Paswan for Sonia as PM

Patna: LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan said he supported Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as the prime minister. ‘‘She, as the leader of th...

Patna: LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan said he supported Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as the prime minister. ‘‘She, as the leader of the biggest party in the secular front, should be the prime minister,’’ Paswan said. He added that unless the biggest party leads the coalition government it will not be stable. ‘‘The NDA Government has survived because the BJP leads it. When smaller parties take the PM’s post and bigger parties support from the outside, it will be unstable.’’ The LJP leader said he would campaign for the Congress-front in all states.

Mahida joins BJP, but not to contest polls

Vadodara:

Former minister of state for Defence Narendrasinh Mahida joined the BJP on Sunday. Mahida said the decision was taken after Prime MinisterAtal Behari Vajpayee asked him to join the BJP. The senior leader said he will not contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Arif Mohammad Khan to join BJP soon

BAHRAICH:

In a boost to the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, former Union minister Arif Mohamad Khan on Sunday said he would soon join the saffron party. ‘‘In order to remove all doubts and misunderstandings between Sangh Parivar and the minorities, I will join the BJP soon,’’ he told reporters here through teleconferencing. ‘‘No other party has ever made any serious effort to remove differences between minorities and Hindus. I want to earn the goodwill of BJP and Sangh Parivar for the minorities,’’ he said.

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Khan, who had in 1989 joined the Jana Morcha of former PM V.P. Singh had later joined the BSP. He quit the BSP protesting Mayawati campaigning for BJP in Gujarat assembly polls.

No proposal of Najma joining BJP: Venkaiah

RAIPUR:

BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday denied that there is any proposal to include Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Najma Heptulla into the party.‘‘Neither there is any proposal from our side nor from her side to join BJP,’’Naidu said here.

He denied having any knowledge of the criminal record of D.P. Yadav, saying Yadav had told them that there was no case pending against him rather a case is pending against his son and the law would take its own course in that case. Yadav had only joined the party and he had not been offered any post, he clarified.

Thirunavukkarasar not quitting BJP

Coimbatore:

S. Thirunavukkarasar, Union Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology, on Sunday ruled out breaking away from BJP and contesting as an Independent from Pudukottai constituency.

Canada, UK and Australia formally recognise a Palestinian state

World11 hr ago

The UK, Canada, and Australia have recognized Palestine as a state, going against the US and Israel's opposition. British PM Starmer aims to revive peace without Hamas and hostage release. Canada and Australia also recognize Palestine, condemning terrorism. Over 145 UN members recognize Palestine, with France likely to join soon.

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