08:56 Sidhu gets enhanced security cover, bullet-proof vehicle: Report:
The Punjab government is learnt to have increased the security cover of Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu in the wake of threats issued to him, sources said Wednesday.
A bullet-proof vehicle has also been provided to Sidhu by the state government, the sources close to Sidhu said.
In November 2018, the Congress had sought the Central Industrial Security Force security cover for Sidhu citing “growing threat perception” to his life.
Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had written a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in this regard as Sidhu was to campaign outside Punjab for the party. — PTI
08:54 Randeep Surjewala Cong’s candidate for Jind bypoll:
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress on Wednesday announced the names of their candidates for the by-election in Haryana’s Jind assembly constituency scheduled to be held on January 28.
Krishan Middha, the son of late Indian National Lok Dal MLA Hari Chand Middha, will be the BJP’s candidate, while Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala will be its nominee for the bypoll.
Krishan Middha, whose father’s demise in August had necessitated the bypoll, had recently joined the saffron party. He was the frontrunner to contest as the BJP candidate from this constituency.
“After discussion and taking various factors into account, the BJP’s Central Election Committee has decided that Krishan Middha, the son of late Hari Chand Middha, will be the party’s candidate for the Jind bypoll,” Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala told reporters earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, the INLD and the recently floated Jannayak Janata Party said they would announce the name of their candidates on Thursday.
After his name was announced, Middha exuded confidence about his win.
“The BJP will get one more MLA, this time from Jind,” he said.
Jind was represented by his late father, who was two-time MLA from here. The BJP is yet to taste a win from this constituency.
However, senior INLD leader and Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala said, “This seat was with our party MLA. But his son chose to join the BJP and people of the constituency know that he has betrayed them.”
“We will be announcing name of our party candidate on Thursday and he will win by at least a margin of 25,000 votes,” Chautala claimed.
The Election Commission had on December 31 announced that the bypoll to the Jind assembly seat would be held on January 28 and the results will be out on January 31. — PTI
08:30 Trump walks out of meeting with Democrats, calls it ‘waste of time’ :
United States President Donald Trump has walked out of a meeting with top Democratic leaders, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer, after they refused to allocate a whopping USD 5.7 billion funding for his controversial US-Mexico border wall plan.
Trump was furious that Pelosi said no when he asked the Democratic leaders on Wednesday would they support the move to fund the border wall within the next 30 days if he ends the partial government shutdown that has crippled many offices.
“Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works (sic)!” a furious Trump tweeted.
The sharp differences between the Trump administration and the opposition Democrats over border security has resulted in a partial government shutdown, which entered its 19th day on Wednesday, making it the second-longest in history after the 21-day shutdown in 1995-96.
The Democrats are refusing to allocate the money, arguing that a wall would be costly and ineffective. Mexico has rejected Trump’s demand to pay for the border wall.
The president’s walkout from the meeting at the White House on Wednesday afternoon opens a new phase of political uncertainty in the US.
Talking to reporters after Trump’s walkout from the meeting, Pelosi and Schumer asserted that under no circumstances the Democrats are willing to fund a border wall.
Blaming Trump for the partial government shutdown that has badly hit the functioning of the federal government, the two leaders indicated that their party is not going to change its stand over the issue.
The Democratic party enjoys a majority in the House of Representatives.
Vice President Mike Pence, who made a rare media appearance at the White House stake out location along with the other Congressional Republican leaders, said their doors are still open for the Democratic party leaders to come up with their own proposal.
However, Trump has made it clear that there will be no moving forward without funding approval for a wall. In recent days, the president has showed signs of some flexibility by proposing a steel barrier instead of a 30-foot-high concrete wall. — PTI
00:04 India to receive S-400 in due time, without any delays, assures Russia:
Russia has said there will be no delays in the delivery of the S-400 air defence systems to India and a payment mechanism for the deal is being worked out.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the missile systems will significantly enhance India’s air defence capability.
Last week, the government informed Lok Sabha that it will start receiving the missile systems from Russia from October next year and the deliveries will be completed by April 2023.
India inked an agreement with Russia in October last year to procure a batch of the missile systems at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore. India went ahead to seal the deal notwithstanding the US’ warnings against it.
There were apprehensions about the payment mechanism for the deal in the wake of the US sanctions against Russia.
“India would receive the systems as agreed upon in due time, without any delays. And, your (India’s) national security will be enhanced substantially,” Ryabkov told reporters.
— PTI
Source: Rediff