THE HEADLINES::
Gujarat court sentences Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in 2019 criminal defamation case
Stalemate continues in Parliament for eighth consecutive day over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Indian democracy and other issues.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar holds meeting with floor leaders of opposition parties to break logjam and ensure orderly functioning of Upper House.
Centre says, COVID-19 is far from over; Asks States to take measures for management of the pandemic.
India wins bronze medal in 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event at the ISSF World Cup Shooting Championship in Bhopal,
And, PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy to play their second round matches at Swiss Open Badminton tournament in Basel today.
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A Surat Court in Gujarat today convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his Modi surname remarks. The court also announced a 2-year jail term as quantum of punishment to him. However, Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma granted bail to Mr Gandhi and suspended the sentence for 30 days, to allow him to appeal in a higher court. The Congress leader was present in the court when the verdict was pronounced.
BJP MLA Purnesh Modi had filed the case against the Congress leader for his alleged remarks. Rahul Gandhi made the remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
As a result of the judgement, Rahul Gandhi might lose his membership as an MP and Wayanad Parliamentary constituency may witness a by-poll.
Reacting to the court order, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said whenever Rahul Gandhi says something, he invites embarrassment to the nation and his party.
The BJP has termed the remarks of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname as defamatory. Addressing media in New Delhi, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad the BJP respects criticism but Rahul Gandhi does not respect it. He alleged that it has now become the habit of Mr Gandhi to insult the country's armed forces, the Prime Minister and the BJP.
Stalemate in Parliament continued for the eight consecutive day today, over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Indian democracy and Adani Group issue. Amid continous disruption, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 PM.
In the Lok Sabha, when the House met this morning, opposition members started sloganeering over the Adani Group issue. Members from Congress, DMK and other parties trooped into the well. Some Congress MPs were demanding to allow Mr. Gandhi to speak. Treasury bench members also started sloganeering demanding apology from Rahul Gandhi. Speaker Om Birla said, he has not stopped anyone from speaking in the House. He said the country wants the Lok Sabha to function and discussion must take place on the issues related to public importance. As ruckus prevailed, Mr. Birla adjourned the House till 2 PM.
In the Rajya Sabha, when the House assembled for the day, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar disallowed the adjournment notices moved by opposition members on Adani Group issues.
Mr Dhankhar said, he had three meetings with the floor leaders of different political parties over the smooth functioning of the House urging the leaders to talk with themselves to find a way out.
Leader of the House, Piyush Goyal said, despite the Chairman’s efforts there is no reconciliation with the principal opposition party. He alleged that the nation is extremely concerned over the behaviour of its senior leader for his comments. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge reiterated opposition demand for JPC probe into Adani Group issue. As pandemonium continued, the House was adjourned till 2 PM.
Earlier, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha paid homage to freedom fighters Saradar Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on their martyrdom day. The Lok Sabha also made obituary references to the three former members who passed away recently.
Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar held a meeting with the floor leaders of different political parties to break the logjam and ensure orderly functioning of the Upper House. Leader of House Piyush Goyal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, Prof. Ramgopal Yadav from Samajwadi party, Elamaram Kareem of CPI(M), Tiruchi Siva of DMK, Sanjay Singh of Aam Adami Party, Sasmit Patra of BJD and others participated in the meeting. After the meeting, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, he had three meetings with the floor leaders of different political parties over the smooth functioning of the House. He urged the leaders to talk with themselves to find a way out.
Parliament is witnessing continuous disruptions since the start of the second part of the budget session. While the BJP is demanding an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on Indian democracy, the opposition parties are insisting on a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani Group matter.
Members of Opposition parties from both the Houses staged a protest in the Parliament House complex today. They were demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani Group matter. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sanjay Singh of Aam Aadmi Party, TR Baalu of DMK, Binoy Viswam of CPI, K Keshava Rao of BRS, MPs of JD(U), Samajwadi Party and others participated in the protest.
NEWS JUST IN;
Rajya Sabha has been adjourned for the day while Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 6 PM today.
BJP President JP Nadda has appointed new party State Chiefs in Rajasthan, Odisha, Delhi and Bihar. C P Joshi has been appointed as State President of Rajasthan, Manmohan Samal as Odisha's BJP unit State President, while Delhi BJP working President Virendra Sachdeva has been appointed as State Unit Chief. Samrat Choudhary who is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council has been made the new President of Bihar State Unit. He replaced Sanjay Jaiswal.
Union Health Ministry has cautioned the people that the threat of Covid -19 pandemic is not over. Addressing media in New Delhi about the Covid-19 situation in the country, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, in India, most of the cases are being reported from eight States with Maharashtra registering the highest 1650 Covid cases followed by Gujarat, Kerala and Karnataka. He said, a detailed advisory has been issued to the states regarding required measures to be taken up for the management of Covid-19. They have been asked to ensure availability of sufficient designated beds, Health workers and required drugs and logistics for Covid and Influenza.
The Health Secretary has informed that an average of 94 thousand cases of Covid-19 are being reported globally on a daily basis but in India, only 966 cases are being reported which accounts only one per cent of total cases globally. Mr Bhushan informed that currently the circulating variants of Covid-19 in the country are the variants of Omicron. However, he said, there is no evidence of increase in hospitalization and mortality in the country.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah today inaugurated the Vedic Heritage portal in New Delhi. The portal aims to communicate message enshrined in the Vedas. It will help common people to have a general understanding about the Vedas. The portal will be a one-stop solution for the user, who would like to search any information regarding the Vedic heritage.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy said, the audio visual recording of four vedas have been uploaded on the Vedic Heritage portal.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has sought the Centre's intervention in ensuring a harmonious coexistence of humans and elephants in Odisha. In separate letters to the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav today, Mr. Pradhan said that during the past decade Odisha has witnessed the loss of as many as 784 elephants. More from our correspondent:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit his parliamentary constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow. Apart from addressing the One World TB Summit, the Prime Minister will also dedicate and lay the foundation stone of various projects worth more than 1,780 crore rupees.
The Prime Minister paid tributes to the great freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru on the occasion of Shaheed Diwas today. In a tweet, Mr Narendra Modi said that India will always remember their sacrifice.
The Prime Minister also remembered Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia on his birth anniversary today. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, his government is working hard to fulfil his vision for a strong India.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also bowed to the great freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru and paid tributes to freedom fighter Ram Manohar Lohia.
Key benchmark indices erased gains to trade flat in afternoon trade amid volatility. The Sensex was down 26 points, to trade at 58,240. The Nifty was down 8 points to trade at 17,157 a short while ago.
In Shooting, Indian pair of Narmada Nithin Raju and Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil won bronze medal in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event of ISSF World Cup championship in Bhopal today. The Indian duo defeated China by 16-8 in the bronze medal match
In Badminton, ace Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy will play their second round matches at the Swiss Open tournment in Basel today.
In Men's Singles, Srikanth will be up against Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu in second round this evening. Prannoy will meet French player Christo Popov.
Another Indian Shuttler, Mithun Manjunath will lock horns with Chia Hao Lee of Chinese Taipei in the evening.
In Women's Singles, two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu will next face Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani tonight.
THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN
Gujarat court sentences Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in 2019 criminal defamation case.
Stalemate continues in Parliament for eighth consecutive day over Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Indian democracy and other issues; Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day while Lok Sabha adjourned till 6 PM.