Assembly elections | Turnout dips in Uttarkhand, Goa
Peaceful voting with “proper COVID protocols” was held in 165 Assembly constituencies of Goa, Uttarakhand and phase two of Uttar Pradesh elections, the Election Commission said on Monday. Voter turnout in the 55 Assembly constituencies of second phase of the U.P. polls was 60.44% as of 5 p.m., the EC said. In Goa, the single-phase polling for the 40-seat Assembly saw a voter turnout of 78.94 %, excluding the postal ballots, according to election authorities.
Cryptocurrencies akin to Ponzi schemes, says RBI Deputy Governor
Cryptocurrencies are akin to Ponzi schemes or even worse and banning these is the most sensible option for India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor said on Monday. “We have also seen that cryptocurrencies are not amenable to definition as a currency, asset or commodity; they have no underlying cash flows, they have no intrinsic value; that they are akin to Ponzi schemes, and may be even be worse,” T. Rabi Sankar said in a speech.
India driving force of Quad, says White House
India is a driving force of the Quad and an engine for regional growth, said the White House, days after Foreign Ministers of the countries, which are part of the grouping, met in Melbourne.
At 7-month high, retail inflation shot past 6% in January
India’s retail inflation accelerated past the 6% mark in January to hit 6.01%, breaching the central bank’s tolerance threshold for consumer price inflation for the first time since June 2021. Retail inflation was 5.66% in December 2021. Rural India bore the brunt of the inflation spike as per official data, with the pace of price rise touching 6.12% from 5.36% in December. Inflation in urban India was virtually unchanged at 5.91% in January, from 5.90% a month earlier. The Consumer Food Price Index spiked significantly from 4.05% in December to 5.43% in January, with rural India reporting a sharper rise.
Congress running State governments through remote control: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hit out at the Congress party, accusing their central leadership — which he said was controlled by one family — of subverting the Constitution by running State governments through “remote control”. “Their [Congress] leaders had themselves admitted that they used to run State governments by remote control,” said Mr. Modi, addressing a rally in Jalandhar in the run-up to the Assembly election.
Sonia, Rahul Gandhi and Jairam Ramesh among Congress’s star campaigners for Manipur elections
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former chief Rahul Gandhi and Jairam Ramesh are among the 30 star campaigners for the Manipur assembly elections, according to the list released by the party on Monday. The two-phased assembly election in Manipur will be held on February 28 and March 5.
Farooq Abdullah illegally detained, says NC
The National Conference (NC) on Monday accused the Jammu and Kashmir administration of illegally detaining the party president and member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar. “The NC strongly condemns the illegal detention of Srinagar MP and party president Dr. Farooq Abdullah. There is no justification for such arbitrary, illegal and frequent detention of the party leadership,” a NC spokesman said. Party sources said Dr. Abdullah was scheduled to travel to Jammu by road. However, the authorities told him he cannot proceed to Jammu. The Jammu and Kashmir government did not react to the NC allegation till late Monday evening.
Order on EWS criteria will apply for ‘22-23 NEET admissions also: SC
The Supreme Court on Monday said whatever it decides on the criteria to identify Economically Weaker Section (EWS) for granting benefits of reservation will apply in NEET-PG 2022-23 admissions as well. “We have not stalled the process of determining the EWS criteria for next academic year. We have said EWS quota will be as per our order. We have kept the matter in March for disposal. The process cannot stop. Whatever we will decide will apply,” a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud addressed the petitioners.
SC asks Centre to scout State laws for clauses unfriendly to home buyers
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to go through local laws of States with a fine-toothed comb to detect clauses which may harm home buyers’ rights in rules framed under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act. A Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud asked the Housing Ministry to closely go through the State laws notified in pursuance of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) General Rules and the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Agreement for Sale Rules.
‘Is this democracy and secularism’, asks Modi citing Trinamool MP’s remarks
Campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appealed to the Election Commission (EC) and voters in the State to take note of Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra’s reported comments in a media interview that the ruling party of West Bengal had allied with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) in Goa to prevent consolidation of Hindu votes. Mr. Modi urged voters to “bury this type of politics” and asked if this “bhed bhav” and “this language” belonged to a democracy.
NHA to integrate databases of welfare schemes to boost PM-JAY coverage
The Union Health Ministry on Monday said the National Health Authority (NHA) is working to integrate the database of Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 beneficiaries with the National Food Security Act (NFSA) portal so that beneficiaries can seek information regarding their entitlements under the AB PM-JAY using their ration card number.
Trinamool countinues to sweep West Bengal municipal polls
Continuing its winning streak in the local body elections, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday won four more municipal corporations — Biddhanagar, Asansol, Chandernagore and Siliguri — that went to polls last week. The West Bengal ruling party won the four urban local bodies with a convincing majority, sweeping close to 90% of the wards. Of the 226 wards across the four municipal corporations, the TMC won 198. The outcome of the polls to the municipal corporation across the State was similar to the results of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation held in December 2021, when TMC won 134 of the 144 wards.
BJP urges EC to bar Sidhu from campaigning
The BJP on Monday urged the Election Commission to ban Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu from campaigning in the Assembly polls and register a criminal case against him and his party, alleging that he was promoting hatred and division in society with his comments. A BJP delegation, including Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, met the EC with a memorandum and claimed that Mr. Sidhu had insulted Brahmins with a “derogatory” reference to divide the Punjabis.
The BJP on Monday urged the Election Commission to ban Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu from campaigning in the Assembly polls and register a criminal case against him and his party, alleging that he was promoting hatred and division in society with his comments. A BJP delegation, including Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, met the EC with a memorandum and claimed that Mr. Sidhu had insulted Brahmins with a “derogatory” reference to divide the Punjabis.
SC likens medical college case to ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’ movie, flags deficiencies
The Supreme Court on Monday came across a Bollywood movie ‘ Munna Bhai MBBS‘ moment while dealing with a case of cancellation of permission for admission of additional students in a medical college, owing to surprise inspection that found that patients in the wards were “hale and hearty” and “no serious in-patient was found in paediatric ward”. The National Medical Commission (NMC) told the top court that permission for admission of additional students was cancelled as there were no operation theatres and no X-RAY machines in the college besides other deficiencies.
Kanpur had ‘tamancha’ factories under previous govt.: Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday targeted the Samajwadi Party, saying that during its rule there were illegal country-made pistol ( tamancha) factories in Kanpur but his BJP dispensation is establishing a defence corridor. Addressing an election meeting here, he said, “Under the previous government, there were factories of tamancha in Kanpur. Their name is Samajwadi’, work is tamanchawadi and thinking is pariwarvadi.
Canada PM Trudeau invokes emergency powers to tackle truckers protests
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said the government had invoked rarely used special measures allowing him to tackle protests that have shut some border crossings and paralyzed downtown Ottawa. “The blockades are harming our economy and endangering public safety,” Mr. Trudeau told a press conference. “We cannot and will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue.” Mr. Trudeau ruled out using the military and said on Monday that the emergency measures “will be time-limited, geographically targeted, as well as reasonable and proportionate to the threats they are meant to address.”
German Chancellor in Ukraine as fears of Russian invasion grow
More NATO troops headed to Eastern Europe and some nations worked to move their citizens and diplomats out of Ukraine on Monday, as Germany’s Chancellor made a last-ditch attempt to head off a feared Russian invasion that some warn could be just days away. With the world already on high alert, U.K. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said a Russian attack could “effectively now happen with no notice.” That follows a warning from U.S. officials that an invasion could come this week — leading to a flurry of diplomacy but also deterrence measures.
