New Delhi,(PTI) With 5,383 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,45,58,425, while the active cases declined to 45,281, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The death toll climbed to 5,28,449 with 20 fatalities which includes eight deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.10 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.71 per cent, the ministry said.

A decline of 1,061 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.   India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.  The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23 last year. It crossed the four-crore mark on January 25 this year. PTI

 Amreli, Sep 23 (PTI) A lion cub was killed after being hit by a passenger train while crossing a track in Gujarat’s Amreli district, forest department officials said on Friday.

The incident occurred on Thursday night, they said.

“The lion cub, aged six to seven months, was hit by a passenger train and died while it was crossing the metre-gauge track in Shetrunji division of the forest near Gavadka village in Amreli district,” Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) (Shetrunji division) Jayant Patel said.

The passenger train was going to Amreli from Veraval when the incident took place around 9.30 pm, he said.

Due to the incident, the train got delayed by around one-and-a-half hours and the loco pilot and other staff were questioned by the forest officials, Patel said.

“They said they saw three cubs and a lioness crossing the track. While others managed to cross successfully, one of the cubs was hit by the train and died,” he added.

Earlier this year, the Gujarat government had told the state Legislative Assembly that 283 lions, lionesses and lion cubs have died in the state in two years till December 2021, and 29 of them died of unnatural causes. Getting run over by trains is one of the unnatural causes of the death for the Asiatic lions in the state.

As per the 2020 census, there were 674 lions in the state, a 29 per cent rise in its population as compared to the 2015 census. PTI

 New Delhi, Sep 23 (PTI) Former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu will release a collection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s selected speeches on Friday.

The book titled ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas – Prime Minister Narendra Modi Speaks (May 2019-May 2020)’ will be released in the presence of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan at a function here organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The book focuses on 86 speeches of the prime minister on various subjects.

“It will be my honour to release the book, Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas, Sab Ka Vishwas, comprising selected speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a function graced by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur,” Naidu said.

The book portrays the prime minister’s vision of a ‘New India’, which is self-reliant, resilient and capable of converting challenges into opportunities, an official statement said on Thursday.

The book, being published in Hindi as well as English, will be available at the sales outlets of the Publications Division as well as its website. PTI

Hyderabad, Sep 23 (PTI) The Centre is trying to privatise power and agriculture sectors which will have disastrous impact on farmers and others, Telangana Minister for IT and Industries K T Rama Rao has alleged.

Speaking to reporters in Siricilla on Thursday, he said if the Electricity (Amendment) Bill brought in by the Central government turns into an Act, farmers would lose free power, Scheduled Caste members, Scheduled Tribe persons, poultry farmers, washermen, barbers, weavers, and others will have to bid goodbye to power subsidies.

Rama Rao reiterated Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s stand against the reforms in agriculture and power sectors, and reminded the state government’s resolution passed in the state assembly against the Bill.

“Telangana is a state where farmers cultivate lands relying on power supply. The state has 26 lakh pump sets. What would be the fate of farmers if free power is not supplied?” he asked.

Crops are grown across 1.35 crore acres in Telangana. An additional 50 lakh acres of land was cultivated from 2015 to date. It has been possible because of schemes like Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bhima, and strengthening of the irrigation sector, he pointed out.

“While crop cultivation in Telangana ushered in festive spirit, the central government’s decisions are causing distress to our farmers… But Union Minister Piyush Goyal mocked us asking us to practice eating broken rice,” he charged at the Centre.

The way fuel prices have surged, power tariffs too will increase in future if private companies start distributing electricity. Procurement of grains might be privatised from next season, he predicted, adding that an attempt is being made to benefit private companies. PTI 

Chandigarh,(PTI) Police on Thursday used a water cannon to prevent BJP workers from heading towards the residence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here after they tried to force their way through barricades while protesting against the AAP government.

The Punjab BJP had announced to ‘gherao’ the official residence of the chief minister as it accused the six-month old Aam Aadmi Party government of failing on all fronts.

Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma and other senior party leaders including Jeevan Gupta and Subhash Sharma were participating in the protest.

Police had put up barricades to stop the protesters from moving towards the chief minister’s residence. When the BJP workers tried to force their way through barricades, police used a water cannon. Later, the BJP leaders were detained by police.

Talking to reporters, Ashwani Sharma said the BJP will expose the AAP government for having allegedly failed on all fronts in the state.

“The government failed to keep its poll promises like Rs 1,000 per month for women. It also failed to address public issues,” he said.

Sharma alleged that the Mann government was only trying to “please” Arvind Kejriwal and not resolving burning issues like drugs, corruption and deteriorating law and order in Punjab.

“Holding a protest is our democratic right and no water cannon can stop the BJP from raising public issues,” he said.

Earlier, Sharma alleged that the AAP government failed to live up to the expectations of people.

He claimed that people are now repenting for voting for the AAP for redressal of their issues as the government is running away from its responsibilities. PTI 

Mumbai: Mumbai’s civic body has denied permission to the two warring factions of the Shiv Sena from holding a Dussehra rally in the city’s iconic Shivaji Park on 5 October.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has disallowed the celebrations on the inputs of a senior police officer who fears a law and order situation, a civic official told ThePrint.

The Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park has been held annually since the inception of the Shiv Sena in 1966 – except for the two years of Covid in 2020 and 2021.

But now, since the party has split between founder Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav Thackeray and current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, a scramble has ensued to claim the celebrations.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena petitioned the Bombay High Court on Wednesday for permission to hold the rally in the Dadar-area park. The hearing was slated Thursday.

However, since the BMC said a firm “no” on Thursday, the party has now challenged that decision, and will now be heard on Friday noon.

The BMC letter to both factions read: “While both the opponent applicants have applied for permission to hold the Dussehra rally at the Shivaji Maharaj Park Maidan, if any one of the applicants is granted permission to hold the rally, this may create a serious problem of law and order in the sensitive area of Shivaji Park.”

Thackeray faction’s Anil Desai had applied for permission on 22 August, followed by a request from the Eknath Shinde faction on 30 August through local MLA Sada Sarvankar.

Speaking to the media on this matter, Thackeray loyalist Anil Parab said, “The court will take a decision and we will accept it. But we are confident that we will get the permission. Since 1966, there has never been a law and order issue. And we have followed every rule.

“This is not a specific Dadar problem. A law and order problem can take place in BKC too where Matoshree (Uddhav Thackeray’s residence) is located. What if we say this? These are all excuses.”

Minister Deepak Kesarkar, however, defended MLA Sada Sarvankar’s request to hold the rally. “What is the harm? He is the local MLA, and has applied till now. So, what’s this question of law and order,” the minister told the media.

Incidentally, the choice of an alternate venue for the Dussehra rally is the same for both sides – the MMRDA ground in the Bandra Kurla Complex. The Shinde faction, however, beat the Thackeray group in this case as they applied first.

On Wednesday, Sena president and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray assured party workers that Dussehra celebrations would take place at Shivaji Park.

The Dussehra show of strength is crucial for Thackeray ahead of the city civic polls likely in January or February next year.

New Delhi,  (PTI) Stepping up the preparations for upcoming assembly polls, the full Election Commission will be visiting Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat beginning Thursday to assess the readiness of the poll machinery in the two states.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey will be on a three-day visit to Himachal Pradesh beginning Thursday. They will meet top state government officials to review preparations and ensure that measures are in place for smooth conduct of elections.

On Monday, Kumar and Pandey are likely to visit Gujarat to take stock of the preparedness.

The tenures of the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat assemblies will end on January 8, 2023 and February 23, 2023 respectively and the poll authority can hold elections anytime within six months of the expiry of the five-year term of any House.

It is usual for the Election Commission to visit poll-bound states before the announcement of polls.

In 2017, Himachal Pradesh went to polls on November 9, while Gujarat exercised its franchise in two phases — December 9 and 14.

BJP has been in power in Gujarat since 1998 and the main opposition Congress came close to defeating it in the previous assembly elections in 2017.

However, over the past five years, several Congress leaders have quit the party to join the BJP and AAP appears to have stolen the march in campaigning for the upcoming elections, seeking to expand its presence in the country.

In Himachal Pradesh, BJP had defeated the Congress in 2017 to come to power. Congress is gearing up to challenge the BJP in the largely bi-polar hill state, where AAP is trying to get a foothold. PTI

Guwahati, Sep 22 (PTI) Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said freedom of speech is a “non-negotiable and uncompromising” asset of India, and any deviation from it will be a “compromise” on the sovereignty and wholesomeness of the country.

Inaugurating the ‘Lokmanthan 2022’ here, he also said the category of “pseudo intellectuals” are on the rise in India, and they need to be curtailed.

“The freedom of expression in India is non-negotiable and we cannot compromise on it. If we depart from this, we will compromise with the sovereignty and wholesomeness of the country,” Dhankhar said.

The legislature has an important role to play in democracy, the vice president said, but expressed regret that nowadays issues are being discussed on the streets instead of the floor of the assembly.

“Another concerning trend that needs to curtailed is the problem of pseudo intellectuals. Can public space be allowed to be dominated by this category of people with the help of media-created eclipses?” Dhankhar said.

He also said the role of intellectuals is very critical, and they must engage in proactive dialogue, debate and discussion.

“They must reflect the challenges India is facing. They should play on the front foot with a straight bat. I cannot imagine how intellectuals remain silent seeing violation of human rights,” he added. PTI 

Dharamsala,(PTI) Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has been honoured with the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance, his office said on Thursday.

He is the 15th recipient of the award, founded by Merced native Sherrie Spendlove in 2005 at University of California, Merced.

“In naming the Dalai Lama the latest recipient of the Spendlove Prize, UC Merced recognises a global spiritual leader committed to expressing the importance of happiness, compassion, warm-heartedness, self-discipline, friendship and human solidarity amongst our diversity,” said Professor Nigel Hatton, with the Department of Literatures, Languages and Cultures.

Every year, the Spendlove Prize honours an individual who can serve as a role model and inspirational figure for students, faculty and the community surrounding UC Merced.

The prize has an annual value of USD 15,000 (Rs. 12,09,921).

Former US President Jimmy Carter and Nobel laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum are among the distinguished Spendlove laureates. PTI 

 Bhopal, Sep 22 (PTI) Four activists of the Popular Front of India were arrested from Madhya Pradesh in a multi-agency operation led by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), officials said on Thursday.

Three of them have been arrested from Indore, a senior police official said.

They were nabbed from Sadar Bazaar and other areas, the official said without giving more information.

The police did not share details of the fourth arrest.

In near simultaneous raids across the length and breadth of the country, a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the NIA on Thursday led to the arrest of 106 activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in 11 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country, officials said.

The maximum number of arrests were made in Kerala (22) followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka (20 each), Tamil Nadu (10), Assam (9), Uttar Pradesh (8), Andhra Pradesh (5), Madhya Pradesh (4), Puducherry and Delhi (3 each) and Rajasthan (2).

According to the officials, the arrests were made during the raids which have been termed as the “largest-ever investigation process till date”. Formed in 2006, the PFI claims to strive for a neo-social movement ostensibly for the empowerment of marginalised sections of India. It is, however, often accused by law enforcement agencies of promoting radical Islam. PTI