for November on Veterans Day, which honours former servicemen, and this year it would coincide with the centenary of the conclusion of the First World War.

However, having never having held such a parade, the Defence Department postponed it to possibly next year.

(IANS)

JD(S) contest twelve seats in Lok Sabha polls : H Vishwanath

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By Express News Service


For the upcoming general elections in 2019, JD(S) state president H Vishwanath has stated that the party wants to contest for 12 Lok Sabha seats.

Speaking to reporters, Vishwanath informed that the party will carry its alliance with the Congress into the Lok Sabha elections as well. “Besides the 2 seats that the party had won in the 2014 general elections, they wants to contest in 12 more seats. The party has a solid organisation across the state,” he said.

“Naturally, in the state government, the Congress is enjoying the lion’s share because of its number of MLAs. But in the Lok Sabha elections, we want seats based on our organisational strength. So we are demanding 12 seats,” he added.

He also stated that efforts will be made to resolve issues between the activists of both the parties at the grass root level, to ensure better performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

BBMP Mayor election can now live stream

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Bengaluru residents will be able to watch today the election of the BBMP’s new mayor from the comfort of their own homes or offices as the BBMP has made all the arrangements to live stream the entire election process.

According to BBMP commissioner Manjunath N Prasad, on Friday, the webcasting will start at 11 am and will continue till the end of the process. “The election process will be webcast live. It is the first-of-its-kind experiment in the country,” he said.

Sources said that henceforth, the BBMP will webcast all the monthly meeting proceedings of the BBMP live using the webcast technology. “The BBMP has set up a system to webcast all proceedings live at a cost of Rs. 80 lakhs. This can be live streamed on smartphones also,” said an officer.

Triple talaq ordinance murder of democracy: AIMPLB

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The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the apex body of Indian Muslims, on Thursday termed as ‘murder of democracy’ and an ‘insult to Parliament’ the ordinance brought by the Centre last week making triple talaq a criminal offence.

AIMPLB Secretary Moulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani told reporters here that the government brought the ordinance through backdoor on an issue which was not very important and where there was room for making legislation democratically and through public opinion.

Rahmani, who is also the spokesperson of the board, said the legislation was unacceptable for Muslims. He pointed out that Muslim women have already rejected it.

On whether the board will challenge the ordinance in the Supreme Court, he said the board’s legal committee will look into it as the ordinance will anyway lapse in six months.

AIMPLB member and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who also addressed the news conference, said the ordinance would lapse the moment Parliament meets for the next session.

Rahmani said the government tried to bring a bill in Parliament, which was an interference in Shariat and was against the rights of women.

He said it was ironic that the government drafted the bill without consulting the community for which the legislation was being made.

The government also turned down the demand of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha to refer the bill to Select Committee which would have given an opportunity to the community or its representative organisations like AIMPLB to put forth their view.

He claimed that the ordinance was bereft of any logic as it seeks to punish a man for a crime which he has not committed.

“The Supreme Court has set aside triple talaq. When you are saying that when a man gives triple talaq, it will not come into effect, then what for you are sending him to jail for three years?” he asked.

Rahmani said criminalization of triple talaq would increase the number of women deserted by their husbands.

Owaisi said that marriage in Islam was a social contract and to apply penal provisions was unconstitutional.

(IANS)

India reiterates commitment to Palestinian cause

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Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has reiterated India’s support to the Palestinian cause while asserting New Delhi’s backing for a two-state solution to the conflict in West Asia.

Speaking at a meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) on Palestine here on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Session on Wednesday, Sushma Swaraj recalled the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Palestine in February, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, and described it as a “historic occasion”.

“During the visit, the Prime Minister announced a substantial upscaling of our development partnership efforts in solidarity with the Palestinian people,” she said.

“India is investing in projects of healthcare, educational infrastructure, women empowerment and a printing press, in addition to other capacity building programmes.”

Sushma Swaraj said that development partnership projects in Palestine worth around $70 million are under implementation during the last five years.

“These include flagship projects like the super-specialty hospital in Beit Sahour and the India-Palestine Technology Park, which was inaugurated last year in Ramallah,” she stated.

She said that India’s longstanding friendship with Palestine is built around three core dimensions: solidarity with Palestinian people; steadfast support to the Palestinian cause; and development partnership to assist nation building and capacity building efforts.

Sushma Swaraj also mentioned India’s increasing of its contribution to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East from $1.25 million to $5 million annually.

“A negotiated two-state solution remains the only viable solution to the issue to bring sustainable peace and lasting security,” she said.

Calling for restraint and moderation from all sides, she stated: “The stagnation since the collapse of talks four years ago and the deterioration in the security situation continues to cause serious concern. We hope for an early resumption of talks between Israel and Palestine that can move towards finding out a comprehensive resolution of the issue.”

The NAM Ministerial Committee on Palestine was established under India’s Presidency during the Seventh NAM Summit in New Delhi in 1983.

(IANS)

Modi government shunts Rafale whistle-blower: Congress

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The Congress on Thursday alleged that the Narendra Modi government has shunted a senior official, who indicated the loss in the Rafale jet deal, and rewarded his boss who overruled him, saying there were “perks of pleasing” that covered “corruption tracks.”

Party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has paid 300 per cent more for the defence deal that was negotiated to purchase 36 fighter jets from France as compared to an earlier price offered by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for 126 jets.

“The Modi government shunted the whistle-blower Joint Secretary (Air) who questioned the loss to government treasury by paying 300 per cent extra for 36 Rafale.

“Director General Smita Nagaraj, who overruled the joint secretary, was made a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Perks of pleasing Modi government cover corruption tracks,” Surjewala said attaching an Indian Express report along with his tweet.

The newspaper report stated that nearly a month before the deal was signed in September 2016 by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart in New Delhi, then Joint Secretary and Acquisition Manager (Air) in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), who had been part of the Contract Negotiations Committee (CNC), raised questions about the benchmark price and put his objections on record.

The objections raised delayed the Cabinet note approving the deal and its signing, which only happened after his objections were “overruled” by another senior MoD official, Director General (Acquisition).

The government-to-government deal for 36 Rafale aircrafts was announced by Modi during his visit to Paris in April 2015. The proposal for the earlier 126 Rafale jets during the UPA’s regime was scrapped.

IANS

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