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May 27, 2019
Source: NDTV
Election Results 2019 – Rahul Gandhi’s Plain-Speak To Congress Leaders Who “Pushed” Sons: Sources
NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi remained firm on his decision to quit as the Congress president following the party’s decimation in the national election, even though his offer was unanimously rejected at a meeting of the party’s top leaders on Saturday. The leader, who has been much criticised by the BJP over “dynastic politics”, also had tough words for party leaders, who he said, “pushed” for their sons’ candidature, sources said.
Rahul Gandhi had spoken up during a four-hour post-mortem when his trusted adviser Jyotiraditya Scindia spoke about the need to build and strengthen the local leadership in the party. Though Mr Gandhi did not name anyone, several leaders had their sons and daughters fielded this time, strengthening the voters’ perception about the Congress being a dynastic party.
By and large, the Gen-Next candidates of the Congress lost.
The list includes Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, son of Madhavrao Scindia, Manvendra Singh, son of former BJP Union minister Jaswant Singh, Sushmita Dev, daughter of former Union minister Santosh Mohan Dev.
In December, the Congress won three major heartland states, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, but the party could not hold the momentum and translate those into gains in Lok Sabha. The infamous Congress complacency and infighting consumed those gains within five months. The party also failed the test in Karnataka, another state it rules in alliance with HD Kumarasamy. Only in Punjab, which it is ruling since 2017, it had won eight of 13 seats. But that too, came in the backdrop of a feud between Navjot Sidhu and his boss, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi took “100 per cent” responsibility for the party’s failure and told the Congress Working Committee — which comprises 52 members — that he would like to exit as its top boss. He had taken charge of the party in December 2017 from his mother Sonia Gandhi.
But the shell-shocked Congress had stuck to the template, refusing to let Rahul Gandhi step down. Party leaders even praised him and authorized him to go for a complete overhaul of the party.
The Congress has always had the Gandhis at the helm, except for several years after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991. But the party did not do well under Sitaram Kesri and several leaders had convinced Sonia Gandhi to enter active politics and take the reins of the party.
This time, P Chidambaram turned emotional while asking Rahul Gandhi to continue and said some supporters, especially from the south, which voted for the Congress, may take some “extreme step” in case he resigned, sources said.
Mr Gandhi reportedly made it clear that he would not “vanish” and would continue to work for the party, but that he would not budge on his decision. “It is not necessary that the president should be from Gandhi family,” sources quoted him as saying. When Priyanka Gandhi’s name came up as an alternative, Mr Gandhi reportedly said: “Don’t drag my sister into it.”
April 25, 2019
Source: BBC
Rahul Gandhi: Can India’s Congress leader unseat PM Modi?
India’s main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was all but written off after his crushing defeat in the last elections. But he has energised a struggling Congress party and increasingly set the agenda with a combative campaign. The BBC’s Geeta Pandey visits his constituency to assess whether he can unseat the prime minister this time.
The main roads in the small town of Amethi were choked with supporters when Rahul Gandhi turned up to file his nomination papers last week.
Mr Gandhi – smiling and waving on an open truck, accompanied by his sister Priyanka – was greeted all along the 3km route to the district collector’s office by party workers. Many waved flags, others carried their photographs and town residents showered them with rose petals.
A man in a horse costume danced to drum beats, a brass band played welcoming tunes and groups of supporters ran alongside the convoy shouting slogans in his support.
“Mr Modi’s days are numbered,” says Mustaqim Ahmed, who has travelled 125km (78 miles) from his village with his 12-year-old son to see the Congress chief.
Anokhelal Tiwari, a resident of Amethi, adds: “Wait and see, once the votes are counted on 23 May, Mr Modi will known as the ex-prime minister of India. The Congress will form the next government and ‘Rahul bhaiya [brother]’ will become the prime minister.”
It’s a dream Mr Gandhi’s supporters in Amethi have had for a long time. In fact, ever since he made his political debut 15 years ago.
The 48-year-old is a three-term MP from this town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. He is now seeking a fourth term. This time though, he’s also standing in Wayanad in the southern state of Kerala – leading to the BJP alleging he’s scared of losing Amethi to their candidate Smriti Irani, who put up a tough fight in 2014. Congress leaders have defended the move, saying it will help widen their base in the south.
I followed Mr Gandhi’s campaigns closely in 2004, 2009 and 2014 – and each time I was told by supporters they were electing the PM, not an MP. That sentiment is now being echoed in Wayanad too, says my BBC Hindi colleague Imran Qureshi, who’s covering the election there.
April 25, 2019
Source: edition.cnn
It’s Gandhi against Gandhi and Gandhi in Kerala’s Wayanad
Voters in Kerala’s Wayanad constituency are going to have plenty of Gandhis to choose from when they go to polls on April 23.
Out of the 20 contesting candidates, three are namesakes of Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty.
Rahul Gandhi K E, Raghul Gandhi K, and K M Sivaprasad Gandhi are the other three men who will be competing against the leader of India’s main opposition party, Congress.
The more famous Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s main opponent, is contesting elections from two seats, one from his traditional seat in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh Kerala’s Wayanad — which he chose during this election cycle.
The idyllic district set among the mountains in India’s southern state of Kerala is set to receive more attention than it has ever received before.
In a statement, Gandhi said that he is contesting from the southern state to illustrate the importance of South India — which critics say does not receive as much attention from the central government compared to states in the Hindu heartland.
April 24, 2019
Source: NDTV
Rahul Gandhi Regrets In Court Rafale Comments “Made In Heat Of Campaign”
NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi today admitted that he had misquoted the Supreme Court after its ruling on the Rafale fighter jet deal and said he had done it as “rhetorical flourish in the heat of political campaigning”, without having seen, read or analysed the order. He also promised to the court that he would not “attribute any views, observations, or findings to the Court in political addresses to the media and in public speeches, unless recorded by the Court.”
The Congress president said his words were mostly in response to the ruling BJP claiming victory after a December top court order giving the government a clean chit in the case.
“My political opponents wrongly projected that I had deliberately and intentionally suggested that the Supreme Court had said ‘Chowkidar chor hai‘. Nothing could be farther from my mind,” he said in his affidavit to the Supreme Court.
“It is also clear that no court would ever do that (say Chowkidar chor hai) and hence the unfortunate references (for which I express regret) to the court order and to the political juxtaposition in the same breath in the heat of the political campaigning ought not to be construed as suggesting that the court had given any finding or conclusion in Rafale deal,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi said his statement to media that the Supreme Court had “agreed” that PM Modi had committed corruption in the Rafale deal was a political diatribe against opponents who had gone to town citing a clean chit from the court and it was in continuance of his constant campaign slogan ‘Chowkidar chor hai‘.
Rahul Gandhi was earlier given a week by the Supreme Court to explain after the BJP filed a contempt case against him. The petition will be taken up tomorrow.
“We make it clear the statement attributed to this court in the address made by the respondent (Rahul Gandhi) to the media and public has been incorrectly attributed to this court. We make it clear this court never made such observation. We only decided on the admissibility of documents,” three judges led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said last week.
On April 10, the Supreme Court had ruled that classified documents accessed by the media can be used as evidence to consider requests to review its clean chit to the Rafale deal. Hours later, Rahul Gandhi cheered the order.
“I want to thank the Supreme Court. The entire country is saying that Chowkidar chor hai(Chowkidar has committed theft). It is a day of celebration that the Supreme Court has talked about justice,” the Congress president had said in his constituency Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP accused him of putting words in the mouth of the top court and sued him for contempt.
March 29, 2019
Source: RUETERS
U.S. studying India anti-satellite weapons test, warns of space debris
MIAMI (Reuters) – Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan warned any nations contemplating anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons tests like the one India carried out on Wednesday that they risk making a “mess” in space because of debris fields they can leave behind.
Speaking to reporters in Florida during a visit to the U.S. military’s Southern Command, Shanahan said the United States was still studying the outcome of a missile India said it launched at one of its own satellites.
“My message would be: We all live in space, let’s not make it a mess. Space should be a place where we can conduct business. Space is a place where people should have the freedom to operate,” Shanahan said.
Experts say that anti-satellite weapons that shatter their targets pose a space hazard by creating a cloud of fragments that can collide with other objects, potentially setting off a chain reaction of projectiles through Earth orbit.
India’s foreign ministry played down any risk of debris from its missile test on Wednesday, saying the impact occurred in low-Earth orbit and that the remnants would “decay and fall back on to the Earth within weeks.”
The U.S. military’s Strategic Command was tracking more than 250 pieces of debris from India’s missile test and would issue “close-approach notifications as required until the debris enters the Earth’s atmosphere,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said.
The New Delhi government and Washington, which have generally close relations, have been in talks regarding the event, and India publicly issued an aircraft safety advisory before the launch, Eastburn added.
Lieutenant General David Thompson, vice commander of U.S. Air Force Space Command, added the International Space Station was not at risk at this point.
NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that the consequences of anti-satellite weapons tests could be long-lasting.
“If we wreck space, we’re not getting it back,” he said, without mentioning India by name.
India would only be the fourth country to have used such an anti-satellite weapon after the United States, Russia and China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
The United States ran the first anti-satellite test in 1959, when satellites themselves were rare and new.
Shanahan noted that given the increasing global reliance on space, it was important to create rules of the road for space.
“I think not having rules of engagement is worrisome. So, how people test and develop technologies is important,” he said, adding: “I would expect anyone who tests does not put at risk anyone else’s assets.”
March 29, 2019
Source: RUETERS
Modi promises “new India” as he launches election campaign
MEERUT, India (Reuters) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched his party’s general election campaign on Thursday with a rally in India’s most populous state, promising development with national security in seeking votes for another term.A coalition led by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely expected to retain power in a staggered election beginning on April 11, especially given recent tension with old rival Pakistan.
“This country has seen governments that only made slogans, but for the first time, they are seeing a decisive government that knows how to demonstrate its resolve,” Modi told the rally in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh state, which has the most members of parliament of all states.
“Our vision is of a new India that will be in tune with its glorious past,” he said to roars of approval from the crowd who waved BJP flags and chanted for another term for Modi.
The rally was held in a field flanking a main road, surrounded by farm land. Vendors sold BJP mugs, T-shirts and clocks.
The general election, the world’s biggest democratic exercise with about 900 million eligible voters, will be held in phases ending on May 19. Votes will be counted on May 23.
Tension with neighbouring Pakistan soared last month after a suicide bomb attack in the Indian part of the disputed Kashmir region killed 40 Indian paramilitary police. The bombing was claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group.
India retaliated with an air raid against a suspected militant camp in northern Pakistan.
In December, the main opposition Congress party defeated the BJP in three major rural states as a lack of jobs and weak farm prices dented Modi’s popularity.
But pollsters say Modi’s chances have improved significantly thanks to his tough stance on Pakistan
At the rally, Modi repeatedly spoke about the Indian bombing of the suspected militant camp. He also referred to a test on Wednesday in which India shot down one of its own satellites in space, which he said made India a space power.
Modi also promised economic growth and a prosperous society for all.
Modi’s main challenger is the opposition Congress party, which was for decades India’s dominant political party.
One Modi supporter derided a recent Congress offer to hand out 6,000 rupees ($87) a month to the poorest families if it was voted back into power.
“I know how the economy works,” said chartered accountant Anupam Sharma. “GDP would be decimated.”
Modi was due to address another rally in Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir, later on Thursday.
March 15, 2019
Source: BBC
India’s general election will take place in seven phases between April and May, the Election Commission says.
Polls to elect a new Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament, will be held from 11 April to 19 May. Votes will be counted on 23 May.
With 900 million eligible voters, India’s election will be the largest the world has seen.
PM Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP will be battling the main opposition Congress and a host of regional parties.
Leaders of two powerful regional rivals have formed a coalition against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, and a key bellwether state.
The lower house has 543 elected seats and any party or coalition needs a minimum of 272 MPs to form a government.
So what makes these elections distinctive?
1. It’s mind-bogglingly big
Everything about Indian general elections is colossal – the Economist magazine once compared it to a “lumbering elephant embarking on an epic trek”.
This time, about 900 million people above the age of 18 will be eligible to cast their ballots at a million polling stations.
The number of voters is bigger than the population of Europe and Australia combined.
Indians are enthusiastic voters – the turnout in the last general election in 2014 was more than 66%, up from 45% in 1951 when the first election was held.
More than 8,250 candidates representing 464 parties contested the 2014 elections, nearly a seven-fold increase from the first election.
2. It takes a long, long time
The dates on which voting will be held are 11 April, 18 April, 23 April, 29 April, 6 May, 12 May and 19 May.
Some states will hold polls in several phases.
India’s historic first election in 1951-52 took three months to complete. Between 1962 and 1989, elections were completed in four to 10 days. The four-day elections in 1980 were the country’s shortest ever.
Elections in India are long-drawn-out affairs because of the need to secure polling stations.
Local police are seen to be partisan, so federal forces have to deployed. The forces have to be freed from their duties and moved all around the country.
3. It costs a lot of money
India’s Centre for Media Studies estimated parties and candidates spent some $5bn (£3.8bn) for the 2014 elections. “It is not inconceivable that overall expenditure will double this year,” says Milan Vaishnav, a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program at the US-based think-tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Compare it to the $6.5bn that the US spent on the famously free-spending presidential and congressional elections in 2016, and you realise how costly India’s elections are.
Financing of political parties in India continues to be opaque despite the fact that they are forced to declare their incomes.
Last year, Mr Modi’s government launched electoral bonds, which allow businesses and individuals to donate to parties without their identities being disclosed.
Donors have given away nearly $150m in these bonds – and the bulk of it, according to reports, has gone to the BJP.
4. Will women hold the key?
Indian women are voting in large numbers. So much so, that more women are likely to vote than men this time around, the first time ever in a general election.
The vote gender gap has already shrunk – in 2014, the turnout of women was 65.3% against 67.1% for men.
In more than two dozen local elections between 2012 and 2018, the turnout of women was higher than men in two-thirds of the states.
Political parties have begun treating women as a constituency and offering them more sops: education loans, free cooking gas cylinders, cycles for girls.
5. It’s all about Narendra Modi
In 2014, Mr Modi led his BJP and its allies to a historic victory.
The BJP alone won 282 of the 428 seats it contested. It was the first time since 1984 a party had won an absolute majority in a general election. The BJP also picked up a third of the popular vote.
The staggering win was largely attributed to Mr Modi’s ability to promote himself as a decisive, hardworking leader who promised to usher in corruption-free “better times”.
Despite a patchy performance on several of his promises, Mr Modi remains his party’s main vote-getter. He’s also supported by a formidable and disciplined party machinery, run by his trusted and powerful aide Amit Shah.
Analysts believe the summer elections will largely be a referendum on Mr Modi.
The opposition campaign will be entirely targeted at the prime minister, a polarising leader who is loved and loathed in equal measure.
So expect a presidential-style faceoff in a parliamentary election. Whether Mr Modi remains a durable brand will be known when the votes are counted.
6. India’s Grand Old Party will be hoping for a comeback
Can the 133-year-old Congress party step back from the abyss?
In 2014, the party suffered its worst defeat ever in a general election. It won a mere 44 seats – down from 206 seats – and picked up less than 20% of the popular vote.
Things remained bleak as the party lost a string of state elections over the next four years. By the middle of 2018, the Congress and its allies ran only three state governments, while BJP and its partners ran as many as 20.
The party appeared to be in terminal decline. Its leader Rahul Gandhi, fourth generation scion of the famous Nehru-Gandhi family, became the butt of social media jokes.
But in December, the party seemed to seemed to have staged a revival of sorts.
Led by a more assured and energetic Mr Gandhi, the Congress wrested three key northern states from the BJP. Many attributed the recovery to anti-incumbency – two of the three states had been ruled by the BJP for years. But it would be churlish to deny Mr Gandhi and his party workers credit.
Clearly, Congress has got some of its old mojo back. Mr Gandhi has positioned himself as a more open and receptive leader in contrast to the forceful and take-no-prisoners leadership style of Mr Modi. And in a surprise move, his charismatic sister Priyanka has been formally inducted into politics to infuse some fresh energy into the party’s campaign.Congress’s revival has helped rejuvenate a fractured opposition, and promises to make the 2019 election more of a contest than what was believed it would be.
7. It’s the economy, stupid
Under Mr Modi, Asia’s third-largest economy appears to have lost some of its momentum.
Farm incomes have stagnated because of a crop glut and declining commodity prices, leaving farmers saddled with debt and angry.
The controversial 2016 currency ban – locally called ‘demonetisation’ – and a complex and badly executed new uniform goods and services tax hurt small and medium businesses and threw many out of their jobs in India’s huge informal economy.
Exports have dropped. Joblessness has risen, and Mr Modi’s government has been accused of hiding uncomfortable jobs data. To make matters worse, some of India’s state-owned banks are drowning in bad loans.
Yet, inflation is in check. Increased government spending in infrastructure and public works has kept the economy moving. Growth is expected to be 6.8% this fiscal year.
But the fact is that India’s GDP needs to grow at a rate faster than 7% for the country to continue to pull millions out of poverty.
Mr Modi has said reforming the economy is a work in progress. The elections will prove whether people are willing to give him more time.
8. Parties are banking on populism
Economist Rathin Roy says India is moving from a “development state to a compensatory state” where governments are putting cash in the pockets of the poor to cover up for the deficiencies of the state.
The result is competitive populism.
Mr Modi’s government has announced direct cash transfers to farmers and waivers of farm loans. It has also promised job quotas for the less well-to-do among the upper castes and other religions.
Rahul Gandhi has promised to guarantee a minimum income for the poor if his party wins the elections. Others will be showering the voters with freebies ranging from TV sets to laptops. There is no clear evidence to show that sops win votes.
9. But nationalism could tilt the balance
Mr Modi’s muscular nationalism and his party’s majoritarian politics have left India a deeply divided and anxious nation, say critics.
But his supporters say it has energised and consolidated his base. They believe there’s no need to be apologetic about political Hinduism because India, well, is an overwhelmingly Hindu nation.
Unfortunately the nationalist rhetoric has emboldened radical rightwing groups to lynch Muslims suspected of smuggling cows. Hindus consider the cow sacred. Thanks to aggressive enforcement of anti-slaughter laws, the cow has become a polarising animal.
People critical of radical Hinduism have been labelled anti-nationals. Dissent is frowned upon.
India’s 170 million Muslims, many say, have become the “invisible” minority. The BJP has no Muslim MPs in the lower house – it fielded seven candidates in 2014 and all of them lost.
10. And India’s attack on Pakistan could bolster Modi’s strongman image
The tit-for-tat aerial bombings by India and Pakistan at the end of February following a deadly suicide attack in Indian-administered Kashmir triggered more nationalistic chest thumping.
Mr Modi has made it clear he would not hesitate to retaliate if there was another attack on Indian soil provoked or sponsored by Pakistan-based militant groups.
What is clear now is that Mr Modi will make national security a key plank of his campaign. Whether this will work is not clear. The opposition has to still come up with a persuasive counter-narrative. Will the pull of nationalism override other issues and fetch swing votes for Mr Modi?
11. A battleground bellwether could decide the polls
The northern state of Uttar Pradesh has an outsize influence on Indian politics.
One in six Indians lives here and it sends 80 MPs to parliament. It is also one of India’s most socially divided states.
The BJP won 71 of the state’s 80 seats in 2014. Last time, Mr Modi’s charisma and his party’s ability to stitch together a rainbow coalition of castes contributed to the rout of powerful regional parties, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Ms Mayawati, who heads the BSP, is an icon to millions of low-caste Dalits, a fifth of the state. She has now joined hands with her arch rival Akhilesh Yadav of SP, a nominally socialist party. Together they hope to win more than 50 seats and halt the BJP’s march to Delhi.
It is an opportunistic alliance – bitter foes turned strange bedfellows – but could end up hurting the BJP’s prospects in the state. It will be pinning its hopes on Mr Modi to neutralise the alliance.
December 28, 2018
Source: Indian Express
Face of Congress revival, Sachin Pilot appeals to young voters
Towards the end of his second term as a member of Parliament, when Sachin Pilot was appointed president of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee, the party had suffered its worst loss in the Assembly elections. From its tally of 102 seats, the Congress was reduced to just 21 MLAs, with most of its cabinet ministers failing to get elected.
Towards the end of his second term as a member of Parliament, when Sachin Pilot was appointed president of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee, the party had suffered its worst loss in the Assembly elections. From its tally of 102 seats, the Congress was reduced to just 21 MLAs, with most of its cabinet ministers failing to get elected.
Months after Pilot took over as the state chief in January 2014, the BJP won all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan, including Ajmer, from where Pilot lost. But four years later, the fortunes of the Congress have changed dramatically, and it has come to power under Pilot’s leadership.
Supporters of Pilot, who was a contender for the post of chief minister, said the 41-year-old initially focused on small targets. “We focused on smaller elections, in panchayats and wards. Pilot would visit families of victims of Dalit atrocities, raise farmers’ issues and consistently corner the government on law and order failures,” said a senior Congress leader from Rajasthan.
The first sign of a resurgent Congress under Pilot came just a few months after the Lok Sabha rout. The party won three Assembly seats in September 2014.
Pilot first became an MP from Dausa in 2004 when he was 26. Dausa was the constituency from where his father Rajesh Pilot was elected to Parliament six times before his death in an accident in 2000. His mother Rama Pilot was also elected from the seat before Pilot contested in 2004.
Pilot was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009 from Ajmer. During the UPA government at the Centre, he held portfolios of Union Minister of State, Communications and Information Technology and Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Corporate Affairs.
“During the BJP government, Pilot always attacked Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on her policies, styling himself as the voice of the opposition. This cemented his image as one of the two big leaders in Rajasthan along with Gehlot,” said the Congress leader.
By the time the BJP lost two parliamentary seats and one Assembly seat in the bypolls in February this year, the Congress was on course for revival, and many in the Congress considered Pilot as the architect of this.
Pilot belongs to the Gurjar community, which accounts for 6 per cent of the population in the state. After the election results were announced, the Gurjars were jubilant.
As the Congress deliberated in New Delhi on the new CM, the state witnessed protests by Pilot supporters, including Gurjars. Jat leader Hanuman Beniwal, whose new outfit Rashtriya Loktantrik Party won three seats, declared his support for Pilot in the top post.
Apart from the old guard who have been part of the Gehlot government in the past, Pilot had his detractors among several independent MLAs, who said they would support the Congress only if Gehlot became CM.
December 27, 2018
Source: Indian Express
Ashok Gehlot: Genial mass leader who played his cards right
Ashok Gehlot, whose first stint as CM coincided with Sonia Gandhi’s elevation as the Congress president, has since then become an indispensable cog in the Congress machinery in Rajasthan.
December 12, 2018
Source: Economic Times (India Times)
Election Results Highlights: PM Modi Accepts Defeat In Assembly Polls
NEW DELHI:
Election Results: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted defeat in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed a press conference today after poll trends indicated massive gains for his party in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. He thanked the workers of the party and launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, the BJP. He said PM Modi hadn’t delivered on the promises that he made before coming to power. After winning the polls in Telangana, TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao has said that he would work towards solving the issues faced by the farmers in the state.Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has accepted his party’s defeat and has sent his resignation to the governor. He said his party will now play the role of a constructive opposition. The Mizo National Front or MNF has got majority in Mizoram, the Election Commission informed. It was the last Congress stronghold in the northeast. The Congress has started sending overtures to form the government in Rajasthan. The party is leading in the state and its Rajasthan chief Sachin Pilot has said that he is in contact with “like-minded” people. The party has taken a big lead in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, but is engaged in a close contest with the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. Mr Pilot, who is confident of getting a majority in Rajasthan, claimed today that the mandate was against the BJP because they were arrogant. Another Congress leader Ashok Gehlot lauded party president Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. The final results will be announced in the evening. In Mizoram, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla lost elections in both the constituencies he was contesting from. In Telangana, KCR’s supporters have started celebrating the imminent win. His daughter K Kavitha said his hard work had paid off. “We are seeing the response of the people. The hard work in four and a half years has paid off,” said Ms Kavitha. “Nobody knows Telangana like KCR,” she said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has reacted to the poll trends, saying demonetisation was among the many reasons behind the BJP’s defeat.
November 27, 2018
Source: Economic Times (India Times)
India has largest diaspora population in world, UN report says
UNITED NATIONS: India’s diaspora population is the largest in the world with 16 million people from India living outside their country in 2015, according to a latest UN survey on international migrant trends.
The survey conducted by the UN department of economic and social affairs (DESA) said the number of international migrants — persons living in a country other than where they were born — reached 244 million in 2015 for the world as a whole, a 41 per cent increase compared to 2000.
Nearly two thirds of international migrants live in Europe (76 million) or Asia (75 million), according to the “Trends in International Migrant Stock”.
“The rise in the number of international migrants reflects the increasing importance of international migration, which has become an integral part of our economies and societies,” said Wu Hongbo , UN under secretary general for economic and social affairs.
“Well-managed migration brings important benefits to countries of origin and destination, as well as to migrants and their families,” Hongbo added.
India has the largest diaspora in the world, followed by Mexico and Russia. In 2015, 16 million people from India were living outside of their country, a growth from 6.7 million in 1990, the survey stated.
Mexico’s diaspora population stood at 12 million.
November 26, 2018
Source: Times of India (India Times)
In Sikar, Rahul Gandhi promises farmers and youth easy loans from banks, jobs
Gandhi said that Vasundhara government has closed down 25,000 schools in the state and has limited the health facilities to private hospitals.
JAIPUR: On the last day of his twoday visit to poll-bound Rajasthan, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi went all out to woo farmers and youth, promising jobs and easy money from banks at a rally of over one lakh people in Sikar, where 70% families are dependent on agriculture.
He said that Congress government (if it comes to power) will set up food processing units in every district to create job opportunities for youth and offer direct purchase facilities of raw material for farmers.
“I will not make any false promises. I will not promise 2 crore jobs or credit Rs 15 lakh to your account. But I assure you that Congress chief minister will work 18 out of 24 hours to provide job opportunities to youth. He will work the whole day for you,” he said.
The Congress used Rahul Gandhi’s rally as a platform to induct five prominent leaders, including four from BJP. The BJP leaders who switched parties included Jaipur district president Mool Chand Meena and three strong Jat leaders – Vijay Punia, Narayanram Bera and Bindu Chaudhary, who is sister of Rajasthan’s cooperative minister Ajay Singh Kilak. Their inclusion is likely to make a dent in BJP’s Jat votes in the Shekhwati region.
Rahul Gandhi also said that Congress will provide money from banks to small businessmen and farmers, who create job opportunities. “We will not give your money to select 10-15 industrialists,” he said.
He said that Vasundhara government has closed down 25,000 schools in the state and has limited the health facilities to private hospitals.
“We will develop best quality government schools and colleges. We will give free medicine and free treatment to everyone the way Ashok Gehlot government had done,” he said while eyeing 21 assembly segments in Shekhawati region – which comprise two more neighbouring district, Churu and Jhunjhunu other than Sikar – in which Congress has 5 seats.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi, at a Mahila Congress Sammelan at Kota, said that the party is seeking to appoint 50% women as chief ministers in Congress-ruled states.
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