Rajnandgaon: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said only BJP had challenged the prevailing vote-bank politics in the country. At a rally in Rajnandgaon, the Assembly constituency of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Modi said before BJP came to power in December 2003, there was no growth in this mineral-rich state.
"The country has witnessed vote-bank politics for fifty years. After gaining power through vote-bank politics, leaders subsequently promoted it further. BJP is the only party which has challenged this approach through development-based politics," Modi said. "When Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh split, both were under Congress rule. But no growth came to Chhattisgarh in the three years that followed. People of the state chose wisely and rejected Congress," he said.
Modi was speaking at the conclusion of second phase of 'Vikas Yatra', a campaign run by Raman Singh in the poll-bound state to inform people about the achievements of his government in the last nine-and-half years. Assembly elections are due this year-end.
Showering praise on his Chhattisgarh counterpart, Modi said there were some chief ministers who had to cancel visits in their own states because of the crowds which showed black flags and pelted stones but Raman Singh had served his people with utmost dedication for 10 years and therefore always got a warm welcome....
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10:24 PM, May 18, 2013
Sandnes: Going all out for a win to clinch the title, world champion Vishwanathan Anand suffered a heart-breaking loss at the hands of Wang Hao of China in the final round to finish a disappointing fourth in the Norway Super Chess tournament here on Saturday. Anand, who needed a win against Hao in the last round to win the title, was placed joint second going into his final game after...
10:16 PM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: Congress on Saturday said the issue of separate Telangana does not form part of the UPA's national agenda and it only concerned the state government- remarks which may cause consternation in Andhra Pradesh. "The issue does not form party of the national agenda of UPA. It definitely does not form part.... It concerns the state government", party spokesman PC Chacko told reporters at the AICC briefing. Chacko's remarks...
08:53 PM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday ruled out change of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the run up to next Lok Sabha elections but steered clear of questions whether he would again be at the helm if the UPA-III comes to power. In reply to questions about change of the Prime Minister soon and holding of early Lok Sabha elections, Congress spokesman PC Chacko said "please do not think of...
07:50 PM, May 18, 2013
Thiruvananthapuram: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the opposition parties for stalling the Food Security Bill in Parliament, and asserted the UPA government was determined to enact the legislation for the benefit of people. "I am sad that the opposition is acting against the interests of the poor Indian...I can understand politics. But I cannot understand political parties hurting the poor of the country," Rahul...
07:14 PM, May 18, 2013
Ahmedabad: After a U-turn by the Gujarat government on the death penalty for former minister Maya Kodnani and nine others, convicted in 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case, the SIT has decided to seek Supreme Court's guidance on the issue. "Very soon, we are going to file an application before the special bench of the Supreme Court apprising it about the recent Gujarat Government's decision to withdraw the sanction for filing...
06:42 PM, May 18, 2013
Bangalore: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the session of the Karnataka Legislature is likely to be convened for a few days from May 29. After expanding the ministry inducting 28 members, he chaired a Cabinet meeting and told reporters later, "Most likely the Legislature session will be convened from May 29." He said senior Congress leader and former Minister Kagodu Thimmappa would be elected as the Speaker of the...
05:54 PM, May 18, 2013
Kolkata: West Bengal chit fund scam accused Sudipta Sen and Arvind Chauhan have been remanded to judicial custody till May 22. The court has reserved order on the third accused Debjani Mukherjee as she is in hospital. Mukherjee was admitted after complaining of stomach ailment. Meanwhile, Congress workers protested in Kolkata against TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, who is alleged to have links in the case. On Friday, the manager and...
04:23 PM, May 18, 2013
Here are 15 keys to happiness from Bhutan, a country where Gross National Happiness is considered more important than Gross Domestic Product. 1) If you search for happiness, you will not find it. If happiness searches for you, it will always find you. 2) A flea springs up from a cozy blanket, a hero springs up from a rocky ledge. 3) A yak herder takes the credit, but it is...
12:14 PM, May 18, 2013
Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday expanded his Cabinet with the induction of 28 Ministers. Twenty were made Cabinet Ministers and eight Ministers of State. They were administered oath of office by Governor HR Bhardwaj at a ceremony at Glass House at Raj Bhavan. Those made Cabinet ministers are RV Deshpande, Qamar-ul-Islam, Prakash B Hukkeri, Ramalinga Reddy, TB Jayachandra, B Ramanath Rai, HK Patil, Shamanur Shivashankarappa, V Srinivasa Prasad,...
11:24 AM, May 18, 2013
Sandnes (Norway): Riding high on confidence, world champion Viswanathan Anand outsmarted Jon Ludvig Hammer of Norway to jump to the joint second spot in the Norway chess 2013 super tournament, here. The penultimate round victory turned out to be an important one for Anand as it brought him within striking distance of winning the super tournament for which the Indian ace will need a victory against Wnag Hao of China...
11:24 AM, May 18, 2013
Bangalore: 29 MLAs will be inducted on Saturday into the newly elected Congress government in Karnataka at Raj Bhawan. Of the 121 Congress MLAs elected in May 5 Assembly elections, more than 50 are former ministers. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who took the oath on May 13 brought the Congress to power after seven-year hiatus in the state. 29 ministers will be sworn in at Raj Bhavan, the 64-year-old Chief Minister...
08:35 AM, May 18, 2013
Hyderabad: The South Central Railway (SCR) plans to procure 200 more eco-friendly bio-toilets to provide the facility on more trains in the next few months. The decision was taken after successful trial of 48 bio-toilets fitted to the 17 coaches being run on Hyderabad-Mumbai Hussain Sagar Express and Kacheguda-Bangalore Express. Bio-toilets were developed jointly by Railway Research and Standard Organisation (RDSO) and Defence Research Development Establishment (DRDE) for use in...
06:00 AM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: The BJP on Friday hit back at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his remarks that the Opposition was responsible for the UPA's failure to pass the Food Security Bill, saying the UPA government should emulate the Chhattisgarh Food Security Act. The Bharatiya Janata Party said the Chhattisgarh Food Security Act covers a higher proportion of the population and provides foodgrain at a cheaper cost. "If the Congress...
04:12 AM, May 18, 2013
Chandigarh: In the wake of alleged political violence in the state, Punjab Congress on Friday demanded the resignation of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal saying, he was the main architect behind "political murders and growth of mafias". "Sukhbir is a total failure as state's home minister and he has no right to continue in power. "Punjab is heading to a state of total anarchy as no rule of law...
03:50 AM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: Delhi BJP on Friday took to streets to protest against scarcity of water in various parts of the city during summer and blamed poor water management by Congress government for the situation. BJP activists led by Delhi unit chief Vijay Goel held a demonstration near ITO with police using water cannons and lathicharge to disperse them. "The crisis is so acute and the common people are in such...
01:33 AM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: A meeting of Congress leaders from Union Territories convened by Rahul Gandhi on Friday saw strong pleas to make the Union Home Ministry pro-active to resolve the problems faced by the areas ahead of Lok Sabha polls. The leaders from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman and Nicobar islands, Lakshdweep, Daman and Diu as also Chandigarh impressed upon the Congress Vice President that since the Home Ministry is administering...
01:18 AM, May 18, 2013
Bhubaneswar: With investors across Odisha demanding action against the chit fund companies which duped them of crores of rupees, opposition BJP and Congress on Friday respectively demanded judicial probe and CBI investigation into the matter. "As one chief of an accused chit fund company has said that some ministers and MLAs are hand-in-glove with him to cheat people, the government must reveal their names and announce a judicial probe into...
11:01 PM, May 17, 2013
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday attacked Law Minister Kapil Sibal over Vodafone tax case and said all the corrupt ministers have joined the Group of Ministers on CBI autonomy. ...
10:48 PM, May 17, 2013
New Delhi: BJP on Friday made clear its reservation over the Food Security Bill being keenly pushed by the government, saying it is a "half-hearted attempt", and hit back at Rahul Gandhi for saying opposition was stalling it. Till now BJP had said it was disrupting Parliament in the second phase of the Budget session due to more pressing matter of resignation of two Union ministers - PK Bansal and...
10:11 PM, May 17, 2013
