Month: June 2022

Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi was admitted to Ganga Ram Hospital due to COVID-related issues on Sunday.

As per sources, the throat infection team and ENT specialist of the doctors are examining her.

The party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that she is in a stable condition and will be kept at the hospital for observation, according to sources at the hospital.

“Congress President, Sonia Gandhi was admitted to Ganga Ram Hospital today owing to Covid-related issues. She is stable and will be kept at the hospital for observation. We thank all the Congress men and women as also all well-wishers for their concern and good wishes,” tweeted Randeep Singh Surjewala.

According to sources, earlier she was tested positive on June 2 for COVID-19 infection. (ANI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that India cannot become self-reliant unless rural development is made a contributor to the country’s economy.

Addressing the 41st convocation ceremony of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) Shah said that the institute is playing a major role in strengthening the rural sector through innovations in education and professional management.
“The aspect of rural development is to make villages convenient. For this, remote connectivity of villages is necessary. There was no electricity in the villages earlier, we provided electricity connenctions to villages,” he said.

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, Shah said, “Gandhi ji had said country’s soul resides in villages. The country can never become self-reliant unless rural development is made the contributor to the country’s economy.”

He said the Centre’s priority is to amp up rural development and bring prosperity to every person living in villages. The Union Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has done the work of providing electricity, clean water and toilets to every household in the country.

Shah said, “Unless there is a development of the individual, there cannot be the development of the village. Unless the area is developed, the village cannot develop. Making the life of the individual convenient, developing the area and village, then only this dream of rural development is achieved. This began when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.”

He said the Centre opened bank accounts of crores of people in every nook and corner of the country in the last eight years. (ANI)

Gold smuggling case prime accused Swapna Suresh made an emotional appeal before the media here on Saturday in the wake of her lawyer R Krishnaraj’s potential arrest saying ‘don’t hurt people who are around me’.

According to her, it’s a deliberate attempt to isolate her. “Why are they attacking me like this. I stick to the statement I gave. Don’t hurt people who are around me. Hurt me, please kill me so that the story will get over,” she said.

“Give me chance to live. Why are you doing this to my lawyer also now? Shaj Kiran told us that the lawyer will be affected, the case will be taken against him,” she added.

This came after police slapped non-bailable charges on her lawyer over a social media post that allegedly threatened to hurt religious sentiments.

The Kerala gold smuggling case pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels. It had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5, 2019.

Swapna Suresh alleged that in 2016, M Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary to the Kerala CM, had asked her to send baggage to Dubai which belonged to Vijayan. However, when the bag was brought to the consulate, it was found that it contained currencies and the entire gold smuggling business had begun from then.

On Tuesday, Swapna Suresh, the main accused of the gold smuggling case gave a confidential statement under section 164 (recording of confessions and statements) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) alleging the CM’s involvement.

Amidst the political furore, the state government has appointed a 12-member team led by the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) to probe Swapna for giving the 164 statements against the CM.

Swapna had also claimed that she was also threatened by the CM’s mediator to withdraw her statement.

The case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, National Investigative Agency (NIA) and the customs department. (ANI)

As many as 8,582 fresh COVID-19 infections were recorded in India in the last 24 hours, informed Union Health Ministry on Sunday.

As the infections surge, the active COVID caseload in the country stands at 44,513, constituting of 0.06 per cent of India’s total positive cases.

The daily positivity rate has been recorded at 2.71 per cent with 3,16,179 COVID-19 tests being conducted in the last 24 hours. The weekly positivity rate was also reported at 2.02 per cent.

4,435 patients have recovered from COVID infection in the last 24 hours.

The ministry also informed that 3,16,179 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

So far, 195.07 cr vaccine doses have been administered across India under Nationwide Vaccination Drive.

Earlier on Saturday, a total of 8,329 new Coronavirus cases were reported in a span of 24 hours, while the death toll due to the disease has climbed to 5,24,757. (ANI)

After her trip to Paris for brand promotion with fellow actor Anne Hathaway and BLACKPINK singer Lisa, Global icon Priyanka Chopra has returned to the sets of her debut web series ‘Citadel’.

The ‘Baywatch’ actor took to her Instagram handle and shared a few pictures and captioned the post and as “Snack” in the caption.

Priyanka can be spotted wearing a deep-necked white dress shirt. She styled her hair in beachy waves, and opted for a subtle nude makeup.

The ‘Gehraiyaan’ actor took a few selfies while looking into the camera. She also recorded a short video of herself.

As soon as she shared the pictures, fans flooded the post with likes and comments.

Singer-actor husband, Nick Jonas, was one of the first to react to her post. In the comments section, he wrote “Wow” with a surprise emoji.

“I’m under your spell,” a fan wrote in response to the post in the comment section. Another fan wrote, “So gorgeous”.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Priyanka has quite a few Hollywood projects to look forward to. Until last month she was busy shooting for her web series, Citadel, which is produced by the Russo Brothers and will hit the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video. ‘Ending Things’ and ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me’ are also in the pipeline. As far as Bollywood is concerned, she has been signed up for Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Jee Le Zaraa’. (ANI)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to opposition chief ministers and leaders of parties opposed to the BJP for a meeting on June 15 in view of the presidential elections and to strengthen resistance against “divisive force”.

The meeting will be held at the Constitution Club on June 15 in Delhi.

Banerjee has written to 22 political leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.

She has also written to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

Trinamool Congress said in a tweet that Mamata Banerjee has called upon all progressive opposition forces to meet and deliberate on the future course of action keeping the Presidential elections in sight at the Constitution Club, New Delhi.

“The Presidential elections are around the corner, presenting the perfect opportunity for all progressive parties to reconvene and deliberate on the future course of Indian politics,” Banerjee said in the letter.

“The election is monumental because it gives the legislators the opportunity to participate in deciding the Head of our State who is the custodian of our democracy. At a time when our democracy is going through troubling times, I believe that a fruitful confluence of opposition voices is the need of the hour; to echo the deprived and unrepresented communities,” she added.

Banerjee said all progressive forces in the country need to remain aligned “and resist the divisive force that is plaguing us today.”

She alleged that opposition leaders are being “deliberately targeted by different central agencies, the country’s image is maligned internationally and bitter dissensions are created within”.

“It is time we strengthen our resistance,” the letter said.

The Election Commission of India on Thursday announced that the next presidential elections will be held on July 18 and votes will be counted on July 21. (ANI)

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said that his party will fight the assembly polls in Gujarat.

He stated that AIMIM has been preparing for the assembly polls since municipal polls in Ahmedabad and Surat.

Addressing a press conference in Gujarat’s Bhuj, Owaisi said, “We will fight Gujarat Assembly elections with full strength. However, we have not decided on how many seats. I believe that Sabir Kabliwala (AIMIM Gujarat chief) will make the right decision in this regard.”

The Hyderabad MP said that he has come to Gujarat with the intention to strengthen the party. “Our candidate will also stand from Bhuj,” he said. Notably, Gujarat will go for assembly polls this year.

The Aam Aadmi Party is keeping its hopes alive following the result in the February 2021 Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) elections, in which the BJP won 93 seats and the Aam Aadmi Party won 27, while the Congress earned nil seats.

Owaisi also lashed out at the Centre over the communal clashes that took place in Ranchi.

He said, “It’s imperative for democracy to ensure that there is no violence and it’s the government’s duty to stop it. There was firing on people in Ranchi. This shouldn’t have happened. An FIR has been filed against Nupur Sharma for such comments and the law will take its own course. We don’t need her apology.”

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday urged everyone in his state to stay away from agitations amid clashes in the capital city of Ranchi over recent controversial remarks by suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled party leader Naveen Kumar Jindal. Owing to the violence in some parts of Ranchi, the district administration imposed a curfew under Section 144 of the CrPC.

Notably, a controversy erupted in the first week of June over suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s remarks against the minorities. Some Gulf countries have also lodged their protest. However, the Central government reiterated that the controversial remarks concerning Prophet Muhammad do not reflect the views of the Government and added that action has been taken by concerned quarters against those who made the comment. (ANI)

In the wake of ongoing protests by the Opposition parties over the Kerala Gold Smuggling Case, the security cover of Kerala Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan has been strengthened.

A 40-membered team of security personnel has been deployed in the Vijayan convoy without any official order of tightening the security.

As a part of the protest, Yuvamorcha and Youth Congress workers allegedly showed black flags to the CM in Kottayam.

Apart from this, there were some allegations of a black mask ban in the CM’s two programs in Kottayam and Kochi today.

However, the concerned officials have denied commenting on the matter.

The Kerala gold smuggling case pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels. It had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5, 2019.

3 alleged that in 2016, M Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary to the Kerala CM, had asked her to send baggage to Dubai which belonged to Vijayan. However, when the bag was brought to the consulate, it was found that it contained currencies and the entire gold smuggling business had begun from then.

Meanwhile, Kerala Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan today said that Pinarayi Vijayan should “stay away from the Chief Minister’s chair” while he is accused of being involved in a gold smuggling case.

Alleging that attempts have been made to reach a compromise with Swapna Suresh, the prime accused of the case, the LoP said that the state government and the CPIM are moving forward by taking the rule of law into their hands.

“CM Pinarayi should be prepared to investigate the statement. He should stay away from the Chief Minister’s chair,” he said.

On Tuesday, Swapna Suresh, the main accused of the gold smuggling case gave a confidential statement under section 164 (recording of confessions and statements) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) alleging the CM’s involvement.

Amidst the political furore, the state government has appointed a 12-member team led by the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) to probe Swapna for giving the 164 statements against the CM.

Swapna had also claimed that she was also threatened by the CM’s mediator to withdraw her statement.

The case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, National Investigative Agency (NIA) and the customs department. (ANI)