COVID-19: India records highest single-day spike of 9,304 cases, 260 deaths

New Delhi, Jul 22: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi termed the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government as 'goonda raj' (rule by hooligans), hours after Ghaziabad-based journalist Vikram Joshi succumbed to bullet injury he received from a group of men, who had allegedly harassed the scribe's niece.

"Journalist Vikram Jashi was killed after he protested against the harassment against his niece. My condolence to the family. They promised Ram Raj, but gave Goondaraj," Gandhi tweeted.

"Is it the same Ram Rajya that BJP promised after it came to power? This is complete 'Goondaraj'. Neither journalist, nor those who protect the law are safe in UP, so how can the common man expect justice," tweeted his party colleague Randeep Surjewala.

Expressing his shock over the incident, party leader and lawyer Abhishek Singhvi said, "Shocking jungle raj in #Ghaziabad area with journalist #Joshi, already known as the complainant in #FIR, being shot on a scooter while with his daughters, struggling in a coma with a bullet in the skull! Thank God daughters not hit. Shocking, scary, disgusting lack of fear of law & order! #UP."

Ajay Kumar Lallu, Congress president in the state added, "The Ghaziabad incident has shocked the entire state. It's a tragic incident. Nobody is safe in Uttar Pradesh. If it is not jungle raj then what is. The government remains silent while criminals are becoming more active. While leaving home in the morning, people in the state worry whether they will be able to return in the evening or not."

In the meantime, the Station in-charge has been suspended and a departmental inquiry has been ordered after the journalist's family accused the police of inaction. A total of nine accused have been taken into the custody, while efforts are on to nab another accused.

The Retailers Association of India (RAI) has said that ad hoc lockdowns by state governments are impacting the businesses of already-stressed retailers, along with hurting the economic revival of the country.

In a statement, the body of the organised retail industry said that the long road to recovery for the Indian retail industry continues to meet stumbling blocks with numerous restrictions being imposed at the state and local levels.

"Total lockdowns in some places and limited operational hours and days in several others are creating setbacks for retailers as the already stressed retail businesses are getting further interrupted and in turn, dampening consumer sentiment," it said.

According to RAI, although the intentions are that of citizen safety and social distancing, the recent instances of local lockdowns and ad hoc restrictions being imposed in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are having a distressing impact on retail businesses.

Retailers are already facing huge setbacks in terms of payment of wages and rentals due to very low sales of about 40 per cent as compared to last year, thanks to the extended lockdown, it said.

Contesting the restrictions on operating hours, Sandeep Kataria, CEO, Bata India said: "Restricted shopping time can lead to unnecessary overcrowding of stores, which is unfavourable towards the personal safety of both store staff and customers. Longer operational hours will support recovery for retailers as well as help adhering to social distancing norms."

Arvind Mediratta, MD and CEO, METRO Cash & Carry India said that these lockdowns will create severe inconvenience for all citizens as they also bar operations of food and grocery retail and wholesale stores.

Such hastily-implemented decisions by states undermine investor confidence and would come in the way of making the country "aatmanirbhar" or self-reliant, he said.

Voicing the concerns of retailers, the RAI has submitted representations to various state and local authorities that puts forth recommendations to get businesses and life of consumers on the track to recovery.

It has said that authorities should mandatorily allow essential shops including kiranas, general trade shops, supermarkets, hypermarkets and wholesalers to operate every day of the week until 9 p.m. to cater to the daily needs of the customers.

It has also sought ensuring uniform and regular opening of all categories of retail for full working hours while following stringent hygiene practices and adhering to social distancing norms. This will help avoid overcrowding outside stores as demand will get distributed over all days of the week, it said.

The industry body has also asked the local authorities to open malls in all states. Malls can ensure a safe shopping experience wherein safety measures are taken by both, the mall authorities and the retailers, it said.

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI, said: "The need of the hour is concerted efforts by all stakeholders. While retailers are doing their bit by following stringent hygiene practices, the policymakers too need to support to ensure economic revival across the country. Consumption is important for the country and supports the business environment."

May 29: Over 45,000 stranded Indians were brought back home from abroad under the Vande Bharat mission and another 1,00,000 will be evacuated till June 13, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

The mega evacuation mission was launched on May 7.

MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the government is also assisting return of stranded Indians from remote locations in Latin America and Caribbean, Africa, and parts of Europe.

"This is being done by taking advantage of foreign carriers flying to India primarily for evacuation of their nationals," he said during an online media briefing.

He said a total of 45,216 Indians were brought back till Thursday afternoon and they include 8,069 migrant workers, 7,656 students and 5,107 professionals.

About 5,000 Indians have returned through land border from Nepal and Bangladesh.

In the first phase of the mission from May 7 to 15, the government evacuated around 15,000 people from 12 countries. The second phase of the evacuation mission was scheduled from May 17 to 22. However, the government has extended it till June 13.

Srivastava said a total of 3,08,200 people have registered their request with Indian missions abroad for repatriation to India on compelling grounds.

"During the phase two, a total of 429 Air India flights (311 international flights + 118 feeder flights) from 60 countries are scheduled to land in India. The Indian Navy will be making four more sorties to bring back returnees from Iran, Sri Lanka and the Maldives," Srivastava said.

The MEA spokesperson said the government is targeting to bring back 1,00,000 people from 60 countries by the end of phase two of the Vande Bharat mission.

"Preparations for third phase of Vande Bharat Mission are well underway," he said.

As per the government's policy for evacuation, Indians having "compelling reasons" to return like pregnant women, elderly people, students and those facing the prospect of deportation are being brought back home.