Nitish Kumar has been sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar.&nbsp;

The BJP&#39;s Sushil Modi&nbsp;will be deputy chief minister.

Nitish had unexpectedly resigned on Wednesday dumping his former alliance partners the RJD and Congress, only to return a few hours later partnering this time with the BJP. &nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash">#WATCH</a> Nitish Kumar&#39;s swearing-in ceremony as Bihar CM at Raj Bhawan in Patna <a href="https://t.co/kHgjRs8gjD">https://t.co/kHgjRs8gjD</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/890426442776838144">July 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The BJP's Sushil Modi was sworn in as deputy chief minister

Nitish Kumar has been sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar. The BJP's Sushil Modi will be deputy chief minister. Nitish had unexpectedly resigned on Wednesday dumping his former alliance partners the RJD and Congress, only to return a few hours later partnering this time with the BJP. #WATCH Nitish Kumar's swearing-in ceremony as Bihar CM at Raj Bhawan in Patna https://t.co/kHgjRs8gjD — ANI (@ANI_news) July 27, 2017 ×

WATCH LIVE: Nitish Kumar's swearing in

Shashi Tharoor, an Indian lawmaker&nbsp;and former minister of state for external affairs and&nbsp;human resources development, looked at my notepad and pen and asked, &ldquo;Aren&rsquo;t you going to record the interview?&rdquo; Slightly taken aback, I replied with a gentle shake of the head. I still rely on the old school method especially when interviews are scheduled in haste and recording equipment lay in deep slumber in the bottomless pit of my &lsquo;ladies bag&rsquo;. &ldquo;Oh, but you must! I&rsquo;ve been misquoted so many times that I now insist on recordings,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;

My phone, a usually reliable back-up, chooses to misbehave at this juncture. Amused, Tharoor offers to record it on his phone and email the audio file. With this newly-forged rapport, we embark on a freewheeling conversation.&nbsp;

I begin by asking what he sees himself as: a writer, a one-time academic, a diplomat or a politician. He has his answer ready. &ldquo;Why does it have to be just one thing? Why can I not be all of it at the same time? A politician can also be a thinking man, you see!&rdquo; He invites the interviewer to shed her predefined notions.&nbsp;

Of Histories, Personal and National&nbsp;

With 15 books belonging to different genres to his name, Tharoor certainly takes his writing seriously. Glancing at the oeuvre, it is easy to discern his preoccupation with history. He nods in agreement. &ldquo;I was always fascinated by history as a child.&rdquo;

He then begins to chart his journey. &ldquo;In high school, I was that crazy kid who wrote history essays out of sheer pleasure and not because the teacher asked. Because I was so interested in the subject, I read way beyond what was required. I wrote essays on topics that interested me, particularly modern Indian history.&rdquo; He shares with a proud smile, &ldquo;I stumbled upon that notebook recently and found out that they weren&#39;t too bad for a fourteen-year-old in 10th standard.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Tharoor sheds light on the traditional science versus arts battle. He too got a taste of it. &ldquo;When I was to go to college, it came as a surprise to many people. I stood first in West Bengal. I had the highest possible marks in ISC examinations. I opted for History and everyone was horrified including my parents and teachers. St Stephens College was astonished because they had never got an application for History from somebody who had such good marks. They admitted me without an interview.&rdquo; He adds, &ldquo;My interest continued and I topped the university in History. When I graduated, I left the field but never lost&nbsp;interest. Finally, today I found myself writing a book on history, admittedly popular history, which does take into account a lot of contemporary debates and scholarship in the field.&rdquo;&nbsp;

The &#39;Us and Them&#39; of Nationalism

But what explains his preoccupation with national history?&nbsp;

Tharoor says:&nbsp;&ldquo;Nationalism is an inescapable part of our 20th-century history because it was a dominant issue in the first half of the 20th century.&rdquo;

&quot;In terms of contemporary politics, I have argued quite a few times, even publicly, that Congress party should not cede Indian nationalism to the ruling party. We have as much of a claim to speak in the nationalistic spirit. And what is more, we do so in a more expansive and inclusive way and not the other kind.&rdquo;&nbsp;

There is no getting away from the &lsquo;us and them&rsquo; binaries.&nbsp;

&ldquo;What I&#39;ve done in my books speaks for a more inclusive vision of India that my party also stands for. But nationalism has many meanings and connotations in people&#39;s minds. There are people who think of nationalism only in terms of &lsquo;bharat mata ki jai&rsquo; kind of bigotry. The current ruling dispensation seems to be thrusting patriotism down people&#39;s throat where loyalty becomes an act of performance rather than something that is felt in the heart. That&#39;s not my kind of nationalism,&rdquo; he continues.&nbsp;

Is this urge of Tharoor, the writer, to narrativise history linked to Tharoor -- the politician&rsquo;s aim to build a certain brand of nationalism?&nbsp;

Every narrative of a contemporary country has to be steeped in its history. Today when we speak of what India is and celebrate Indian nationhood, we need to have a sense of what we are celebrating. As you may have seen in some of my books, I articulate a vision of Indian nationalism that is anchored in Indian pluralism. I talk about all the forces that have made India and nearly unmade it. I celebrate multiplicity, inclusiveness, and involvement of multiple communities and regions in making the Indian national narrative. Others interpret nationalism more narrowly.&nbsp;

&lsquo;Us and them&rsquo; again but he is gracious enough to allow some space.&nbsp;

&ldquo;This is a contested terrain. Obviously, Mr Savarkar&#39;s view of Indian nationalism is not my view of Indian nationalism. This difference is what goes into the process of making of an Indian identity.&rdquo; He pauses to think. &ldquo;But at the same time, nationalism cannot be impervious to the past. Talking of British nationalism today, brushing colonialism under the carpet is inexcusable. You can&#39;t really celebrate Elizabeth, Francis Drake, Victoria, and Walter Raleigh and&nbsp;overlook the subjugation of hundreds of millions of people around the world whose resources were plundered for British industrial revolution. All nationalism is steeped in history whether people acknowledge it or not.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Tharoor&rsquo;s latest &lsquo;An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India&rsquo; seeks to revive the memory of India&rsquo;s colonial past and the attached horrors.&nbsp;

How, as a historian, does he deal with flashpoints in history? Does he see and react to the ploy of outsourcing the violence by the West?&nbsp;

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very well expressed idea. &lsquo;Outsourcing the violence.&rsquo; As a UN official, I had to deal with the contemporary outsourcing of violence. We can celebrate the fact that the UN prevented the third world war. However, the fact is that wars went on in the periphery while the so-called global centre was celebrating peace. The world, on the whole, has not been at peace,&rdquo; he responds.&nbsp;

What about the flashpoints in Indian history?&nbsp;

Tharoor begins by referring to &lsquo;An Era of Darkness&rsquo;. &ldquo;While I haven&rsquo;t looked at the contemporary Indian history in the latest book which stops at 1947, it does shed light on the roots of communal trouble in the country.&rdquo; Raising his pitch a bit he adds, &ldquo;The divide and rule, divide et impera, was a very conscious colonial policy. Caste system became much more ossified and rigidified thanks to British intervention. I&#39;ve talked about how the classification of entire tribes as criminal tribes, or entire groups as martial races, and so on have had pernicious and lingering effects.&rdquo; He slips in casually, &ldquo;There are some echoes of the Raj in today&#39;s contemporary politics. I&#39;ve alluded to it a bit in the last chapter.&rdquo;&nbsp;

The Opposition Within

Since the historian&rsquo;s politician avatar becomes visible, the next question is about the vulnerabilities of a freely writing and expressing active politician. Tharoor has faced opposition from his own party members for not toeing the line.&nbsp;

&ldquo;I remain a strong critic of the BJP, the ruling party. But I believe that a part of being responsible opposition is giving acknowledgement&nbsp;and at times more than acknowledgement&nbsp;when it&#39;s due. Two such incidents happened in recent past which were only a few months apart. The first one was due to an article in which I asked the question: is there a Narendra Modi 2.0? Without giving a definitive answer, I only said it&#39;s too early to tell. But the headline and a very inadequate paraphrase in the Times of India created a huge uproar.&rdquo;&nbsp;

&ldquo;The second one involved my appointment as a goodwill ambassador of the Swachha Bharat Mission which I saw as a national endeavour that needed to be supported beyond politics. Now, our political atmosphere has reached a point where nothing is beyond politics and as a result, I suffered. But I stand by my&nbsp;ideas,&rdquo; shares Tharoor. He hopes that his &ldquo;intellectual independence and integrity of views&rdquo; will eventually be respected. &ldquo;Hopefully, people will see that though I attack the government as strongly as any other congressman on the majority of issues&nbsp;if there are any issues that I feel the government deserves credit I&#39;m willing to take a different stand,&rdquo; he adds.&nbsp;

Does his status as a politician stand at loggerheads with his writing career?&nbsp;

Tharoor responds to it by talking about responsibility and censorship. &ldquo;I don&#39;t censor myself on those grounds. A part of my responsibility as public figure is to accept the opportunities that a public forum gives me to write and speak. I may not always find myself earning applause from my party but at the very least I&#39;m able to have a point of view. In some cases, if there&#39;s an established party line I&#39;ll shut up after a while. But I&#39;ll continue to share my viewpoint within the party and behind the closed doors. I&#39;ve done it on several occasions.&rdquo;&nbsp;

He shares another instance of backstabbing from some of his own party members. &ldquo;My opposition to the tactical disruption of the parliament was leaked by insiders. I did not go to the press with it. Some others did it to make me look as being disloyal to the party. I wasn&#39;t. Even though I dissented, once the party decided to go ahead with it despite my objection, I worked as an acquiescent member of the party&#39;s presence in the Lok Sabha.&rdquo; It is easy to trace the signs of hurt in his voice.&nbsp;

So what will Dr Shashi Tharoor like to be remembered as, a writer or a politician?&nbsp;

Smile comes back to his face. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a fairly easy question to answer. Writing endures for an individual far more than politics. At the end of the day, a politician may feel that he can do better for the society as a whole than a writer can. But look at me as an individual: I&#39;m already a former minister. One day, I&#39;ll be a former MP. I hope never to be a former writer.&rdquo;&nbsp;

His choice is clear. He may not be a reluctant politician but the writer in him is what keeps him thriving.

(WION)

WION's Nishtha Gautam talks to the erudite Indian lawmaker Shashi Tharoor on history, nationalism, and betrayal

Shashi Tharoor, an Indian lawmaker and former minister of state for external affairs and human resources development, looked at my notepad and pen and asked, “Aren’t you going to record the interview?” Slightly taken aback, I replied with a gentle shake of the head. I still rely on the old school method especially when interviews are scheduled in haste and recording equipment lay in deep slumber in the bottomless pit of my ‘ladies bag’. “Oh, but you must! I’ve been misquoted so many times that I now insist on recordings,” he said. My phone, a usually reliable back-up, chooses to misbehave at this juncture. Amused, Tharoor offers to record it on his phone and email the audio file. With this newly-forged rapport, we embark on a freewheeling conversation. I begin by asking what he sees himself as: a writer, a one-time academic, a diplomat or a politician. He has his answer ready. “Why does it have to be just one thing? Why can I not be all of it at the same time? A politician can also be a thinking man, you see!” He invites the interviewer to shed her predefined notions. Of Histories, Personal and National With 15 books belonging to different genres to his name, Tharoor certainly takes his writing seriously. Glancing at the oeuvre, it is easy to discern his preoccupation with history. He nods in agreement. “I was always fascinated by history as a child.” He then begins to chart his journey. “In high school, I was that crazy kid who wrote history essays out of sheer pleasure and not because the teacher asked. Because I was so interested in the subject, I read way beyond what was required. I wrote essays on topics that interested me, particularly modern Indian history.” He shares with a proud smile, “I stumbled upon that notebook recently and found out that they weren't too bad for a fourteen-year-old in 10th standard.” Tharoor sheds light on the traditional science versus arts battle. He too got a taste of it. “When I was to go to college, it came as a surprise to many people. I stood first in West Bengal. I had the highest possible marks in ISC examinations. I opted for History and everyone was horrified including my parents and teachers. St Stephens College was astonished because they had never got an application for History from somebody who had such good marks. They admitted me without an interview.” He adds, “My interest continued and I topped the university in History. When I graduated, I left the field but never lost interest. Finally, today I found myself writing a book on history, admittedly popular history, which does take into account a lot of contemporary debates and scholarship in the field.” The 'Us and Them' of Nationalism But what explains his preoccupation with national history? Tharoor says: “Nationalism is an inescapable part of our 20th-century history because it was a dominant issue in the first half of the 20th century.” "In terms of contemporary politics, I have argued quite a few times, even publicly, that Congress party should not cede Indian nationalism to the ruling party. We have as much of a claim to speak in the nationalistic spirit. And what is more, we do so in a more expansive and inclusive way and not the other kind.” There is no getting away from the ‘us and them’ binaries. “What I've done in my books speaks for a more inclusive vision of India that my party also stands for. But nationalism has many meanings and connotations in people's minds. There are people who think of nationalism only in terms of ‘bharat mata ki jai’ kind of bigotry. The current ruling dispensation seems to be thrusting patriotism down people's throat where loyalty becomes an act of performance rather than something that is felt in the heart. That's not my kind of nationalism,” he continues. Is this urge of Tharoor, the writer, to narrativise history linked to Tharoor -- the politician’s aim to build a certain brand of nationalism? Every narrative of a contemporary country has to be steeped in its history. Today when we speak of what India is and celebrate Indian nationhood, we need to have a sense of what we are celebrating. As you may have seen in some of my books, I articulate a vision of Indian nationalism that is anchored in Indian pluralism. I talk about all the forces that have made India and nearly unmade it. I celebrate multiplicity, inclusiveness, and involvement of multiple communities and regions in making the Indian national narrative. Others interpret nationalism more narrowly. ‘Us and them’ again but he is gracious enough to allow some space. “This is a contested terrain. Obviously, Mr Savarkar's view of Indian nationalism is not my view of Indian nationalism. This difference is what goes into the process of making of an Indian identity.” He pauses to think. “But at the same time, nationalism cannot be impervious to the past. Talking of British nationalism today, brushing colonialism under the carpet is inexcusable. You can't really celebrate Elizabeth, Francis Drake, Victoria, and Walter Raleigh and overlook the subjugation of hundreds of millions of people around the world whose resources were plundered for British industrial revolution. All nationalism is steeped in history whether people acknowledge it or not.” Tharoor’s latest ‘An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India’ seeks to revive the memory of India’s colonial past and the attached horrors. How, as a historian, does he deal with flashpoints in history? Does he see and react to the ploy of outsourcing the violence by the West? “It’s a very well expressed idea. ‘Outsourcing the violence.’ As a UN official, I had to deal with the contemporary outsourcing of violence. We can celebrate the fact that the UN prevented the third world war. However, the fact is that wars went on in the periphery while the so-called global centre was celebrating peace. The world, on the whole, has not been at peace,” he responds. What about the flashpoints in Indian history? Tharoor begins by referring to ‘An Era of Darkness’. “While I haven’t looked at the contemporary Indian history in the latest book which stops at 1947, it does shed light on the roots of communal trouble in the country.” Raising his pitch a bit he adds, “The divide and rule, divide et impera, was a very conscious colonial policy. Caste system became much more ossified and rigidified thanks to British intervention. I've talked about how the classification of entire tribes as criminal tribes, or entire groups as martial races, and so on have had pernicious and lingering effects.” He slips in casually, “There are some echoes of the Raj in today's contemporary politics. I've alluded to it a bit in the last chapter.” The Opposition Within Since the historian’s politician avatar becomes visible, the next question is about the vulnerabilities of a freely writing and expressing active politician. Tharoor has faced opposition from his own party members for not toeing the line. “I remain a strong critic of the BJP, the ruling party. But I believe that a part of being responsible opposition is giving acknowledgement and at times more than acknowledgement when it's due. Two such incidents happened in recent past which were only a few months apart. The first one was due to an article in which I asked the question: is there a Narendra Modi 2.0? Without giving a definitive answer, I only said it's too early to tell. But the headline and a very inadequate paraphrase in the Times of India created a huge uproar.” “The second one involved my appointment as a goodwill ambassador of the Swachha Bharat Mission which I saw as a national endeavour that needed to be supported beyond politics. Now, our political atmosphere has reached a point where nothing is beyond politics and as a result, I suffered. But I stand by my ideas,” shares Tharoor. He hopes that his “intellectual independence and integrity of views” will eventually be respected. “Hopefully, people will see that though I attack the government as strongly as any other congressman on the majority of issues if there are any issues that I feel the government deserves credit I'm willing to take a different stand,” he adds. Does his status as a politician stand at loggerheads with his writing career? Tharoor responds to it by talking about responsibility and censorship. “I don't censor myself on those grounds. A part of my responsibility as public figure is to accept the opportunities that a public forum gives me to write and speak. I may not always find myself earning applause from my party but at the very least I'm able to have a point of view. In some cases, if there's an established party line I'll shut up after a while. But I'll continue to share my viewpoint within the party and behind the closed doors. I've done it on several occasions.” He shares another instance of backstabbing from some of his own party members. “My opposition to the tactical disruption of the parliament was leaked by insiders. I did not go to the press with it. Some others did it to make me look as being disloyal to the party. I wasn't. Even though I dissented, once the party decided to go ahead with it despite my objection, I worked as an acquiescent member of the party's presence in the Lok Sabha.” It is easy to trace the signs of hurt in his voice. So what will Dr Shashi Tharoor like to be remembered as, a writer or a politician? Smile comes back to his face. “It’s a fairly easy question to answer. Writing endures for an individual far more than politics. At the end of the day, a politician may feel that he can do better for the society as a whole than a writer can. But look at me as an individual: I'm already a former minister. One day, I'll be a former MP. I hope never to be a former writer.” His choice is clear. He may not be a reluctant politician but the writer in him is what keeps him thriving. (WION)

In Conversation with Shashi Tharoor: Congress has as much stake in Indian nationalism as BJP does

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day today after opposition repeatedly disrupted the proceedings by raising slogans on the plight of farmers and related issues.

The adjournment for the day was announced by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan soon after the House resumed business at noon for the Zero Hour after two consecutive adjournments forced by the opposition members who stormed the Well and raised slogans.

When House assembled for the day and took up the Question Hour, opposition members, mostly from the Congress, trooped into the Well raising slogans saying the Prime Minister should respond to the concerns over farmers&#39; plight and the agrarian crisis.

Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth Kumar said the Lok Sabha had concluded a discussion on the issue by sitting late last night. 
But as the slogan-shouting continued, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was forced to adjourn the house till 1130 AM, just about ten minutes after it had assembled at 11 AM.

When the House resumed business at 11.30 AM, the opposition members belonging to Congress, TMC, Left and other parties again trooped into the Well and started raising slogans pressing for their deamands.

As the unruly scenes continued, the Speaker appealed to the protestors to return to their seats and then adjourned the House till noon. 
However, when the House resumed to take up different issues during the Zero Hour, the opposition members again came into the Well raising slogans.

Holding placards, some members, who are part of the AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma), trooped into Well demanding a CBI probe into the gutkha (a tobacco product) scam.

A minister in the Tamil Nadu government, which is run by AIADMK (Amma) group, and some officials have come under the scanner for alleged bribery to facilitate the sale of banned gutkha in the state.

Sensing the opposition mood and as it became difficult to continue the business of the House amidst the noisy scenes, the Speaker called for the listed papers to be tabled and then adjourned the House for the day.&nbsp;

Opposition mostly from Congress trooped into the Well raising slogans, saying Prime Minister Modi should respond to the farmers' concerns

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day today after opposition repeatedly disrupted the proceedings by raising slogans on the plight of farmers and related issues. The adjournment for the day was announced by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan soon after the House resumed business at noon for the Zero Hour after two consecutive adjournments forced by the opposition members who stormed the Well and raised slogans. When House assembled for the day and took up the Question Hour, opposition members, mostly from the Congress, trooped into the Well raising slogans saying the Prime Minister should respond to the concerns over farmers' plight and the agrarian crisis. Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth Kumar said the Lok Sabha had concluded a discussion on the issue by sitting late last night. But as the slogan-shouting continued, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was forced to adjourn the house till 1130 AM, just about ten minutes after it had assembled at 11 AM. When the House resumed business at 11.30 AM, the opposition members belonging to Congress, TMC, Left and other parties again trooped into the Well and started raising slogans pressing for their deamands. As the unruly scenes continued, the Speaker appealed to the protestors to return to their seats and then adjourned the House till noon. However, when the House resumed to take up different issues during the Zero Hour, the opposition members again came into the Well raising slogans. Holding placards, some members, who are part of the AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma), trooped into Well demanding a CBI probe into the gutkha (a tobacco product) scam. A minister in the Tamil Nadu government, which is run by AIADMK (Amma) group, and some officials have come under the scanner for alleged bribery to facilitate the sale of banned gutkha in the state. Sensing the opposition mood and as it became difficult to continue the business of the House amidst the noisy scenes, the Speaker called for the listed papers to be tabled and then adjourned the House for the day.

Lok Sabha adjourns for day amid Opposition protests over farmer issues

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Friday said his son Tejashwi,&nbsp;accused of corruption,&nbsp;would not resign as Bihar deputy chief minister. He also dismissed reports of a rift in the &#39;mahagatbandhan&#39;, the JD(U), RJD, and Congress alliance that rules the state.&nbsp;

&quot;The Vidhan Mandal of our party has taken a decision that Tejashwi Yadav will not resign,&quot; Lalu told ANI.

&quot;An FIR is not sufficient reason for the resignation,&quot; he said.

The RJD chief said the raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on himself and his son were&nbsp;an attempt by the BJP to break the grand alliance.

&quot;For us the priority is the Presidential elections. There are reports of rift in the alliance. Media reports are showing that Sonia ji has held talks with me and Nitish ji, all this is false. Our alliance is unbreakable. The RJD will not give the BJP and the RSS any space to enter&nbsp;Bihar.&nbsp;This song and dance with the CBI reports and the ED reports is an attempt by the BJP to break our alliance in Bihar,&quot; Lalu Prasad said.

&quot;All tangible and intangible assets of Lalu Yadav and his family are in public domain. The RJD will not let anybody break our alliance,&quot; he added.

The RJD chief added that he and his family have already issued their clarification on the corruption charges that have been filed by the Central Bureau of investigation (CBI).

&quot;Whatever accusations have been made against me and my family, we have already issued a clarification in the press conference. We will give our responses to the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate whenever they call us,&quot; said Lalu.

Sonia Gandhi on Friday called Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad, news reports said.&nbsp;

The calls were made, the reports said, to save the &#39;mahagatbandhan&#39;.&nbsp;

The news reports quoted Congress sources as saying they thought that now that Sonia had spoken to Nitish and Lalu, things would be alright in a few days.&nbsp;

The alliance has come under severe strain ever since Lalu, his wife Rabri, and his son Tejashwi were booked by the CBI on corruption charges.&nbsp;

The CBI alleges Lalu had accepted a bribe in return for an IRCTC contract that he awarded to a hotel company. Lalu was railway minister at the time.&nbsp;

The JD(U) meanwhile has been calling for Tejashwi&#39;s resignation as deputy chief minister of Bihar. There is increased&nbsp;pressure on chief minister Nitish Kumar to sack Tejashwi to protect an image of clean governance.

&nbsp;

The JD(U) has been calling for Tejashwi's, Lalu's son, resignation as deputy chief minister of Bihar

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Friday said his son Tejashwi, accused of corruption, would not resign as Bihar deputy chief minister. He also dismissed reports of a rift in the 'mahagatbandhan', the JD(U), RJD, and Congress alliance that rules the state. "The Vidhan Mandal of our party has taken a decision that Tejashwi Yadav will not resign," Lalu told ANI. "An FIR is not sufficient reason for the resignation," he said. The RJD chief said the raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on himself and his son were an attempt by the BJP to break the grand alliance. "For us the priority is the Presidential elections. There are reports of rift in the alliance. Media reports are showing that Sonia ji has held talks with me and Nitish ji, all this is false. Our alliance is unbreakable. The RJD will not give the BJP and the RSS any space to enter Bihar. This song and dance with the CBI reports and the ED reports is an attempt by the BJP to break our alliance in Bihar," Lalu Prasad said. "All tangible and intangible assets of Lalu Yadav and his family are in public domain. The RJD will not let anybody break our alliance," he added. The RJD chief added that he and his family have already issued their clarification on the corruption charges that have been filed by the Central Bureau of investigation (CBI). "Whatever accusations have been made against me and my family, we have already issued a clarification in the press conference. We will give our responses to the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate whenever they call us," said Lalu. Sonia Gandhi on Friday called Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad, news reports said. The calls were made, the reports said, to save the 'mahagatbandhan'. The news reports quoted Congress sources as saying they thought that now that Sonia had spoken to Nitish and Lalu, things would be alright in a few days. The alliance has come under severe strain ever since Lalu, his wife Rabri, and his son Tejashwi were booked by the CBI on corruption charges. The CBI alleges Lalu had accepted a bribe in return for an IRCTC contract that he awarded to a hotel company. Lalu was railway minister at the time. The JD(U) meanwhile has been calling for Tejashwi's resignation as deputy chief minister of Bihar. There is increased pressure on chief minister Nitish Kumar to sack Tejashwi to protect an image of clean governance.

Bihar 'mahagatbandhan' unbreakable, son Tejashwi will not resign: Lalu

BJP&#39;s member of parliament Roopa Ganguly along with other leaders were today detained by the West Bengal Police while on their way to Basirhat which has been on the boil because of communal tensions.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
West Bengal: BJP MP Rupa Ganguly detained by Police while on her way to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Basirhat?src=hash">#Basirhat</a> <a href="https://t.co/3RGR0o4fGM">pic.twitter.com/3RGR0o4fGM</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/883224115535949824">July 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

The police also prevented teams from the Left and the Congress party from visiting the violence-hit area.&nbsp;

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
West Bengal: Congress delegation led by Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary stopped from entering <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Basirhat?src=hash">#Basirhat</a> <a href="https://t.co/Z21ezc8uHG">pic.twitter.com/Z21ezc8uHG</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/883227129449598977">July 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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Tension&nbsp;in the violence-hit area of&nbsp;West Bengal&#39;s North 24 Parganas district flared up again on Thursday. Police had to lathicharge protesters who were blocking a road.&nbsp;

One person, who had been injured and admitted to the hospital, died after three days.&nbsp;

Reports said he had died in a Kolkata hospital, where he had been brought from Basirhat on Tuesday in critical condition.&nbsp;

Basirhat has been tense since Monday over a facebook post by a boy which led to clashes between two communities.&nbsp;

The police also prevented teams from the Left and the Congress party from visiting the violence-hit area

BJP's member of parliament Roopa Ganguly along with other leaders were today detained by the West Bengal Police while on their way to Basirhat which has been on the boil because of communal tensions. West Bengal: BJP MP Rupa Ganguly detained by Police while on her way to #Basirhat pic.twitter.com/3RGR0o4fGM — ANI (@ANI_news) July 7, 2017 × The police also prevented teams from the Left and the Congress party from visiting the violence-hit area. West Bengal: Congress delegation led by Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary stopped from entering #Basirhat pic.twitter.com/Z21ezc8uHG — ANI (@ANI_news) July 7, 2017 × Tension in the violence-hit area of West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district flared up again on Thursday. Police had to lathicharge protesters who were blocking a road. One person, who had been injured and admitted to the hospital, died after three days. Reports said he had died in a Kolkata hospital, where he had been brought from Basirhat on Tuesday in critical condition. Basirhat has been tense since Monday over a facebook post by a boy which led to clashes between two communities.

BJP MP Roopa Ganguly detained while on her way to violence-hit Basirhat

The Centre on Friday questioned the Congress Party and the Trinamool Congress&#39;s (TMC) over its U-turn on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) and asked why they weren&#39;t supporting the government now when they backed the uniform tax regime in the Parliament.

Opposition parties, led by the Congress, have dismissed the event as a &quot;publicity gimmick&quot;.&nbsp;

The exceptions are the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and former PM HD Dewe Gowda&#39;s Janata Dal Secular, who have said they will attend the event, which will also be attended by celebrities including actor Amitabh Bachchan and industrialist Ratan Tata.

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India deserves a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GST?src=hash">#GST</a> rollout that does not put crores of its ordinary citizens, small businesses &amp; traders through tremendous pain &amp;anxiety
&mdash; Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficeOfRG/status/880718731340591104">June 30, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&quot;GST is the most important economic change after India&#39;s Independence. It is a historic day and after the rolling out of GST it will be easy to do business. Through this people will gain from the indirect benefits. In Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Congress and TMC supported this. They should support in even now,&quot; Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said.

The minister was reiterating Finance Minister Arun Jaitley&#39;s statement yesterday that the GST had been formed with the consensus of the states and a consideration of their suggestions.

Minister of State (Development Ministry) Jitendra Singh said GST would be a &quot;gamechanger in India&#39;s economic road map for the future.&quot;

&quot;It is not a mere economic reform, but it is a game changer in India&#39;s economic road map for the future. But at the same time it is also going to be a new values addition to the character of India Republic. It is an occasion of celebration and rededicating ourselves to the service of nation by each and every citizen of India,&quot; he said.

Earlier on Friday, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu urged the Congress Party to &quot;realise and rethink&quot; their stand and join the government for the midnight Parliament session.

&quot;It&#39;s really unfortunate because they are distancing themselves from the process of reformation in the country. I hope they (Congress) realise by evening and re-think and join us in the Central Hall,&quot; Naidu said.

&quot;I still appeal to the Congress and other parties boycotting GST event to reconsider. It&#39;s not a party function,&quot; he added.

The Congress Party yesterday said that it would boycott the midnight meeting on the GST roll-out, dismissing it as a publicity stunt.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge pointed out that previous governments had not celebrated landmark the passing of landmark reforms in Parliament including the Right to Information Act, the Food Security Act and the MNREGA.

&quot;We are boycotting this midnight celebration. In UPA government; Right to Information (RTI) Act, Food Security Act, MNREGA, Right to Education laws were passed which were beneficial for people. But, we never made celebration for such things in central hall. The BJP is doing publicity only in which they are master,&quot; Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Apart from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party, the Left, and the DMK have also decided to boycott&nbsp;a special sitting of the two parliament chambers -- to be held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the tax takes effect at midnight on Friday.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not attend the event. State minister Vijendra Yadav will represent the Janata Dal (United) on his behalf.

The GST, which rolls out at midnight today, will bring the Indian economy under a single tax bracket.&nbsp;

There have only been three previous midnight sittings in India&#39;s history, to mark India&#39;s independence in 1947 and the 25th and 50th anniversaries.&nbsp;

Congress said the nationalist government was &quot;insulting the very memory of India&#39;s freedom struggle and the sacrifices associated with it&quot;.

Rashtriya Janata Dal party spokesman Manoj Kumar Jha said the party would &quot;boycott this mega spectacle of optical illusion&quot;.

&quot;Though we have been in favour of GST, we believe there are pressing concerns, particularly among the small- and medium-level traders and manufacturing units, which remain unaddressed,&quot; he said.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday backed the GST and questioned, why political parties were creating a fuss over its launch when they unanimously passed the tax reform in the Parliament. 
 
The GST is to be rolled out Saturday even as businesses complain they are ill-prepared for the massive changes about to ripple through India&#39;s unwieldy economy.

Watch WION&#39;s Kartikeya Sharma on GST rollout:&nbsp;

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Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu urged the Congress Party to 'realise and rethink' their stand and join the government for the midnight Parliament session

The Centre on Friday questioned the Congress Party and the Trinamool Congress's (TMC) over its U-turn on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) and asked why they weren't supporting the government now when they backed the uniform tax regime in the Parliament. Opposition parties, led by the Congress, have dismissed the event as a "publicity gimmick". The exceptions are the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and former PM HD Dewe Gowda's Janata Dal Secular, who have said they will attend the event, which will also be attended by celebrities including actor Amitabh Bachchan and industrialist Ratan Tata. India deserves a #GST rollout that does not put crores of its ordinary citizens, small businesses & traders through tremendous pain &anxiety — Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 30, 2017 × "GST is the most important economic change after India's Independence. It is a historic day and after the rolling out of GST it will be easy to do business. Through this people will gain from the indirect benefits. In Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Congress and TMC supported this. They should support in even now," Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said. The minister was reiterating Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement yesterday that the GST had been formed with the consensus of the states and a consideration of their suggestions. Minister of State (Development Ministry) Jitendra Singh said GST would be a "gamechanger in India's economic road map for the future." "It is not a mere economic reform, but it is a game changer in India's economic road map for the future. But at the same time it is also going to be a new values addition to the character of India Republic. It is an occasion of celebration and rededicating ourselves to the service of nation by each and every citizen of India," he said. Earlier on Friday, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu urged the Congress Party to "realise and rethink" their stand and join the government for the midnight Parliament session. "It's really unfortunate because they are distancing themselves from the process of reformation in the country. I hope they (Congress) realise by evening and re-think and join us in the Central Hall," Naidu said. "I still appeal to the Congress and other parties boycotting GST event to reconsider. It's not a party function," he added. The Congress Party yesterday said that it would boycott the midnight meeting on the GST roll-out, dismissing it as a publicity stunt. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge pointed out that previous governments had not celebrated landmark the passing of landmark reforms in Parliament including the Right to Information Act, the Food Security Act and the MNREGA. "We are boycotting this midnight celebration. In UPA government; Right to Information (RTI) Act, Food Security Act, MNREGA, Right to Education laws were passed which were beneficial for people. But, we never made celebration for such things in central hall. The BJP is doing publicity only in which they are master," Mallikarjun Kharge said. Apart from the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party, the Left, and the DMK have also decided to boycott a special sitting of the two parliament chambers -- to be held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the tax takes effect at midnight on Friday. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not attend the event. State minister Vijendra Yadav will represent the Janata Dal (United) on his behalf. The GST, which rolls out at midnight today, will bring the Indian economy under a single tax bracket. There have only been three previous midnight sittings in India's history, to mark India's independence in 1947 and the 25th and 50th anniversaries. Congress said the nationalist government was "insulting the very memory of India's freedom struggle and the sacrifices associated with it". Rashtriya Janata Dal party spokesman Manoj Kumar Jha said the party would "boycott this mega spectacle of optical illusion". "Though we have been in favour of GST, we believe there are pressing concerns, particularly among the small- and medium-level traders and manufacturing units, which remain unaddressed," he said. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday backed the GST and questioned, why political parties were creating a fuss over its launch when they unanimously passed the tax reform in the Parliament. The GST is to be rolled out Saturday even as businesses complain they are ill-prepared for the massive changes about to ripple through India's unwieldy economy. Watch WION's Kartikeya Sharma on GST rollout:

As midnight launch boycotts increase, government questions U-turn on GST

By Ankit Saproo

The opposition has picked former Lok Sabha Speaker and Congress party leader Meira Kumar as its presidential nominee to take on the NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind in next month&#39;s presidential polls.

Rejecting the likes of Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Prakash Ambedkar, the opposition rallied behind Meira Kumar to take on Kovind dealing a blow to the ruling party&#39;s efforts to create a consensus around its presidential nominee. But the cracks in the opposition camp were visible even before the meeting began as one of the key members, Nitish Kumar of the JD(U), sided with the BJP on the choice of presidential candidate.&nbsp;

Another key opposition figure, BSP&#39;s Mayawati, has decided to back Meira Kumar in what should be a relief for the opposition camp as she had expressed that in the event the opposition does not come &nbsp;up with a better Dalit candidate, she would go with the BJP&#39;s choice Kovind, a Dalit.

By putting up Meira Kumar as a joint opposition figure, the opposition wants to give the ruling party a tough fight even if the numbers are stacked against them.

Meira Kumar, who is the daughter of former deputy Prime Minister and senior Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram, served as the Lok Sabha Speaker in the second UPA regime. She was elected as Speaker by the entire House unanimously. She was famous for her polite interventions during the tumultuous proceedings and was known for her poise.

She quit Indian Foreign Service to join politics and contested for the first time against political heavyweights like Mayawati and Ram Vilas Paswan in 1985. She won the elections and became a member of parliament from Uttar Pradesh&#39;s Bijnore.

By nominating Meira Kumar, the opposition has made the presidential fight next month a matter of competitive Dalit politics.

Apart from JD(U), other regional parties like the BJD and YSR Congress have also extended support to Kovind. Political observers are saying that Kovind&#39;s victory is not a question of &#39;if he will win&#39; but &#39;by what margin&nbsp;will he win?&#39;

Whether more opposition parties will switch loyalities is someting to watch out for but by pitting Meira Kumar against Ram Nath Kovind, the Presidential polls will be a battle between two Dalit candidates in a larger fight to win the Dalit vote bank which holds the key to 2019 Lok Sabha polls. 
&nbsp;

The opposition camp received its biggest blow in the form of Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) deciding to support the NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind

By Ankit Saproo The opposition has picked former Lok Sabha Speaker and Congress party leader Meira Kumar as its presidential nominee to take on the NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind in next month's presidential polls. Rejecting the likes of Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Prakash Ambedkar, the opposition rallied behind Meira Kumar to take on Kovind dealing a blow to the ruling party's efforts to create a consensus around its presidential nominee. But the cracks in the opposition camp were visible even before the meeting began as one of the key members, Nitish Kumar of the JD(U), sided with the BJP on the choice of presidential candidate. Another key opposition figure, BSP's Mayawati, has decided to back Meira Kumar in what should be a relief for the opposition camp as she had expressed that in the event the opposition does not come up with a better Dalit candidate, she would go with the BJP's choice Kovind, a Dalit. By putting up Meira Kumar as a joint opposition figure, the opposition wants to give the ruling party a tough fight even if the numbers are stacked against them. Meira Kumar, who is the daughter of former deputy Prime Minister and senior Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram, served as the Lok Sabha Speaker in the second UPA regime. She was elected as Speaker by the entire House unanimously. She was famous for her polite interventions during the tumultuous proceedings and was known for her poise. She quit Indian Foreign Service to join politics and contested for the first time against political heavyweights like Mayawati and Ram Vilas Paswan in 1985. She won the elections and became a member of parliament from Uttar Pradesh's Bijnore. By nominating Meira Kumar, the opposition has made the presidential fight next month a matter of competitive Dalit politics. Apart from JD(U), other regional parties like the BJD and YSR Congress have also extended support to Kovind. Political observers are saying that Kovind's victory is not a question of 'if he will win' but 'by what margin will he win?' Whether more opposition parties will switch loyalities is someting to watch out for but by pitting Meira Kumar against Ram Nath Kovind, the Presidential polls will be a battle between two Dalit candidates in a larger fight to win the Dalit vote bank which holds the key to 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Presidential Polls: Meira Kumar is opposition's answer to NDA's Ram Nath Kovind

With Ram Nath Kovind&rsquo;s announcement as NDA&rsquo;s presidential candidate, the bar has been raised for the Opposition. The Opposition&rsquo;s candidate will need to create a far powerful imagination of presidency knowing that he or she doesn&rsquo;t have the numbers to make it to the office of the President. But the crisis does sow the seeds of opportunity. When Ambedkar&rsquo;s grandson, Prakash Ambedkar says that an Adivasi should be selected to fight the official candidate, it shouldn&rsquo;t be brushed aside as light comment from a political outsider. Instead of making it a Dalit vs Dalit fight, the Congress party can pick its own symbol of oppressed people, and deploy a face whose credibility matches or exceeds that of the official candidate.

Today, tribals represent the most exploited and least politically empowered segments in the Indian political structure.

Last time around, PA Sangma floated this idea and contested the elections on this very plank but lost. He was an accomplished parliamentarian but his opponent was formidable Pranab Mukherji. So neither the idea had cut any ice nor could he create a counter-narrative which would put Pranab Mukherji at a disadvantage despite having the numbers by his side.

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<h5>India&rsquo;s tribal communities also suffer from the absence of political platforms, which both Muslims and Dalits enjoy.</h5>
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Tribals in this country are the most oppressed people in India. They are far more marginalised than Dalits, both socially and politically. In popular literature and politics, Dalits have their icons but tribals have none. Even Muslims and other minorities received support from various quarters and help from mainstream parties but not the members of the tribal communities. It is also because tribals are far removed from the cities; their voices are too remote to be captured by the media. India&rsquo;s tribal communities also suffer from the absence of political platforms, which both Muslims and Dalits enjoy. The original sons of the soil also continue to be violently oppressed by the state, industrialists, Naxalites and missionaries.&nbsp;

Tribals of India don&rsquo;t have their Ambedkar or Gandhi.&nbsp;

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<h5>Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, which were created on the plank of tribal homeland have non-tribal as their chief ministers today.</h5>
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Worst is the representation rate of the tribals in the state as it continues to be very low. India has never had a tribal in any of the top four ministerial portfolios. Neither the service chiefs nor the head of bureaucracy has come from any of the tribal communities, leave alone the positions of prime minister and the president. Though tribals have gone on to become the chief ministers but such is the nature of politics that states, such as Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, which were created on the plank of tribal homeland have non-tribal as their chief ministers today. Tribals neither control the rich natural resources nor have a say in the pattern of development. All they have received is displacement in the name of development.&nbsp;

Many would argue that pitching a tribal president would be a symbolic affair but politics is about creating symbols. It imparts larger meaning to public discourse. Even Pratibha Patil was projected as a woman by the Congress when she was nominated as India&rsquo;s first female president. So, what should the Congress do now when multiple alliance partners are on verge of leaving them for BJP?&nbsp;

Congress can make a strong pitch for a tribal as the President. Otherwise, they would either have to pitch the former Lok Sabha Speaker Meera Kumar or else they would have to go for a Gandhian who in popular imagery could transcend the politics of caste. And both the categories would look stale and ordinary.

(WION)

Many would argue that pitching a tribal president would be a symbolic affair but politics is about creating symbols

With Ram Nath Kovind’s announcement as NDA’s presidential candidate, the bar has been raised for the Opposition. The Opposition’s candidate will need to create a far powerful imagination of presidency knowing that he or she doesn’t have the numbers to make it to the office of the President. But the crisis does sow the seeds of opportunity. When Ambedkar’s grandson, Prakash Ambedkar says that an Adivasi should be selected to fight the official candidate, it shouldn’t be brushed aside as light comment from a political outsider. Instead of making it a Dalit vs Dalit fight, the Congress party can pick its own symbol of oppressed people, and deploy a face whose credibility matches or exceeds that of the official candidate. Today, tribals represent the most exploited and least politically empowered segments in the Indian political structure. Last time around, PA Sangma floated this idea and contested the elections on this very plank but lost. He was an accomplished parliamentarian but his opponent was formidable Pranab Mukherji. So neither the idea had cut any ice nor could he create a counter-narrative which would put Pranab Mukherji at a disadvantage despite having the numbers by his side. India’s tribal communities also suffer from the absence of political platforms, which both Muslims and Dalits enjoy. × Tribals in this country are the most oppressed people in India. They are far more marginalised than Dalits, both socially and politically. In popular literature and politics, Dalits have their icons but tribals have none. Even Muslims and other minorities received support from various quarters and help from mainstream parties but not the members of the tribal communities. It is also because tribals are far removed from the cities; their voices are too remote to be captured by the media. India’s tribal communities also suffer from the absence of political platforms, which both Muslims and Dalits enjoy. The original sons of the soil also continue to be violently oppressed by the state, industrialists, Naxalites and missionaries. Tribals of India don’t have their Ambedkar or Gandhi. Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, which were created on the plank of tribal homeland have non-tribal as their chief ministers today. × Worst is the representation rate of the tribals in the state as it continues to be very low. India has never had a tribal in any of the top four ministerial portfolios. Neither the service chiefs nor the head of bureaucracy has come from any of the tribal communities, leave alone the positions of prime minister and the president. Though tribals have gone on to become the chief ministers but such is the nature of politics that states, such as Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, which were created on the plank of tribal homeland have non-tribal as their chief ministers today. Tribals neither control the rich natural resources nor have a say in the pattern of development. All they have received is displacement in the name of development. Many would argue that pitching a tribal president would be a symbolic affair but politics is about creating symbols. It imparts larger meaning to public discourse. Even Pratibha Patil was projected as a woman by the Congress when she was nominated as India’s first female president. So, what should the Congress do now when multiple alliance partners are on verge of leaving them for BJP? Congress can make a strong pitch for a tribal as the President. Otherwise, they would either have to pitch the former Lok Sabha Speaker Meera Kumar or else they would have to go for a Gandhian who in popular imagery could transcend the politics of caste. And both the categories would look stale and ordinary. (WION)

Should Congress propose an Adivasi as the presidential candidate?

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday said Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati&#39;s slight opposition to Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind&#39;s nomination as presidential candidate is due to his affiliation with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Reacting to Mayawati&#39;s &quot;Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should have selected a name from a non-political background which will be better&quot; remark, NCP leader Majeed Memon said the former cannot openly oppose a Dalit candidate, so she chose a different angle.

&quot;Since Mayawati has to take care of her Dalit vote bank, she cannot openly oppose a Dalit candidate. So, she has just gone the other way by saying that a Dalit is welcomed, but not a Dalit from a particular political ideology which of course is now being hinted at the RSS. So, she is opposing because this candidate happens to be a RSS man,&quot; Memon told ANI.

While on the other hand, refraining from commenting on Mayawati&#39;s remark, JD (U) leader Neeraj Kumar said they only hope that the election of the first citizen of India (President) should take place without&nbsp;controversy.

&quot;We hope and want that the election of the first citizen of India (President) should take place without any controversy erupting,&quot; Kumar told ANI.

Despite expressing her support for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Presidential nominee Kovind, Mayawati yesterday said the Centre should have taken all Opposition parties in &quot;good faith&quot;&nbsp;before announcing the name.

Further giving her opinion over Presidential Elections, Mayawati stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should have selected a name from a non-political background which would have been better.

&quot;My small advice towards this is- it could have been better if the BJP would have selected a name from a non-political background,&quot; Mayawati added.

&nbsp;

NCP leader Memon said Mayawati cannot openly oppose a Dalit candidate, so she attacked him for being in the RSS

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday said Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's slight opposition to Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind's nomination as presidential candidate is due to his affiliation with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Reacting to Mayawati's "Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should have selected a name from a non-political background which will be better" remark, NCP leader Majeed Memon said the former cannot openly oppose a Dalit candidate, so she chose a different angle. "Since Mayawati has to take care of her Dalit vote bank, she cannot openly oppose a Dalit candidate. So, she has just gone the other way by saying that a Dalit is welcomed, but not a Dalit from a particular political ideology which of course is now being hinted at the RSS. So, she is opposing because this candidate happens to be a RSS man," Memon told ANI. While on the other hand, refraining from commenting on Mayawati's remark, JD (U) leader Neeraj Kumar said they only hope that the election of the first citizen of India (President) should take place without controversy. "We hope and want that the election of the first citizen of India (President) should take place without any controversy erupting," Kumar told ANI. Despite expressing her support for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Presidential nominee Kovind, Mayawati yesterday said the Centre should have taken all Opposition parties in "good faith" before announcing the name. Further giving her opinion over Presidential Elections, Mayawati stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should have selected a name from a non-political background which would have been better. "My small advice towards this is- it could have been better if the BJP would have selected a name from a non-political background," Mayawati added.

Mayawati's slight opposition due to Kovind association with RSS: NCP

By Ankit Saproo

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, surprised everyone when the BJP parliamentary board, in a meeting today, announced the name of Bihar&#39;s Governor Ram Nath Kovind as their pick for the Presidential elections slated to be held next month.

There were speculations&nbsp;that the BJP could choose from&nbsp;probables&nbsp;like external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu as its presidential nominee. But putting all those rumours to rest, the parliamentary board meeting, headed by Prime Minister Modi, stamped its approval on someone who not many may&nbsp;know about but has risen through the party&#39;s rank and also headed BJP&#39;s Dalit Morcha from 1998 to 2002.

Ram Nath Kovind, a&nbsp;Dalit leader (Dalit is a term used for referring to the most marginalised community and figures lowest within the Hindu caste hierarchy), is a farmer&#39;s son and comes from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. He came to Delhi and practised as a lawyer. Before joining the BJP, he worked as the private secretary of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.&nbsp;

Kovind was twice elected to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament) in 1994 and again in 2000 from Uttar Pradesh.

If elected, Ram Nath Kovind will be the second president of India from a Dalit community&nbsp;after K R Narayanan and&nbsp;would also be the first full-time President from India&#39;s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. Although&nbsp;Zakir Husain, the third President of India, was a prominent political face from the state of Uttar Pradesh, he was born in Hydearbad.

When Narendra Modi-led BJP government sent him to Bihar in 2015 as the Governor ahead of the assembly elections, the idea was to tap into the Dalit votes which were crucial to win the elections. The elections, however, went in favour of the JD(U) and RJD who cobbled an alliance to form the government in Bihar.

Kovind, whose association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is well known, is being seen as someone who could further boost the BJP-RSS combine&#39;s idea of uniting the wider Hindu Samaj (community). This could help improve BJP&#39;s prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which are just two years away.&nbsp;

Moreover, it would be difficult for the opposition led by the Congress party to oppose a Dalit face for the country&#39;s top job.&nbsp;

With the support of many regional parties including Telangana Rashtra Samiti and YSR Congress, the BJP is confident of forming a consensus around Ram Nath Kovind as the republic&#39;s next President. 
&nbsp;

Ram Nath Kovind, who is currently the Governor of Bihar, was chosen as BJP's presidential nominee today

By Ankit Saproo Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, surprised everyone when the BJP parliamentary board, in a meeting today, announced the name of Bihar's Governor Ram Nath Kovind as their pick for the Presidential elections slated to be held next month. There were speculations that the BJP could choose from probables like external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu as its presidential nominee. But putting all those rumours to rest, the parliamentary board meeting, headed by Prime Minister Modi, stamped its approval on someone who not many may know about but has risen through the party's rank and also headed BJP's Dalit Morcha from 1998 to 2002. Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit leader (Dalit is a term used for referring to the most marginalised community and figures lowest within the Hindu caste hierarchy), is a farmer's son and comes from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. He came to Delhi and practised as a lawyer. Before joining the BJP, he worked as the private secretary of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Kovind was twice elected to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament) in 1994 and again in 2000 from Uttar Pradesh. If elected, Ram Nath Kovind will be the second president of India from a Dalit community after K R Narayanan and would also be the first full-time President from India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. Although Zakir Husain, the third President of India, was a prominent political face from the state of Uttar Pradesh, he was born in Hydearbad. When Narendra Modi-led BJP government sent him to Bihar in 2015 as the Governor ahead of the assembly elections, the idea was to tap into the Dalit votes which were crucial to win the elections. The elections, however, went in favour of the JD(U) and RJD who cobbled an alliance to form the government in Bihar. Kovind, whose association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is well known, is being seen as someone who could further boost the BJP-RSS combine's idea of uniting the wider Hindu Samaj (community). This could help improve BJP's prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which are just two years away. Moreover, it would be difficult for the opposition led by the Congress party to oppose a Dalit face for the country's top job. With the support of many regional parties including Telangana Rashtra Samiti and YSR Congress, the BJP is confident of forming a consensus around Ram Nath Kovind as the republic's next President.

Ram Nath Kovind: BJP's Dalit face for Presidential polls could be the first UP-born President

Will the vote matter?

Charles R. Venator-Santiago, University of Connecticut

The 2017 Plebiscite for the Immediate Decolonization of Puerto Rico was held on June 11. This is <a href="https://theconversation.com/puerto-rico-votes-on-statehood-fifth-times-the-charm-75975">the fifth vote</a> on the political status of Puerto Rico since the United States annexed the island in 1898.

Only 23 percent of the 2,260,804 registered Puerto Rican voters <a href="http://resultados2017.ceepur.org/Noche_del_Evento_78/index.html#en/default/CONSULTA_DESCOLONIZACION_Resumen.xml">participated</a>. This is in stark contrast to the <a href="http://64.185.222.182/REYDI_Escrutinio12/index.html#en/default/OPCIONES_NO_TERRITORIALES_ISLA.xml">last plebiscite</a> held in 2012 &ndash; in which 1,363,854 people, or 78.19 percent of registered voters, cast a ballot.

This year&rsquo;s results were as follows:

The statehood option received 502,616 votes, or 97.18 percent of the votes cast.

The sovereignty/independence option received 7,779 votes, or 1.5 percent.

The current territorial status option received 6,821 votes, or 1.32 percent.

Moreover, this plebiscite was not authorised or certified by the U.S. Department of Justice or Congress, which throws its impact into question. Although the U.S. DOJ did not offer any reasons for not certifying the plebiscite, the most likely reason is a dispute over the language of the ballot, which was the subject of <a href="http://www.noticel.com/uploads/gallery/documents/fa26731a26c7e725e180e729574ed49e.pdf">a memorandum</a> the DOJ sent to the Governor of Puerto Rico in April.

Given the low voter turn-out and the failure of the U.S. DOJ to certify the plebiscite, Congress is likely to ignore the outcome of this vote &ndash; much as it did in 2012.

Voters fail to turn out

Carlos Vargas-Ramos, City University of New York

The overwhelming majority of eligible voters in Puerto Rico chose not to participate.

The June 11 vote brought out the second lowest turnout rate of all electoral contests <a href="http://209.68.12.238/cgi-bin/municipios.pl">conducted in Puerto Rico since 1967</a>. This is unusual in a political system in which turnout in general elections has ranged between <a href="http://209.68.12.238/cgi-bin/eventos.pl">78 and 89 per cent of registered voters</a>. Three of the four political parties that participated in the elections of November 2016 called for a boycott of this plebiscite &ndash; which seems to have had a large impact.

Moreover, the low turnout in this plebiscite follows on the heels of another historically low-turnout election in 2016, in which only <a href="http://elecciones2016.ceepur.org/Escrutinio_General_77/index.html#es/default/GOBERNADOR_Resumen.xml">55 percent of voters turned out</a>. The results from these elections are but a reflection of, not simply the economic crisis Puerto Rico is facing, but of the political crisis it is facing as well.

Calls for protest and action

Jossianna Arroyo, University of Texas Austin

Many who boycotted the vote believed the plebiscite&rsquo;s cost &ndash; more than <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/puerto-rico-holds-vote-sunday-statehood-amid-criticism-over-timing-n770496">US$8 million</a> neglects the needs of <a href="https://www.childtrends.org/left-behind-povertys-toll-on-the-children-of-puerto-rico/">citizens living in precarious economic conditions</a> in Puerto Rico.

After Puerto Rico declared bankruptcy in 2006, the government entered into a process of &ldquo;debt analysis&rdquo; and arbitration, directed by a financial control board <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/business/dealbook/puerto-rico-debt.html">appointed by President Obama</a>. The board recommended, among many measures, to cut US$300 million to $500 million from the Puerto Rican state government budget. That would mean a 30 per cent cut to the <a href="https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/discutenrecortesde120millonesparalaupr-2288254/">administrative budget</a> of the University of Puerto Rico.

In <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/03/28/thousands-university-students-go-on-strike-in-puerto-rico.html">March 2017</a>, students, faculty and staff went on strike, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/05/20/529309138/students-at-puerto-ricos-largest-university-continue-strike-amid-shutdown">closing the gates</a> of the 11 public campuses on the island.

Many Puerto Ricans view the government as subservient to this board, some <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/249146-what-a-federal-financial-control-board-means-to-puerto">representatives</a> of which have been connected to Wall Street. <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/249146-what-a-federal-financial-control-board-means-to-puerto">Critics feel</a> these board members may be motivated by a desire to make money, or threaten the island&rsquo;s sovereignty. While students and faculty protests continue, all campuses are now opened and classes resumed. Still, the fate of the University of Puerto Rico is not clear. Faculty, students and staff are taking matters into their own hands.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/79242/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" />On May 24, representatives of the Board of Students met with members of the Financial Control Board to present <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/students-are-now-leading-the-resistance-to-austerity-in-puerto-rico/">a plan to negotiate debt</a> and build a possible consensus for an open and democratic university, which will be able to continue as the top rated public institution on the island. It was the first time the Financial Control Board met with a collective of citizens. The students believe that the promise of a more democratic future for Puerto Rico will not happen via traditional polls or call to the electorate, but with an active mobilization of all citizens.

&nbsp;

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="http://theconversation.com/puerto-rico-votes-on-statehood-polls-and-protests-79242">original article</a>.

&nbsp;

Recent plebiscite on Puerto Rico's statehood was not authorised or certified by the U.S. Department of Justice or Congress, which throws its impact into question.

Will the vote matter? Charles R. Venator-Santiago, University of Connecticut The 2017 Plebiscite for the Immediate Decolonization of Puerto Rico was held on June 11. This is the fifth vote on the political status of Puerto Rico since the United States annexed the island in 1898. Only 23 percent of the 2,260,804 registered Puerto Rican voters participated. This is in stark contrast to the last plebiscite held in 2012 – in which 1,363,854 people, or 78.19 percent of registered voters, cast a ballot. This year’s results were as follows: The statehood option received 502,616 votes, or 97.18 percent of the votes cast. The sovereignty/independence option received 7,779 votes, or 1.5 percent. The current territorial status option received 6,821 votes, or 1.32 percent. Moreover, this plebiscite was not authorised or certified by the U.S. Department of Justice or Congress, which throws its impact into question. Although the U.S. DOJ did not offer any reasons for not certifying the plebiscite, the most likely reason is a dispute over the language of the ballot, which was the subject of a memorandum the DOJ sent to the Governor of Puerto Rico in April. Given the low voter turn-out and the failure of the U.S. DOJ to certify the plebiscite, Congress is likely to ignore the outcome of this vote – much as it did in 2012. Voters fail to turn out Carlos Vargas-Ramos, City University of New York The overwhelming majority of eligible voters in Puerto Rico chose not to participate. The June 11 vote brought out the second lowest turnout rate of all electoral contests conducted in Puerto Rico since 1967. This is unusual in a political system in which turnout in general elections has ranged between 78 and 89 per cent of registered voters. Three of the four political parties that participated in the elections of November 2016 called for a boycott of this plebiscite – which seems to have had a large impact. Moreover, the low turnout in this plebiscite follows on the heels of another historically low-turnout election in 2016, in which only 55 percent of voters turned out. The results from these elections are but a reflection of, not simply the economic crisis Puerto Rico is facing, but of the political crisis it is facing as well. Calls for protest and action Jossianna Arroyo, University of Texas Austin Many who boycotted the vote believed the plebiscite’s cost – more than US$8 million neglects the needs of citizens living in precarious economic conditions in Puerto Rico. After Puerto Rico declared bankruptcy in 2006, the government entered into a process of “debt analysis” and arbitration, directed by a financial control board appointed by President Obama. The board recommended, among many measures, to cut US$300 million to $500 million from the Puerto Rican state government budget. That would mean a 30 per cent cut to the administrative budget of the University of Puerto Rico. In March 2017, students, faculty and staff went on strike, closing the gates of the 11 public campuses on the island. Many Puerto Ricans view the government as subservient to this board, some representatives of which have been connected to Wall Street. Critics feel these board members may be motivated by a desire to make money, or threaten the island’s sovereignty. While students and faculty protests continue, all campuses are now opened and classes resumed. Still, the fate of the University of Puerto Rico is not clear. Faculty, students and staff are taking matters into their own hands. On May 24, representatives of the Board of Students met with members of the Financial Control Board to present a plan to negotiate debt and build a possible consensus for an open and democratic university, which will be able to continue as the top rated public institution on the island. It was the first time the Financial Control Board met with a collective of citizens. The students believe that the promise of a more democratic future for Puerto Rico will not happen via traditional polls or call to the electorate, but with an active mobilization of all citizens. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Puerto Rico votes on statehood: Polls and protests

Sonia Gandhi is likely to step down as Congress president paving the way for Rahul Gandhi to take over as the Congress president when the party holds its internal elections by October 15.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party&#39;s highest decision-making body, today approved the schedule for internal elections under which the party has to complete the exercise by October 15.&nbsp;

In her speech at the CWC meeting, Sonia Gandhi exhorted party members to strengthen the organisation and complete the organisational polls with &quot;speed and sincerity&quot;.

&quot;We must strengthen our organisation. The ongoing organisational elections must be completed with the utmost speed and sincerity,&quot; she said at the meeting, ahead of the CWC approving the poll schedule.&nbsp;

Asked whether the issue of elevation of Rahul Gandhi was discussed at the meeting, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad replied in the negative.&nbsp;

&quot;The schedule for organisational elections has been cleared by the CWC,&quot; Azad said, adding that Rahul&#39;s elevation was not specifically discussed.

The CWC members had in the last meeting in November unanimously expressed &quot;strong sentiment&quot; for Rahul&#39;s elevation for the first time and may take it further.&nbsp;

At the November 7 meeting, all members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.&nbsp;

The Congress president has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri&#39;s ouster by the CWC in early 1998.

Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at Congress&#39;s brainstorming session in Jaipur.

(PTI)

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body, today approved the schedule for internal elections under which the party has to complete the exercise by October 15

Sonia Gandhi is likely to step down as Congress president paving the way for Rahul Gandhi to take over as the Congress president when the party holds its internal elections by October 15. The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body, today approved the schedule for internal elections under which the party has to complete the exercise by October 15. In her speech at the CWC meeting, Sonia Gandhi exhorted party members to strengthen the organisation and complete the organisational polls with "speed and sincerity". "We must strengthen our organisation. The ongoing organisational elections must be completed with the utmost speed and sincerity," she said at the meeting, ahead of the CWC approving the poll schedule. Asked whether the issue of elevation of Rahul Gandhi was discussed at the meeting, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad replied in the negative. "The schedule for organisational elections has been cleared by the CWC," Azad said, adding that Rahul's elevation was not specifically discussed. The CWC members had in the last meeting in November unanimously expressed "strong sentiment" for Rahul's elevation for the first time and may take it further. At the November 7 meeting, all members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party. The Congress president has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri's ouster by the CWC in early 1998. Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur. (PTI)

Rahul Gandhi likely to replace Sonia Gandhi as Congress president in October

India&rsquo;s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded an FIR against the Congress for releasing a booklet with a map of Jammu and Kashmir shown as &lsquo;Indian Occupied Kashmir&rsquo;. 
&nbsp; 
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad released the booklet at a press conference in Lucknow, which has since drawn a lot of criticism from the BJP. 
&nbsp; 
The BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga initiated the investigation under various laws including Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention on Insults of National Honour Act, or any other law deemed applicable and appropriate on Monday, according to a report on ANI. 
&nbsp; 
Bagga stressed that the map is derogatory to the spirit of Constitution of India and also offending and insulting to the emotions of the general public. 
&nbsp; 
Congress leader Ajay Maken said it was a &quot;printing error&quot; but admitted that it was his party&#39;s responsibility to ensure that such a mistake was not allowed. 
&nbsp; 
&quot;This is a printing error. However, we should have taken caution, we have committed a grave mistake, and we will ensure that such type of errors is not repeated,&quot; Congress leader Ajay Makan told ANI. 
&nbsp; 
Congress, however, claimed the BJP had released a similar map on its website but never admitted to the mistake. 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp;&quot;But the difference between Congress and the BJP is that we apologise for our mistake immediately. In 2014, the BJP displayed the map with the same error on their website. Till now they have not apologised,&quot; Makan said. 
&nbsp; 
(WION)

The BJP has demanded an FIR against the Congress for publication of a booklet that shows a map of Pakistan, wherein the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir has been shown as part and territory of Pakistan.

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded an FIR against the Congress for releasing a booklet with a map of Jammu and Kashmir shown as ‘Indian Occupied Kashmir’. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad released the booklet at a press conference in Lucknow, which has since drawn a lot of criticism from the BJP. The BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga initiated the investigation under various laws including Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention on Insults of National Honour Act, or any other law deemed applicable and appropriate on Monday, according to a report on ANI. Bagga stressed that the map is derogatory to the spirit of Constitution of India and also offending and insulting to the emotions of the general public. Congress leader Ajay Maken said it was a "printing error" but admitted that it was his party's responsibility to ensure that such a mistake was not allowed. "This is a printing error. However, we should have taken caution, we have committed a grave mistake, and we will ensure that such type of errors is not repeated," Congress leader Ajay Makan told ANI. Congress, however, claimed the BJP had released a similar map on its website but never admitted to the mistake. "But the difference between Congress and the BJP is that we apologise for our mistake immediately. In 2014, the BJP displayed the map with the same error on their website. Till now they have not apologised," Makan said. (WION)

BJP files complaint against Congress over 'India Occupied Kashmir' booklet

The Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded an FIR against the Congress for publication of a booklet that shows a map of Pakistan, wherein the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir has been shown as part and territory of Pakistan, labelled as &#39;India Occupied Kashmir&#39;.&nbsp;

The BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga demanded for a probe to be initiated by the police for breaching the National Honour Act.

On June 3,&nbsp;the Congress published and distributed a booklet titled &#39;Rashtriya Suraksha Par Aanch &#39;, in&nbsp;which Jammu and Kashmir has been erroneously shown to be a part of Pakistan.

Bagga lashed out at the gaffe, dubbing the map to be &quot;derogatory&quot; and &quot;offensive&quot; to the public of the country.&nbsp;

However, the Congress has swung into defensive mode, calling the blooper a &quot;printing error&#39;.

&quot;This is a printing error. However, we should have taken caution, we have committed a grave mistake, and we will ensure that such type of errors is not repeated,&quot; Congress leader Ajay Makan told ANI.

Makan went on to further add that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had committed the same mistake in 2014, where it had displayed the same map on their website.

&quot;But the difference between Congress and the BJP is that we apologise for our mistake immediately. In 2014, the BJP displayed the map with same error on their website. Till now they have not apologised,&quot; he said.

(ANI)

The Congress recently published a booklet titled 'Rashtriya Suraksha Par Aanch ', in?which Jammu and Kashmir has been erroneously shown to be a part of Pakistan

The Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded an FIR against the Congress for publication of a booklet that shows a map of Pakistan, wherein the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir has been shown as part and territory of Pakistan, labelled as 'India Occupied Kashmir'. The BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga demanded for a probe to be initiated by the police for breaching the National Honour Act. On June 3, the Congress published and distributed a booklet titled 'Rashtriya Suraksha Par Aanch ', in which Jammu and Kashmir has been erroneously shown to be a part of Pakistan. Bagga lashed out at the gaffe, dubbing the map to be "derogatory" and "offensive" to the public of the country. However, the Congress has swung into defensive mode, calling the blooper a "printing error'. "This is a printing error. However, we should have taken caution, we have committed a grave mistake, and we will ensure that such type of errors is not repeated," Congress leader Ajay Makan told ANI. Makan went on to further add that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had committed the same mistake in 2014, where it had displayed the same map on their website. "But the difference between Congress and the BJP is that we apologise for our mistake immediately. In 2014, the BJP displayed the map with same error on their website. Till now they have not apologised," he said. (ANI)

BJP seeks action against Congress for 'anti-India map'

The Saharanpur district authorities Friday&nbsp;refused permission to Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi to visit the strife-torn district.

Rahul was scheduled to visit tomorrow Shabbirpur village, where Dalit houses were torched on May 5.

&quot;Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has not been given permission to visit Saharanpur,&quot; said Senior Superintendent of Police, Saharanpur, Bablu Kumar.

Bablu Kumar replaced SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey, who was suspended on May 24 in the wake of clashes in the district.

BSP chief Mayawati had recently toured the village and lashed out at the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government for &quot;failing to maintain law and order&quot; in the state.

Saharanpur has witnessed widespread caste-based clashes this month.

Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes between two communities.

About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on May 9.

On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government suspended the SSP and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.

The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region.

(PTI)

The Congress vice-president was scheduled to visit tomorrow Shabbirpur village, where Dalit houses were torched on May 5

The Saharanpur district authorities Friday refused permission to Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi to visit the strife-torn district. Rahul was scheduled to visit tomorrow Shabbirpur village, where Dalit houses were torched on May 5. "Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has not been given permission to visit Saharanpur," said Senior Superintendent of Police, Saharanpur, Bablu Kumar. Bablu Kumar replaced SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey, who was suspended on May 24 in the wake of clashes in the district. BSP chief Mayawati had recently toured the village and lashed out at the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government for "failing to maintain law and order" in the state. Saharanpur has witnessed widespread caste-based clashes this month. Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes between two communities. About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on May 9. On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government suspended the SSP and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police. The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region. (PTI)

Rahul Gandhi denied permission to visit strife-torn Saharanpur

In a first, the Congress party has decided that it will not&nbsp;push for a Congress candidate for the presidential elections.&nbsp;

The name of Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who has served as the governor of West Bengal in the past, is doing the rounds as a consensus candidate for the opposition.

Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, is pushing for opposition unity and it is for this reason that she is amenable to the idea of Gopalkrishna Gandhi being put up as the presidential candidate of a united opposition.

Even some of the non-Congress opposition parties are sceptical to back a Congress candidate for the presidential election.

Sources in the Congress confirmed that the reason why Sonia Gandhi is open to a non-Congress candidate is because she doesn&rsquo;t want to give a walkover to BJP which has the numbers this time around for the President&rsquo;s election. &nbsp;

Though Meira Kumar&rsquo;s name also came up for discussion but there weren&rsquo;t many takers for the name. Many in the opposition are of the view that since BJP is going to propose an insider&rsquo;s name for the President, Mahatma&rsquo;s grandson may work as a glue for the entire opposition.&nbsp;

Sources also said that even Mamata Banerjee is amenable to the idea of having Gopalkrishna Gandhi as the presidential candidate of a united opposition. Though a formal meeting between Mamata Banerjee and Sonia Gandhi is scheduled for the third week of May, Sonia Gandhi has already met Omar Abdullah, Sitaram Yechury and Bihar&rsquo;s chief minister Nitish Kumar in this regard.

The idea is that unity during presidential polls should be a precursor for a grand alliance against BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Congress is hopeful that many regional satraps who feel threatened by BJP&rsquo;s aggressive expansion may come around for a common front.&nbsp;

But the irony of the matter is that the idea of a combined front against BJP is an admission to the fact that Congress has reduced in stature and BJP has emerged as the new Congress.

(WION)

The name of Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who has served as the governor of West Bengal in the past, is doing the rounds as a consensus candidate for the opposition

In a first, the Congress party has decided that it will not push for a Congress candidate for the presidential elections. The name of Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who has served as the governor of West Bengal in the past, is doing the rounds as a consensus candidate for the opposition. Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, is pushing for opposition unity and it is for this reason that she is amenable to the idea of Gopalkrishna Gandhi being put up as the presidential candidate of a united opposition. Even some of the non-Congress opposition parties are sceptical to back a Congress candidate for the presidential election. Sources in the Congress confirmed that the reason why Sonia Gandhi is open to a non-Congress candidate is because she doesn’t want to give a walkover to BJP which has the numbers this time around for the President’s election. Though Meira Kumar’s name also came up for discussion but there weren’t many takers for the name. Many in the opposition are of the view that since BJP is going to propose an insider’s name for the President, Mahatma’s grandson may work as a glue for the entire opposition. Sources also said that even Mamata Banerjee is amenable to the idea of having Gopalkrishna Gandhi as the presidential candidate of a united opposition. Though a formal meeting between Mamata Banerjee and Sonia Gandhi is scheduled for the third week of May, Sonia Gandhi has already met Omar Abdullah, Sitaram Yechury and Bihar’s chief minister Nitish Kumar in this regard. The idea is that unity during presidential polls should be a precursor for a grand alliance against BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Congress is hopeful that many regional satraps who feel threatened by BJP’s aggressive expansion may come around for a common front. But the irony of the matter is that the idea of a combined front against BJP is an admission to the fact that Congress has reduced in stature and BJP has emerged as the new Congress. (WION)

Congress, others expected to back Gopalkrishna Gandhi as president

India&#39;s opposition Saturday charged the prime minister with politicising the triple talaq issue to gain electoral mileage&nbsp;even as a BJP minister in Uttar Pradesh said Muslim men use it to change wives and satisfy their &quot;lust&quot;.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had this morning urged the Muslim community to ensure that the triple&nbsp;talaq issue was not &quot;politicised&quot;, and hoped that intellectuals from the community would come forward&nbsp;to fight the practice.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said no other political party except the BJP and its&nbsp;ideological mentor, the RSS, was&nbsp;trying to politicise the issue.

The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said no Muslim believes in triple talaq while moving around&nbsp;and the practice is adhered to as per the holy Quran in which certain norms and time-frame has been&nbsp;laid.

&quot;When the society is already discussing this issue of triple talaq and the court (the Supreme Court) is&nbsp;looking into it, then why is the BJP unnecessarily coming in between Muslim women and their Muslim&nbsp;husbands. The BJP should not make attempts at creating a new vote bank,&quot; he told reporters here.

Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said Modi was speaking of such issues&nbsp;with an eye on the Karnataka assembly elections slated next year.

&quot;The prime minister spoke all such things, eyeing the upcoming election in Karnataka,&quot; he said.

Criticising Modi for his comments on triple talaq, SP leader Mohd Azam Khan said the prime minister&nbsp;should also&nbsp;speak on other problems being faced by Muslim women.

&quot;Modi should speak about the other problems (besides triple talaq) of Muslims women,&quot; Khan said.

He said the prime minister should also show sympathy with those Muslim women who have lost their sons&nbsp;or husbands due to violence by cow vigilantes.

Referring to Gujarat riots of 2002, he said Modi should also talk about the violence in the state that&nbsp;destroyed the homes of many Muslim women.

JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said Modi should not speak on issues which are pending in the court.

&quot;First you bring improvement within yourself (community), then you talk of betterment of Muslims,&quot; he&nbsp;said.

BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli, however, defended the prime minister, saying the Modi government is&nbsp;working for the dignity of every Indian.

&quot;The comments have to be seen as a benchmark of women rights in terms of constitutional right of&nbsp;equality,&quot; he said.

In Uttar Pradesh&#39;s Basti district, state minister Swami Prasad Maurya alleged last night that Muslims&nbsp;use triple talaq to change wives and satisfy their &quot;lust&quot;, remarks that are likely to spur a&nbsp;controversy.

The BJP minister&#39;s comments come at a time when there is a raging debate over the issue of triple&nbsp;talaq.

&quot;The BJP stands with Muslim women who have been given talaq unreasonably and arbitrarily,&quot; Maurya told&nbsp;reporters.

&quot;These talaqs have no basis... If someone only for satisfying his lust keeps changing his wives and&nbsp;forces his own wife and children on the streets to beg...No one will call this as right&quot;, he said.

(PTI)

 
&nbsp;

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said no other political party except the BJP and its?ideological mentor, the RSS, was?trying to politicise the issue

India's opposition Saturday charged the prime minister with politicising the triple talaq issue to gain electoral mileage even as a BJP minister in Uttar Pradesh said Muslim men use it to change wives and satisfy their "lust". Prime Minister Narendra Modi had this morning urged the Muslim community to ensure that the triple talaq issue was not "politicised", and hoped that intellectuals from the community would come forward to fight the practice. Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said no other political party except the BJP and its ideological mentor, the RSS, was trying to politicise the issue. The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said no Muslim believes in triple talaq while moving around and the practice is adhered to as per the holy Quran in which certain norms and time-frame has been laid. "When the society is already discussing this issue of triple talaq and the court (the Supreme Court) is looking into it, then why is the BJP unnecessarily coming in between Muslim women and their Muslim husbands. The BJP should not make attempts at creating a new vote bank," he told reporters here. Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said Modi was speaking of such issues with an eye on the Karnataka assembly elections slated next year. "The prime minister spoke all such things, eyeing the upcoming election in Karnataka," he said. Criticising Modi for his comments on triple talaq, SP leader Mohd Azam Khan said the prime minister should also speak on other problems being faced by Muslim women. "Modi should speak about the other problems (besides triple talaq) of Muslims women," Khan said. He said the prime minister should also show sympathy with those Muslim women who have lost their sons or husbands due to violence by cow vigilantes. Referring to Gujarat riots of 2002, he said Modi should also talk about the violence in the state that destroyed the homes of many Muslim women. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said Modi should not speak on issues which are pending in the court. "First you bring improvement within yourself (community), then you talk of betterment of Muslims," he said. BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli, however, defended the prime minister, saying the Modi government is working for the dignity of every Indian. "The comments have to be seen as a benchmark of women rights in terms of constitutional right of equality," he said. In Uttar Pradesh's Basti district, state minister Swami Prasad Maurya alleged last night that Muslims use triple talaq to change wives and satisfy their "lust", remarks that are likely to spur a controversy. The BJP minister's comments come at a time when there is a raging debate over the issue of triple talaq. "The BJP stands with Muslim women who have been given talaq unreasonably and arbitrarily," Maurya told reporters. "These talaqs have no basis... If someone only for satisfying his lust keeps changing his wives and forces his own wife and children on the streets to beg...No one will call this as right", he said. (PTI)

PM Modi politicising triple talaq for electoral gains: Opposition

The Congress, which finished a distant third in the MCD polls, has got around 11 per cent more votes than the 2015 Assembly election, while the AAP&#39;s vote share came down to half of its previous tally. 
 
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which bagged 181 of 270 wards in all three civic bodies today, has managed to increase its vote share by around 5 per cent. The party&#39;s vote share was 32.2 per cent in the 2015 Assembly election. 
 
In the Assembly polls, the vote share of the Congress was 9.7 per cent. It went up to 21.28 per cent in the MCD polls. 
 
The Aam Aadmi Party&#39;s vote share came down to around 26 per cent from 54.3 per cent in Assembly polls. 
 
The MCD poll results show that people have voted against the AAP government even as they have given their votes in favour of the BJP which has been ruling the civic bodies for the last 10 years. 
 
In the 2012 MCD polls, Delhiites had voted for the BJP at a time when the Congress was in power in the national capital. 
 
When the Delhi Assembly polls were held in 2013, people had voted against the Sheila Dikshit government with the BJP emerging as the largest party while the AAP was runner-up. 
 
In 2013 Assembly polls, the BJP had won 32 seats while the AAP had got 28 seats even as the latter had formed its government with the help of the Congress. 
 
In the 2015 Assembly election, the AAP had emerged victorious with 67 seats out of 70, decimating both the BJP and the Congress.

AAP cries foul

Meanwhile, AAP again cried foul over EVM tampering and rejected the idea of a Modi wave. Asserting that the BJP is winning because of the &quot;rigged EVMs&quot;, Delhi transport minister Gopal Rai said that the saffron sweep&nbsp;in the civic polls is nothing less than a miracle which took place because the tampering of electoral machines.

AAP&#39;s Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal conceded defeat in the municipal elections but refrained from raising the EVM issue in his tweet.

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I congratulate BJP on their victory in all 3 MCDs. My govt looks forward to working wid MCDs for the betterment of Delhi
&mdash; Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal/status/857189693418389504">April 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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BJP chief Amit Shah thanked voters and said Modi&#39;s leadership has been accepted largely. &quot;Voters rejected politics of excuse,&quot; he said. 
 
The BJP president thanked the people of Delhi for the &quot;huge scale&quot; of BJP&#39;s victory. &quot;This has gone beyond our expectations,&quot; he said.

Amit Shah said the Delhi verdict, which comes close on the heels of the BJP&#39;s success in the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, has only taken forward the &quot;Modi and BJP juggernaut&quot;.

Votes for the elections are being counted at 35 centres across the city. Of these, 16 are in north Delhi, 13 in the south, and six in east Delhi.&nbsp;Voting for three new municipal corporations in Delhi took place on Sunday, in which 54 percent of the 1.32 crore electorates exercised their franchise.

As many as 90,000 security personnel of Delhi Police, paramilitary forces and Home Guards have been deployed at counting centres.

On polling day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had attacked the State Election Commission claiming that reports of &quot;faulty&quot; EVMs were pouring in from across the national capital.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief also alleged that many voters with valid voter slips were &quot;not allowed&quot; to exercise their franchise in the municipal polls. Arvind Kejriwal had earlier demanded that the election be postponed till arrangements for VVPAT-equipped EVM were made.

The state election commission denied the charges.

&quot;EVM has proved that its unhackable. It is a robust machine. Don&#39;t think there should be any question related to EVM,&quot; State Election commissioner S K Shrivastava said.

Polling did not take place in two wards, Maujpur in east Delhi and Sarai Pipal Thala in north Delhi where a candidate each of the Samajwadi Party died.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were the three main contenders in the fray.

After losing in this month&#39;s assembly by-polls and the February elections in Punjab and Goa, the municipal polls will be an acid test for Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government in Delhi.

Kejriwal&#39;s former party colleague Yogendra Yadav, who now leads the Swaraj India, wrote an open letter to the chief minister and challenged him to win at least 50 percent seats in the civic polls or step down.

Even as the Swaraj India and the Janata Dal (United) look to expand base beyond Bihar and Jharkhand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the AAP and the Congress have roped in top leaders and done whatever they could to woo the voters.

A total of 2,537 candidates were in the fray for the 104 seats each of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and 64 seats of the East Delhi Municipal Congress.

For the first time in the MCD elections, the None Of The Above (NOTA) option has been made available.

The three civic bodies cover 68 of the 70 constituencies of the Delhi assembly. Two other smaller civic bodies are the Delhi Cantonment Board and the New Delhi Municipal Council.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from agencies)

Aam Aadmi Party, however, said 'tampered' voting machines was the key reason for their loss

The Congress, which finished a distant third in the MCD polls, has got around 11 per cent more votes than the 2015 Assembly election, while the AAP's vote share came down to half of its previous tally. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which bagged 181 of 270 wards in all three civic bodies today, has managed to increase its vote share by around 5 per cent. The party's vote share was 32.2 per cent in the 2015 Assembly election. In the Assembly polls, the vote share of the Congress was 9.7 per cent. It went up to 21.28 per cent in the MCD polls. The Aam Aadmi Party's vote share came down to around 26 per cent from 54.3 per cent in Assembly polls. The MCD poll results show that people have voted against the AAP government even as they have given their votes in favour of the BJP which has been ruling the civic bodies for the last 10 years. In the 2012 MCD polls, Delhiites had voted for the BJP at a time when the Congress was in power in the national capital. When the Delhi Assembly polls were held in 2013, people had voted against the Sheila Dikshit government with the BJP emerging as the largest party while the AAP was runner-up. In 2013 Assembly polls, the BJP had won 32 seats while the AAP had got 28 seats even as the latter had formed its government with the help of the Congress. In the 2015 Assembly election, the AAP had emerged victorious with 67 seats out of 70, decimating both the BJP and the Congress. AAP cries foul Meanwhile, AAP again cried foul over EVM tampering and rejected the idea of a Modi wave. Asserting that the BJP is winning because of the "rigged EVMs", Delhi transport minister Gopal Rai said that the saffron sweep in the civic polls is nothing less than a miracle which took place because the tampering of electoral machines. AAP's Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal conceded defeat in the municipal elections but refrained from raising the EVM issue in his tweet. I congratulate BJP on their victory in all 3 MCDs. My govt looks forward to working wid MCDs for the betterment of Delhi — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 26, 2017 × BJP chief Amit Shah thanked voters and said Modi's leadership has been accepted largely. "Voters rejected politics of excuse," he said. The BJP president thanked the people of Delhi for the "huge scale" of BJP's victory. "This has gone beyond our expectations," he said. Amit Shah said the Delhi verdict, which comes close on the heels of the BJP's success in the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, has only taken forward the "Modi and BJP juggernaut". Votes for the elections are being counted at 35 centres across the city. Of these, 16 are in north Delhi, 13 in the south, and six in east Delhi. Voting for three new municipal corporations in Delhi took place on Sunday, in which 54 percent of the 1.32 crore electorates exercised their franchise. As many as 90,000 security personnel of Delhi Police, paramilitary forces and Home Guards have been deployed at counting centres. On polling day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had attacked the State Election Commission claiming that reports of "faulty" EVMs were pouring in from across the national capital. The Aam Aadmi Party chief also alleged that many voters with valid voter slips were "not allowed" to exercise their franchise in the municipal polls. Arvind Kejriwal had earlier demanded that the election be postponed till arrangements for VVPAT-equipped EVM were made. The state election commission denied the charges. "EVM has proved that its unhackable. It is a robust machine. Don't think there should be any question related to EVM," State Election commissioner S K Shrivastava said. Polling did not take place in two wards, Maujpur in east Delhi and Sarai Pipal Thala in north Delhi where a candidate each of the Samajwadi Party died. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were the three main contenders in the fray. After losing in this month's assembly by-polls and the February elections in Punjab and Goa, the municipal polls will be an acid test for Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government in Delhi. Kejriwal's former party colleague Yogendra Yadav, who now leads the Swaraj India, wrote an open letter to the chief minister and challenged him to win at least 50 percent seats in the civic polls or step down. Even as the Swaraj India and the Janata Dal (United) look to expand base beyond Bihar and Jharkhand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the AAP and the Congress have roped in top leaders and done whatever they could to woo the voters. A total of 2,537 candidates were in the fray for the 104 seats each of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and 64 seats of the East Delhi Municipal Congress. For the first time in the MCD elections, the None Of The Above (NOTA) option has been made available. The three civic bodies cover 68 of the 70 constituencies of the Delhi assembly. Two other smaller civic bodies are the Delhi Cantonment Board and the New Delhi Municipal Council. (WION with inputs from agencies)

BJP sweeps Delhi municipal elections

The BJP could be headed for a landslide victory in the Delhi municipal polls with two exit polls predicting the party finishing way ahead of the AAP and the Congress with over 200 of the 270 wards where polling was held today.

Going by the projected figures, the AAP could well be staring at a rout on its home turf, barely two years into its rise to power bagging a staggering 67 of the 70 Assembly seats, while the Congress&#39; attempt to regain ground may come a cropper.

According to the India Today-Axis exit poll, the BJP may bag anything between 202 and 220 seats, while the AAP and the Congress will score something around 23-35 and 19-31 respectively.

The CVoter-ABP exit poll claimed the BJP was likely to sweep Delhi with 218 seats, limiting the AAP and the Congress to 24 and 22 seats respectively.

Polling was held in 270 wards of the three municipal corporations. The election to two wards has been postponed due to the death of candidates.&nbsp;

(PTI)

Two exit polls have predicted the party finishing way ahead of AAP and Congress with over 200 of the 270 wards where polling was held today

The BJP could be headed for a landslide victory in the Delhi municipal polls with two exit polls predicting the party finishing way ahead of the AAP and the Congress with over 200 of the 270 wards where polling was held today. Going by the projected figures, the AAP could well be staring at a rout on its home turf, barely two years into its rise to power bagging a staggering 67 of the 70 Assembly seats, while the Congress' attempt to regain ground may come a cropper. According to the India Today-Axis exit poll, the BJP may bag anything between 202 and 220 seats, while the AAP and the Congress will score something around 23-35 and 19-31 respectively. The CVoter-ABP exit poll claimed the BJP was likely to sweep Delhi with 218 seats, limiting the AAP and the Congress to 24 and 22 seats respectively. Polling was held in 270 wards of the three municipal corporations. The election to two wards has been postponed due to the death of candidates. (PTI)

Delhi civic polls: Exit polls predict sweep for BJP, AAP staring at rout

Another senior Congress leader -- former Delhi minister -- Dr AK Walia has threatened to resign from India&#39;s grand old party.&nbsp;

He is reportedly miffed over the distribution of tickets for the upcoming Delhi municipal polls.&nbsp;

&quot;Every time new committee is formed, they interview us like class 8 students. What is my use if they are unable to understand me?&quot; ANI reported him as saying.&nbsp;

&quot;Will sit at home &amp; work.Will look for other ways to serve in Delhi,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

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Every time new committee is formed,they interview us like class 8 students. What is my use if they are unable to understand me-AK Walia,Cong <a href="https://t.co/p1idJaXeU3">pic.twitter.com/p1idJaXeU3</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/848791789272276992">April 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

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Will sit at home&amp;work.Will look for other ways to serve in Delhi: Senior Congress leader Dr AK Walia on if his grievances aren&#39;t addressed <a href="https://t.co/YtyMVWtLUM">pic.twitter.com/YtyMVWtLUM</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/848795492158984192">April 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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There have been a string of defections from the Congress recently.&nbsp;

The high-profile ones include former UP chief minister ND Tewari, former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna, and former UP Congress chief Rita Bahugana Joshi.

New reports have murmured that the blame for the condition the Congress finds itself in -- and the reason for the defections -- is pointed at Congress vice president and heir apparent Rahul Gandhi.

(WION)&nbsp;

'Every time new committee is formed, they interview us like class 8 students,' he said.

Another senior Congress leader -- former Delhi minister -- Dr AK Walia has threatened to resign from India's grand old party. He is reportedly miffed over the distribution of tickets for the upcoming Delhi municipal polls. "Every time new committee is formed, they interview us like class 8 students. What is my use if they are unable to understand me?" ANI reported him as saying. "Will sit at home & work.Will look for other ways to serve in Delhi," he added. Every time new committee is formed,they interview us like class 8 students. What is my use if they are unable to understand me-AK Walia,Cong pic.twitter.com/p1idJaXeU3 — ANI (@ANI_news) April 3, 2017 × Will sit at home&work.Will look for other ways to serve in Delhi: Senior Congress leader Dr AK Walia on if his grievances aren't addressed pic.twitter.com/YtyMVWtLUM — ANI (@ANI_news) April 3, 2017 × There have been a string of defections from the Congress recently. The high-profile ones include former UP chief minister ND Tewari, former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna, and former UP Congress chief Rita Bahugana Joshi. New reports have murmured that the blame for the condition the Congress finds itself in -- and the reason for the defections -- is pointed at Congress vice president and heir apparent Rahul Gandhi. (WION)

Another Congress leader, Dr AK Walia, threatens to resign

Protesters stormed and set fire to Paraguay&#39;s Congress on Friday after the Senate secretly voted for a constitutional amendment that would allow President Horacio Cartes to run for re-election, a change that will also require approval by the House.

The country&#39;s constitution has prohibited re-election since it was passed in 1992 after a brutal dictatorship fell in 1989.

&quot;A coup has been carried out. We will resist and we invite the people to resist with us,&quot; said Senator Desiree Masi from the opposition Progressive Democratic Party.

Television images showed protesters breaking windows of the Congress and clashing with police, burning tires and removing parts of the fences surrounding the building. Police in riot gear responded by lobbing tear gas and firing rubber bullets.

Several politicians and journalists were injured, local media reported, and Interior Minister Tadeo Rojas said many police were hurt.

Cartes called for calm and a rejection of violence in a statement released on Twitter.

&quot;Democracy is not conquered or defended with violence and you can be sure this government will continue to put its best effort into maintaining order in the republic,&quot; he said.

The number of casualties was unknown. Several people were inside Congress as the flames spread and television images showed firefighters arriving on foot to fight the blaze concentrated on the first floor of the building.

The unrest coincides with a rare high-level international event in the landlocked South American country. Thousands of businessmen and government officials descended on the capital city of Asuncion this week for the Inter-American Development Bank&#39;s annual board of governors meeting.

While Paraguay long suffered from political uncertainty, the soy and beef-exporting nation has been attracting investment in agriculture and manufacturing sectors in recent years as Cartes offered tax breaks to foreign investors. Instability in the country of 6.8 million is a concern for its much larger neighbors Brazil and Argentina.

Secret session

The Senate voted earlier on Friday during a special session in a closed office in Congress rather than on the Senate floor. Twenty-five lawmakers voted for the measure, two more than the 23 required for passage in the 45-member upper chamber.

Opponents of the measure, who claim it would weaken Paraguay&#39;s democratic institutions, said the vote was illegal.

The proposal goes to the House, where it appeared to have strong support. A vote expected to take place early on Saturday was called off until the situation calmed down, said the chamber&#39;s president, Hugo Velazquez.

&quot;I call for calm,&quot; Velazquez said. &quot;Tomorrow we will not take any decision; we will not hold a session.&quot;

Several Latin American countries, including Paraguay, Peru and Chile, prevent presidents from running for consecutive terms in a region where the memories of military dictatorships remain ripe.

Others, including Colombia and Venezuela, have changed their constitutions to give sitting presidents a chance at re-election.

Paraguay&#39;s measure would apply to future presidents and Cartes, a soft-drink and tobacco mogul elected to a five-year term in 2013.

His strongest backers want him to be allowed to run for another term next year, but critics of the measure have said a constitutional change aimed at benefiting a sitting president would be unfair.

The change would also apply to former President Fernando Lugo, whose supporters want to be allowed to run for another term. Congress voted to oust Lugo in 2012 saying he had failed in his duty to maintain social order following a bloody land eviction. The rapid impeachment drew strong criticism in Latin America, especially from fellow leftist governments.

A similar re-election proposal had been rejected in August and Congress this week voted to change the rules that required lawmakers to wait a year before voting again.

&quot;Everything was done legally,&quot; said Senator Carlos Filizzola of the leftist Guasu Front coalition, which supports the constitutional amendment as a way of allowing Lugo to return as Paraguay&#39;s leader.

(Reuters)

They were protesting a secret vote by the Senate that would allow President Horacio Cartes to run for re-election

Protesters stormed and set fire to Paraguay's Congress on Friday after the Senate secretly voted for a constitutional amendment that would allow President Horacio Cartes to run for re-election, a change that will also require approval by the House. The country's constitution has prohibited re-election since it was passed in 1992 after a brutal dictatorship fell in 1989. "A coup has been carried out. We will resist and we invite the people to resist with us," said Senator Desiree Masi from the opposition Progressive Democratic Party. Television images showed protesters breaking windows of the Congress and clashing with police, burning tires and removing parts of the fences surrounding the building. Police in riot gear responded by lobbing tear gas and firing rubber bullets. Several politicians and journalists were injured, local media reported, and Interior Minister Tadeo Rojas said many police were hurt. Cartes called for calm and a rejection of violence in a statement released on Twitter. "Democracy is not conquered or defended with violence and you can be sure this government will continue to put its best effort into maintaining order in the republic," he said. The number of casualties was unknown. Several people were inside Congress as the flames spread and television images showed firefighters arriving on foot to fight the blaze concentrated on the first floor of the building. The unrest coincides with a rare high-level international event in the landlocked South American country. Thousands of businessmen and government officials descended on the capital city of Asuncion this week for the Inter-American Development Bank's annual board of governors meeting. While Paraguay long suffered from political uncertainty, the soy and beef-exporting nation has been attracting investment in agriculture and manufacturing sectors in recent years as Cartes offered tax breaks to foreign investors. Instability in the country of 6.8 million is a concern for its much larger neighbors Brazil and Argentina. Secret session The Senate voted earlier on Friday during a special session in a closed office in Congress rather than on the Senate floor. Twenty-five lawmakers voted for the measure, two more than the 23 required for passage in the 45-member upper chamber. Opponents of the measure, who claim it would weaken Paraguay's democratic institutions, said the vote was illegal. The proposal goes to the House, where it appeared to have strong support. A vote expected to take place early on Saturday was called off until the situation calmed down, said the chamber's president, Hugo Velazquez. "I call for calm," Velazquez said. "Tomorrow we will not take any decision; we will not hold a session." Several Latin American countries, including Paraguay, Peru and Chile, prevent presidents from running for consecutive terms in a region where the memories of military dictatorships remain ripe. Others, including Colombia and Venezuela, have changed their constitutions to give sitting presidents a chance at re-election. Paraguay's measure would apply to future presidents and Cartes, a soft-drink and tobacco mogul elected to a five-year term in 2013. His strongest backers want him to be allowed to run for another term next year, but critics of the measure have said a constitutional change aimed at benefiting a sitting president would be unfair. The change would also apply to former President Fernando Lugo, whose supporters want to be allowed to run for another term. Congress voted to oust Lugo in 2012 saying he had failed in his duty to maintain social order following a bloody land eviction. The rapid impeachment drew strong criticism in Latin America, especially from fellow leftist governments. A similar re-election proposal had been rejected in August and Congress this week voted to change the rules that required lawmakers to wait a year before voting again. "Everything was done legally," said Senator Carlos Filizzola of the leftist Guasu Front coalition, which supports the constitutional amendment as a way of allowing Lugo to return as Paraguay's leader. (Reuters)

Protesters set Paraguay Congress on fire

Opposition Congress today forced an adjournment of Rajya Sabha proceedings over the conduct of the Goa Governor in inviting BJP to form the government in the state after she reportedly consulted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Congress members alleged breach of propriety and constitutional norms in the consultations Goa Governor Mridula Sinha held with Jaitley. They stormed into the Well of the House raising slogans against murder of democracy, forcing Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to adjourn the House till noon.

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Rajya Sabha adjourned till 02:30 PM
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Earlier when the House met for the day, Digvijaya Singh (Cong) said he has given a notice under rule 267 seeking setting aside of the business of the day to take up &quot;gross constitutional impropriety committed by Governor of Goa.&quot;

Singh read out from an interview Sinha gave to a newspaper in which she reportedly said she did not expect BJP to form the government but spoke to Jaitley before arriving at the decision to call the party to form the government ahead of Congress which had emerged as the single largest party in elections.

Kurien said the conduct of a Governor can be discussed only on the basis of a substantive motion and he had disallowed Singh&#39;s notice under 267.

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the conduct of Governor was discussed when the Arunachal Pradesh issue was debated in the House.

&quot;Why don&#39;t you move a substantive motion,&quot; Kurien asked. &quot;No. I have to go by rules. You can bring substantive motion, Chairman will consider it.&quot;

Azad said his party colleague Singh had not raised any issue with the conduct of the Governor but merely stated what she had said in an interview.

In the interview, he said, the Governor said she did not accept BJP to form the government and she had called Jaitley at 2130 hours on Sunday night before inviting BJP to form the government.

&quot;How can the Governor seek permission of a Cabinet minister to form a government,&quot; Azad asked as Kurien insisted on a substantive motion for any discussion.

Singh said the House was supreme and a sense of members present can be taken and his notice under rule 267 converted into a substantive motion. 
 
Anand Sharma (Cong) said the Constitution clearly defines the duties and powers of Governor in appointing chief minister and it does not anywhere state that the Governor is supposed to consult serving cabinet minister.

&quot;Constitution does not allow Governor to consult cabinet minister&quot; for government formation, he said.&nbsp;

Kurien said if the Governor has violated the Consitution, a substantive motion can be brought.

&quot;You are going by a newspaper report. I am not bothered about that. I have made it very clear that if you feel that the Governor has violated any of the provision of Constitution, please bring a substantive motion. I cannot allow you to discuss the conduct of Governor,&quot; he said.

Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said a cabinet minister is answerable to House. To this, Kurien said if any minister has violated any provision of the Constitution, there can be a motion for that as well. &quot;We can discuss that. I have no problem.&quot;

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government is ready to discuss if the Congress was to bring a substantive motion. He went on to say that the opposition party by its continued protests was insulting the verdict of the people as also the ruling of the Chair.

Congress members then trooped into the Well shouting slogans against what they said was murder of democracy. Treasury benches also countered the slogan shouting.

Kurien again said he was not against any discussion. &quot;I am not denying or refusing any discussion... If you want to discuss (Governor&#39;s conduct), please give a substantive motion. I will also request Chairman (to consider it) and then we can have a discussion anytime.&quot;

But Congress members continued to insist on a discussion. Singh said Jaitley is a member of the House and he can avail of his right to reply. He then went on to state that a substantive motion will be given.

Azad said the House should be adjourned for an hour for the substantive motion to be framed and submitted and the same can be discussed thereafter.

But this was not agreeable to the Chair or the treasury benches. As the slogan shouting continued, Kurien adjourned the House till 1200 hours.&nbsp;

(PTI)

She is alleged to have consulted finance minister Arun Jaitley before inviting the BJP to form the government

Opposition Congress today forced an adjournment of Rajya Sabha proceedings over the conduct of the Goa Governor in inviting BJP to form the government in the state after she reportedly consulted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Congress members alleged breach of propriety and constitutional norms in the consultations Goa Governor Mridula Sinha held with Jaitley. They stormed into the Well of the House raising slogans against murder of democracy, forcing Deputy Chairman P J Kurien to adjourn the House till noon. Rajya Sabha adjourned till 02:30 PM — ANI (@ANI_news) March 17, 2017 × Earlier when the House met for the day, Digvijaya Singh (Cong) said he has given a notice under rule 267 seeking setting aside of the business of the day to take up "gross constitutional impropriety committed by Governor of Goa." Singh read out from an interview Sinha gave to a newspaper in which she reportedly said she did not expect BJP to form the government but spoke to Jaitley before arriving at the decision to call the party to form the government ahead of Congress which had emerged as the single largest party in elections. Kurien said the conduct of a Governor can be discussed only on the basis of a substantive motion and he had disallowed Singh's notice under 267. Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the conduct of Governor was discussed when the Arunachal Pradesh issue was debated in the House. "Why don't you move a substantive motion," Kurien asked. "No. I have to go by rules. You can bring substantive motion, Chairman will consider it." Azad said his party colleague Singh had not raised any issue with the conduct of the Governor but merely stated what she had said in an interview. In the interview, he said, the Governor said she did not accept BJP to form the government and she had called Jaitley at 2130 hours on Sunday night before inviting BJP to form the government. "How can the Governor seek permission of a Cabinet minister to form a government," Azad asked as Kurien insisted on a substantive motion for any discussion. Singh said the House was supreme and a sense of members present can be taken and his notice under rule 267 converted into a substantive motion. Anand Sharma (Cong) said the Constitution clearly defines the duties and powers of Governor in appointing chief minister and it does not anywhere state that the Governor is supposed to consult serving cabinet minister. "Constitution does not allow Governor to consult cabinet minister" for government formation, he said. Kurien said if the Governor has violated the Consitution, a substantive motion can be brought. "You are going by a newspaper report. I am not bothered about that. I have made it very clear that if you feel that the Governor has violated any of the provision of Constitution, please bring a substantive motion. I cannot allow you to discuss the conduct of Governor," he said. Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said a cabinet minister is answerable to House. To this, Kurien said if any minister has violated any provision of the Constitution, there can be a motion for that as well. "We can discuss that. I have no problem." Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government is ready to discuss if the Congress was to bring a substantive motion. He went on to say that the opposition party by its continued protests was insulting the verdict of the people as also the ruling of the Chair. Congress members then trooped into the Well shouting slogans against what they said was murder of democracy. Treasury benches also countered the slogan shouting. Kurien again said he was not against any discussion. "I am not denying or refusing any discussion... If you want to discuss (Governor's conduct), please give a substantive motion. I will also request Chairman (to consider it) and then we can have a discussion anytime." But Congress members continued to insist on a discussion. Singh said Jaitley is a member of the House and he can avail of his right to reply. He then went on to state that a substantive motion will be given. Azad said the House should be adjourned for an hour for the substantive motion to be framed and submitted and the same can be discussed thereafter. But this was not agreeable to the Chair or the treasury benches. As the slogan shouting continued, Kurien adjourned the House till 1200 hours. (PTI)

Congress forces adjournment in Rajya Sabha over Goa governor's role

The Congress is finding it difficult to swallow the reality that it has been outfoxed in Goa, despite emerging as the single largest party in the recently held assembly election.

Even as it was celebrating its win, the Bharatiya Janata Party cobbled an alliance that secured a majority in the 40-member House. The Congress&rsquo;s last ditch appeal to the Supreme Court also failed to stop the formation of a BJP-led government. Even as it continued to hurl accusations, the new government won the floor test too.

As if this was not trouble enough for the Congress, there is a revolt brewing within the party. Senior leader and newly elected MLA Vishwajit Rane has quit the party and his Goa Assembly membership in disgust. It&rsquo;s expected that more could follow.

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What went wrong for the Congress? At least two things.

To begin with, Congress demonstrated shocking lethargy in the face of a hung House. As the single largest party, it should have moved swiftly to stitch a coalition and approach the governor with enhanced numbers. It ought to have shown flexibility--&nbsp;bend like a willow in the wind and not stood like an obstinate oak, as a party leader remarked. The Goa Forward Party, with three legislators, was willing to do business with the Congress provided state party chief Luzinho Faleiro opted out of the chief ministerial race. The GFP leader Vijay Sardesai and Faleiro do not see eye to eye but Faleiro refused to oblige.

The second mistake was that of the Congress high command led by Rahul Gandhi. It provided no sense of urgency or purpose to its state unit. The central leadership of the Congress party ought to have cracked the whip and asked Faleiro to step aside in the larger interests of the party, but it did not. As a result, veteran Congressman Digvijaya Singh - the party&#39;s&nbsp;nominee to firefight the challenge - was fettered in taking on-the-spot decisions. He had only to win over the GFP and get its three MLAs on board, and the government would have been its for the asking. There was no need to woo the Independents even.

In contrast, the BJP had a tougher task, given its low figures.

&nbsp;

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&nbsp;

The party had to get the support of the GFP, the Independents and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. That it managed to get them all to its side, demonstrates a political adroitness which was missing in the Congress. The BJP did not dither for a moment once the GFP and the MGP made it known that they would extend support only if Manohar Parrikar were to become the chief minister. Parrikar was asked to resign as the country&rsquo;s defence minister and take charge in Goa.

Now outmanoeuvred, the Congress has been crying foul. It sought to raise the issue of ethics, constitutional propriety, and of money power. The Supreme Court&rsquo;s dismissal of Congress&#39;s&nbsp;plea should have ended the talk of any constitutional wrongdoing on the governor&rsquo;s part in inviting the BJP-led combination to form the government. The apex court&rsquo;s telling remarks expose the Congress&rsquo;s weak defence. The court asked: If the Congress had the numbers, why did it then not approach the governor and lay its claim? The judges pointed out that the party&rsquo;s petition before them did not even mention the magic figure or implead Parrikar.

The Congress is on weak grounds on the matter of ethics too. In 2002, the National Conference had bigger numbers in Jammu &amp; Kashmir, but the Congress teamed up with the Peoples Democratic Party to form the government. In 2005, the BJP was the single largest party in Jharkhand, but the Congress teamed up with Shibu Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to form the government. In 2013, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Delhi Assembly election, but the Congress extended support to the Aam Aadmi Party and helped it form the government.

The Congress in Goa now faces a period of turmoil. Even an MLA from its ally, the Nationalist Congress Party, backed the BJP-led regime during the trust vote on Thursday. Vishwajit Rane&rsquo;s plans are unclear, but he may well join the BJP or float an outfit that aligns with the BJP. His father, Pratapsinh Rane, is a veteran Congressman and former chief minister. The factions led by the senior Rane and Faleiro are at loggerheads, and for the moment it appears that the latter is on the blackfoot, since many believe his intransigence has led to the party&rsquo;s humiliation.

It is ironical that the 2017 verdict, which should have led to the revival of the Congress in Goa, has proved to be undoing.

The ruling BJP had slipped to 13 seats from the 21 it had won in 2012, and this was a clear thumbs down from the electorate. The reasons for the loss are many, but two factors are primary. The first is the absence of Parrikar from the helm. It is true that even after shifting to Delhi, Parrikar had kept himself connected with the politics of Goa, but a hand on approach was naturally not possible. He commands an across-the-party connect and has excellent relations with several players in the field. For instance, his personal equations with Vijay Sardesai swung the GFP to the BJP&rsquo;s side. The MGP, which broke away from the BJP alliance and contested the election on its own, came around to supporting the BJP once it became known that Parrikar would head the government.

The second cause of the BJP&rsquo;s relatively poor performance was the failure of Laxmikant Parsekar to provide effective leadership. Parsekar took over as chief minister after Parrikar shifted to Delhi as defence minister, but he simply did not have the acumen of his predecessor. The revolt by a section of the RSS in the State, which happened with senior RSS leader Subhash Velingkar forming his own outfit, may have been directed against Parrikar, but it was for Parsekar to tackle it; he failed. There had been murmurs when Parsekar was named the new chief minister, with many within the party of the belief that Deputy Chief Minister Francis D&rsquo; Souza ought to have assumed the mantle.

But all of that is past now. Parrikar has the challenge to reinvigorate the party, balance the demands and counter demands of his coalition partners who hold the key to the Government&rsquo;s survival, and do his bit to exploit the fissures in the Congress. All this, while providing good governance in the run-up to the 2019 general election.

While BJP showed political adroitness, the Congress party stood like an obstinate oak

The Congress is finding it difficult to swallow the reality that it has been outfoxed in Goa, despite emerging as the single largest party in the recently held assembly election. Even as it was celebrating its win, the Bharatiya Janata Party cobbled an alliance that secured a majority in the 40-member House. The Congress’s last ditch appeal to the Supreme Court also failed to stop the formation of a BJP-led government. Even as it continued to hurl accusations, the new government won the floor test too. As if this was not trouble enough for the Congress, there is a revolt brewing within the party. Senior leader and newly elected MLA Vishwajit Rane has quit the party and his Goa Assembly membership in disgust. It’s expected that more could follow. The central leadership of the Congress party ought to have cracked the whip and asked Faleiro to step aside in the larger interests of the party, but it did not × What went wrong for the Congress? At least two things. To begin with, Congress demonstrated shocking lethargy in the face of a hung House. As the single largest party, it should have moved swiftly to stitch a coalition and approach the governor with enhanced numbers. It ought to have shown flexibility-- bend like a willow in the wind and not stood like an obstinate oak, as a party leader remarked. The Goa Forward Party, with three legislators, was willing to do business with the Congress provided state party chief Luzinho Faleiro opted out of the chief ministerial race. The GFP leader Vijay Sardesai and Faleiro do not see eye to eye but Faleiro refused to oblige. The second mistake was that of the Congress high command led by Rahul Gandhi. It provided no sense of urgency or purpose to its state unit. The central leadership of the Congress party ought to have cracked the whip and asked Faleiro to step aside in the larger interests of the party, but it did not. As a result, veteran Congressman Digvijaya Singh - the party's nominee to firefight the challenge - was fettered in taking on-the-spot decisions. He had only to win over the GFP and get its three MLAs on board, and the government would have been its for the asking. There was no need to woo the Independents even. In contrast, the BJP had a tougher task, given its low figures. The Supreme Court’s dismissal of Congress's plea should have ended the talk of any constitutional wrongdoing on the governor’s part in inviting the BJP-led combination to form the government × The party had to get the support of the GFP, the Independents and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. That it managed to get them all to its side, demonstrates a political adroitness which was missing in the Congress. The BJP did not dither for a moment once the GFP and the MGP made it known that they would extend support only if Manohar Parrikar were to become the chief minister. Parrikar was asked to resign as the country’s defence minister and take charge in Goa. Now outmanoeuvred, the Congress has been crying foul. It sought to raise the issue of ethics, constitutional propriety, and of money power. The Supreme Court’s dismissal of Congress's plea should have ended the talk of any constitutional wrongdoing on the governor’s part in inviting the BJP-led combination to form the government. The apex court’s telling remarks expose the Congress’s weak defence. The court asked: If the Congress had the numbers, why did it then not approach the governor and lay its claim? The judges pointed out that the party’s petition before them did not even mention the magic figure or implead Parrikar. The Congress is on weak grounds on the matter of ethics too. In 2002, the National Conference had bigger numbers in Jammu & Kashmir, but the Congress teamed up with the Peoples Democratic Party to form the government. In 2005, the BJP was the single largest party in Jharkhand, but the Congress teamed up with Shibu Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to form the government. In 2013, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Delhi Assembly election, but the Congress extended support to the Aam Aadmi Party and helped it form the government. The Congress in Goa now faces a period of turmoil. Even an MLA from its ally, the Nationalist Congress Party, backed the BJP-led regime during the trust vote on Thursday. Vishwajit Rane’s plans are unclear, but he may well join the BJP or float an outfit that aligns with the BJP. His father, Pratapsinh Rane, is a veteran Congressman and former chief minister. The factions led by the senior Rane and Faleiro are at loggerheads, and for the moment it appears that the latter is on the blackfoot, since many believe his intransigence has led to the party’s humiliation. It is ironical that the 2017 verdict, which should have led to the revival of the Congress in Goa, has proved to be undoing. The ruling BJP had slipped to 13 seats from the 21 it had won in 2012, and this was a clear thumbs down from the electorate. The reasons for the loss are many, but two factors are primary. The first is the absence of Parrikar from the helm. It is true that even after shifting to Delhi, Parrikar had kept himself connected with the politics of Goa, but a hand on approach was naturally not possible. He commands an across-the-party connect and has excellent relations with several players in the field. For instance, his personal equations with Vijay Sardesai swung the GFP to the BJP’s side. The MGP, which broke away from the BJP alliance and contested the election on its own, came around to supporting the BJP once it became known that Parrikar would head the government. The second cause of the BJP’s relatively poor performance was the failure of Laxmikant Parsekar to provide effective leadership. Parsekar took over as chief minister after Parrikar shifted to Delhi as defence minister, but he simply did not have the acumen of his predecessor. The revolt by a section of the RSS in the State, which happened with senior RSS leader Subhash Velingkar forming his own outfit, may have been directed against Parrikar, but it was for Parsekar to tackle it; he failed. There had been murmurs when Parsekar was named the new chief minister, with many within the party of the belief that Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’ Souza ought to have assumed the mantle. But all of that is past now. Parrikar has the challenge to reinvigorate the party, balance the demands and counter demands of his coalition partners who hold the key to the Government’s survival, and do his bit to exploit the fissures in the Congress. All this, while providing good governance in the run-up to the 2019 general election.

What went wrong for the Congress in Goa

The BJP-led government in Goa&nbsp;headed by chief minister Manohar Parrikar won its crucial floor test today at a special Assembly session.

Twenty-three MLAs supported Parrikar, two more than the halfway mark in the 40-member Goa Assembly.

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We have proved before the people of India, we had support of 23 and we proved it on the floor of house: Manohar Parrikar,Goa CM <a href="https://t.co/Qkr1JiaADd">pic.twitter.com/Qkr1JiaADd</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/842271768102424576">March 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Digvijaya&#39;s claims that they have numbers, debunked. Right from the beginning they didnt have numbers: Manohar Parrikar,Goa CM <a href="https://t.co/ZQ8O4VK0Qi">pic.twitter.com/ZQ8O4VK0Qi</a>
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&nbsp;

Parrikar had stepped down as the union defence minister to be sworn in as chief minister of the state for a fourth time Tuesday evening, along with nine other ministers.

Parrikar&#39;s swearing-in ceremony was attended by BJP chief Amit Shah and union minister Nitin Gadkari.

It was actually the Congress that had won the most seats -- 17 -- in the Goa elections; the BJP had won only 13 but it was quicker to tie up with smaller parties and independents.

The Congress turned to the Supreme Court, asking that Parrikar&#39;s swearing-in be stayed. But the Supreme Court refused, saying instead that a floor test be held Tuesday. It added that no other business save for the floor test was to be conducted Thursday.&nbsp;

The BJP had claimed the support of three MLAs each of the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party, and that of three independents.

All of them voted in favour of Parrikar today.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from ANI)

 
&nbsp;

He needed a total of 21 yes votes in the 40-member assembly

The BJP-led government in Goa headed by chief minister Manohar Parrikar won its crucial floor test today at a special Assembly session. Twenty-three MLAs supported Parrikar, two more than the halfway mark in the 40-member Goa Assembly. We have proved before the people of India, we had support of 23 and we proved it on the floor of house: Manohar Parrikar,Goa CM pic.twitter.com/Qkr1JiaADd — ANI (@ANI_news) March 16, 2017 × Digvijaya's claims that they have numbers, debunked. Right from the beginning they didnt have numbers: Manohar Parrikar,Goa CM pic.twitter.com/ZQ8O4VK0Qi — ANI (@ANI_news) March 16, 2017 × Parrikar had stepped down as the union defence minister to be sworn in as chief minister of the state for a fourth time Tuesday evening, along with nine other ministers. Parrikar's swearing-in ceremony was attended by BJP chief Amit Shah and union minister Nitin Gadkari. It was actually the Congress that had won the most seats -- 17 -- in the Goa elections; the BJP had won only 13 but it was quicker to tie up with smaller parties and independents. The Congress turned to the Supreme Court, asking that Parrikar's swearing-in be stayed. But the Supreme Court refused, saying instead that a floor test be held Tuesday. It added that no other business save for the floor test was to be conducted Thursday. The BJP had claimed the support of three MLAs each of the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party, and that of three independents. All of them voted in favour of Parrikar today. (WION with inputs from ANI)

Parrikar wins Goa trust vote with support of 23 MLAs

Manohar Parrikar, who resigned as India&#39;s defence minister to become the next chief minister of Goa, was sworn-in as the next head of India&#39;s tiny western state on Tuesday.

But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, has come under severe criticism from the Congress who have accused them of &quot;murdering&quot; democracy.

India&#39;s top court on Tuesday&nbsp;allowed Parrikar to be sworn in as the chief minister but asked him to undergo a floor test on Thursday to prove the numbers.

The political churn started soon after the recently-held Goa elections when Congress won 17 Assembly seats as against BJP&#39;s 13. But the BJP outsmarted the Congress by forging post-poll alliances with regional parties and thereby staking their claim on government formation.

The Congress subsequently turned to India&#39;s Supreme Court to intervene in the matter, arguing they have the first right to prove the majority as they were the single-largest party.

To read more about the story, click <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/india-assembly-elections-top-court-orders-floor-test-in-goa-greenlights-parrikars-swearing-in-13353">here</a>.

(WION)

Parrikar took the oath amid protests outside Raj Bhavan

Manohar Parrikar, who resigned as India's defence minister to become the next chief minister of Goa, was sworn-in as the next head of India's tiny western state on Tuesday. But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, has come under severe criticism from the Congress who have accused them of "murdering" democracy. India's top court on Tuesday allowed Parrikar to be sworn in as the chief minister but asked him to undergo a floor test on Thursday to prove the numbers. The political churn started soon after the recently-held Goa elections when Congress won 17 Assembly seats as against BJP's 13. But the BJP outsmarted the Congress by forging post-poll alliances with regional parties and thereby staking their claim on government formation. The Congress subsequently turned to India's Supreme Court to intervene in the matter, arguing they have the first right to prove the majority as they were the single-largest party. To read more about the story, click here. (WION)

Manohar Parrikar sworn in as Goa chief minister

In a bid to &quot;infuse fresh blood&quot; into the upcoming municipal polls, scheduled to be held on April 22, the Delhi BJP has decided to drop all its sitting councillors from the list of candidates.

The announcement was made by the party&#39;s Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari in a press conference here today.

&quot;We have unanimously decided to field fresh faces in the municipal elections. Even family members of the councillors and party leaders will not be given tickets,&quot; he said.

The move is seen as a gamble by the BJP, which has been in power at the civic bodies since 2007, to pre-empt the AAP and Congress from cornering it over charges of corruption against the sitting councillors.

Tiwari said the decision was a step towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s vision of a &quot;new India&quot; driven by the power of the youth.

BJP&#39;s Delhi MPs Harsh Vardhan, Maheish Girri, Parvesh Verma and Udit Raj were present at the press conference, ostensibly in a move to project the party&#39;s unity over the decision.

When asked, Tiwari brushed aside speculations that the step may result in infighting and the standing councillors rebelling against the party.

&quot;In BJP, people do not work for posts. Everyone will work together and people will also accept it,&quot; he said.

The Bhojpuri actor-turned-politician also attacked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying the verdicts at Punjab and Goa have &quot;shown AAP the mirror and it will face a similar situation in Delhi.&quot;

The BJP has 153 councillors in the three civic bodies, namely North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC). These bodies constitute 272 seats, with NDMC and SDMC accounting for 104 seats each, while 64 seats fall under EDMC.

(PTI)

The polls are scheduled to be held on April 22, the state election commission announced

In a bid to "infuse fresh blood" into the upcoming municipal polls, scheduled to be held on April 22, the Delhi BJP has decided to drop all its sitting councillors from the list of candidates. The announcement was made by the party's Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari in a press conference here today. "We have unanimously decided to field fresh faces in the municipal elections. Even family members of the councillors and party leaders will not be given tickets," he said. The move is seen as a gamble by the BJP, which has been in power at the civic bodies since 2007, to pre-empt the AAP and Congress from cornering it over charges of corruption against the sitting councillors. Tiwari said the decision was a step towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a "new India" driven by the power of the youth. BJP's Delhi MPs Harsh Vardhan, Maheish Girri, Parvesh Verma and Udit Raj were present at the press conference, ostensibly in a move to project the party's unity over the decision. When asked, Tiwari brushed aside speculations that the step may result in infighting and the standing councillors rebelling against the party. "In BJP, people do not work for posts. Everyone will work together and people will also accept it," he said. The Bhojpuri actor-turned-politician also attacked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying the verdicts at Punjab and Goa have "shown AAP the mirror and it will face a similar situation in Delhi." The BJP has 153 councillors in the three civic bodies, namely North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC). These bodies constitute 272 seats, with NDMC and SDMC accounting for 104 seats each, while 64 seats fall under EDMC. (PTI)

Delhi civic polls: BJP drops sitting councillors to avoid possible graft charges

In the wake of the recent debate on the formation of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -&nbsp;dominated government in Goa and Manipur, the Congress party branded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP ministers as &#39;power-hungry&#39;&nbsp;politicians, going against the will of the locals.

With regards to Manohar Parrikar being appointed as the new chief minister of Goa, Congress leader Rizwan Arshad claimed that the appointment is against the will of residents in Goa.

Speaking to ANI, Arshad questioned Parrikar regarding why he did not contest the elections if he desired to be the chief minister, adding that the BJP is forcefully entering the political scenario in Goa.

&quot;Parrikar is not the chosen candidate for CM in the eyes of locals in Goa. The recent events are very unfortunate for the democracy,&quot; said Arshad.

With regards to Manipur, Arshad accused the Modi Government of misuse of power, further stating that independent MLAs were &#39;abducted by CISF&#39;.

Arshad also claimed that the recent attack on Kannada writer Yogesh Master has been fueled by right-wing organisations that are being supported by Prime Minister Modi.

&quot;These organisations are against liberalist ideology. The Congress Government in Karnataka will not let the miscreants walk free,&quot; he added.Commenting on India`s relations with Pakistan, Arshad stated that Prime Minister Modi&#39;s actions and words look &#39;out of sync&#39;, since there has been no clarity on the matter so far.

Meanwhile, the Congress moved the Supreme Court against Goa Governor&#39;s decision to invite Parrikar to form government in the state, despite the BJP emerging as the second largest party.

The Congress claimed that the Governor should have invited them to form government, as they are the single largest party with 17 seats.

The petition for urgent hearing was mentioned before Chief Justice of India JS&nbsp;Khehar, and is scheduled to take place later today.

(ANI)&nbsp;

Congress branded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP ministers as 'power-hungry'?politicians, going against the will of the locals

In the wake of the recent debate on the formation of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - dominated government in Goa and Manipur, the Congress party branded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP ministers as 'power-hungry' politicians, going against the will of the locals. With regards to Manohar Parrikar being appointed as the new chief minister of Goa, Congress leader Rizwan Arshad claimed that the appointment is against the will of residents in Goa. Speaking to ANI, Arshad questioned Parrikar regarding why he did not contest the elections if he desired to be the chief minister, adding that the BJP is forcefully entering the political scenario in Goa. "Parrikar is not the chosen candidate for CM in the eyes of locals in Goa. The recent events are very unfortunate for the democracy," said Arshad. With regards to Manipur, Arshad accused the Modi Government of misuse of power, further stating that independent MLAs were 'abducted by CISF'. Arshad also claimed that the recent attack on Kannada writer Yogesh Master has been fueled by right-wing organisations that are being supported by Prime Minister Modi. "These organisations are against liberalist ideology. The Congress Government in Karnataka will not let the miscreants walk free," he added.Commenting on India`s relations with Pakistan, Arshad stated that Prime Minister Modi's actions and words look 'out of sync', since there has been no clarity on the matter so far. Meanwhile, the Congress moved the Supreme Court against Goa Governor's decision to invite Parrikar to form government in the state, despite the BJP emerging as the second largest party. The Congress claimed that the Governor should have invited them to form government, as they are the single largest party with 17 seats. The petition for urgent hearing was mentioned before Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, and is scheduled to take place later today. (ANI)

India: Congress slams BJP for 'backdoor entry' in Goa, Manipur

Shortly after the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, three-time chief minister of a Congress state told me that the Gandhis have become a liability for the Congress. What sounded shocking to me then seems like a cold reality today. Post 2012, every election where Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi campaigned intensively has been lost by the party. The Congress has only been able to retain or regain those states where the state leadership has been strong. This development has been co-terminus with the rise of Modi&rsquo;s brand of politics and Rahul&rsquo;s elevation in the Congress Party. The rise of the BJP also became the rise of Narendra Modi which not only electorally marginalised the Congress but also damaged the Gandhi brand. His campaign model ran down Rahul Gandhi hence his capacity to attract and electrify the voters.

This happened when Narendra Modi had more political baggage than the young Rahul Gandhi. Despite the disadvantage he faced, Modi managed to turn it around. He did this through opportunities inadvertently handed down to him by the Opposition and by projecting himself as an outsider to the corrupt world of the Delhi Durbar. In the process, Rahul Gandhi was successfully projected as a lazy leader who was a product of power and pelf in front of an aspirational India which he has not been able to shake off till date.

Rahul Gandhi not only squandered away the opportunity to understand the humbling process of government work but also proved organisationally inept. Not only did his Youth Congress programme come under tremendous criticism but his transition, forced by his mother Sonia Gandhi, created deep fissures in the party. Married to the defeat of 2014 and 2017, one can safely say that Rahul Gandhi today is turning into a brand liability for the Congress as he fails to draw the voters out on his own account. The truth is that the dynasty is in decline. The truth is that majority of Indians aren&rsquo;t taking Rahul Gandhi seriously. It is failing to connect to a new India on its own accord. It is a difficult truth but stares the Congress in its face and it should worry everyone in the Congress a lot.

The sum and total of five polls is that Narendra Modi today stands as the only pan Indian leader who possesses the ability to move and mobilise multiple social constituencies. Even if concession is given to Rahul Gandhi that the Congress wrested a couple of states, its overall vote share continues to decline. Rahul&#39;s victories never gave him the legitimacy of a mass leader as people gave credit to the state leaders. This time, the family bastion in Uttar Pradesh (UP) was again swept away despite the alliance whereas all seats in Varanasi went into the BJP&rsquo;s pocket indicating that even the home turf of the Gandhis is in tatters.

To top it up is the issue of perception that no leader comes close to Modi. This image has been buffeted further by the economically-contested demonetisation which he used to the party&rsquo;s political advantage in Uttar Pradesh. This not only enhanced his stature but also made all adversaries look small, limited and regional in nature.

The UP results also made Rahul Gandhi fall into the trap of sectional politics. In the 2012 elections, &nbsp;he spoke about the issue of backward Muslims which failed miserably. This time also the same mistake was repeated, but in a different avatar.

Despite appealing to the developmental issues, the dog whisper campaign of the SP-Congress was that with the Muslim Yadav combine with the Congress, the upper-caste vote would do well. This was politically countered by the majority discrimination campaign by BJP which was spearheaded by the prime minister himself. Not only did it derail the alliance, but it also created a united Hindu vote which should worry Congress a lot.

Bluntly putting it, PM Modi has become the biggest Hindu mascot who makes his intention of not running after the minority votes very clear to the electorate. To say that the post-Godhra baggage of the PM has been forgotten by India as he speaks more on development would be to fool oneself. Modi represents a skillful combination of Hindutva and the right-of-center economy of the world. So, to say that the UP results showcase booth-management skills or caste management would be to fool oneself. The vote represents a majority vote against a minority veto which has resurfaced in a much more powerful manner after the 1990s. This is the reason why not a single Muslim candidate was fielded by the BJP in UP and similarly in Assam, where the Muslim population touches 30 per cent of the total votes. This is not limited to India. Through the world, a churn exists where the majority not only asserts itself but also wears its cultural and religious symbols dynamically in the political field.

It is in this contrast that Rahul Gandhi comes across as a perpetually struggling leader who has neither defined his idea nor politics. It is this reality that Rahul Gandhi needs to deal with. It will not resolve itself by visiting temples or talking about Saivism in public because it doesn&rsquo;t look organic.

Congress under Rahul Gandhi can either continue to fight the BJP to preserve its past and the family or can call for internal elections to embrace fresh leadership. Who knows that a tough fight to take over the party might reinvent Rahul Gandhi himself. It did wonders to Sonia Gandhi when she was challenged by Jitendra Prasad. It gave her the legitimacy in front of workers and from there she went on to challenge the BJP. She challenged them state by state and in the process rebuilt a broken party.

The Congress will have to walk the same road again but will have to start the process by addressing the issue of the family first. There is not much of a choice. Fix it or replace it with an outsider. 
 
(WION)

&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

A three-time chief minister of a Congress state told me in 2014 that the Gandhis have become a liability for the Congress

Shortly after the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, three-time chief minister of a Congress state told me that the Gandhis have become a liability for the Congress. What sounded shocking to me then seems like a cold reality today. Post 2012, every election where Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi campaigned intensively has been lost by the party. The Congress has only been able to retain or regain those states where the state leadership has been strong. This development has been co-terminus with the rise of Modi’s brand of politics and Rahul’s elevation in the Congress Party. The rise of the BJP also became the rise of Narendra Modi which not only electorally marginalised the Congress but also damaged the Gandhi brand. His campaign model ran down Rahul Gandhi hence his capacity to attract and electrify the voters. This happened when Narendra Modi had more political baggage than the young Rahul Gandhi. Despite the disadvantage he faced, Modi managed to turn it around. He did this through opportunities inadvertently handed down to him by the Opposition and by projecting himself as an outsider to the corrupt world of the Delhi Durbar. In the process, Rahul Gandhi was successfully projected as a lazy leader who was a product of power and pelf in front of an aspirational India which he has not been able to shake off till date. Rahul Gandhi not only squandered away the opportunity to understand the humbling process of government work but also proved organisationally inept. Not only did his Youth Congress programme come under tremendous criticism but his transition, forced by his mother Sonia Gandhi, created deep fissures in the party. Married to the defeat of 2014 and 2017, one can safely say that Rahul Gandhi today is turning into a brand liability for the Congress as he fails to draw the voters out on his own account. The truth is that the dynasty is in decline. The truth is that majority of Indians aren’t taking Rahul Gandhi seriously. It is failing to connect to a new India on its own accord. It is a difficult truth but stares the Congress in its face and it should worry everyone in the Congress a lot. The sum and total of five polls is that Narendra Modi today stands as the only pan Indian leader who possesses the ability to move and mobilise multiple social constituencies. Even if concession is given to Rahul Gandhi that the Congress wrested a couple of states, its overall vote share continues to decline. Rahul's victories never gave him the legitimacy of a mass leader as people gave credit to the state leaders. This time, the family bastion in Uttar Pradesh (UP) was again swept away despite the alliance whereas all seats in Varanasi went into the BJP’s pocket indicating that even the home turf of the Gandhis is in tatters. To top it up is the issue of perception that no leader comes close to Modi. This image has been buffeted further by the economically-contested demonetisation which he used to the party’s political advantage in Uttar Pradesh. This not only enhanced his stature but also made all adversaries look small, limited and regional in nature. The UP results also made Rahul Gandhi fall into the trap of sectional politics. In the 2012 elections, he spoke about the issue of backward Muslims which failed miserably. This time also the same mistake was repeated, but in a different avatar. Despite appealing to the developmental issues, the dog whisper campaign of the SP-Congress was that with the Muslim Yadav combine with the Congress, the upper-caste vote would do well. This was politically countered by the majority discrimination campaign by BJP which was spearheaded by the prime minister himself. Not only did it derail the alliance, but it also created a united Hindu vote which should worry Congress a lot. Bluntly putting it, PM Modi has become the biggest Hindu mascot who makes his intention of not running after the minority votes very clear to the electorate. To say that the post-Godhra baggage of the PM has been forgotten by India as he speaks more on development would be to fool oneself. Modi represents a skillful combination of Hindutva and the right-of-center economy of the world. So, to say that the UP results showcase booth-management skills or caste management would be to fool oneself. The vote represents a majority vote against a minority veto which has resurfaced in a much more powerful manner after the 1990s. This is the reason why not a single Muslim candidate was fielded by the BJP in UP and similarly in Assam, where the Muslim population touches 30 per cent of the total votes. This is not limited to India. Through the world, a churn exists where the majority not only asserts itself but also wears its cultural and religious symbols dynamically in the political field. It is in this contrast that Rahul Gandhi comes across as a perpetually struggling leader who has neither defined his idea nor politics. It is this reality that Rahul Gandhi needs to deal with. It will not resolve itself by visiting temples or talking about Saivism in public because it doesn’t look organic. Congress under Rahul Gandhi can either continue to fight the BJP to preserve its past and the family or can call for internal elections to embrace fresh leadership. Who knows that a tough fight to take over the party might reinvent Rahul Gandhi himself. It did wonders to Sonia Gandhi when she was challenged by Jitendra Prasad. It gave her the legitimacy in front of workers and from there she went on to challenge the BJP. She challenged them state by state and in the process rebuilt a broken party. The Congress will have to walk the same road again but will have to start the process by addressing the issue of the family first. There is not much of a choice. Fix it or replace it with an outsider. (WION)

The rise of Modi and the fall of Rahul Gandhi

The BJP in Manipur&nbsp;claimed on Sunday to have secured the support of 32 MLAs after getting the backing of NDA&nbsp;constituent parties and two other MLAs, and said it would elect the legislature party leader tomorrow.

BJP has its own 21 MLAs and secured support of 11 others adding up to 32 legislators. 31 are needed to form government in the 60-member Assembly, Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said after meeting Governor Najma Heptullah.

A delegation of BJP and parties supporting it called on the Governor but it was not clear what transpired in the meeting.

Biswa Sarma said the legislature party leader would be elected tomorrow.

Shyamkumar, one of the 28 Congress MLAs who won from Andro constituency, and the lone All India Trinamool Congress legislator Robindro joined the BJP taking the party&#39;s numbers to 32, Sarma said. 
 
Asked about application of the anti-defection law against Shyamkumar, Biswa Sarma said they have kept that in mind. 
Earlier, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav said, &quot;We have been able to come to an understanding with the NPP and LJP in our bid to form the government in Manipur.&quot; 
 
NPP won 4 seats and LGP 1. 
 
NPP and LJP representatives were present along with their winning candidates in Madhav&#39;s press conference. 
Madhav said that the party also has an &quot;understanding&quot; with another NDA partner Naga People&#39;s Front which has won four seats. 
 
So, after the support of NPP, NPF, LJP, Trinamool Congress and the Congress&#39; one MLA, the BJP has support of 32 MLAs including its own 21. 
 
Madhav said that yesterday the NPF had issued a press statement wherein it said it was willing to form a non-Congress government in Manipur. 
 
The NPP&#39;s Conrad Sangma said that the popular verdict was for a change in Manipur. 
 
On being asked who would be the chief minister in the event of the BJP forming a coalition government, Madhav said the party leadership would decide soon. 
 
Manipur yesterday threw up a hung assembly with the ruling Congress bagging 28 of the 60 seats and the BJP winning 21.&nbsp;

Despite BJP&#39;s move to form government in Manipur, the Congress which was ruling the state for the past 15 years, said it would stake claim too. 
 
&quot;We will stake claim soon to form the next government. A fractured mandate requires a coalition government. The Congress is exploring possibilities to join with like-minded parties to form the government,&quot; state Congress president T N Haokip told reporters after a Congress legislature party meeting during the day. 
 
Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh was re-elected as the CLP leader in the meeting for the fourth time.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)

The BJP said it had the support of 32 legislators. 31 are needed to form the government in the 60-member Assembly

The BJP in Manipur claimed on Sunday to have secured the support of 32 MLAs after getting the backing of NDA constituent parties and two other MLAs, and said it would elect the legislature party leader tomorrow. BJP has its own 21 MLAs and secured support of 11 others adding up to 32 legislators. 31 are needed to form government in the 60-member Assembly, Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said after meeting Governor Najma Heptullah. A delegation of BJP and parties supporting it called on the Governor but it was not clear what transpired in the meeting. Biswa Sarma said the legislature party leader would be elected tomorrow. Shyamkumar, one of the 28 Congress MLAs who won from Andro constituency, and the lone All India Trinamool Congress legislator Robindro joined the BJP taking the party's numbers to 32, Sarma said. Asked about application of the anti-defection law against Shyamkumar, Biswa Sarma said they have kept that in mind. Earlier, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav said, "We have been able to come to an understanding with the NPP and LJP in our bid to form the government in Manipur." NPP won 4 seats and LGP 1. NPP and LJP representatives were present along with their winning candidates in Madhav's press conference. Madhav said that the party also has an "understanding" with another NDA partner Naga People's Front which has won four seats. So, after the support of NPP, NPF, LJP, Trinamool Congress and the Congress' one MLA, the BJP has support of 32 MLAs including its own 21. Madhav said that yesterday the NPF had issued a press statement wherein it said it was willing to form a non-Congress government in Manipur. The NPP's Conrad Sangma said that the popular verdict was for a change in Manipur. On being asked who would be the chief minister in the event of the BJP forming a coalition government, Madhav said the party leadership would decide soon. Manipur yesterday threw up a hung assembly with the ruling Congress bagging 28 of the 60 seats and the BJP winning 21. Despite BJP's move to form government in Manipur, the Congress which was ruling the state for the past 15 years, said it would stake claim too. "We will stake claim soon to form the next government. A fractured mandate requires a coalition government. The Congress is exploring possibilities to join with like-minded parties to form the government," state Congress president T N Haokip told reporters after a Congress legislature party meeting during the day. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh was re-elected as the CLP leader in the meeting for the fourth time. (PTI)

BJP says has requisite numbers for forming government in Manipur

The Bharatiya&nbsp;Janta Party (BJP) won 56 seats in Uttarakhand,&nbsp;almost completely wiping out&nbsp;the Congress which won just 11 seats and Others won 2 seats. The BJP wave has been&nbsp;clearly evident in Uttarakhand.&nbsp;

BJP leaders attributed the victory&nbsp;to the Narendra Modi wave and a strong anti-incumbency against Harish Rawat who lost both the seats he contested.

Even as results poured in, Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat resigned after losing both Assembly seats to BJP candidates in the state.

Rawat lost the Haridwar (Rural) seat to BJP&#39;s Yatishwaranand by over 12,000 votes and also lost the Kichcha seat by less than 100 votes to Rajesh Shukla of the BJP.&nbsp;

Earlier, counting of votes began in Uttarakhand this morning with the Congress taking an early lead in 14 constituencies, BJP led&nbsp;in 13 constituencies with&nbsp;Others leading in 2 seats.

In early rounds, chief minister Harish Rawat was&nbsp;leading in Haridwar Rural constituency, however, he soon started trailing and eventually lost to&nbsp;BJP&#39;s Yatishwaranand.

&nbsp;

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Chief Minister Harish Rawat leading from Haridwar Rural seat <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElectionResults?src=hash">#ElectionResults</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Uttarakhand?src=hash">#Uttarakhand</a> <a href="https://t.co/KhcPDIl3za">pic.twitter.com/KhcPDIl3za</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/840408637088514048">March 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The victory margin between the Congress and BJP this time is massive. The parties were neck and neck in the last assembly polls with BJP winning only one seat less than Congress which formed government with the help of the six-member PDF.&nbsp;

A number of Harish Rawat&#39;s cabinet colleagues including S S Negi, Dinesh Aggarwal, Mantri Prasad Naithani, Dinesh Dhanai, Harish Chandra Durgapal and Navprabhat lost their seats.

Almost all former Congress rebel MLAs fielded by BJP won their seats including Sobodh Uniyal from Narendranagar, Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion from Khanpur, Yashpal Arya from Bajpur, Rekha Arya from Someshwar, Umesh Sharma Kau from Raipur, and Pradeep Batra from Roorkee. 
 
Pradesh BJP president Ajay Bhatt who lost from Ranikhet, attributed his party&#39;s win to the corruption during the Congress rule.

&quot;People were sick of the rule of corruption, fear and loot and voted for Narendra Modi&#39;s and Amit Shah&#39;s all-inclusive development agenda,&quot; Ajay Bhatt said in a statement.

 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

BJP won 56 Assembly constituencies with the Congress taking just 13 seats

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) won 56 seats in Uttarakhand, almost completely wiping out the Congress which won just 11 seats and Others won 2 seats. The BJP wave has been clearly evident in Uttarakhand. BJP leaders attributed the victory to the Narendra Modi wave and a strong anti-incumbency against Harish Rawat who lost both the seats he contested. Even as results poured in, Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat resigned after losing both Assembly seats to BJP candidates in the state. Rawat lost the Haridwar (Rural) seat to BJP's Yatishwaranand by over 12,000 votes and also lost the Kichcha seat by less than 100 votes to Rajesh Shukla of the BJP. Earlier, counting of votes began in Uttarakhand this morning with the Congress taking an early lead in 14 constituencies, BJP led in 13 constituencies with Others leading in 2 seats. In early rounds, chief minister Harish Rawat was leading in Haridwar Rural constituency, however, he soon started trailing and eventually lost to BJP's Yatishwaranand. Chief Minister Harish Rawat leading from Haridwar Rural seat #ElectionResults #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/KhcPDIl3za — ANI (@ANI_news) March 11, 2017 × The victory margin between the Congress and BJP this time is massive. The parties were neck and neck in the last assembly polls with BJP winning only one seat less than Congress which formed government with the help of the six-member PDF. A number of Harish Rawat's cabinet colleagues including S S Negi, Dinesh Aggarwal, Mantri Prasad Naithani, Dinesh Dhanai, Harish Chandra Durgapal and Navprabhat lost their seats. Almost all former Congress rebel MLAs fielded by BJP won their seats including Sobodh Uniyal from Narendranagar, Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion from Khanpur, Yashpal Arya from Bajpur, Rekha Arya from Someshwar, Umesh Sharma Kau from Raipur, and Pradeep Batra from Roorkee. Pradesh BJP president Ajay Bhatt who lost from Ranikhet, attributed his party's win to the corruption during the Congress rule. "People were sick of the rule of corruption, fear and loot and voted for Narendra Modi's and Amit Shah's all-inclusive development agenda," Ajay Bhatt said in a statement. (WION with inputs from agencies)

BJP trumps Congress in Uttarakhand, CM Harish Rawat resigns

Voting in Uttar Pradesh&#39;s Alapur constituency&nbsp;in Ambedkar Nagar district is underway.&nbsp;

The election&nbsp;in this constituency was to happen in the fifth phase on February 27 but&nbsp;was&nbsp;deferred due to the death of&nbsp;the Samajwadi Party candidate Chandrashekhar Kanaujia.

Voting has also started&nbsp;in Uttarakhand&#39;s Karnaprayag constituency, which was postponed after the BSP candidate from the seat Kuldeep Singh Kanwasi died in a road accident.

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Uttarakhand: Polling underway in Karnaprayag, currently held by Congress&#39;s AP Maikhuri, BSP&#39;s Kanwasi&#39;s widow Jyoti &amp; BJP&#39;s SS Negi in fray <a href="https://t.co/ZHPr5CkKpi">pic.twitter.com/ZHPr5CkKpi</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/839717779825553408">March 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Elections to the last phase ended yesterday in Uttar Pradesh.

Results of the assembly elections in five states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Goa&nbsp;and Uttarakhand&nbsp;will be announced on March 11.

(WION with inputs from ANI) &nbsp;

The voting in these two constituencies was postponed after deaths of two candidates

Voting in Uttar Pradesh's Alapur constituency in Ambedkar Nagar district is underway. The election in this constituency was to happen in the fifth phase on February 27 but was deferred due to the death of the Samajwadi Party candidate Chandrashekhar Kanaujia. Voting has also started in Uttarakhand's Karnaprayag constituency, which was postponed after the BSP candidate from the seat Kuldeep Singh Kanwasi died in a road accident. Uttarakhand: Polling underway in Karnaprayag, currently held by Congress's AP Maikhuri, BSP's Kanwasi's widow Jyoti & BJP's SS Negi in fray pic.twitter.com/ZHPr5CkKpi — ANI (@ANI_news) March 9, 2017 × Elections to the last phase ended yesterday in Uttar Pradesh. Results of the assembly elections in five states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur, Goa and Uttarakhand will be announced on March 11. (WION with inputs from ANI)

Voting underway in Alapur of Uttar Pradesh, Karnaprayag of Uttarakhand

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