AAP completes 100 days in office

May 24, 2015

New Delhi, May 24: The AAP-led Delhi government today completed 100 days in office, a period marked by its ongoing bitter tussle with the Lt Governor, a split in the party and implementation of a slew of its electoral promises, including slashing power tariff by 50 per cent and providing free water of up to 20,000 litres per month.

AAP 100The government also relaunched the '1031' anti-corruption helpline, where people can lodge complaints against officials, to weed out graft and achieve its stated objective of making Delhi the country's first graft-free state.

The government has planned a mega event at Central Park here in the heart of the national capital tomorrow where the entire Delhi Cabinet will be present to highlight its achievements before the public.

The Arvind Kejriwal government has also initiated the process of regularising unauthorised colonies while it banned demolition of jhuggis immediately after assuming office and held a series of special camps to provide licences to e-rickshaws.

A new body, Delhi Dialogue Commission, was created to implement the government's 70-point development agenda whereas 21 MLAs were appointed as Parliamentary Secretaries to assist in matters of governance.

Its bid to reach out to the rural constituency suffered a serious setback in the form of an alleged suicide of a farmer at a party rally days after it announced relief of Rs 20,000 per acre for rain and hailstorm hit farmers in Delhi.

On the administrative front, Kejriwal had to settle for KK Sharma as the Chief Secretary as the Centre overruled his choice of Ramesh Negi.

A major conflict broke out as the Lt Governor Najeeb Jung appointed Shakuntala Gamlin as the acting Chief Secretary when Sharma went on a 10-day leave.

As Kejriwal questioned the LG's authority and accused him of trying to take over the administration, the Union Home Ministry came out with a notification throwing its weight behind Jung.

The chances of the confrontation ebbing away looks a distant possibility as the two sides have raised the stakes in the power tussle with the Delhi government mulling to take the legal route.

The AAP government has also decided to call a two-day 'emergency' session of Delhi Assembly from Tuesday to deliberate on the notification.

The comment by the Chief Minister, who has repeatedly alleged "conspiracies" against the government, that there should be a "public trial" of the media evoked sharp criticism.

Later, the government also issued a circular on filing of defamation cases against media houses for publishing or broadcasting news that damages the reputation of the Chief Minister, the council of ministers or the government. The circular was stayed by Supreme Court.

In February, the AAP government had announced a 50 per cent subsidy on monthly power consumption of up to 400 units and 20,000 litres of free water per month to all households which would cost the exchequer around Rs 1,670 crore annually.

The free water scheme and power subsidy came into effect from March 1.

The ruling AAP on multiple occasions locked horns with the police, accusing it of creating problems towards smooth functioning of the government, which reached its flashpoint when they got entangled in a tussle over the issue of statutory powers of a District Magistrate who was asked to probe the alleged suicide of farmer Gajendra Singh.

Delhi Police had written to the district magistrate saying he had no jurisdiction in the matter as it was the subject matter of an FIR filed under various sections of IPC, including abetment of suicide.

The period also saw Kejriwal loyalists having an ugly spat with dissident leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan. The duo were expelled from the party last month.

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News Network
June 20,2020

New Delhi, Jun 20: A rare celestial event, annular solar eclipse, which is popularly known as the "ring of fire" eclipse, will be visible this Sunday in India.

It will be the first solar eclipse of this year takes place on the summer solstice, which is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere.

While people living along the path annular eclipse passing through Anupgarh, Suratgarh, Sirsa, Jakhal, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Dehradun, Tapowan and Joshimath will be able to see the annular phase, people in rest of India can witness a partial eclipse, said the Ministry of Science and Technology.

When Moon comes between the Sun and Earth, the shadow falls on the surface of the Earth. The Sun is entirely covered by the Moon for a brief period. Those places that are engulfed by the dark, dense umbral shadow of the Moon experience the total solar eclipse. In the regions that plunge into the soft diffused penumbral shadow of the Moon experience the partial eclipse.

"Annular solar eclipse is a particular case of the total solar eclipse. Like the total solar eclipse, the Moon is aligned with the Sun. However, on that day, the apparent size of the Moon happens to be a wee smaller than the Sun. Hence the Moon covers the central part of the Sun, and the rim of the Sun appear like a 'ring of fire' in the sky for a very brief moment" explains Samir Dhurde of The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune.

During the solar eclipse, the apparent size of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun by 1 per cent, the expert said.

Allying rumours that the eclipse will mark the end of coronavirus, Aniket Sule, Chairperson, Public Outreach and Education Committee of the Astronomical Society of India, said: "Solar eclipse is caused when the Moon comes in front of the Sun for a short time. As seen from Earth eclipses occur somewhere in the Earth 2 to 5 times a year. Eclipses do not impact microorganisms on Earth. Likewise there no danger in eating of stepping out during an eclipse. No mysterious rays come out of the Sun during an eclipse."

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: India's COVID-19 tally on Saturday witnessed its highest-ever spike of 11,458 cases, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

A total of 386 deaths have been reported due to the infection during the last 24 hours.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 3,08,993 including 1,45,779 active cases 1,54,330 cured/discharged/migrated and 8,884 deaths.

COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra continue to soar with the number reaching 101141. Tamil Nadu's coronavirus count stands at 40,698 while cases in Delhi reached 36,824.

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February 24,2020

New Delhi, Feb 24: The shared values between India and the US are "discrimination, bigotry, and hostility towards refugees and asylum seekers", Amnesty International USA said in a joint statement with Amnesty International India ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to India on Monday.

Trump, accompanied by his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as senior officials of his administration, landed in Ahmedabad on the first leg of his two-day visit to India.

"Anti-Muslim sentiment permeates the policies of both U.S. and Indian leaders. For decades, the U.S.-India relationship was anchored by claims of shared values of human rights and human dignity. Now, those shared values are discrimination, bigotry, and hostility towards refugees and asylum seekers,” Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA’s executive director, was quoted as saying in the statement.

It was a reference to the anti-CAA protests in India, the internet lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir and the Muslim ban expansion by President Trump affecting Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Tanzania, the statement said.

It added that Amnesty International USA’s researchers travelled to Lebanon and Jordan to conduct nearly 50 interviews with refugees that as a result of the previous version of the ban have been stranded in countries where they face restrictive policies, increasingly hostile environments, and lack the same rights as permanent residents or citizens.

The statement also came down hard on the Indian government, hitting out at the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) 2019 and saying it legitimises discrimination based on religious grounds.

It criticised statements such as “identify them (the protestors) by their clothes” or “shoot the traitors” by Prime Minister Modi and his party workers. Such remarks "peddled the narrative of fear and division that has fuelled further violence", it said.

“The internet and political lockdown in Kashmir has lasted for months and the enactment of CAA and the crackdown on protests has shown a leadership that is lacking empathy and a willingness to engage. We call on President Trump and Prime Minister Modi to work with the international community and address our concerns in their bilateral conversations,” Avinash Kumar, executive director, Amnesty International India said in the statement.

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