Oh My Gau Mata! Modi govt withdraws ban on sale of cattle for slaughter

New Delhi, Jun 25: The Central government submitted before the Supreme Court on Thursday that the remaining class 10 and 12 CBSE exams, which were earlier rescheduled to be held between July 1 to July 15 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, have been cancelled.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), informed a three-judge bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar that the remaining class 10 and 12 CBSE exams scheduled to be held in July have been cancelled.

Delhi, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu have conveyed their inability to conduct the examinations, Mehta said.

The bench asked whether class 12 students were being given the option to either get marks on the internal assessment basis or appear for an exam later, to which the Mehta responded in the affirmative.

CBSE exams for class 10 students stand cancelled, Mehta said and added that they don't have to give any examinations. Mehta further submitted that as soon as conditions are conducive, CBSE exams for class 12 students, who opt for it, will be conducted.

The apex court was hearing a petition, filed by advocate Rishi Malhotra, seeking directions to cancel the remaining CBSE exams in view of the health risk of coronavirus infection. The apex court was also hearing a similar petition regarding the ICSE exams.

Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), through its counsel Jaideep Gupta, also informed the court that it will also cancel the class 10 and 12 board exams. However, it submitted that it does not agree to give the option to students to give the exam later.

May 1: India on Thursday called as "propaganda" certain social media posts from the Arab world alleging harassment of Muslims in several parts of the country in the name of containing the spread of coronavirus.

Strongly rebutting the charges, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the Gulf countries are deeply committed to friendly relations with India and they are even seeking bilateral talks on the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

Talking about India's close and traditional ties with the Arab countries, he said New Delhi is ensuring uninterrupted supply of food and essential commodities to the region during Ramzan as part of its deep-rooted friendship.

Srivastava said the countries in the region do not support any interference in India's internal affairs.

"Much of what you see is propaganda by interested parties. Stray tweets can not be used to characterise our bilateral ties with these countries. The real picture of these relations is very much different," he said during an online media briefing.

There has been a wave of angry reactions on Twitter by leading citizens and rights activists from various Arab countries following allegations that Muslims are being blamed for spreading COVID-19 in several parts of India.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a powerful bloc of 57 countries, recently accused India of "Islamophobia". India rejected the charges as regrettable.

"We have been making special efforts to ensure uninterrupted supply of food and essential commodities which are required during the Ramzan period in these countries, and this is something which has been greatly appreciated. These countries also want a priority discussion with India on the post-COVID-19 economic recovery," Srivastava said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have been in regular touch with their counterparts from the region in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

"In these discussions, there have been requests for sending medicines and medical teams to these countries. We already deployed a Rapid Response Team in Kuwait. There is also a request to send doctors and nurses from India," said Srivastava.

"What comes out clearly is that these countries are deeply committed to friendly relations with India. They also do not support any interference in internal matters of India. It is, therefore, important that the friendly and cooperative nature of our relations is accurately recognised and the misuse of social media is not given credence," he added.

Asked about reports of an order issued by Oman's Finance Ministry asking all state-owned companies to replace foreign workers with qualified local Omanis, Srivastava said it is not aimed at Indians working in the Gulf nation.

"The policy is a decades-old one and not specific to India. It does not target the Indians in any way," he said.

There have been apprehensions that the order will render thousands of Indians working in state-run firms in Oman jobless.

"They greatly value relationship with India. Government of Oman is taking special care of Indians which included free testing for coronavirus, its treatment, providing food," the MEA spokesperson said.

Oman government is also extending certain categories of visas of Indians.

Srivastava said India has been in touch with its friends and partners across the world as part of the collaborative approach to dealing with the pandemic.

Dirbrugarh, Feb 4: Three persons, including two BJP activists, have been arrested for allegedly attacking the residence of Union minister Rameswar Teli during anti-CAA protests in Assam, police said on Monday.

The house of Teli, Union Minister of State for Food Processing, in Upper Assam's Duliajan town was attacked on December 11 during the statewide stir against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

"Based on CCTV footages, Debajit Hazarika, Vicky Sonar and Arup Kahar were arrested. We had picked them up on Sunday," Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police, Sreejith T told PTI.

A total of 18 persons have been arrested so far for allegedly attacking Teli's house, he said.

"These three persons were also involved in pelting stones on a police party during protests in Duliajan," Sreejith said.

A BJP source confirmed that Debajit Hazarika and Vicky Sonar are party activists.

Family members of the accused have given statements to the police on the arrested persons' alleged role in violence and attacking Teli's house, sources said.

When contacted, Teli said, "I do not know for what reasons they were apprehended. But if police arrested them after proper investigation, then there must be some truth. The trio stays near my house. They always attended my programmes with their families."

A total of 88 people have been arrested so far from Dibrugarh district for their alleged involvement in violence during protests against the Act.