Category: NATIONAL NEWS

Senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel was Sunday named the new chief minister of Chhattisgarh, ending the suspense after days of intense deliberations with top party leadership headed by president Rahul Gandhi. Congress central observer Mallikarjun Kharge made the announcement after the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting here. .Baghel will take oath as the the chief minister at 5 pm on Monday, Kharge told media persons in the state capital.No other minister will be taking oath on that day, he said.The 57-year-old OBC leader, who steered the party to a stupendous…

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Buoyed by the Supreme Court dismissing all petitions asking for a probe into the Rafale deal, BJP president Amit Shah Friday said the order is a slap on Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s politics of lies and asked him to apologise to the country and its soldiers for putting national security at risk. There is no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France, the court said on Friday. It is not the job of the court to deal with the comparative details of…

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Amid hectic lobbying in the Congress for the top posts in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, party president Rahul Gandhi Thursday held deliberations with central observers and MLAs at his residence and said the names of the chief ministers would be declared soon.Gandhi met the party’s observers — K C Venugopal for Rajasthan and A K Antony for Madhya Pradesh early morning along with the state unit in-charges and later met the contenders.”Yes, you will see a chief minister soon…,” he said when asked about when the decision will be…

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As many as 13 of 19 ministers in the outgoing Vasundhara Raje government have lost the Assembly elections in Rajasthan as results and trends brought electoral reverses for the ruling BJP.However, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and her five cabinet colleagues have won their respective constituencies.Raje (Jhalrapatan), Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria (Udaipur), Education Minister Vasundev Devnani (Ajmer North), Women and Child Development Minister Anita Bhadel (Ajmer South), Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore (Churu) and Higher Education Minister Kiran Maheshwari (Rajsamand) have retained their respective seats.The chief minister won the Jhalrapatan…

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel as a “thorough professional with impeccable integrity” in a tweet today, minutes after the top central bank official resigned with immediate effect. His government was embroiled in a bitter conflict with the RBI over autonomy issues until recently, a factor that many believe led to Mr Patel’s decision. “Dr Urjit Patel is a thorough professional with impeccable integrity. He has been in the Reserve Bank of India for about 6 years as Deputy Governor and Governor. He…

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Rashtriya Lok Samata Party MP, Ram Kumar Sharma, on Sunday backed party chief and Union minister Upendra Kushwahas aggressive stance against the NDA leadership, saying there was no point in continuing in a coalition, if the party was not getting its due.Sharma has been, in the recent past, disapproving of Kushwahas tough posturing against the leadership of the NDA, especially Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar.Talking to reporters in his Lok Sabha constituency of Sitamarhi, Sharma said “one should not remain in a coalition where one is not…

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The Congress hit out at the government Saturday over ED raids against Robert Vadra’s associates, alleging that the Modi dispensation was using “high-handed tactics” to threaten people as it was in a “state of panic of the highest degree” sensing poll defeats.At a press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here, party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi also alleged that there was never such a “terror raj” in the “constitutional rule” of India.”We fought the British Raj and the BJP would do well to know that the day…

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Over 20 per cent of over 4.74 crore voters exercised their franchise in the first three hours of polling in Rajasthan Friday amid reports of EVMs malfunctioning at some polling boothsThe polling began at 8 am and the voting turn out was 20.9 per cent at 11 am, poll officials said. There were reports of some EVMs not working which delayed voting at a few polling booths. However, further details are awaited. As many as 51,687 polling booths have been set up in 199 out of the total 200 assembly constituencies…

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The Congress on Wednesday said the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were “latching” on to Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper deal who was extradited to India from Dubai, for a “smear campaign” against opposition leaders. Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, in a statement, alleged that facing “imminent defeat” in state polls, Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government were seeking to “weave a web of lies” and construct a “mesh of deception to hoodwink” the people of India in the chopper case.Michel, the alleged middleman…

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Police arrested four people on Tuesday and were hunting for a Bajrang Dal activist in connection with mob violence in Bulandshahr that left an inspector and a passerby dead, as angry families demanded action amid criticism of the UP chief minister and suggestions of conspiraciesA mob of some 400 people, including right-wing activists, fought pitched battles with police on Monday in Siana area of Bulandshahr district, apparently after right-wing activists were angered by the discovery of cow carcasses strewn in a nearby jungle. They set fire to dozens of vehicles, hurled…

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