Another bridge collapses in West Bengal

New Delhi, Feb 16: Despite the fact that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) managed to clean sweep in the recently-concluded 2020 Delhi Assembly polls with eight women candidates winning, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's new cabinet does not have a single woman.

This, even as eight AAP women candidates -- Atishi Marlena, Rakhi Birla, Raj Kumari Dhillon, Preeti Tomar, Dhanwati Chandela, Parmila Tokas, Bhavna Gaur and Bandana Kumari emerged victorious in the 2020 Assembly polls.

Also, AAP's poll campaign had put the spotlight on women's issues- free bus rides for women, safety etc.

This year, AAP had fielded nine female candidates out of which only woman candidate Sarita Singh from Rohtas Nagar suffered defeat. In 2015, the party had fielded six women candidates, all of whom won the election.

Atishi Marlena, who won the election from Kalkaji, has served as a key advisor to the AAP leader Manish Sisodia primarily on education policies that transformed public school education in the capital.

Just like Marlena, incumbent MLA Rakhi Birla from Mangolpuri constituency has also failed to comeback to the Cabinet in this term even after bagging over 74,100 votes, with a margin of over 30,000 votes and 58 per cent of the vote share.

She was charged with the Cabinet Ministry of Women and Child, Social Welfare and Languages, for a few months in AAP's first term from 2013 to 2014. During this, period she came to the spotlight as she became the youngest ever cabinet minister of Delhi at the age of 26 and was even called "giant killer" for defeating four-time Congress MLA Raj Kumar Chouhan in 2013 Delhi polls.

Another candidate of AAP, Raj Kumari Dhillon swept Hari Nagar against BJP's Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga by a margin of over 20,100 votes.

Apart from these three, Preeti Tomar (Tri Nagar), Dhanwati Chandela (Rajouri Nagar), Pramila Tokas (RK Puram), Bhavna Gaur (Palam), and Bandana Kumari (Shalimar Bagh)- the other five who won for AAP- do not figure in the new cabinet.

Today at Ramlila Maidan, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Delhi.

Besides him, Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Imran Hussain, and Rajendra Gautamas took oath as the ministers in Delhi.

AAP achieved a landslide victory in the Assembly elections with a clear majority of 62 seats out of 70. 

New Delhi, Jun 19: Petrol price on Friday was hiked by 56 paise per litre and diesel by 63 paise a litre, taking the cumulative increase in rates to Rs 7.11 and Rs 7.67 per litre respectively in less than two weeks.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 78.37 per litre from Rs 77.81, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 77.06 a litre from Rs 76.43, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.

This is the 13th daily increase in rates in a row since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision.

In 13 hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 7.11 per litre and diesel by Rs 7.67 a litre.

The freeze in rates was imposed in mid-March soon after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel to shore up additional finances.

Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers adjusted them against the fall in the retail rates that was warranted because of fall in international oil prices to two decade low.

International oil prices have since rebounded and oil firms are now adjusting retail rates in line with them.