The twenty-two former Congress legislators who had resigned from the party following Jyotiraditya Scindia’s resignation, have now formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. The resignation of these MLAs played a critical role in the eventual fall of Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh. “With a pledge of Madhya Pradesh’s development and progress, 22 ex-legislators and my former colleagues from the Congress, who are a part of my family, met BJP President JP Nadda today, and joined the party,” Mr Scindia said in a tweet in Hindi. The 22 MLAs, all loyalists to former Congress leader and Madhya Pradesh royal…
Author: Our Correspondent
The Delhi government on Saturday said it had not imposed a lockdown for now, but would have to do if the need arises in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.. During his first-ever digital-only press conference, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said restrictions due to COVID-19 were causing terrible financial stress to the poor. He announced that those receiving ration from fair-price shops would get 50 per cent extra for next month, and also doubled the pension for widows, differently-abled and elderly for this month. The government has also reduced the size of social, religious and political gatherings to not more than…
Amid the growing coronavirus scare some amusement parks in the city continue to remain open despite government advisories against public gathering. Amusement parks such as Nicco Park, water theme park; Aquatica, Millennium Park on the banks of river Hooghly, Eco Park in Rajarhat are still open though schools, educational institutions have been closed and advisories issued to avoid gatherings. Though these places are open even now, the coronavirus scare has brought down the footfall considerably. Till now there has been no decision on keeping Eco Park closed for visitors, the CMD of West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd, Debashis…
The UP police have booked singer Kanika Kapoor for negligence and committing acts that are likely to spread disease dangerous to life after she attended at least three gatherings in Lucknow, including a party where political leaders were present, and tested positive for the new coronavirus, an official said. The FIR was registered at Sarojini Nagar police station on Friday based on a complaint filed by the Lucknow chief medical officer, said Police Commissioner Surjit Pandey. Pandey said Kapoor has been charged under IPC Sections 269 (negligent acts likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (malignant acts…
An Indian-American teenager has created a GoFundMe page to raise funds to provide sanitation kits for the homeless community, it was reported on Saturday. Shaivi Shah, a sophomore at Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, wanted to help after “constantly hearing about all of the catastrophes the coronavirus has been causing”. “Because of its rapid growth, all types of people globally are being affected, especially the homeless community. They lack sanitation, money, and basic necessities, especially during this time where remaining clean and germ-free, is crucial,” she told India-West news. “Also, the shortage of hygienic products and the…
The world has offered India a warning against complacency in dealing with the novel coronavirus outbreak, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted today. Referring to the speed with which the number of COVID-19 cases have doubled worldwide – 100,000 cases were reported in the past 12 days – Mr Tharoor said “India’s cases may be about to accelerate at comparable speed”. Coronavirus cases in India rose to 271 this morning with 48 people testing positive so far today; Friday saw 63 cases and the largest single-day jump since the outbreak began. In the past six days 164 new cases have been…
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed the efforts of former India cricketers Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh after they urged people to observe “Janata curfew” to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Here are 2 excellent cricketers whose partnership we will remember forever. Now, as they have said, it is time for another partnership. This time, all of India will be partners in the fight against Coronavirus. https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1240996849537835008?s=20 #IndiaFightsCoronahttps://twitter.com/YUVSTRONG12/status/1240678259777368070 …https://twitter.com/MohammadKaif/status/1240673202902196235 … Mohammad Kaif ✔@MohammadKaif An important message from PM @narendramodi ji to the nation to fight against #CoronaVirus. – #JantaCurfew to prepare us for upcoming challenges – Avoid panic while buying essential supplies It’s…
Henk Bekedam, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) India representative, hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘janata curfew’ initiative which will come into effect for a day on Sunday. “We welcome Prime Minister’s call for a janata curfew and adopting social distancing. Effective implementation of the strategy will go a long way in controlling the spread of the virus,” Bekedam said in a statement released by the WHO after Modi’s address to the nation on Thursday evening. “Along with hand-hygiene, coughing and sneezing in one’s sleeves prevents transmission. These measures, together with social distancing can be effective in containing transmission. Even as…
The decision to conduct Coronavirus test on Ram Nath Kovind comes in the wake of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Dushyant Singh’s participation in an event where Kanika Kapoor, who is affected by COVID-19, was present on Sunday and the MP’s subsequent meeting with the President. This comes as a big shock for the nation which is already reeling under the Coronavirus outbreak, President Ram Nath Kovind will undergo Covid-19 test on Saturday, said sources from Rashtrapati Bhavan. Sources said the President would follow all the directives of the government. The President has postponed all his programmes till further orders,…
After the resignation of former chief minister Kamal Nath, efforts are on to form a new government in Madhya Pradesh. Sources said that the next government is likely to assume office by March 25. The BJP legislature party meeting which was scheduled to be held on Saturday has been postponed and this will now be held on Monday due to coronavirus. The BJP will stake claim to form the next government just after the formal meeting of the legislature party. Central observers Dharmendra Pradhan and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe are likely to go to Bhopal for the BJP legislature party meeting. Sources…