Rupani Resigns As Gujarat CM

The development journey of Gujarat should continue under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s guidance and new leadership, said Vijay Rupani, while resigning as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Rupani met Governor Acharya Devvrat and submitted his resignation from the post of Gujarat’s Chief Minister.
“To further develop the state, with new energy and power, I have decided to resign as Chief Minister,” Rupani told media persons.

The 65-year-old leader said that the BJP is an ideology-driven party and the roles of workers keep changing there.

“I want to thank BJP for giving me, an ordinary worker, this opportunity to serve as Gujarat’s Chief Minister. During my tenure, I got the opportunity to add to the development of the state under PM Modi’s leadership,” he said.

“I have decided to resign because the development journey of Gujarat should continue under Prime Minister Narendra Nodi’s guidance and new leadership. BJP is an ideology-driven party and the roles of workers keep changing there,” Rupani added.

Rupani’s resignation comes a year before the scheduled assembly elections in the state.

He took charge as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on 7 August 2016. He currently represents Gujarat’s Rajkot West as MLA.

In the 2017 state election, the BJP won 99 of the state’s 182 Assembly seats, Congress got 77 seats. (ANI)

Sush Turns Shutterbug For Daughters

Actor Sushmita Sen on Saturday treated fans with a happy picture featuring her with her two daughters.

The ‘Mai Hoon Na’ actor took to her Instagram handle and shared a delightful picture clicked by her.

In the all-smiles picture, Sushmita’s daughters Renee and Alisah are seen hugging each other as they pose for the camera held by their mother, standing in the balcony outside the room separated by a glass wall.

Sharing the snap, the former Miss Universe wrote, “Sometimes a picture can reflect the very core of one’s essence!! forever #inlove body, heart & soul #maa I love you guys!!! #duggadugga.”

Sushmita adopted Renee in 2000 and Alisah in 2010. To raise her daughters and give them the proper nurturance they require, Sushmita took a break from her acting career.

She once shared in an interview “I asked myself, do I really want to do this. With a baby at home and my companies, the I AM Foundation, I have a lot more that needs my attention right now. It’s time to focus on them.”

But after her younger daughter Alisah turned 10, Sushmita decided to make her comeback with the Indian crime drama web series ‘Aarya’ for which she had bagged the title ‘Best Actor in drama series’ at eminent entertainment award platforms like Filmfare, Dada Saheb Phalke, Film Critics Guild, and Raj Kapoor Award.

She recently wrapped up shooting for the second season of the series.

Directed by Ram Madhvani, Sandeep Modi, and Vinod Rawat, ‘Aarya’ is an official Indian remake of a popular Dutch show ‘Penoza’. Alongside Sushmita, the cast includes Chandarchur Singh, Namita Das, Sikander Kher, among several others.

The series is about Aarya, an independent woman who seeks to protect her family and joins a mafia gang in order to get revenge for her husband’s murder.

The second season of the crime thriller series will continue to tell the story of Aarya and how she deals with newer challenges while fighting her own battles for the family. (ANI)

Vivekananda’s Speech Has Solutions For 9/11 Like Terrorist Attacks: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday recalled the September 2001 terror attacks in the United States and said that the speech given by Vivekananda in Chicago on September 11, 1893, has the permanent solutions for the incidents like 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of Sardardham Bhavan in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, the Prime Minister said: “It is 9/11 today, a date that is remembered in the history of the world as an attack on humanity… but the same date also taught us about humanitarian values.”
“September 11 is also important because Swami Vivekananda in 1893 delivered a speech in Chicago teaching the world about our humanitarian values. The world has realised that these teachings will give the permanent solutions for the incidents like 9/11 terrorist attacks,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister also announced that Subramania Bharati chair on Tamil Studies will be set up in the Faculty of Arts at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) for research fellows and students to mark the 100th death anniversary of Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi.

PM Modi also extended greetings to people on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

“Before starting any new work we offer our prayers to Lord Ganesh, and fortunately, the inauguration of Sardardham Bhavan is also being done on the auspicious occasion of ‘Ganesha’ festival. Yesterday was ‘Ganesh Chaturthi and today the entire nation is celebrating the festival,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Sardardham Bhavan in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad and performed ‘bhoomi pujan’ of Sardardham Phase-II Kanya Chhatralaya (girls’ hostel) through video conferencing.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel were also present at the occasion. (ANI)

India, Aus Exploring New Areas In AI, Unmanned Vehicles : Rajnath

Lauding significant progress in the defence engagements between India and Australia based on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that both the countries are exploring new areas in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned vehicles.

Speaking at India-Australia 2+2 ministerial dialogue which is underway in New Delhi, Singh said, “During virtual leader’s summit talks in June 2020 between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, we reached Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This shows how close we are.”
This partnership is based on the shared vision of a free, open, inclusive and rule-based Indo-Pacific region.

Both, Australia and India have tremendous stakes in peace, development and free flow of trade, rules-based order and economic growth in the region.

Lauding significant progress in the bilateral relations between India-Australia, Singh added, “We are happy to witness significant progress in the bilateral relations between India-Australia. The interoperability between our defence engagements has seen a significant increase. In bilateral and multilateral engagements, due to joint exercises, the synergies and complexities in our armed forces have increased.”

He also said that the two countries are exploring new areas in the field of artificial intelligence and unmanned vehicles and thanked the Australian delegation for visiting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are exploring new areas in the development of artificial intelligence, and unmanned vehicles. Your visit to India in the times of COVID-19 shows our strong ties. I am hopeful for engaging and fruitful talks.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Australia Defence Minister Peter Dutton participated in the meeting. (ANI)

US Intel Report Links China's Biological Warfare Ambition To Covid | Lokmarg

India Logs 33,376 New COVID-19 Cases

India recorded 33,376 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry informed on Saturday. Out of these, 25,010 cases were recorded in Kerala. India’s cumulative COVID count has now gone up to 3,32,08,330.

There are currently 3,91,516 active cases in the country. According to the Ministry, as many as 308 people succumbed to the COVID-19 infection in the last 24 hours taking the death toll to 4,42,317.

Meanwhile, India recorded 32,198 recoveries in the last 24 hours and the recovery tally has gone up to 3,23,74,497. The recovery rate stands at 97.49 per cent.

The daily positivity rate stands at 2.10 per cent while the weekly positivity rate is at 2.26 per cent.India has substantially ramped up its COVID-19 testing capacity wherein over 54 crore tests have been conducted so far, including 15,92,135 tests conducted in the last 24 hours.

In the ongoing nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive, 73.05 crore vaccine doses have been administered to eligible beneficiaries till date. (ANI)

UP Assembly Polls: Priyanka Chairs Cong Election Panel Meeting

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday attended a meeting of the party’s election panel in Lucknow ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled to be held next year.

The Congress leader is on a two-day visit to Lucknow to hold a series of meetings with the party leaders in Uttar Pradesh. Congress will conduct a Pratigya Yatra in the state covering 12,000 km ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls.

The decision was taken in the meeting of the Advisory and Strategy Committee of the Uttar Pradesh Congress chaired by party’s state in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. In the meeting, it was also decided that zone-wise election campaigns and programmes will be started.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP won a landslide victory winning 312 Assembly seats. The party secured a 39.67 per cent vote share in the elections for 403-member Assembly. Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, BSP won 19 while Congress could manage to win only seven seats. (ANI)

Cong Refuses To Join RS Panel To Probe Violence In House

The Congress has refused to be a part of the proposed inquiry committee of MPs being set up to investigate the violent incidents that took place in the House during the monsoon session on August 11.

According to sources, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge in a letter to Rajya Sabha chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu, said, “Constituting an inquiry committee on the incidents of August 11, 2021, seems to be designed to intimidate MPs into silence. It will not only suppress the voices of the people’s representatives but will deliberately brush aside all those that are uncomfortable to the government.”
“I am, therefore, unequivocally against constituting the enquiry committee and the question of a party proposing the name of a member from a party for nomination to this committee does not arise,” he said.

The Congress leader said the opposition was keen to participate in discussions and claimed that it was the government that obstructed the smooth functioning of the session.

Kharge, also said in the letter that the government not only brushed aside the opposition parties’ demand for discussion but also rushed through crucial bills and policies, which could potentially have a grave and adverse effect on the country.

The leader of the opposition pointed out that his party gave multiple notices under the rules of procedure, hoping to have constructive deliberations on the state of India’s economy, farmers protest, inflation, rise in prices of petrol and diesel and other essential commodities, unemployment, China’s violation of India’s territorial integrity, the Pegasus and Rafael scandals among a host of other national issues.

“It also bypassed standing committees and refused to have any meaningful discussion on bills, policies and issues. Additionally, senior ministers were largely absent from Parliament while opposition MPs were suspended. In doing so, the government undermined the sovereignty of Parliament,” the letter said.

Kharge also said that he has spoken to other opposition parties in this regard and almost all of them have rejected the inquiry committee proposal.

On August 11, there was turmoil in the Rajya Sabha with the opposition alleging misbehaviour by marshals, while the ruling party alleged violence against parliament staff and others by opposition MPs.

Two Congress women MPs, Phulo Devi and Chayya Varma had alleged that they were manhandled during the ruckus in the House.

As per official sources, an official complaint has been lodged against the MPs who created ruckus in Rajya Sabha during the recently concluded monsoon session.

At the Rajya Sabha Chairperson and Union ministers’ meet, it was decided that a committee will be formed and action will be taken after discussion.

All through the session that began on July 19, opposition members forced adjournments in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over their various demands including a probe into allegations of surveillance through Pegasus spyware and repeal of three farm laws.

Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die two days ahead of the scheduled end of the Monsoon session on August 13. (ANI)

Nirbhaya Returns: Mumbai Woman Raped Brutally, Man Held

In a shocking incident, a 30-year old woman was raped in the Sakinaka area of Mumbai and has sustained serious injuries as a rod was put in her private parts, said the police.

The police have arrested a man accused of raping the woman, stated the police.

The police received a PCR call at 3:30 am on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday that a woman was lying unconscious and covered in blood on Khairani Road in Sakinaka.

Sakinaka police reached the spot and the victim girl was admitted to Rajawadi Hospital in Mumbai where she is undergoing treatment.

The man has been booked under sections 307, 376, 323 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code. (ANI)

Taliban Kill Brother Of Afghan Ex-VP Amrullah Saleh

The Taliban took prisoner and then killed Rohullah Saleh, brother of former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh, media reports said.

A source close to the resistance forces told Russian news agency Sputnik that Rohullah had died a few days ago fighting against the Taliban.

This comes a few days after reports emerged that Amrullah Saleh, who was residing at the Panjshir, has fled to Tajikistan. Meanwhile, the fate of Ahmad Massoud, the resistance leader in the Panjshir Valley remains unknown.

The Panjshir Valley lies in the Hindu Kush mountains, approximately 90 miles north of Kabul.

After the fall of Kabul on August 15, Panjshir province remained the only defiant holdout where resistance forces led by Ahamd Masoud, the son of late former Afghan guerrilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, were fighting the Taliban.

Panjshir has been the stronghold of the National Resistance Front, led by Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh, who had declared himself caretaker president. (ANI)

COVID-19: ENG Vs IND, Fifth Test Called Off

The fifth and final Test between India and England has been cancelled due to a “further increase in the number of COVID cases” inside the Indian camp.

“Following ongoing conversations with the BCCI, the ECB can confirm that the fifth LV= Insurance Test between England and India Men due to start today at Emirates Old Trafford, will be cancelled,” ECB said in a statement.
“Due to fears of a further increase in the number of COVID cases inside the camp, India are regrettably unable to field a team.

“We send our sincere apologies to fans and partners for this news, which we know will cause immense disappointment and inconvenience to many,” the statement added.

Ahead of the fifth and final Test against England, physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive for COVID-19 in Manchester. This had led to Team India’s training session for Thursday afternoon being cancelled.

However, there were no COVID-19 related worries in the England camp and Jos Buttler had said everything is fine and the hosts were looking forward to the game.

“We don’t know too much about it at the moment. It would be naive to speculate on what’s going on. At the moment we’re fully expecting the game to go ahead and we’re preparing that way so fingers crossed the game will go ahead. Things are fine in our camp and we are looking forward to the game,” said Buttler in a virtual press conference on Thursday.

This came after India head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar returned positive results to their RT-PCR tests during the fourth Test. They are currently undergoing isolation and can come out only after returning two negative results.

On Sunday, just half an hour before the start of play on Day 4 of the fourth Test, the BCCI said its medical team had isolated Shastri, Bharat Arun, Sridhar, and physio Nitin Patel as a precautionary measure after Shastri’s lateral flow test returned positive on Saturday evening.

The remaining members of the Team India contingent had undergone two Lateral Flow Tests — one on Saturday night and another on Sunday morning. The members upon returning negative COVID reports were allowed to proceed for Day 4 of the fourth Test at The Oval against England. (ANI)