Month: August 2014

New Delhi, Aug 31 (ANI): Congress leader Rashid Alvi on Sunday hit back at Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for taunting his party on the issue of Leader of Opposition’s post, saying it reflected the Bharatiya Janata Party’s arrogance. “This is not a statement of Rajnath Singh, it is the BJP’s arrogance which is speaking about the stature. Now, the BJP will teach us……… It is for the interest of the nation that the LoP is recognized.

Tokyo/Kyoto, Aug 31 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Tokyo Sunday evening, where a tight schedule awaited him, after a busy day in the former Japanese capital Kyoto where he visited two ancient Buddhist temples and sought Japan’s help to combat sickle cell disease prevalent in tribal regions of India. On Monday, Modi will be accorded a ceremonial welcome followed by summit-level talks in which the two sides will seek to take their strategic partnership to a new level. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who, in a special gesture, received Modi in Kyoto, tweeted Sunday: “”Looking forward to seeing PM Modi again in Tokyo tomorrow.” “Will begin the day tomorrow (Monday) with a visit to Taimei elementary school followed by meetings, address at a Business Luncheon and tea ceremony,” Modi tweeted on his part. On Sunday, the first full day of his five-day trip to Japan, Modi also exchanged notes on heritage conservation with Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa, showing him a detailed map of Varanasi, the Hindu holy city he represents in the Lok Sabha.

Hong Kong, Aug 31 (IANS) Chinese authorities have ruled out open nominations for elections to choose Hong Kong’s leader and now two to three candidates will be nominated by a “broadly representative” committee, BBC reported Sunday. The decision, expected to limit the selection of candidates to pro-Beijing figures, has prompted the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement to launch a sit-in in the city’s central business district in protest. The election for Hong Kong’s chief executive is due in 2017 and will be the first time the holder of the post is directly chosen by voters. While the election would represent “historic progress”, “the sovereignty, security and development interests of the country are at stake”, and therefore “there is a need to proceed in a prudent and steady manner”, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress said announcing its decision.

New Delhi, Aug 31 (ANI): Terming the situation prevalent in Pakistan as internal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today reminded that the neighbouring nation was reaping the ills of the wrong policy’s which it had adopted earlier against others. “This is Pakistan’s internal matter and my commenting on it would not be fine. Definitely, the Pakistani establishment will have to reap what it has sowed. The way they gave support and shelter to anarchy, lawlessness, terrorism in Pakistan has been a cause of concern not just for them but for the whole world.

Palval/Jind (Haryana), Aug 31 (ANI): Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday reached out to the people of Haryana and urged them to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming state assembly polls. Rajnath, who addressed a rally in Palval, lured the people to vote for the BJP and slammed the Congress party. “Seeing this crowd, I have become confident that the people of Haryana will vote for the BJP this time in the assembly elections.

New Delhi, Aug 31 (ANI): Congress leader Shobha Oza today accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of playing communal politics ahead of the by-polls in Uttar Pradesh. Speaking to ANI, Oza said, “The BJP is trying very hard to make Uttar Pradesh communal. In the upcoming by-elections in UP, they are trying to polarize the society along the lines of caste and religion and are trying to win elections along those lines.” She alleged that the BJP has many faces and said that the saffron party picking up the topic of ‘love-jihad’ is an example of communal politics.