Month: July 2022

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday announced the name of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the Vice Presidential election.

“NDA’s candidate for the post of Vice President of India will be Jagdeep Dhankhar. Kisan Putra Jagdeep Dhankhar has been in public life for more than three decades. Jagdeep Dhankhar’s life story reflects the spirit of new India – overcoming innumerable social and economic hurdles and achieving one’s goals,” said BJP chief JP Nadda.

The decision comes after the BJP parliamentary board meeting held in the party headquarters which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top BJP leaders.

Following the announcement, Modi said he believes Dhankhar will be an outstanding Chair in the Rajya Sabha and guide the proceedings of the House with the aim of furthering national progress.

“Kisan Putra Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji is known for his humility. He brings with him an illustrious legal, legislative and gubernatorial career. He has always worked for the well-being of farmers, youth, women and the marginalised. Glad that he will be our VP candidate,” said Modi in a Twitter post.

“Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji has excellent knowledge of our Constitution. He is also well-versed with legislative affairs. I am sure that he will be an outstanding Chair in the Rajya Sabha and guide the proceedings of the House with the aim of furthering national progress,” Prime Minister added.

Born in an agrarian household in a remote village in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district, Dhankhar completed his school education from Sainik School, Chittorgarh. After finishing his graduation in Physics, he pursued LLB from the University of Rajasthan. Despite being a first-generation professional, he became one of the leading lawyers in Rajasthan.

Dhankhar has practiced in both the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court of India. He entered public life after getting elected as a Member of Parliament from Jhunjhunu in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections. Subsequently, he also served as a Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in 1990. In 1993, he was elected to the Rajasthan Assembly from the Kishangarh constituency in Ajmer district.

In July 2019, he was appointed as the Governor of West Bengal.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Opposition parties will meet on Sunday to discuss the candidate for the upcoming Vice Presidential election.

“The meeting on July 17 and all Opposition leaders will attend it. Parliamentary Affairs Minister has also called an all-party meet. So, we will hold a discussion with everyone on the 17th that what kind of a candidate we should have,” said Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on the candidate for the Vice Presidential polls.

Kharge said Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has given a go-ahead for a joint Opposition candidate.

“There is no candidate from Congress. Our party president has clearly said that whoever is chosen as the candidate by all parties (of Opposition), we will stand with it,” he added.

Yashwant Sinha is the candidate of the Opposition parties for the presidential election.

Congress has given the task to Malikarjun Kharge who is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha to reach out to opposition parties to select a candidate for the election for the Vice President post.

Nominations for the vice-presidential polls slated to be held on August 6, began on Tuesday.

The Election Commission made an announcement of the elections for the 16th vice president of India to take place on August 6, 2022.

The ECI has also issued directions for Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh to be the Returning Officer for the polls.

The nomination papers for the above election can be submitted starting Saturday up to July 19, 2022. The scrutiny for the nominations will take place on July 20 and the final list will be published on July 22.

As in the case of the election to the President of India, the eligible candidates will need to submit a few documents including a certified copy of the electoral roll with the name mentioned on it and an amount of Rs 15,000 at the time of submitting the nomination papers which shall be returned after the election process is over in case the candidate does not make it to the final list.

In case of the election of the Vice President of India, voting will happen in the Parliament and members of the Rajya Sabha will participate in this election as the vice president is also the de facto chairman of the upper house.

The poll for the upcoming vice president’s election is slated to take place between 10 AM and 5 PM on August 6, 2022, and the results are expected to be out on the same day.

In 2017, the NDA had nominated Venkaiah Naidu as its candidate for the vice-presidential election and he went on to become India’s 15th vice president. His term ends on August 10, 2022. (ANI)

The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday announced that they will be supporting the Opposition’s presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha in the upcoming Presidential elections in the country.

“AAP will support Opposition’s Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha. We respect Droupadi Murmu but we will vote for Yashwant Sinha,” AAP MP Sanjay Singh said.
The voting for the next President of India will start on July 18 while its counting will take place on July 21.

The decision to back Sinha came after a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee held in the residence of the party’s national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The decision was taken by the AAP’s highest decision-making body comprising all of its 11 members – Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Gopal Rai, Atishi, ND Gupta, Durgesh Pathak, Pankaj Gupta, Raghav Chadha, Imran Hussain, and Rakhi Birla.

Talking about the BJP-led NDA’s candidate Droupadi Murmu, Singh further said, “We respect Droupadi Murmu, but in the elections, we will support Yashwant Sinha. As decided by Arvind Kejriwal and Political Affairs Committee (PAC), all the party MLAs and MPs will be voting for Sinha.”

“We had said it earlier as well, that we will take a call on whom to support only after the names of the candidates were revealed, and hence, we have announced it today,” he reiterated.

AAP has 62 MLAs in the national capital and three Rajya Sabha MPs are from here only. They have 92 MLAs and seven Rajya Sabha MPs in Punjab, while Goa has two MLAs. Their votes matter as they have a total of 156 MLAs and 10 MPs, and as per the Presidential Election calculations, they hold a value of 2 per cent in the Prez polls.

In a conversation with ANI, Singh said, “Our support will be important. We are the fourth biggest political party after the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, and Communist Party, which has succeeded in forming government in two states of the country.”

“If the Aam Aadmi Party has decided to support the opposition candidate, then it is a good decision and I think it will be evaluated when the results come,” he added while asserting that AAP has its footprint in every region of the country.

When asked that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not pick the call when Sinha approached him seeking support, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said, “In the Presidential polls, every MLA and MP is free to cast their vote as no whip can be issued during these elections.”

“If people want to vote for Yashwant Sinha, there is no compulsion for whip from any party. If the MPs and MLAs vote for Sinha because they hail from Bihar and Jharkhand, it will be a good thing,” he added. (ANI)

‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ star Kartik Aaryan shared a ‘Doggo n Hooman’ moment with his adorable pet pooch Katori Aaryan.

“Doggo n Hooman are ready for HT Stylish Awards,” captioned the actor on Instagram, adding a heart emoji.
The adorable picture revealed Kartik with his white-coloured pooch, Katori Aaryan. The owner and his pet looked quite happy as Kartik had a wide smile on his face while the furry canine with its squinty eyes, stuck out its tongue, seemingly posing for the camera.

In the following picture, both Kartik and the small pup faced each other as the actor looked at his pooch lovingly.

As for the third image, Kartik looked quite handsome, decked up in a blue suit and a tie. He matched his attire with a pair of sleek black shoes, his piercing gaze, winning hearts.

In the next slide, the ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’ actor added another image of Katori, his precious pet pooch, looking like a white ball of fur, staring straight at the camera with its innocent eyes.

Talking about Kartik Aaryan, the actor is currently basking in the success of his film ‘Bhool Bhulaiya 2’ which has crossed the Rs 100-crore mark at the box office. The horror-comedy starring Kiara Advani and Tabu has been running successfully in theatres for over 50 days, even after having an OTT release.

He has quite a few other projects lined up. Kartik will be next seen in Rohit Dhawan’s ‘Shehzada’ opposite Kriti Sanon. It is the Hindi remake of the Telugu blockbuster ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’, which starred Allu Arjun.

Apart from ‘Shehzada’, Kartik will be seen in ‘Freddy’ opposite Alaya F. Produced by Ekta Kapoor, the film is touted to be a romantic thriller. Kartik also has Hansal Mehta’s ‘Captain India’ in his kitty. Bankrolled by Ronnie Screwvala and Harman Baweja, the film revolves around India’s most successful rescue operations from a war-torn country. (ANI)

A total of 102 lives have been lost in rain and flood-related incidents that struck Maharashtra since June 1, according to the Maharashtra State Disaster Situation Report Index.

As many as two deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours, and a total of 68 persons were injured amidst the torrential downpour in the state.
As per the SDMD, the death toll of animals stands at 189 so far.

A total of 13 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and three State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) teams have been positioned by the government in several districts of the state.

Around 11,836 persons have been evacuated so far, and 73 relief camps have been set up.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Maharashtra’s Palghar on Thursday.

The major rivers of the district – Vaitarna, Tansa are flowing above the danger mark.

The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall (64.5 to 115.5 mm) at isolated places over Madhya Maharashtra on July 17.

Several parts of Maharashtra have been witnessing heavy rainfall over the past few days amidst the wet spell on the state since the onset of a torrential monsoon.

A number of 28 districts have been reported affected due to heavy rainfalls in the state including Pune, Satara, Solapur, Nashik, Jalgaon, Ahemadnagar, Beed, Latur, Washim, Yavatmal, Dhule, Jalna,Akola, Bhandara, Buldhana, Nagpur, Nandurbar, Mumbai Sub, Palghar, Thane, Nanded,Amravati, Wardha, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Gadchiroli, Sangli, Chandrapur.

Kolhapur, Palghar, Nashik, Pune, and Ratnagiri districts for heavy rains were on red alert till July 14, with an orange alert over Mumbai. (ANI)

Ahead of the Sri Lankan Parliament meeting for electing the new President of Sri Lanka, the Indian High commissioner Gopal Baglay called on the parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Saturday and said that India will continue to be “supportive of democracy, stability and economic recovery in Sri Lanka”.

Taking to Twitter, the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka said, “High Commissioner called on Hon’ble Speaker today morning. Appreciated Parliament’s role in upholding democracy and Constitutional framework, especially at this crucial juncture. Conveyed that India will continue to be supportive of democracy, stability and economic recovery in Sri Lanka.”
Earlier, on Friday, Sri Lanka’s main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa announced that he will contest the Presidential elections.

Taking to Twitter, Sajith Premadasa wrote, “I am contesting to be the President. The electorate is confined to 225 MPs with the GR (Gotabaya Rajapaksa) coalition dominating the numbers. Even though it is an uphill struggle, I am convinced that truth will prevail.”

As the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned from office, in accordance with the Constitution, the Parliament will meet next week and take steps to elect a new President, read a special statement by acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

This comes as Sri Lanka faces its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court has issued an interim order that prevented former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa from leaving the country without the court’s permission until July 28.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday was sworn in as the interim President after Parliament Speaker Abeywardena accepted the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa submitted his resignation letter Thursday after arriving in Singapore, officially vacating the post of President. Parliament Speaker Abeywardena told ANI, “Yes, the resignation (of President) has been accepted, the legal process will follow… Members will be invited tomorrow (to elect a President).”

Rajapaksa who flew from the Maldives arrived in Singapore on board a Saudia Airlines flight on Thursday evening, media reports said. (ANI)

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chaired a meeting of leaders of political parties on Saturday to discuss the smooth functioning of the House in the monsoon session of Parliament.

The Speaker briefed the leaders on the preparations related to the session which begins on July 18.

Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK MP TR Balu, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP MP Arjun Ram Meghwal, YSRCP MP PV Mithunreddy, RLJP MP Pashupati Kumar Paras and other party MPs were among those present at the meeting called Speaker Om Birla.

The central government will seek to push several legislations during the monsoon session and its legislative agenda includes 24 bills for passage, sources said.

The first day of the monsoon session will see voting for the presidential election.

Some of the bills that are in the pending list include The Indian Antarctica Bill, 2022. The bill is pending in the Lok Sabha.

The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed by Lok Sabha and in the upcoming session, it is likely to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha.

The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 was passed by Lok Sabha and is yet to be passed by Rajya Sabha.

The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 is pending in Lok Sabha, The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019 and The National Anti-Doping Bill, 2021 are also pending in Lok Sabha.

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 (in respect of State of UP – amendment regarding change of district name to be approved by Cabinet) was introduced in Lok Sabha in March 2022.

The new bills to be newly introduced in the Parliament during the Monsoon session include The Central Universities Amendment Bill, 2022.

The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 is also a new bill and was sent for printing on Thursday.

The other bills on the government agenda include Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019, (in respect of State of Assam), The Mediation Bill, 2021 (with Standing Committee chaired by Shri Sushil Kumar Modi); The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (report of Standing Committee under examination) and the Registration of Marriage of Non-Resident Indian Bill, 2019 (report of Standing Committee under examination).

The monsoon session of parliament will conclude on August 12. (ANI)

The Delhi Police, which often finds innovative ways to raise awareness on various topics and spread informative messages through social media, on Saturday urged people to follow traffic rules with a creative twist.

They took to their official Twitter handle and shared a short meme clip targeted at people who jump red traffic lights and hence endanger others’ lives on the road.
The clip showed a speeding car running past a traffic light while it was red. After the car runs past, Kareena Kapoor Khan’s character, Poo, from her film ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ appears on top of the red light and mouths her iconic dialogue ‘Yeh kon hai jisne Poo ko dobara mud kar nahi dekha’.

Along with the clip, the Delhi Police department tweeted, “Who’s that traffic violator? Poo likes attention, so do the traffic lights! #RoadSafety #SaturdayVibes.”

Previously, on July 12, the Delhi Traffic Police had shared NASA’s deepest and sharpest infrared picture of the universe, next to an image of a person putting on a seatbelt. They captioned it, “Drive with a seatbelt on to avoid seeing the stars and the challan.”

Earlier, in May, Delhi Police on the occasion of Harry Potter Day, shared a meme featuring characters from J K Rowling’s fantasy series in order to urge people to follow Covid-19 protocols.

Using fun and viral ways, they have been educating people on different issues such as cybercrimes, safety of women and children, among several other important similar topics of public interest. (ANI)

One of the most loved Indian series on Netflix – ‘Masaba Masaba’ is now back! This time they’ve turned up the heat and how! The time for hot messes and puked-on dresses is over – the women are ready to don their bright prints, in the hopes of brighter futures! Fashionista Masaba recently shared the trailer video on her social media account.

She captioned the video, “She’s been a princess, she’s been a queen, now it’s time for her to be KING! #MasabaMasaba is back with a banging new season on 29th July on @netflix_in.”

The iconic mother-daughter duo – Neena and Masaba Gupta are back and decide that it’s time to turn their careers around. While Neena gears up to revive a popular show from her past, Masaba decides to leave the past behind and focus on the future- of her brand and herself. ‘House of Masaba’ is ready for a total rebrand. While she prepares for fashion world domination – life, as always, has other plans.

At the beginning of the trailer, the fashion designer is seen saying that she wants ‘to be the king’ and even tells her mom, Neena that she has decided that it is now going to be ‘no men, only work’ for her.

In the trailer, two good-looking men can be seen, Neil Bhoopalam returns as Dhairya Rana, Masaba’s investor-turned-love interest, In the trailer, Armaan Khera’s Fateh joins him in trying to win over Masaba’s love, playing her client, who flirts with her. Masaba is designing his wedding clothes.

Meanwhile, Neena is in lead this time and is looking for an actor, who can be cast opposite her. The show also stars Ram Kapoor. From the video clip, it seems that Neena and Ram have something more going on between them than just work.

During a scene, Masaba tells her mom to get her hormones checked as she was being ‘too thirsty’.

Masaba realises her life is one challenge after the other. Will she emerge victorious in the journey of striking a balance between work, love and life? Or will confusion, grief, anxiety and competition come in the way?

Ecstatic about season 2, Masaba Gupta said “It was so surreal to be filming Season 2, given the pandemic and all the things that have happened since season 1. It was special because this season has so many different tracks. It’s not just about my mom and I reclaiming our lives, it’s also about all these people around us coming into their own. Season 2 touched my heart in so many ways – it made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me feel warm on the inside and I hope it does exactly that to all the people who get to see this on Netflix on the 29th of July!”

‘Masaba Masaba’ is a semi-fictionalised show, which showcases the life of fashion designer and actor Neena Gupta’s daughter Masaba on screen, following her unique background, diverse worlds she straddles across fashion and family, and her foray back into the dating world.

Masaba Masaba Season 2 takes us through love, loss and lots of badassery as Masaba Gupta decides to listen to her “dil ki baat”. Directed by Sonam Nair and produced by Viniyard Films, Season 2 will also feature Neil Bhoopalam, Rytasha Rathore, Kusha Kapila, Kareema Barry, Barkha Singh, Ram Kapoor, and Armaan Khera. The series marks influencer Kusha Kapila’s second stint at acting, the first being Karan Johar’s ‘Ghost stories’.

The first season of ‘Masaba Masaba’ was released in August 2020. (ANI)

A high-level team despatched by the Centre to Kerala following the diagnosis of monkeypox infection in the state arrived in the capital Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.

The multidisciplinary team, which will take stock of the situation on the ground and recommend necessary interventions arrived at the Directorate of Health Services here today.
The team members include P Ravindran, Advisor to the Health Ministry, Sanket Kulkarni, Joint Director, National Centre for Disease Control among others.

The Central team was rushed to Kerala by the Union Health Ministry to collaborate with the state health authorities in instituting public health measures in view the confirmed case of monkeypox in the state’s Kollam district.

The central team is also likely to visit Kollam. “We will come comment here once we get instructions from the government. Yes we may go to Kollam,” said Advisor (Ministry of Health) P Raveendran.

The patient with monkeypox had arrived in Kerala from the UAE and tested positive for the viral disease on Thursday. He is currently in isolation undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Central team has experts drawn from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), RML Hospital, New Delhi and senior officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare along with experts from the Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare, Kerala.

The team shall work closely with the State Health Departments and take stock of the on-ground situation and recommend necessary public health interventions. The Centre is taking proactive steps by monitoring the situation carefully and coordinating with states in case of any such possibility of an outbreak occurs, said the Ministry of Health.

“No need to panic as the centre has given fresh directions to all the states and Union Territories regarding monkeypox. It spreads through close contact with lesions, body fluids, prolonged contact with Respiratory Droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding,” official sources told ANI.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said, “A Monkeypox positive case has been reported. He is a traveller from UAE. He reached the state on July 12. He reached Trivandrum airport and all the steps are being taken as per the guidelines issued by WHO and ICMR.”

Meanwhile, the central government on Thursday wrote a letter to all the states and union territories, reiterating some of the key actions that are required to contain the spread of the disease. Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan cited the letter sent by the ministry on May 31 in which it had issued a comprehensive ‘Guidelines for Management of Monkeypox Disease’

The health secretary asked all the states and union territories to take key actions like orientation and regular re-orientation of all key stakeholders including health screening teams at points of entries (PoEs), disease surveillance teams, doctors working in hospitals about common signs and symptoms, differential diagnosis, case definitions for s for suspect/probable/confirmed cases and contacts, contact tracing and other surveillance activities that need to be undertaken following the detection of a case, testing, IPC protocols, clinical management etc.

He further asked to screen and test all suspect cases at points of entries and in the community.

“Patient isolation (until all lesions have resolved and scabs have completely fallen off), protection of ulcers, symptomatic and supportive therapies, continued monitoring and timely treatment of complications remain the key measures to prevent mortality,” he said.

Bhushan said that the intensive risk communication directed at healthcare workers, identified sites in health facilities (such as skin, paediatric OPDs, immunization clinics, intervention sites identified by NACO etc.) as well as the general public about simple preventive strategies and the need for prompt reporting of cases needs to be undertaken.

The hospitals must be identified and adequate human resource and logistic support should be ensured at identified hospitals equipped to manage suspect/confirmed cases of Monkeypox.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

Monkeypox is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or with material contaminated with the virus. It is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting from two to four weeks, WHO said.

Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.

As reported by WHO, since January 1, 2022 and as of June 22, 2022, a total of 3,413 laboratory confirmed cases of Monkeypox and one death have been reported to WHO from 50 countries/territories.

The majority of these cases have been reported from the European Region (86 per cent) and the Americas (11 per cent). This points to a slow but sustained increase in the spread of cases globally. Considering this is the first time that cases and clusters are being reported concurrently in five WHO Regions, WHO has assessed the overall risk of spread of cases as “Moderate” at the global level. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Bundelkhand Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was also present on the occasion.

Earlier, the Prime Minister arrived at the Kanpur airport where he was received by the Chief Minister and other dignitaries.

The 296 km four-lane Expressway has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crore. The expressway would give a major boost to connectivity and industrial development in the region.

The Modi government has focused greatly on connectivity and infrastructure, officials said.

The budgetary allocation of Rs 1.99 lakh crore for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in Budget 2022-23 is the highest ever. This is a jump of over 550 per cent when compared to the allocation of about Rs. 30,300 crore in 2013-14.

In the last seven years, the length of National Highways in the country has gone up by more than 50 per cent from 91,287 km (as on April 2014) to around 1,41,000 km (as on December 31, 2021).

The foundation stone for the construction of the Bundelkhand Expressway was laid by the Prime Minister on February 29, 2020. The work on the Expressway has been completed within 28 months.

The 296 km, four-lane expressway has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crore, under the aegis of Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), and can later be expanded up to six lanes as well. (ANI)