Japanese PM wins 3rd consecutive term as ruling party president
Tokyo, Sep 20 : Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won the ruling Liberal Democratic Partys (LDP) leadership election on Thursday, securing a historic third term that will effectively extend his time in power by another three years.
Abe comfortably beat his only contender, former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba, by securing 553 out of a total 807 votes, reports The Japan Times.
He won 329 out of the 402 valid ballots cast by LDP MPs and 224 out of the remaining 405 votes allocated to party branches in each prefecture based on the number of members age 18 or older who have paid party fees.
His extended term in office signals the possibility that Abe, who has already been at the helm of the world's third-largest economy for nearly six years in his second stint as Prime Minister, may become the longest-serving premier in Japanese history.
With his renewed leadership, Abe is likely to reshuffle his Cabinet in the coming weeks, reportedly as soon as early October.
Abe has credited himself with "restoring a decent economy" under his Abenomics policy and taking the Japan-US alliance to a stronger level.
He also repeated that it's the "responsibility of the LDP" to revise the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution to formalise the ambiguous status of the Self-Defense Forces - the nation's de facto military - which he said "protects the peace and independence of Japan".
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MUDA case: Karnataka HC adjourns hearing till Dec 10
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday adjourned till December 10 the hearing on the plea seeking transfer of the investigation into the MUDA site allotment scam to the CBI. The plea was filed by activist Snehamayi Krishna doubting the credibility of Lokayukta investigation into the matter.
The petitioner told PTI that he approached the HC saying he has no faith in the Lokayukta police and hence the case should be handed over to the CBI.
In the MUDA case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by the MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts. It is alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.
The Karnataka Lokayukta police and the Enforcement Directorate have launched an investigation into the 'scam'.
The CM has denied any wrongdoing in the alleged scam.
