Category: NATIONAL NEWS

Makkal Neethi Mayyam founder President Kamal Haasan has argued against prohibition, saying a dry regime would lead to the creation of a ‘mafia’. Promise of implementing prohibition was being made to garner women’s votes, Haasan said about an issue discussed by all political parties in Tamil Nadu during the 2016 Assembly polls. Liquor sales is nationalised in Tamil Nadu, with various brands of alcohol being sold through outlets run by state-run Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC). While opposition parties including DMK promised implementing prohibition in their election manifesto, ruling…

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Hailing his party candidate Rita Sahu’s victory in Bijepur Assembly bypolls today, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the outcome of the polls would have an impact on the general elections in 2019. Sahu won the by-election by defeating her nearest BJP rival Ashok Panigrahi by a margin of 41,933 votes, an EC official said. “Such an enormous victory with a margin of over 40,000 votes will have an impact on future elections,” Patnaik told reporters while thanking the people of Bijepur for their overwhelming support to the ruling BJD’s…

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 Ahead of his India visit, Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang has strongly advocated enhanced trade ties and boosting maritime and aerial connectivity between the two countries, a push that comes amid increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region. Tran, who will arrive in India on March 2 on a three-day state visit, also feels that India and Vietnam are “blessed” with strategic locations in South Asia and South East Asia, respectively, and there is immense potential for the two countries to cooperate in different areas. “Furthermore, both countries are endowed with…

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Pitching for foreign investments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India is one of the most open economies in the world and is ready to do business with the world. Speaking at the India-Korea Business Summit, he said his government has worked towards creating a stable business environment and removed arbitrariness in decision-making. “We seek positivity in day-to-day transactions. We are widening areas of trust rather than digging into doubts. This represents a complete change of the government’s mindset,” he said. India, he said, is already the third-largest economy in…

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About 16.5 per cent polling was recorded in the first two-and-a-half hours of voting for the Meghalaya Assembly today, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the state F R Kharkongor said. Polling had started at 7 am, but due to the malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines, it got delayed in some booths, the CEO said. No incidents of violence were reported from anywhere in the state, he added. Voting is being held in 59 seats of the 60-member Assembly as the election in…

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At least six persons were killed when they were run over by a locomotive at Pilkhuwa railway station in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh, railway police said. SC Dubey, Superintendent of Police (GRP Moradabad), told PTI, “A group of seven youngsters was trying to cross the railway tracks. After seeing a train coming in front of them, they retracted their steps. But in the process, they were run over by a railway engine which was moving on the track behind them.” He added that five died on the spot, while…

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Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya today expressed confidence that the BJP would sweep the March 11 bypolls to the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats. The bypolls were necessitated after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Maurya vacated the Gorakhpur and Phulpur seats respectively, following their election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. “The lotus (BJP’s poll symbol) will bloom in both the seats. I have no doubt about this. The very fact that people are talking mostly about the BJP’s winning margin is itself an indicator that…

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today lashed out at the Congress saying that one family had ruled the country for over four decades and asked the people to compare the dynasty-led governments with the “development-oriented” NDA. “One family either directly or indirectly ruled the country for 48 years,” he told a public meeting organised by the BJP here, referring to the governments of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. On the other hand, he said, there was the NDA government which will complete 48 months this May. Intellectuals can debate…

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Chief Minster Vasundhara Raje today called for at least two more terms for the BJP in the state, saying five years were not enough to take the government’s development projects and farmer support schemes to every corner of the state. Raje was speaking at the 11th convention of the Akhil Bhartiya Kirad Kshtriya Mahasabha Adhivashan after inaugurating the Dharnidhar Bhawan at the Dharnidhar Garden, in Rangbadi area here. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was also present on the occasion. “Five years of rule is not sufficient to take…

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Odiha government has finally applied for the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for ‘Odishara Rasagola’ (Rasagola of Odisha), officials said today. The state moved the GI Registry for its own version of the popular sweetmeat almost three months after West Bengal was awarded GI tag for ‘Banglar Rasogolla’ (Rasogolla of West Bengal). “GI application for the #OdisharaRasagola filed with the GI Registry, Chennai by OSIC,” Odisha MSME department said in a twitter post. Ratnakar Rout, Managing Director of Odisha Small Industries Corporation (OSIC) filed the application with the GI Registry in…

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