Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said no one can force the ration card holders to buy the national flag along with the ration.

“No person will be denied of any services even if he does not wish to buy the national flag. Under the Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan, people can voluntarily buy the national flag, ” said the Chief Minister in a statement.

Taking cognizance of the complaint regarding a ration depot holder in Karnal forcing people to buy the Tricolour, the Chief Minister directed the officials concerned to spread mass awareness about this campaign.

If any organisation wants to help the state government in this campaign, then they can contact the Deputy Commissioner in their respective district.

Meanwhile, the District Food and Supplies Controller has initiated an action against erring depot holder Dinesh Kumar in Hemda village.The monthly supply of ration of the depot holder has also been suspended.

Describing the media as 4th pillar of the democracy, Information and Public Relations Minister Aman Arora, on Thursday, directed the department officials to build a strong relations with media and look forward with positive attitude to ensure maximum coverage of citizens centric flagship schemes to reach the remotest corner of the state.

Chairing the fortnightly review meeting with PROs and APROs deputed at headquarters at Punjab Bhawan here, Aman Arora asked the officials to publicise the public welfare schemes and important decisions being implemented by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government.

“Since the Public Relations Department acts as a bridge between the public and government, our aim should be to make connect with maximum people at the grassroot level through various media platforms, ” he said.

Asking to tap the immense potential of social media for dissemination of information, Aman Arora said that the PR department should also keep the information about all the public welfare and flagship schemes handy to make the people aware about the new initiatives and efforts being made by the state government.

India on Friday reported a marginal rise in Covid cases with 16,561 fresh infections reported in the past 24 hours against previous day’s 16, 299 count, as per Union Health Ministry data.

In the same period, 49 more Covid deaths took the nationwide death toll to 5,26,928.

Meanwhile, the active caseload has marginally declined to 1,23,535 cases, accounting for 0.28 % of the total positive cases.

The recovery of 18,053 patients in the last 24 hours took the cumulative tally to 4,35,73, 094. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.53 %.

Meanwhile, the Daily Positivity rate has also risen to 5.44 per cent, while the Weekly Positivity Rate currently stands at 4.88 %.

Also in the same period, a total of 3,04,189 tests were conducted across the country, increasing the overall tally to over 87.95 crore.

As of this morning, the Covid-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 207.47 crore, achieved via 2,75,59,030 sessions.

Over 3.96 crore adolescents have been administered with a first dose of Covid-19 jab since the beginning of vaccination drive for this age bracket.

Nalini, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, has moved the apex court challenging the Madras High Court order, which dismissed her plea saying that it cannot exercise powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to pass a similar order, which was passed by the apex court to release another accused, A.G. Perarivalan, in the case. “The directions sought by the petitioner cannot be given by the court, as it otherwise does not have power similar to what the apex court has under Article 142 of the Constitution of India. For the foregoing reasons, the writ petition is dismissed as not maintainable”, said the high court in an order passed on June 17.

On May 18, the Supreme Court invoked its extraordinary powers to do complete justice under Article 142 of the Constitution, as it ordered the release of A.G. Perarivalan, sentenced to life in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

A bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao (retired now), B. R. Gavai, and A. S. Bopanna said: “in the exceptional facts and circumstances of this case, in exercise of our power under Article 142 of the Constitution, we direct that the Appellant is deemed to have served the sentence in connection with crimea.. The Appellant, who is on bail, is set at liberty forthwith”. Perarivalan is currently on bail. His death sentence was commuted to life sentence and terrorism charges were withdrawn.

The top court took into account Perarivalan’s prolonged period of incarceration, his satisfactory conduct in jail as well as during parole, chronic ailments from his medical records, his educational qualifications acquired during incarceration and the pendency of his petition under Article 161 for two and a half years after the recommendation of the state cabinet. The top court judgment came on Perarivalan’s remission plea.

Former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was on Thursday sworn in as the 14th Vice President of India.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to Dhankhar (71) in a brief ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Jagdeep Dhankhar took the oath in Hindi in the name of god.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dhankhar’s predecessor M Venkaiah Naidu were among the dignitaries present at the ceremony.

With COVID cases and the positivity rate rising in Delhi, the district officials have started forming teams to strictly enforce the mask mandate and issue a fine of Rs 500 to violators, officials said.

The district magistrates have been instructed to ensure that the laxity that had set in due to reduction in cases is corrected and wearing masks in public places is strictly enforced, a senior Revenue department officer said.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority(DDMA) has noted that the positivity rate of COVID-19 infection has increased in Delhi over the past fortnight, according to an order issued by the South Delhi district.

“The DDMA after examining all the relevant facts related to the issue of penal provisions for not adhering to covid protocol of wearing of mask at public places, decided that, in relation to the clause 3(h)(c) whereby not wearing of face mask/cover in all public places has been made an offence, a fine of Rs 500 for not wearing of face mask/cover in all public places in Delhi will be imposed,” the order said.

The fine will not be applicable to persons travelling together in private four-wheelers, it said.

The South Delhi district magistrate has formed three teams for enforcement of wearing face masks in public places.
The teams will work under the supervision of tehsildars from the concerned sub-divisions who will monitor the enforcement exercise and report on a daily basis the number of challans issued to the Coordination Branch of the district, it said.

Each team will comprise 15 civil defence volunteers besides the district officials to visit public places such as markets.
Strict compliance of COVID protocol will be enforced in view of the spike in infections, said South East district magistrate Isha Khosla.

We will ensure that Covid-appropriate behaviour is followed at crowded places such as markets, which are attracting more crowds due to festivals, she said.

Enforcement teams are being formed and their number will be increased if needed. The number of teams in the sub divisions depends on need at the ground, it is 4-5 at present, she added.

Delhi on Wednesday reported eight deaths due to coronavirus the highest in nearly 180 days, according to data shared by the health department here. The city on Wednesday reported 2,146 new COVID cases with a positivity rate of 17.83 per cent.

On Tuesday, Delhi had reported 2,495 new coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 15.41 per cent and seven fatalities.
On Saturday, Delhi recorded 2,311 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 13.84 per cent and one fatality.

There were 1,372 cases and six deaths on Sunday, as the case positivity rate rose to 17.85 per cent the highest since January 21, it said.

The number of fresh cases has been above 2,000 in the past one week. It was 2,419 on Friday, 2,202 on Thursday, and 2,073 on Wednesday.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Delhi stands at 8,205, down from 8,506 the previous day. As many as 5,549 patients are in home isolation, the bulletin said.
Earlier this week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the government was keeping a close watch on the situation and would take all the steps needed.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said she has tested positive for Covid again and would be isolating at home while following all protocols.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has cancelled his visit to Rajasthan as a precautionary measure after Priyanka Gandhi and some other party leaders tested positive for Covid, sources said.

Rahul Gandhi was to address a training programme of Congress workers at Tijara in Rajasthan’s Alwar district on Wednesday.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had also tested positive for COVID-19 in June last year.

“Tested positive for covid (again!) today. Will be isolating at home and following all protocols,” she said in a tweet.

Several Congress leaders have contracted Covid such as communications department head Pawan Khera and party MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Party chief Sonia Gandhi had also tested positive for Covid in early June this year.

On Tuesday evening, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge also said he has tested positive for Covid.

“I have tested positive for #COVID19. I request those who came in contact with me recently to take care,” Kharge tweeted.

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was on Wednesday appointed as the 49th Chief Justice of India after President Droupadi Murmu signed his warrant of appointment.

He will assume charge on August 27 after incumbent N V Ramana demits office the day before.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, judge of the Supreme Court, to be the Chief Justice of India with effect from 27 August, 2022,” a law ministry notification said.

Justice Lalit will have a brief tenure of less than three months. He will turn 65 on November 8 when he demits office.

JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar chief minister for the eighth time in a ceremony at Raj Bhawan.
RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav was administered the oath of office as deputy chief minister.

The no-frills ceremony comes a day after Kumar snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the RJD to form a Mahagathbandhan’ government.