Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Jammu and Kashmir for two days in September to give a headstart to the political activities of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the run up to the Assembly elections which are expected to be held after the updating of the electoral rolls are completed by November.

The home minister will address three rallies including two in the Jammu division and one in the Kashmir valley, reports said.

The rallies will be in addition to the official itinerary of the Home Minister which will include a security review of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The Home Minister is understood to have given his consent for the visit. Now, the dates and tour itinerary will be worked out by J&K unit of the BJP and Shah’s office. The dates are expected to be announced shortly,” a report carried by a regional newspaper Daily Excelsior said.

Shah is likely to spend one day each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions during the visit.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday tabled a confidence motion in the Delhi Assembly, saying it was meant to prove that ‘Operation Lotus’ could have been successful in other states but failed here as all AAP MLAs were “hardcore honest”.

Maintaining that the BJP’s ‘Operation Lotus’ to topple his government failed as it could not poach any of the AAP MLAs, Kejriwal alleged that the BJP will try to topple the Jharkhand government in the next 15 days.

He also accused the Centre of waiving loans of billionaires but not that of students and farmers. The present central government is the “most corrupt” one as they buy MLAs, he alleged.

Challenging the BJP to buy even one MLA of the AAP, Kejriwal said, “The confidence motion is to show that ‘Operation Lotus’ could have been successful in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states but failed here in Delhi. It is also to show that every AAP MLA is hardcore honest”.

Kejriwal further charged that the BJP toppled Manipur, Bihar, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra governments.

At some places they even paid Rs 50 crore, he alleged.
“You say that you are against corruption but you are buying MLAs. This is the most corrupt (central) government. You will face the curse of poor people. In 15 days, they will try to topple Jharkhand government and then petrol and diesel prices will go up,” Kejriwal said.

He said the next time when petrol diesel prices go up, people will understand where the money is going.

The BJP has accused Kejriwal of using the assembly for fanning political propaganda and indulging in drama to divert people’s attention from the liquor “scam” of his government.

The AAP has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, while the BJP has eight.

Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Karnataka government on pleas challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict refusing to lift the ban on hijab in educational institutions of the state.

A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia issued notice to the state on the pleas and posted them for hearing on September 5.

The bench pulled up some of the petitioners, who sought adjournment in the matter, and said it would not permit “this kind of forum shopping”.

Several petitions have been filed in the apex court against the Karnataka High Court verdict holding that wearing of hijab is not a part of the essential religious practice which can be protected under Article 25 of the Constitution.

The high court had dismissed the petitions filed by a section of Muslim students from the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi, seeking permission to wear hijab inside classroom.

Two-time Rajya Sabha member from Telangana M A Khan has resigned from the Congress citing various reasons, including absence of any efforts to revive the party from the grassroots level.

In a letter addressed to AICC president Sonia Gandhi, Khan alleged that the party lost its grassroots connections with the cadre and totally failed to convince the public that it can regain its past glory and lead the nation further.

He also said the voice raised by the senior leadership of Congress for the welfare and well-being of the party was seen as dissident activity by the top leaders.

If those leaders were taken into confidence by understanding their pain for the revival of the party, things would have been different, Khan pointed out.

Reacting to his resignation, AICC in-charge for Telangana Manickam Tagore in a tweet wondered how Khan can resign without even having membership in the party.

Khan served as Rajya Sabha member from 2008 to 2020.

“The advices of senior leaders were neglected and they were insulated, once you started to delegate the party responsibilities to your kith and kin. A coterie was encouraged at AICC and 10, Janpath level. As a result, the party lost its connection with the real Congress party cadres and leaders,” he alleged in the letter.

He further said the senior leaders are compelled to leave the party as there are no efforts being made by the top leadership to revive the party cadre from grassroots level and serve the nation with the commitment and dedication that it had shown from Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi.

“Without membership… How you can resign? This Rajya Sabha gang which never worked in the ground now making wrong statements. Another NPA goes… Let us build a congress under Rahul Gandhiji which is with the people and for the people and by the people,” Tagore said in his tweet on Khan’s resignation.

With 7,591 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,44,15,723, while the active cases declined to 84,931, according to the

Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
The death toll climbed to 5,27,799 with 30 new fatalities. Besides 15 deaths have been reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.19 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.62 per cent, the ministry said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.58 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 2.69 per cent, according to the ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,38,02,993, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 %.

According to the ministry, 211.91 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. It crossed the four-crore mark on January 25 this year.

The 30 new fatalities include five each from Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, three each from Mizoram and West Bengal, two from Kerala and one each from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha, Manipur, Haryana, Gujarat and Goa.

Goa Police have arrested one more drug peddler in connection with the case of alleged murder of BJP leader Sonali Phogat, an official said on Sunday.

With this, five people have so far been arrested in the case. Phogat (43), a former Tik Tok star and contestant on the reality TV show “Big Boss”, was brought dead to a hospital August 23, a day after arrival in Goa.

On Saturday night, the Anjuna police in North Goa district arrested drug peddler Rama alias Ramadas Mandrekar for allegedly supplying drugs to another peddler Dattaprasad Gaonkar, who is already in custody in connection with the case, the official said.

Gaonkar had allegedly supplied drugs to two other accused Sudhir Sagwan and Sukhwinder Singh, who accompanied Phogat on the Goa trip, police earlier said.

The Goa Police on Saturday said Phogat was given methamphetamine, a recreational drug, by her aides hours before her death.

Gaonkar had allegedly provided drugs to Phogat’s aides Sagwan and Singh who fed them to her, police earlier said.

Edwin Nunes, the other arrested man, is the owner of the Curlies restaurant in North Goa where Phogat and her aides had partied on the intervening night of August 22 and 23.

Sonali Phogat was administered methamphetamine, and some left-over drug was recovered from the restaurant’s washroom, Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi had said.

Sagwan and Sukhwinder Singh allegedly told police that they had procured drugs from Gaonkar who worked as a room boy at Hotel Grand Leoney Resort in Anjuna where they were staying.

While Singh and Sagwan are charged with murder, Nunes and Gaonkar are booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Videos of CCTV footage from the restaurant had emerged on social media on Saturday. In one video, Phogat is seen dancing with Sagwan and the latter is seen forcing her to drink water which she instantly spits out.

Another video showed Phogat being escorted out of the restaurant by the accused. She is seen staggering and almost falling near the staircase on her way out.

Phogat was brought dead to St Anthony Hospital at Anjuna in North Goa district on August 23 morning from the hotel where she was staying.

While doctors said Phogat had a heart attack, her brother alleged that Sagwan and Singh, who had arrived in Goa with her, had played a role in her death. A local court on Saturday remanded Sagwan and Singh in police custody for 10 days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to make efforts to remove malnutrition while stressing that social awareness was a crucial aspect of this fight.

In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi said the ‘Amrit Dhara’ of ‘Amrit Mahotsav’ marking 75 years of India’s independence was flowing in all corners of the country in this month.

“On the special occasion of Amrit Mahotsav and Independence Day, we have seen the collective might of the country,” he said.

Modi urged the people to join the campaign to fight malnutrition in the coming month.

“Besides festivals, September is also dedicated to a big campaign related to nutrition. We celebrate ‘Poshan maah’ or nutrition month between September 1 and 30,” Modi said.

Many creative and diverse efforts are being made against malnutrition, he noted.

“Better use of technology and public participation have also become an important part of ‘Poshan Abhiyan’.The Jal Jeevan mission is going to have a big impact in making India malnutrition free,” he said.

Efforts associated with social awareness play an important role in dealing with the challenges of malnutrition, Modi said and urged people to make efforts to remove malnutrition.

The prime minister also urged people to watch the Swaraj serial, which highlights contributions of freedom fighters, on Doordarshan.

“It is a great initiative to acquaint the younger generation of the country with the efforts of unsung heroes who took part in the freedom movement,” he said.

Veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad today resigned from the Congress party. In a scathing letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Azad said that “the party has lost both the will and the ability under the tutelage of the coterie that runs the AICC to fight for what is right for India.”

“It is therefore with great regret and an extremely leaden heart that I have decided to sever my half-a century-old association with the Indian National Congress,” wrote Azad in his resignation letter.

Azad blamed Rahul Gandhi for the current plight of Congress, saying the latter’s “childish behaviour”more than anything else, contributed significantly to the defeat of UPA in 2014.

“This all happened because the leadership in the past 08 years has tried to foist a non-serious individual at the helm of the party,” Azad wrote..

Significantly, Azad’s resignation comes days after Congress veteran Anand Sharma resigned from a key party position offered to him in the poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, citing ”exclusions and insults.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to be on a two-day visit to Gujarat, beginning August 27 during which he is expected to inaugurate and lay foundation stone for various developmental projects and attend various programmes.

On August 27 evening, the Prime Minister will address Khadi Utsav at Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad.

On August 28 morning, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate Smriti Van Memorial in Bhuj and thereafter, at around 12 noon, he will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate various developmental projects in Bhuj.

In the evening, the Prime Minister will address a programme in Gandhinagar, marking the commemoration of 40 years of Suzuki in India.

As part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, ‘Khadi Utsav’ is being organised to pay tribute to khadi and its importance during the freedom struggle. The Utsav will be organised at Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad and will witness 7, 500 women khadi artisans from various districts of Gujarat spinning charkha live at the same time and at the same place.

During the event, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the new office building of the Gujarat Rajya Khadi Gramodyog Board and a foot over bridge at Sabarmati.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that it has been a constant endeavour of the Prime Minister to popularise Khadi, generate awareness about Khadi products and promote the use of Khadi amongst youth.

“As a result of the efforts of the Prime Minister, since 2014, sale of Khadi in India has witnessed a four-fold increase, whereas in Gujarat, the sale of Khadi has witnessed a massive eight fold increase, ” the PMO said.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate the ‘Smriti Van Memorial’ in Bhuj district. It has been built in an area of around 470 acre to celebrate the spirit of resilience shown by the people after the death of around 13, 000 people who had lost their lives during the 2001 earthquake which had its epicentre in Bhuj. The Memorial carries names of the people who had lost their lives during the earthquake.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for projects worth around Rs 4, 400 crore in Bhuj.

Goa Police on Thursday said Haryana BJP leader and TikTok star Sonali Phogat’s body had ‘multiple blunt force injuries’, as per the postmortem report, and a murder case has been registered.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi told to Media that there are multiple blunt force injuries on the body. “We have registered the case against her personal assistant Sudhir Sangwan and his friend Sukhwinder Wasi, ” Dalvi said.

The autopsy was conducted on Thursday. The case has been registered on Thursday following a complaint by Rinku Dhaka — the brother of Sonali Phogat.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that DGP has been given full freedom to take decisions in this case.

“There is full freedom to the police department to take correct decisions, ” he said after the case was registered.

Sawant on Wednesday had said the Goa police is thoroughly investigating the death of Haryana BJP leader and actor Sonali Phogat, however, according to preliminary investigation, it looks like cause of death is cardiac arrest.

According to Goa police, Sonali Phogat felt uneasy on Monday night and later in the morning (on Tuesday), she was taken to St. Anthony hospital in Anjuna at around 8 a.m., where she was declared brought dead. She had come to Goa on August 22 and was staying at a hotel in Anjuna.