Breaking News, August 12 | HIGHLIGHTS

The Delhi government is considering sending senior citizens to pilgrimage sites near the national capital on luxury buses under the Mukhya Mantri Tirth Yatra Yojna, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.
As per news agency PTI, more than 71,000 people from Delhi have gone on pilgrimages by 72 trains under the scheme so far, he said.

A 16-year-old boy has been apprehended for allegedly making an obscene video of a married woman and posting it on social media, police said on Sunday, reported news agency PTI.

Station House Officer (Koirauna) Pradeep Kumar said the boy, a resident of a village here, used to work at a street food shop. He used to visit the shop owner’s house and the teen recorded a video of his wife while she was taking a bath. The minor started blackmailing her to have a relationship with him by threatening to upload the video on social media, he said.

 Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren met film director Prakash Jha in Ranchi earlier today.

Security tightened in Assam as militant outfits call for boycott of Independence Day celebrations, said officials.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot attends inauguration ceremony of MLA Housing Project in Jaipur. 

"We were shocked to hear the PM say that Darbhanga AIIMS has been opened. Though the state government transferred the land the proposal was rejected at last," said Bihar Deputy CM 
Tejashwi Yadav earlier today.

A nurse was stabbed to death in Bihar's Patna.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said PM Modi and Union Cabinet ministers had a 'lot of fun' during a discussion on the Manipur issue in Parliament.

BJP aims at destroying families and India is a family that they want to divide, said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad.

Over 71,000 people from Delhi sent on free pilgrimage by 72 trains so far under Mukhya Mantri Tirtha Yatra Yojna, said CM Kejriwal.

I decided no one should sleep hungry during Coronavirus outbreak; Our free ration scheme hailed by world, said PM Modi in MP.

Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena gives approval to transplant 96 trees for construction of residential building of Northern Railway in Moti Bagh area and 107 trees for Central Secretariat building at Ashoka Road, said officials.

PM Narendra Modi performs 'Bhoomi Poojan' at Sant Shiromani Gurudev Shri Ravidas Memorial Sthal in Sagar district, Madhya Pradesh.

Punjab government will open 76 new Mohalla clinics in the state on 14th August, in addition to the 583 existing Mohalla clinics.

PM Narendra Modi lays foundation stone of Sant Ravidas temple in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh.

A Tiranga rally was taken out in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday with people from all walks of life including sportspersons, NGO volunteers and security personnel taking part in it. The participants carried the Tricolour as they marched from the Budgam stadium to the old bus stand. "We had to in fact put a cut-off number since the crowd was swelling too much and the roads had limited capacity. Chants of 'Jai Hind' could be heard all through Budgam town as part of the Tiranga rally," District Magistrate Akshay Labroo said.

Four minors were arrested in Assam's Kokrajhar district for allegedly raping a girl, a top police officer said. Director General of Police GP Singh said in a Tweet that the gang rape happened around two months back. It was reported by the mother of the victim at the Salakati outpost on Friday after the minor girl disclosed the matter to her earlier that day, he said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Madhya Pradesh warned of action against Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over her social media post, in which she accused the saffron party-led government in the state of indulging in corruption. Terming her allegation as false, MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra sought a proof from the Congress leader to support her charge, warning that options were otherwise open before the state government and the BJP for action. State BJP chief V D Sharma warned of legal action against the Congress leader, accusing her of citing a fake letter in her social media post to level the allegation.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that the Centre has not taken any action against those involved in unleashing atrocities in Manipur. She also said "Prime Minister Narendra Modi can’t speak on corruption" as his government is "surrounded by issues like PM Care fund, Rafale deal and demonetisation". Her comments come hours after PM Modi said India has a strict policy of zero tolerance against corruption while addressing the G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meet here via video conferencing.

India witnessed a single-day rise of 38 fresh COVID-19 cases while the active caseload declined to 1,487, according to Union Health Ministry data. The death toll has been recorded at 5,31,920 (5.31 lakh), the data updated at 8 am on Saturday showed. India's total Covid case tally is currently at 4,49,96,236 (4.49 crore). The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has risen to 4,44,62,829 (4.44 crore) while the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry website.

A 30-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly stabbing his colleague to death in a dispute over Rs 500 in Navi Mumbai, police said on Saturday. The victim Vickey Chindaliya (27), a scrap collector, was found dead near Panvel railway station on August 8, inspector Anjum Bhagwan of the Panvel city police station said. Investigations revealed that the victim worked in the area near the railway station and lived there with a colleague, he said.

The Manipur High Court has asked the state government to find ways to provide mobile internet services to people. The court was hearing a batch of pleas filed by various parties seeking restoration of mobile internet services which were blocked after violence broke out in the state on May 3. A bench of Justice Ahanthem Bimol Singh and Justice A Guneshwar Sharma on Friday directed, "...state authorities, specially, the home department should consider for devising mechanism/methods for providing internet services through mobile phones by whitelisting the mobile numbers on case to case basis and in a phase-wise manner.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday slammed the opposition parties for walking out from Parliament during the no-confidence motion and said his government has defeated the "negativity being spread" by them across the country. PM Modi, who virtually addressed the Panchayati Raj Parishad in West Bengal, criticised the ruling TMC for using "terror and threats" to intimidate the opposition in the state during the rural poll last month. "Only two days back, we had defeated the opposition's no-confidence motion in Parliament. We had also defeated the negativity being spread by them. The opposition parties didn't want voting as it would have exposed the cracks in their alliance. They ran away from the House," he said while addressing the programme.

"We had demanded the PM's statement on Manipur in Parliament. We wanted the Parliament to run. When we were not heard, we had to use the last resort of moving a no-confidence motion to make sure the PM speaks in Parliament...They (BJP) kept on passing bills in Parliament when the debate on no-confidence remained pending. The opposition did not get a chance to voice its opinion on many bills..." said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. 

Two teenage boys and a man drowned in a river in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh when they went to take bath, police said on Saturday. The incident occurred in Chhater village in Udaipura police station limits, around 120 kms from the district headquarters, on Friday evening, an official said. "Two 13-year-old boys and a man aged 21 went to take a bath in Tenduni river, where they drowned," Udaipura police station in-charge Hariom Ashthana said. The bodies of all three victims have been recovered, he said.

The Congress on Saturday strongly condemned the Lakshadweep administration's move to introduce a new pattern of uniform in schools in the union territory and warned them of intense protests, including mass class boycott by students against it. Lakshadweep Congress leader and ex-MP Hamdullah Sayeed alleged that the new dress code directive, which is silent on hijabs or scarves for girl students, amounted to destroying the intrinsic culture and lifestyle of islanders in the Muslim-dominated archipelago.

Four passengers of a Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation bus were injured after it fell a few feet as a portion of the Mandi-Shimla highway caved in on Saturday, officials said. The bus with 12 passengers on board was on its way to Shimla from Mandi when a part of the road caved in near Kango in Mandi district in the early hours of Saturday, they said. The bus fell a few feet, landing on its tyres and was not buried in the debris, they added.

Australia on Saturday announced that its Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will attend the G20 summit in Delhi on September 9 and 10. The Australian prime minister's visit to India will be part of his three-nation tour. The other two countries that he will be visiting are Indonesia and the Philippines. "From September 9-10, the Prime Minister will attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi," the Australian government said in a statement. It said G20 is the world's pre-eminent forum for global economic cooperation and the leaders will focus on navigating the global economy back to strong, sustainable and resilient growth.

Delhi on Saturday recorded a minimum temperature of 27.3 degrees Celsius, normal for the season, according to the India Meteorological Department. The weather office has predicted strong surface winds during the daytime. It has also forecast generally cloudy skies with light rain. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 35 degrees Celsius, it said. At 8.30 am, the humidity was recorded at 69 per cent, the Met office said. According to Central Pollution Control Board data, the national capital's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood in the 'moderate' category with a reading of 129 at 10 am.

A six-year old girl was found dead following a suspected wild animal attack on the steps leading to Tirumala on Saturday, a TTD official said. The body of the girl from Dornapadu village in Nellore district was found in an area near the Narasimha Swamy temple, they said. Officials said they suspected a bear attack. The girl along with her family was climbing the footway to Tirumala when the incident occurred.

A class 12 student belonging to the SC community in Tirunelveli district was allegedly attacked by his classmates in an apparent fallout of previous enmity, even as Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed concern over "casteism poison" creeping into young minds. The sister of the boy was also injured in the incident at Nanguneri when the assailants barged into their house and assaulted the victim, police said.

We can make difference through enhanced international cooperation, implementation of measures to address corruption: PM Modi.

We need to give regard to audit institutions in our fight against corruption: PM Modi at G 20 meeting.

Had presented agenda against fugitive economic offenders at 2018 G-20, pleased to note steps being taken by your group: PM Modi.

Welfare scheme leakages have been plugged, $360 bn given to people through direct transfers: PM Modi.

Fighting corruption is our sacred duty to our people: PM Modi.

Rabindranath Tagore had cautioned us against greed as it prevents us from realising truth: PM Modi at G-20 meeting in Kolkata.

At G-20, our collective efforts can significantly support fight against corruption: PM Modi.

India has strict policy of zero tolerance against corruption: PM Modi at G-20 meeting.

Corruption affects allocation of resources, distorts markets: PM Modi at G-20 meeting in Kolkata.

Impact of corruption is felt by poor and marginalised people: PM Modi at G-20 meeting in Kolkata.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed the enhancement of amount under certain welfare schemes for ex-servicemen by the government. Prime Minister Modi's remarks came in response to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's social media post announcing that in pursuance of the government's mantra of "Ease of living", the amount under the certain welfare schemes of ex-servicemen has been enhanced.

Two persons were feared drowned in a river in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Friday, a fire brigade official said. A search operation has been launched to trace the two, he said. Around 11.30 am, Salman Purkan Ansari (24) and his friend Sarfaraj Aslam Ansari (28) went to the Ulhas river in Ulhasnagar on the outskirts of Mumbai for a bath.

Jama Masjid's Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Friday expressed concerns over the "storm of hatred" in the country, and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to listen to the 'Mann Ki Baat' of Muslims. Citing recent incidents like the Nuh riots and the killing of four persons by a railway police jawan on a running train, Bukhari suggested in his Friday sermon at the historic mosque that PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah hold dialogue with intellectuals from the community.

A total of 17 parties under the opposition bloc INDIA on Friday pledged to “expose the real BJD-BJP ties” in Odisha through a mass agitation across the state. The opposition parties, including the Congress, CPI(M), AAP, RJD, TMC and JD(U) held a political convention here earlier in the day. “Though both (BJD and BJP) are engaged in shadow-boxing in Odisha, they jointly work in Delhi and come to the rescue of each other. How can the BJP become opposition party in Odisha, while its top leaders rub shoulders with (chief minister) Naveen Patnaik in Delhi?” OPCC president Sarat Pattnayak said.

Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers and the party's national president J P Nadda, and their allies attended a workshop organised for the ruling alliance's spokespersons for better coordination and evolving a joint approach in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. "All NDA partners resolved to work together to expose the opposition and defeat the 'ghamandia' (arrogant) alliance to ensure that India's development journey continues under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership," a statement said. Regular dialogue to establish better coordination among NDA spokespersons was stressed during the meeting, a leader said.

Twenty-eight students of a municipal school in west Delhi's Naraina area were hospitalised on Friday with two of them requiring oxygen support after allegedly inhaling noxious fumes following a suspected "gas leak" incident nearby, officials said. Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi said the students, including two girls who were put on oxygen support in Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, are doing fine.
The Aam Aadmi Party's MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak, who met the ailing students at the hospital, said it is being claimed that the gas leaked from a train that was passing the railway tracks nearby.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha was on Friday suspended from Rajya Sabha for "gross violation of rules, misconduct, defiant attitude and contemptuous conduct", pending a report by the privileges committee. His suspension followed a motion moved by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal who sought action against the AAP leader for including names of some members of the Upper House without their consent in a proposed select committee for the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023.