NEWS

New Delhi: The CPM has accused BJP of playing havoc with the country's national security for the sake of winning elections. Addressing a press conference, Yechury said the government's proposals to make political funding more transparent was already being torn to bits in poll-bound Tripura. 

"The entire national highway is blocked with BJP trucks being driven in from Assam. While poll expenses of individual candidates are capped, there is no bar on spending by political parties. This is counterproductive."

Following finance minister Arun Jaitley's call for suggestions on ways to reform electoral funding, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury also wrote to the finance minister, seeking the withdrawal of proposed electoral bonds. The CPM leader said the proposal was nothing but a "bond route to legalising money laundering", and that the move would add to opacity in electoral funding rather than increasing transparency.

New Delhi: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has asserted that "dialogue and peace" could alone resolve Jammu and Kashmir's issues.

"No solution will come from confrontation and that disputes can be resolved through talks only," said Kumar, who received the first Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Award at a function in Jammu. He was conferred the award for 'Probity in Politics and Public Life' by governor NN Vohra at Jammu University's auditorium.

The award was constituted by the People's Democratic Party to commemorate the death anniversary of PDP founder Mufti Sayeed, who passed away on January 7, 2016 after a brief illness. Bihar DyCM Sushil Kumar Modi and Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti were also present during the occasion.

New Delhi: Jignesh Mevani, the poster boy of new- found Dalit assertiveness in Gujarat has called the Narendra Modi government a "threat" to democracy and the Constitution.

Making his debut on the national political stage with a rally here, Mevani said, "The 125 crore people of this country are watching that someone is not being allowed to speak for merely demanding the release of Chandrashekhar Azad and effective implementation of the Constitution and two crore jobs for the youth".

Thumbing his nose at the Delhi police, which did not give official permission to the Yuva Hunkar (roar of the youth) rally held to demand the release of UP Dalit activist Chandrashekhar Azad, Mevani used the platform to attack Modi over the "Gujarat model" of politics.

New Delhi: AamAadmiParty has made its entry into the RajyaSabhawith all three of its candidates - billionaire businessman Sushil Gupta, party functionary Sanjay Singh and chartered accountant ND Gupta - winning the election unopposed. 

Since there were only three candidates for the three seats from Delhi, they were declared winners eight days before the election was scheduled to take place. AAP has a brute majority in Delhi assembly and the opposition BJP did not have enough numbers to even put up a candidate.