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New Delhi, Feb 25: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday told a meeting of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and party leaders that "professional assessment" is that the violence in north-east Delhi has been "spontaneous".

He also said adequate forces have been already deployed in affected areas even as he urged political parties to avoid provocative speeches and statements which could flare up the situation and desist from rumour-mongering. He also instructed Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to re-activate local peace committees. 

"Shah noted that the professional assessment is that the violence in the capital has been spontaneous. He expressed confidence in Delhi Police and said that the force has shown maximum restraint to get the situation under control," a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

However, on Monday, government sources had claimed that violence in the national capital "appeared to be orchestrated" to coincide with the high-profile visit. A PTI report from Hyderabad on Tuesday also quoted Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy as saying that the violence in Delhi has been perpetrated intentionally and the Narendra Modi government would not tolerate such incidents. 

While Shah said adequate forces have been deployed, there were also reports that the Delhi Police Commissioner told MHA top brass that it did not have adequate forces to control the violence that erupted in north-east Delhi. However, Delhi Police later tweeted that the Commissioner has denied that "no such information was given to MHA" and such reports were "totally baseless". 

Urging parties to avoid provocative speeches and statements which could flare up the situation, the statement said, Shah expressed confidence in Delhi Police and said that the force has shown maximum restraint to get the situation under control.

Appealing to all to maintain restraint and desist from rumour-mongering while instructing the Delhi Police Commissioner to re-activate local peace committees, Shah said Delhi's borders with Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have been under surveillance for the last three days. 

Shah also urged parties to ask their local leaders to hold meetings in sensitive areas and instructed senior police officers to visit vulnerable police stations at the earliest

New Delhi, Mar 29: The battle against coronavirus is a tough one and it required harsh decisions to keep India safe, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first Mann Ki Baat after the 21-day lockdown was imposed in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.
"The battle against COVID-19 is a tough one and it did require such harsh decisions. It is important to keep the people of India safe. A disease must be dealt with at the very beginning as delay makes it incurable," said Prime Minister Modi.
He said that as the coronavirus has put the entire world in lockdown, so "India is doing the same."
"It is a challenge before everyone, science and knowledge, poor and rich, powerful and weak. It is neither restricted to a nation nor region or particular weather. This virus is bent upon killing human beings, eliminating them. Hence all of us, the entire humanity, must unite and resolve to eliminate it," he added.
Addressing the 63rd edition of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister had sought forgiveness from all countrymen, and especially the poor, for the nationwide lockdown in the country in the view of the novel coronavirus.
During his address to the nation on March 24, the Prime Minister had announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the deadly virus. 

Mar 19: Amidst spiralling cases of COVID-19 in the country, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Thursday advocated "absorbing sunlight" as a possible precaution against coronavirus that has claimed over 8,000 lives globally.

Speaking to reporters outside parliament, Choubey said 10-15 minutes in the sun would build immunity as sunlight provides Vitamin D.

"From 11 am to 2 pm the sun is shining brightly. We should spend at least 10-15 minutes to absorb sunlight so that we get vitamin D which improves the immunity of our body and also kills such viruses. All should be aware of (this fact)," he said when asked about the spread of coronavirus.

COVID-19 cases in India climbed to 169 on Thursday after 18 fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, according to the Union health ministry.

The cases include 25 foreign nationals -- 17 from Italy, 3 from the Philippines, two from the UK, one each belonging to Canada, Indonesia and Singapore.

The figure also includes three deaths reported from Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra so far.

According to the World Health Organisation, the novel coronavirus has killed over 8,000 people globally and infected more than two lakh.