NEW DELHI: FARMERS’ suicides have declined in the last five years, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday, blaming successive Congress Governments for the present plight of farmers in the country. Singh said this in the Lok Sabha while responding to allegations of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who blamed the Centre for the “terrible plight” of farmers. “As far as farmers’ condition is concerned, it did not happen in only four-five years.  People ..

 DEHRADUN: SUSPENDED Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Uttarkhand Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion landed in trouble once again on Wednesday as a video showing him dancing with guns in his hands during a get-together went viral prompting an embarrassed party to issue a show cause notice to him. In the video, the Khanpur MLA is purportedly seen dancing to a popular Bollywood number with two revolvers in his hands and a carbine hanging from his shoulder.  He is seen sipping his drink ..

 By Asim Kamal: NEW DELHI Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia could be front-runners for the top job in Cong   THE view that a young leader should succeed Rahul Gandhi as Congress President is fast gaining traction with the party’s youth cadre batting for a Gen Next chief over the old guard. The young brigade’s preference for youth over experience got a boost when Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday asserted that a young person ..

Alpesh Thakor and Dhavalsinh Zala of Congress cast their votes to BJP candidates instead of Congress nominees and resigned as MLAs immediately after casting their ballots GANDHINAGAREXTERNAL Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and another BJP candidate, Jugal Thakor, were elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat on Friday in by-elections, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani declared here.  (L-R) Rajya Sabha candidate Jugalji Thakor, State BJP President Jitu Vaghani and Union Foreign Minister S Jaishankar ..

 MUMBAI;  THE Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund has disbursed Rs 553.92 crore to 56,318 needy people for medical requirements since 2014, when the Devendra Fadnavis Government took over. The figure for the last 10 months alone is Rs 106 crore disbursed to 10,582 people, a senior official said. In a statement issued on Saturday, Fadnavis said, “The State Government offers financial help to patients through Ayushman Bharat and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana. But ..

 MUMBAI:“ Budget proposes Rs 12,000 crore for irrigation sector, Rs 350 crore for micro-irrigation, Rs 1,000 cr for development of Dhangar community, Rs 200 cr for OBC Corporations, Rs 600 crore for research by four agricultural universities and Rs 100 crore for construction of houses for Divyang ”  MAHARASHTRA Government on Tuesday presented an additional Budget for 2019-20 with a revenue deficit of Rs 20,292.94 crore, higher than last year’s deficit of ..

 NEW DELHI TWO-TIME BJP MP Om Birla was named NDA’s nominee for Lok Sabha Speaker’s post on Tuesday. Once nominated, Birla, who won from Kota-Bundi Parliamentary seat in Rajasthan, will easily become the Speaker as the National Democratic Alliance has a clear majority in the lower house. A notice has been given to the Lok Sabha Secretariat by the BJP proposing Birla for the post and bringing a motion for his election.  The motion has been backed by all NDA allies, including ..

  UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi thanked Raebareli voters for re-electing her in the recently held Lok Sabha elections on her one-day visit to the constituency on Wednesday. Her daughter and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompanied her, holding discussions with party workers. After the meeting, Congress leader Sanjay Sinh said the workers were of the view that there should be no alliance for the upcoming Assembly by-elections in Uttar Pradesh.  The mother-daughter ..

   NEW DELHI: A MASSIVE contingent of 41,000 paramilitary personnel will be deployed in politically crucial West Bengal during the remaining six phases of Lok Sabha polls in the State which has often seen violence during elections, officials said. This is the maximum number of central security forces ever deployed in the State for the general elections, they said. Officials in the central security establishment said a “massive mobilisation” of the Central Armed Police ..

   NEW DELHI: WITH temperature soaring- both literally and figuratively with the daily war of words between politicians, leaders had a difficult time to maintain the usual schedule during Navratri fasts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a non-stop schedule at all times, even as he crisscrossed the country, holding Lok Sabha election rallies during the nine-day festival.  The Prime Minister, while fasting, travelled 22,000 kilometers across 13 States, holding 23 rallies during ..

NEW DELHITHE Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday cited the Samjhauta train blast case judgment to assert that the probe focussed on establishing the Congress’s “political theory of Hindu terror”, as it accused the Opposition party of “smearing” Hindus on the basis of “forged” evidence for political benefits.   Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Arun Jaitley also took a swipe Congress leaders, including its President Rahul Gandhi and General ..

  BENGALURU, (PTI), KARNATAKA Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Thursday he will not plead for support with those Congress leaders who are against his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s candidature as coalition candidate from Mandya in the Lo..

  MUMBAI, (PTI), THE Congress and the NCP will announce their seat-sharing pact and alliances with smaller like-minded parties for the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra on Saturday. An office-bearer of the Congress on Friday said,..

     PANAJI,  MANOHAR Parrikar, who rose from a Pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to become the country’s Defence Minister and also Chief Minister of Goa, enjoyed a man-next-door image in the politically-volatile coastal State. Parrikar, 63, served the State four times as Chief Minister and had a three-year-long stint as Defence Minister in the Narendra Modi-led Cabinet. He was a leader who enjoyed acceptance from all sections of the BJP and ..

  NEW DELHI, (PTI), BHIM Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday addressed a rally with BSP founder Kanshi Ram’s sister and announced that he will contest the Lok Sabha elections against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Varanasi ..

   BENGALURU, (PTI), FORMER Prime Minister and JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda on Thursday announced the candidature of Nikhil, son of Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, from the party bastion of Mandya Lok Sabha constituency. ..

      NEW DELHI, Opposition parties seek audit of at least 50 per cent of EVMs with corresponding Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) before the Lok Sabha results are declared  THE Supreme Court will on Friday will hear the plea of 21 Opposition parties seeking audit of at least 50 per cent of EVMs with corresponding Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) before the Lok Sabha results are declared. The application has been filed by Andhra ..

      By Kumar Rakesh,NEW DELHI, While the BJP had uneasy relations at times with some of its allies, the party President Amit Shah walked an extra mile to ensure that they remain in NDA by offering a generous seat-sharing deal HAVING firmed up alliances in several key States for the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has taken an early lead over its rivals, including the Congress, for an election where every single percentage point of votes brought in by small partners can ..