Archives for June 2022

The data updated at 8 am also stated that the number of active cases in the country increased by 1,239 in 24 hours to stand at 22,416.

Of the 26 fresh fatalities, six were recorded in the last 24 hours and 20 reconciled by Kerala.

The active cases now constitute 0.05 per cent of the total infections, the health ministry said, adding the country’s overall COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.73 per cent.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.89 per cent, while the weekly figure was 0.77 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The case fatality rate was recorded at 1.22 per cent.

An increase of 1,239 cases has been recorded in active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease rose to 4,26,25,454, the data showed.

On vaccination, the ministry said the cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 inoculation drive has exceeded 193.96 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020 and 50 lakh on September 16 that year.

An official said the complaint, which was submitted on July 2, 2019, had been forwarded by the New Delhi deputy commissioner of police to ACB for necessary action. “In the complaint, it is alleged against Sisodia (Education Minister) and Jain (PWD Minister) and others that a huge scam to the tune of over `2,000 crore has been carried out in NCT of Delhi in respect of construction of school rooms/building at highly inflated costs by the Government of Delhi,” the notice read. 

The BJP leaders have been asked to furnish the details and documents that allegedly show that the ministers derived any pecuniary benefits for themselves or any other person. “Furnish the specific details, documents of the recommendation made or decision taken by the ministers and public servants, which are relatable to the purported offence,” the notice said.

On Thursday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had alleged that central agencies were conspiring to arrest Sisodia by levelling fake charges against him, just as they had done with Jain. During a media briefing, AAP MLA Atishi repeated the allegations and said the Centre had given a mandate to all its probe agencies — the I-T department, ED, Delhi Police and CBI — to start preparing “fake” cases to get Sisodia arrested.

‘Furnish documents that establish undue benefits’  
“Furnish the documents, which prima facie reveal that Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, and others derived undue advantage for self or other person. Furnish the specific details or documents of the recommendation made or decision taken by the ministers, which relate to the purported offence,” stated the ACB notice.

According to police, Indirani (40), a tout for Sudha Hospital, had forcibly taken her daughter to the facility for ovum donation in return for money.

Indirani was accompanied by her paramour Syed Ali and another woman during the visit to the hospital.

The hospital is said to have paid a total of Rs 25,000 to the accused.

Unable to bear the torture of her mother, the girl had gone to her relative’s house in Salem in May and narrated the ordeal.

Meanwhile, the relatives lodged a complaint against Indirani and two others with Erode South Police this morning following which they were arrested.

The victim was rescued by the police from the trio and admitted to the Government Headquarters Hospital in the city.

Police are interrogating the accused and the hospital authorities.

He was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the third year Sangh Shiksha Varg (officers’ training camp) here.

Hindus should realize that Muslims are descendants of their own ancestors and their “brothers by blood relation”, Bhagwat said.

“If they want to come back then we would welcome them with open arms. Even if they do not come back, it does not matter, we already have 33 crore gods, more will be added…everyone is following their religion,” he said.

“Everyone should understand and respect the sentiments of each other. There should be no extremism in the heart, in the words or in the work. There should not be words of intimidation from both sides,” the RSS chief said.

“Though it is less from the Hindu side. Hindus have maintained a lot of restraint. Hindus have paid a lot of price for this unity, even at the cost of (accepting) the division of the country. Even then such voices (of intimidation) come from their side and no one from their side protests against it,” Bhagwat further said.

If there is extremism on any side, it should be criticised, he said, adding that Hindus do object to extremism.

“The Hindu community does not accept any kind of extremism. Hence all kind of people came into the Hindu community (sought shelter from the Hindus), be it the Jews or Parsis,” Bhagwat further said.

He also said that the Hindus should “improve their Hindu character” and become more powerful.

A united Hindu community has the potential to create a new world by resolving global conflicts, Bhagwat said.

NEW DELHI:  The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has pulled a few surprises on its own cadre by dropping some top leaders, including former Union and state ministers, and a party general secretary, from its list of Rajya Sabha candidates.

Among those who did not find a place are Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, former ministers M J Akbar and Shiv Pratap Shukla, and party’s former general secretary O P Mathur, who was in charge of Gujarat and was once considered the man who would replace

Vasundhara Raje as BJP’s top leader in Rajasthan. Others who lost out are RSS favourite Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, former Union minister Prakash Javadekar and BJP spokesperson Zafar Islam, who was credited with facilitating Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia’s entry into the BJP.

All of them are outgoing members of the Rajya Sabha and were expected to be renominated. Congress leader RPN Singh, who had recently joined the BJP, has also lost out.

The party on Monday announced four more candidates for the polls — the party’s OBC wing chief K Laxman and Mithilesh Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, Sumitra Valmiki from Madhya Pradesh, Lal Singh Sirhoya from Karnataka.

With this addition, the BJP has so far named a total of 22 candidates for the election for 57 Rajya Sabha seats.

A surprise entrant into the race whose name was earlier doing the rounds was the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Tariq Mansoor.

He is said to be close to RSS leader Krishna Gopal Sharma and has become the first Vice-Chancellor in the history of AMU to get an extension in tenure. He was given a one-year extension after his term ended last month. 

Meanwhile, despondency runs high in the camp of Naqvi, who is in the Rajya Sabha from the Jharkhand quota of BJP.

“Is it the prize that a minority leader gets for being loyal to the party?,” a Muslim BJP leader told TNIE.

“At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims to be working on the mantra, sab ka saath sab ka vikaas, dropping a lone Muslim face in the ministry, whose loyalty to party remains unquestioned so far, will put a dent on its image,” another BJP leader, preferring anonymity, said.

A day earlier, her mother and party president Sonia Gandhi had tested positive for coronavirus.

In a tweet, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “I’ve tested positive for COVID-19 with mild symptoms. Following all protocols, I have quarantined myself at home.”

“I would request those who came in contact with me to take all necessary precautions,” she added.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was in Lucknow on Wednesday to address a state-level ‘Chintan Shivir’ and returned to Delhi on Thursday.

MUMBAI:  The upcoming elections for six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra has turned out to be a fierce battle between ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance and the opposition BJP, making each vote count. Seven candidates for six seats are in fray.

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said that NCP minister Nawab Malik and former home minister Anil Deshmukh, who are behind the bar, will approach the court to get permission to exercise their voting rights.

As per its present strength in Maharashtra Assembly, BJP can elect two candidates for Rajya Sabha but has fielded three candidates. It has created a direct fight against Shiv Sena candidate Sanjay Pawar.

NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena will elect one each while Sena has fielded second candidate for the sixth seat of the Rajya Sabha. Both the BJP and Shiv Sena face a shortage of 10 votes.

If all independent MLAs, who have supported the MVA government, support Sena’s second candidate, then Pawar will sail through. However, BJP is also trying to woo these independents to back its candidates.

Sources in BJP said the party was asking Sena to withdraw its candidate and in return, BJP will help Sena to get its 10 candidates elected unopposed in upcoming council elections. 

The notice said the movement of the public on the staircase be stopped immediately.

The notices have been sent under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which parties are required to respond within 60 days.

The petitioners claimed that costly idols taken from the Mathura’s Keshav Dev temple were buried under the staircase of the Agra’s Begum Sahiba Masjid mosque by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb when he allegedly destroyed the temple here in 1670.

“Relocate the deities within the stipulated time failing which they would be liable to bear the cost,” said advocate Mahendra Pratap Singh, one of the petitioners.

The notices have been sent to the Union government through the central secretariat, New Delhi; Director, Archaeological survey of India, New Delhi; Superintendent, Archaeological survey of India; Agra; and the Director, Archaeological survey of India, Mathura.

Earlier, a Mathura court had refused to entertain a plea over the issue, asking the plaintiffs to sent legal notices to the respondents.