Breaking News, March 24

• My party has decided not to become a party to passing of this Bill. It undermines the authority & power of an elected govt of an elected Assembly. Without lowering the dignity of the House, we are peacefully staging a walkout: Prasanna Acharya, BJD MP
• YSRCP also stages a walkout from Rajya Sabha 
• We want this Bill to be sent to the Select Committee. This is absolutely anti-democracy, anti-Constitution. We oppose this Bill and stage walkout: Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, SP MP in Rajya Sabha.

All Anganwadi centers in Chandigarh shall remain closed with immediate effect till 31st March in view of surge in #COVID19 cases. All Anganwadi workers and helpers shall attend the centres to carry out the field activities as usual till further orders: Chandigarh Administration

Rajasthan: Five children died while returning from school after being hit by a car in Jalore today. The driver of the car has been arrested. District Collector and SP have left for the spot. Details awaited.

Delhi High Court grants bail to AAP MLA Somnath Bharti and also stays the trial court order which had convicted and sentenced him in a case for assaulting AIIMS security staff and destroying public property.

• We're making amendments to the Act brought in by Congress in 1991. These are not new. We are bringing these amendments to ensure that Delhi Govt functions properly: MoS MHA G Kishan Reddy in Rajya Sabha on  Govt of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021
• Rajya Sabha adjourned for 10 minutes amid uproar over the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021

Uproar in Rajya Sabha: LoP in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge demands that the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 be sent to select committee. 

• "Today is the 186th raising day of Assam Rifles. It has a proud history of protecting this country. Today I salute Assam Rifles and express my gratitude to them, from this land of Assam"
• "Even after decades of governance of Congress, only three major bridges could be built in Assam. But during the six years of NDA governance here several bridges, including Dhola Sadiya, Bogibeel, Saraighat have started functioning."

A Delhi Court issues summons against ex-Union Minister P Chidambaram, Karti Chidambaram & others including several firms, in INX media money laundering case. The Court has taken cognizance of ED's main chargesheet in the matter. All accused to appear before court on April 7, 2021

• The top 10 districts where maximum active cases are concentrated are - Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Aurangabad, Bengaluru Urban, Nanded, Jalgaon and Akola. Nine districts from Maharashtra and one fro, Karnataka: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan
• Two states are of grave concern, that have shown a recent surge in cases - Maharashtra, that reported more than 28,000 cases in the last 24 hours and Punjab, that is reporting huge number of cases in proportion to its population: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan
• Besides them, Gujarat & MP are of concern too. Gujarat reporting around 1700 cases daily & MP around 1500 cases. Most cases in Gujarat concentrated in Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot & Bhavnagar. In MP, it's concentrated in Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain & Betul: Health Secy.

2020 Nikita Tomar murder case: Faridabad fast track court convicts prime accused Tausif and his friend Rehan. Third accused Azruddin, who had supplied weapon, acquitted. Quantum of sentence to be pronounced on Friday, 26th March.

Antila bomb scare case: National Investigation Agency invokes Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against suspended Mumbai Police officer Sachin Vaze.

Jammu and Kashmir: Five unidentified gunmen fire bullets, loot Rs 2 Lakhs cash and one 12-bore rifle from a security guard at Chandpora branch of J&K Bank in Budgam district. Details awaited.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses rally in Assam's Bihpuria

• "Today there's development in Assam, it's free from infiltrators. Congress has joined hands with people (AIUDF) whose aim is to destroy Assam's identity. Do you want Assam's traditions to be ruined."
• "Congress taking help from a group that promotes infiltrators."
• "Congress couldn't even increase tea workers' wages to Rs 100. While NDA in 5 years increased their wages by 2 times."
• "The same Congress is now spreading lies. Soon after we form govt, decisions will be implemented to make tea workers' lives better."
• "Congress can do anything for votes Here it's joining hands with the Left while in Kerala, it's abusing them. This is not 'Mahajot', it's a 'Mahajhoot' which neither has a representative nor policy. Such an alliance can only guarantee infiltration and corruption". 

India recorded 47,262 fresh coronavirus cases in a day, the highest single-day rise so far this year, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,17,34,058, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.

Amajor fire broke out at a logistics godown located in a village near Bhiwandi city in Thane district of Maharashtra in the early hours of Wednesday, a civic official said. No casualty is reported, he said. Two fire engines and a jumbo water tanker were rushed to the spot in Amane village, around 20 kms away from Bhiwandi.

The blaze erupted around 4:30 AM and it is yet to be brought under control even after four hours, said Santosh Kadam, who heads the Region Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

Maharashtra Cabinet to meet today at Sahyadri Guest House, Malabar Hill in Mumbai

Eight people were arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district on Tuesday and adulterated liquor was seized. Kaushambi SP Abhinandan, in a statement, said following deaths of several people due to alleged consumption of spurious liquor in Allahabad, Fatehpur, Pratapgarh and Chitrakoot, a team of police officials was formed and raids were conducted.

While the US-India military relationship is at its best level in years, the mistrust between China and India is at an all-time high, a top US admiral has said and alleged that Beijing's lack of transparency and duplicitous actions in the Indian Ocean region threaten stability and security there.

"The mistrust between China and India is at an all-time high. In addition to the rupture of bilateral relations as a result of the LAC (Line of Actual Control) skirmish, India is deeply suspicious of Chinese activities as part of the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative," Aquilino told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday during the confirmation hearing for commander, US Indo-Pacific Command.