LIVE! Nirav Modi cites suicide risks in extradition appeal

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Wed, 21 July 2021

Nirav Modi cites suicide risks in extradition appeal

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20:57 Nirav Modi cites suicide risks in extradition appeal

Nirav Modi faces a "substantial risk" of suicide amid an "overwhelming" impact of COVID-19 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where he will be lodged on being extradited, the high court in London was told during an extradition appeal hearing on Wednesday.

The 50-year-old diamond merchant, wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank scam case, observed the remotely held court proceedings from his Wandsworth Prison in south-west London as his lawyers argued for permission to appeal against his extradition ordered by District Judge Sam Goozee in February and certified by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in April.

During the "renewal application" hearing before Justice Martin Chamberlain, Nirav's lawyers sought to establish the grounds for a full high court appeal hearing by claiming it would be oppressive to extradite him due to his mental condition that could lead to suicidal impulses.

Nirav's barrister Edward Fitzgerald argued that Judge Goozee made a "succession of errors" in his ruling in favour of extradition in February, when he concluded that not only was Nirav's severe depression not unusual given his incarceration, but that he did not exhibit an immediate impulse to commit suicide.

"The District Judge was wrong to hold that there was nothing unusual about the Appellant's (Nirav Modi) mental condition; and wrong to focus on his present fitness to plead," said Fitzgerald.

"As to the District Judge's conclusion that 'the Applicant's condition will improve on his return' and 'there will be an amelioration of his current conditions of detention', that finding was perverse on the evidence before him and unsustainable in the light of the new evidence. It was based on his assessment that the conditions in the prison at Arthur Road, Mumbai will be better than they are at HMP Wandsworth," he noted.

Nirav's lawyers relied on expert evidence from forensic psychiatrist Dr Andrew Forrester, presented previously at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.

"In my opinion, Nirav Modi should now be considered at substantial (meaning high), albeit not immediate, risk of suicide," reads Forrester's assessment in his report dated August 27, 2020.

The lawyers also submitted fresh evidence to claim the COVID-19 pandemic is "overwhelming to the effect that the new outbreak of COVID renders the healthcare system on the brink of collapse". -- PTI

20:44 3 more Rafales arrive in India from France

A seventh batch of three more Rafale fighter jets arrived in India after flying non-stop for a distance of almost 8,000 km from France, in a further boost to the strike capability of the Indian Air Force.

The new batch of the aircraft will be part of the IAF's second squadron of the Rafale jets.

The aircraft were provided mid-air refuelling by the air force of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"Three Rafale aircraft arrived in India a short while ago, after a direct ferry from #IstresAirBase, France. IAF deeply appreciates the support by UAE Air Force for in-flight refuelling during the non-stop ferry," the IAF said in a tweet.

Following the arrival of the new batch, the number of Rafale jets with the IAF went up to 24.

The new squadron of Rafale jets will be based in Hasimara airbase in West Bengal.

The first Rafale squadron is based in the Ambala air force station. A squadron comprises around 18 aircraft.

India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore.

The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29 last year.

India is expected to get more Rafale jets from France in the next few months.

The Rafale jets, manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

The Rafale jets are capable of carrying a range of potent weapons. European missile maker MBDA's Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missile, Scalp cruise missile and MICA weapons system will be the mainstay of the weapons package of the Rafale jets. -- PTI

Shooter Elavenil Valarivan

19:52 India's 10m air rifle teams get just 20 minutes practice

Barely two days before the Tokyo Olympics open, India's 10m air rifle shooters had to make do with just 20 minutes of training at the Asaka Shooting Range due to an issue arising out of distribution of time slots.

While the other Indian shooters trained for more than two hours, the rifle teams, including Apurvi Chandela and Elavenil Valarivan, who have events lined up on the first competition day in July 24, saw their practice sessions reduced to less than half an hour.

"This was due to some issue over time slots as athletes from all competing nations train at the same venue," a National Rifle Association of India told PTI on Wednesday.

"Today the training took place for about 2-2.5 hours in the morning session. The 10m air rifle teams got it for 20-30 minutes."

While the women's 10m air rifle will kick start the shooting at the Games on Saturday, the men's 10m air rifle competition is slated for the following day.

India will be represented by Deepak Kumar and Divyansh Singh Panwar in the men's 10m rifle event.

It was also learnt that eight Indian shooters who will be seen in action in the first two competition days will skip the Games' opening ceremony on Friday.

The likes of 10m air pistol shooters Saurabh Chaudhary, Abhishek Verma, Apurvi and Elavenil have events on the first competition day.

Others such as Manu Bhaker, Yashaswini Singh Deswal, Deepak and Divyansh will be shooting on the second day.

"While it was given that those in action on Saturday would skip, the other four have their pre-event testing on Saturday, so it was deemed wise to miss the opening ceremony as far as these are concerned," he said.

There are 22 members in the Indian shooting contingent, including 15 athletes.

The Olympics are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8, with the shooting events spread across the first 10 days of the extravaganza, which will be held without spectators owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Indian shooters underwent their first training session in Tokyo on Monday.

The Asaka Shooting Range had also hosted the shooting competition at the 1964 Olympics.

The Indian shooting team arrived in the Japanese capital on Saturday, after completing a long training-cum-competition tour of Croatia.

During their stay in Croatia, the Indian shooters took part in the European Championships in Osijek, from May 29 to June 6.

The Indian team has eight rifle, five pistol and two skeet shooters, besides six coaches and a physiotherapist.

Before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, Indian shooters consistently dominated the sport, finishing on top of the table in four ISSF World Cups, in 2019. -- PTI

19:40 Byju's acquires Epic for USD 500 mn

Edtech major Byju's on Wednesday said it has acquired Epic, a digital reading platform for kids, for USD 500 million (about Rs 3,729.8 crore).

The company will invest an additional USD 1 billion in North America to accelerate its vision of "helping students fall in love with learning", a statement said.

The acquisition will help Byju's expand its footprint in the US by providing access to the more than two million teachers and 50 million kids in Epic's existing global user-base, which has more than doubled over the last year, it added.

Epic CEO Suren Markosian and co-founder Kevin Donahue will remain in their roles, it added.

"Our partnership with Epic will enable us to create engaging and interactive reading and learning experiences for children globally.

"Our mission is to fuel curiosity and make students fall in love with learning. Knowing that Epic and its products are rooted in the same mission, it was a natural fit. Together, we have the opportunity to create impactful experiences for children to become lifelong learners," Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of Byju's, said.

The alignment of missions and shared passion makes Byju's the perfect partner, as Epic is confident that this acquisition will ignite excitement for learning around the world, Markosian, co-founder of Epic, said.

"Together, we can help empower future generations of kids by fostering a lifetime love for reading and learning," Markosian added.

Byju's has aggressive plans for international and US market expansion, and the acquisition with Epic will not only lead to significant investments in technology that will help to further personalised learning for students but also enable Byju's to become a natural part of America's learning culture, the statement said. -- PTI

China has begun mass testing of people in Nanjing in Jiangsu Province after 17 airport workers in the city tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday causing massive flight cancellations and delays.

Nine of the workers were diagnosed as confirmed cases and five as asymptomatic carriers, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The remaining three are awaiting further diagnosis, it quoted local officials as saying.

A total of 521 flights have been cancelled at the Nanjing Lukou International Airport. The airport was earlier scheduled to handle 663 inbound and outbound flights on Wednesday.

The city's Jiangning district launched a massive nucleic acid testing campaign following the detection of the coronavirus cases.

Nanjing, which has a population of more than 9.3 million, plans to carry out city-wide nucleic acid testing after the campaign in Jiangning district concludes, the municipal government said.

The municipal government has urged residents not to leave the city unless necessary. Anyone leaving the city must produce a negative nucleic acid test certificate, done within 48 hours of their departure.

Nanjing authorities have classified four residential compounds as medium-risk areas for COVID-19 and have launched closed-off management there. All public transportation will halt in these medium-risk areas, the report said.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan in December 2019, China has so far reported 92,364 Covid cases as of Tuesday.

This included 602 patients still receiving treatment, 15 of whom were in severe condition, according to a Xinhua report.

So far 4,636 have died of the disease. -- PTI

India on Wednesday successfully flight-tested the New Generation Akash Missile (Akash-NG) off the Odisha coast Balasore, official sources said.

The trial was conducted around 12.45 pm from a land- based platform with all weapon system elements, they said.

The missile system has been developed by the Defence Research & Development Laboratory, Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories.

The surface-to-air missile was launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR).

The flawless performance of the entire weapon system has been confirmed by complete flight data, the sources said.

Once deployed, the Akash-NG weapon system will prove to be a force multiplier for the IAF. -- PTI

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday asserted the concept of secularism needs to be defined in the context of `Indian civilisation' and accused the media of being partial towards Left-liberals.

Attacking Leftist intellectuals, liberals and the media, Sarma, at a function where RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat launched a book, claimed the country's intellectual society is still dominated by the left-liberals with the media giving them more space while ignoring alternate voices.

"An intellectual terrorism has been unleashed and the Left in the country are more leftists than Karl Marx. There is no democracy in media....they have no space for Indian civilisation but there is space for Karl Marx and Lenin", he claimed.

India's right-wing has long disputed the concept of secularism as espoused by both western thinkers and Indian intellectuals who propound that the state needs to be equidistant from adherents of all religions.

Mediapersons may agree in private to an alternative narrative but they prefer giving space to left -liberals saying that this reflects an independent view, Sarma alleged.

"The left thinking has to be challenged and more thought provoking books based on history, of our long struggle for existence must be documented in the right perspective", he said.

India has been a secular country since the Rig Vedic Age and "we have given the concept of secularism and humanity to the world. Our civilisation is five thousand years old and we have accepted diversity of thought, religion and culture since ages", the Chief Minister said.

Referring to the Citizenship Amendment Act, Sarma said that there are two perspectives on this -- for protestors outside Assam, the demand is why Hindus alone should be given citizenship, Muslim migrants too should be covered.

In Assam, however, the protest against the Act was that neither Hindus nor Muslims from other countries should be given citizenship.

"It was the so-called secular protestors at the national level who tried to give a communal colour to the entire protests", he said.

The CAA is for those "who are victims of partition and not beneficiaries of a communal country created on the basis of religion", he said.

The CAA says Indian citizenship ,may be granted to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis and Christians from neighbouring countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have come in before end-December 2014 and had suffered "religious persecution or fear of religious persecution" in their country of origin. -- PTI

Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has approached the Bombay High Court seeking the quashing of proceedings initiated by a city magistrate on a criminal defamation complaint filed against her by lyricist Javed Akhtar.

In an appeal filed through advocate Rizwan Siddiquee, Ranaut claimed that the Andheri metropolitan magistrate's court initiated proceedings against her by relying only on the police's report and did not examine witnesses independently.

Akhtar filed a criminal complaint against Ranaut in November 2020 before the magistrate for allegedly making defamatory and baseless comments against him in television interviews.

In December, the court directed the suburban Juhu police to conduct an inquiry. After the police stated in its report that an offense was made out on the face of it and further probe was needed, the court initiated criminal proceedings against Ranaut and issued a summons to her in February 2021.

"The metropolitan magistrate did not use his own powers to conduct an inquiry but instead blatantly used the police machinery to collect the signed witness statements...which is completely unheard of," the actor's plea said.

It was likely that the witnesses were influenced by the police and the magistrate should have recorded evidence of witnesses under oath to "establish if an actual case was made out", it said.

The high court is likely to hear Ranaut's plea next week. -- PTI

Whether future waves of COVID-19 will affect children more or with increased severity are all speculations, a senior paediatrician said on Wednesday.

Praveen Kumar, Director, Department of Paediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi said people speculate that future waves may affect children more as most of the adults will be vaccinated in the next few months while there is still no approved vaccine for children at this point in time.

On how the pandemic has affected children's mental and physical health, Kumar said pandemic can have a severe effect on children's mental and physical health. They are confined at home for more than a year.

Moreover, illnesses in the family, wage losses for parents have increased stress. Children may express psychological distress (sadness) by acting out in a different way. Each child behaves differently, some may become silent while others may express anger and hyperactivity.

"Caregivers need to be patient with children and understand their emotions. Look for signs of stress in young children, which could be excessive worry or sadness, unhealthy eating or sleeping habits, and difficulty with attention and concentration. Families also need to support children to cope with stress and also allay their anxiety," he was quoted as saying in a health ministry statement.

On whether future waves can affect children more severely, Kumar said COVID-19 is a new virus that has potential to mutate.

"Whether the future waves will affect children more or with increased severity are speculations. People speculate that future waves may affect children more as most of the adults will be vaccinated in the next few months while we do not have any approved vaccine for children at this point in time," he said.

"Though we don't know how the virus is going to behave and affect children in the future, we need to protect our children from the contagion," he stressed.

Adults in the house should follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, and limit their social engagements to reduce the chances of infection as they may carry and transmit the infection to others. Besides, all the adults should take vaccines, which will also protect the children to a great extent.

And now vaccine is available for pregnant women and lactating mothers. This will give a certain degree of protection to the growing foetus and new-born against the deadly infection, Kumar said, according to the statement.

He said that second wave has affected children equally.

"COVID-19 is a new virus and it affects all age groups because we do not have natural immunity against this virus. As per the NCDC/IDSP dashboard, approximately 12% of infected Covid was contributed by patients less than 20 years of age," he said. -- PTI

24 Covid patients die after oxygen tank leak in Nashik

17:29 No death due to oxygen shortage in Maha: Health Min

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said the state government never reported any death due to shortage of oxygen during the second wave of COVID-19.

Notably, in April this year, 24 patients died after the oxygen supply was disrupted at a Nashik hospital due to leakage in an oxygen storage plant, local officials had said.

Tope had then said a thorough probe will be conducted to find out if negligence led to the leakage of oxygen at the hospital.

On Tuesday, the Union government had told the Rajya Sabha that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were specifically reported by states and UTs during the second COVID-19 wave, drawing sharp criticism from opposition leaders.

When asked by a TV channel about the Centre's statement, Tope said, "We never said people died due to oxygen shortage in the state. Many of them had issues like co-morbidities and other illnesses. No death has taken place due to the shortage of oxygen."

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, whose party shares power with the NCP and Congress in Maharashtra, said people whose relatives died due to oxygen shortage should "take the Union government to court".

Noting that opposition-ruled states claimed in courts that there was no death due to shortage of oxygen during the second COVID-19 wave and made similar assertions in their response to the Centre, the BJP on Wednesday hit back at its rivals amid a row over the Modi government's reply in Parliament on the matter.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra noted that the central government's reply was based on the figures provided by states and UTs as health is a state subject.

No state sent any data about patients dying due to oxygen shortage, he asserted.

He said the Maharashtra government also told the Bombay High Court that no one died due to the oxygen shortage and Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo has also made similar claims.

Shortly after the statement in the Rajya Sabha was made over the issue in a written reply by Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar on Tuesday, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal accused the minister of having "misled" the House.

Describing the statement as "condemnable", Venugopal, a Rajya Sabha MP to whose question the reply was given, had said he will move a privilege motion against the minister. -- PTI

The Central Board of Secondary Education on Wednesday announced that classes 10 and 12 exams for private candidates will be conducted from August 16 to September 15.

The board ruled out declaring results of the private candidates on the basis of an alternative assessment policy like that for regular candidates, saying neither schools nor CBSE has any previous assessment record for these students.

"The exams will be conducted from August 16 to September 15 and their result will also be declared in minimum possible time to avoid any difficulty to them in admission in higher education," CBSE Examination Controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said.

Earlier in the day, a group of private candidates staged a protest outside the CBSE headquarters alleging disparity between them and regular candidates. -- PTI

The Delhi Police on Wednesday gave permission to farmers to stage demonstrations at Jantar Mantar demanding scrapping of the agri laws during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, official sources said.

They said farmers will travel to Jantar Mantar from the Singhu border in buses with police escort.

The monsoon session of Parliament started on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on August 13.

A day earlier, farmers' unions said they will hold a 'Kisan Parliament' at Jantar Mantar during the monsoon session and 200 protesters from the Singhu border will attend it every day from July 22.

After a meeting with Delhi Police officials on Tuesday, a farm union leader said they will hold peaceful demonstrations at Jantar Mantar demanding scrapping of the agri laws and no protester will go to Parliament.

A tractor parade in Delhi on January 26, that was to highlight the demands of farmer unions to repeal three agriculture laws, had dissolved into anarchy on the streets of the national capital as thousands of protesters broke through barriers, fought with the police, overturned vehicles and hoisted a religious flag from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort.

Thousands of farmers from across the country have been agitating at the Delhi borders against the three farm laws that they claim will do away with the Minimum Support Price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

Over 10 rounds of talks with the government, which has been projecting the laws at major agricultural reforms, have failed to break the deadlock between the two parties. -- PTI

Latching on to the Pegasus snooping row, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the Modi government of trying to establish a "surveillance state".

She also asked the Supreme Court to take cognizance of snooping scandal that purportedly targeted politicians, activists, journalists and even judges using the Pegasus spyware, and asked Opposition parties to come together to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"The BJP wants to convert a democratic country into a surveillance state rather than a welfare state," she said addressing the Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata online.

The TMC observes Martyrs' Day on July 21 every year to commemorate the killing of 13 people in police firing on a rally of Youth Congress workers against the then Left Front government in 1993 when Banerjee was in the Congress.

The TMC supremo also accused the Centre of spending the money collected through tax on fuel and other commodities for spying using a "dangerous software" instead of funding welfare schemes.

"I know my phone is being tapped. All opposition leaders know that our phones are being tapped. I can't speak to NCP leader Sharad Pawarji or other opposition leaders or chief ministers because we are being snooped and spied on by the Centre. But snooping on us won't save them in 2024 Lok Sabha polls," Banerjee told the rally.

Slamming the BJP-led NDA government for its "monumental failure" in handling the second wave of the COVID crisis, the TMC supremo termed the saffron party a "highly loaded virus party" which needs to be defeated at any cost.

Banerjee thanked leaders of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Samajwadi Party, the Shiv Sena and several other parties for joining her rally virtually from New Delhi.

She said all those opposed to the BJP and its "authoritarian regime" should defeat it.

"The BJP has taken the country to darkness, we all have to come forward to take it to new light," the Bengal leader said.

"Khela Hobe" (will play), she declared, renewing the battle cry she made during the state assembly elections, adding the fight will continue till BJP is ousted from power. -- PTI

MLAs at Sidhu's residence

16:27 Sidhu camp rejects Amarinder's apology demand

In a show of strength, 62 MLAs, arrived at Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu's residence in Amritsar on Wednesday.

As per his office, Sidhu had called the party MLAs for breakfast.

Amarinder Singh's media advisor in a tweet yesterday had said, "The Chief Minister will not meet Sidhu till he publicly apologises for his personally derogatory social media attacks against him."

The MLAs at Sidhi's residence said that the party is united and that there is no need for an apology.

"Why should Sidhu apologise (to CM)? It's not a public issue. The CM has not solved many issues. In that case, he should also apologise to the public," Congress MLA Pargat Singh said.

MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur said, "I have faith that 2022 assembly polls will be won because of Sidhu. CM's advisers are misleading him. Due to this, Punjab is going backward."

"The day Sidhu was appointed as the Punjab party President, about 5 per cent of votes for Congress increased. The youth who were leaving Congress and joining the AAP party came back because of this. I am sure that at least 20 per cent of votes for Congress will increase because of Sidhu," he added.

Jalalpur also said that the party and the CM have to work together to be successful.

Referring to Punjab CM's tweet he said that Sidhu should not apologise because it is a CM's duty to address the concerns of people of his state, even if it is against him. -- ANI

Prem Shukla

16:18 BJP appoints Prem Shukla, Shazia Ilmi national spokespersons

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday appointed Prem Shukla and Shazia Ilmi as its national spokespersons.

Both BJP members have been visible in the media in defending and promoting the party's stand on a variety of issues.

The party currently has 25 national spokespersons, including its media department head and chief spokesperson Anil Baluni. -- PTI

Engaged in a military standoff with India in Ladakh since last year, the Chinese Army has increased its activities along Barahoti area in Uttarakhand along the Line of Actual Control as a platoon of the People's Liberation Army was seen operating recently.

"Recently a platoon (around 35 troops) of the PLA were seen operating around Barahoti area in Uttarakhand and surveyed the area around there. The Chinese have been seen doing some activity around this area after a significant gap," sources told ANI.

The Chinese troops were constantly monitored in the area during their stay there," they said.

The sources said the Indian side has also made adequate arrangements in the area.

Sources said the security establishment feels that the Chinese may attempt some activity in this area but the Indian operational preparedness is high all along the central sector.

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Central Army chief Lt Gen Y Dimri have also visited the central sector boundary with China in recent times to review the situation and operational preparedness there, they said.

The Chinese activity at an air base near the Barahoti area has also gone up and a large number of drones have been deployed by them there, they said.

India has positioned additional troops in the central sector and many rear formations have gone ahead there, the sources said.

The Indian Air Force has also activated a few air bases there including the Chinyalisaund advanced landing ground where the An-32s have been making frequent landings.

15:40 Brisbane picked to host 2032 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee has elected Brisbane as host of the 2032 Olympics.

The IOC members took the decision at the 138th session in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Taking to Twitter, IOC Media wrote: "BRISBANE 2032 ELECTED AS HOST OF THE GAMES OF THE XXXV OLYMPIAD! CONGRATULATIONS!"

The IOC Executive Board (EB) had in June decided to propose Brisbane for hosting the 2032 Olympics. "The decision followed a recommendation by the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad. The IOC Members will vote at the 138th Session in Tokyo on 21 July 2021," the IOC said in an official statement.

The Executive Board's decision was based on a report by the Future Host Commission, which has made a detailed analysis of the Brisbane 2032 project in recent months.

This unanimous decision by the Executive Board is a credit to the years of work carried out by Brisbane 2032, the Australian Olympic Committee, and their partners, to test every aspect of the project. -- ANI

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, who is in Assam on a two-day visit, said on Wednesday that the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens have nothing to do with Hindu-Muslim divide and communal narrative surrounding the two issues were being peddled by some to gain political mileage.

He further emphasised that no Muslim will face any loss due to the citizenship law.

"After independence, the first prime minister of the country had said that minorities will be taken care of, and that has been done so far. We will continue to do so. No Muslim will face any loss due to CAA," Bhagwat said after launching a book in Guwahati, titled Citizenship debate over NRC and CAA-Assam and the Politics of History.

The citizenship law is will provide protection to persecuted minorities in the neighbouring countries, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief underlined.

"We reach out to the majority communities, too, in these countries during a calamity.... So if there are some who wish to come to our country due to threats and fear, we will definitely have to help them out," Bhagwat said.

Talking about NRC, he stated that all nations have the right to know who its citizens are.

"The matter is in the political domain as the government is involved in it... A section of people wants to get political mileage by creative a communal narrative around these two issues," he added. -- PTI

Noting that opposition-ruled states claimed in courts that there was no death due to shortage of oxygen during the second COVID-19 wave and made similar assertions in their response to the Centre, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday hit back at its rivals amid a row over the Modi government's reply in Parliament on the matter.

The government had told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were specifically reported by states and UTs during the second COVID-19 wave, drawing sharp criticism from opposition leaders.

Deaths of patients in hospitals due to lack of the life-saving gas were reported from several states during the peak of the second wave in April-May as the demand for medical oxygen zoomed.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra noted that the central government's reply was based on the figures provided by states and UTs as health is a state subject.

No state sent any data about patients dying due to oxygen shortage, he asserted.

He accused opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi of the Congress and Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party, of doing politics on the matter, and said the states where these parties are in power have claimed that no one died there due to lack of oxygen.

Hitting out at Gandhi, he said, "You have acted as a Twitter troll throughout the pandemic by writing two-line lies frequently. It is painful that a former president of one of the largest parties has behaved so irresponsibly."

With the AAP also targeting the Modi government over its reply in Rajya Sabha, Patra noted that a Delhi government committee had told high court that there was no evidence to suggest that around 21 people had died due to shortage of oxygen in Jaipur Golden hospital on April 23-24 night after the hospital management reported the matter.

The Maharashtra government also told Bombay high court that no one died due to the oxygen shortage and Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singh Deo has also made similar claims, the BJP spokesperson said.

Gandhi should speak to the chief ministers in the states where his party is in power instead of "lying" on Twitter and spreading confusion, he said.

These opposition-ruled states had spoken about patients dying due to the oxygen crisis when the second wave was peaking as they wanted to target the Modi government but have taken a different stand in writing and their submission to courts, he said, adding that it shows they want to politicise the whole issue.

It is not that the central government has tied their hands, and they should have spoken truth when they were asked to submit their response in writing, he asserted.

To a question about the BJP-run states, Patra said people might have suffered there too but they neither levelled allegations like the opposition-ruled states nor the issue was taken to high courts there in this manner.

Shortly after the statement in Rajya Sabha was made in a written reply by Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar on Tuesday, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal accused the minister of having "misled" the house.

Describing the statement as "condemnable", Venugopal, a Rajya Sabha MP to whose question the reply was given, said he will move a privilege motion against the minister. -- PTI

The Civil Aviation Ministry has formed three advisory groups comprising airlines, airport operators, cargo carriers, ground handling companies, flying training organisations and maintenance, repair and overhaul companies to deliberate and resolve challenges faced by the sector, an official statement said on Wednesday.

India and its aviation sector were badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic's second wave in April and May. Many aviation stakeholders are not in a good financial shape currently.

The ministry said on Twitter: "Under the chairmanship of the Honourable Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has formed three advisory groups comprising airlines, airport operators and MRO, cargo carriers, FTOs and ground handling companies."

"The groups shall meet regularly to deliberate upon issues and resolve challenges facing each sector. Orders have been issued for the same," it added.

Scheduled domestic passenger traffic was suspended in India for about two months between March 25 and May 24 last year due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Since June 2020, the domestic traffic had been on a path of recovery when the second wave of the pandemic hit India during April and May this year. -- PTI

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said there have been many deaths due to oxygen shortage in Delhi and many other places across the country.

"If there was no shortage of oxygen, why did hospitals move court? Hospitals and the media had been flagging oxygen shortage issues daily. Television channels showed that how hospitals were running out of the life-saving gas. It is completely false to say that no one died due to oxygen shortage. There have been many deaths due to oxygen shortage in Delhi and many other places across the country," he said.

The central government on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were specifically reported by states and UTs during the second COVID-19 wave.

But there was an unprecedented surge in demand for medical oxygen during the second wave and it peaked at nearly 9,000 MT compared to 3,095 MT in the first wave following which the Centre had to step in to facilitate equitable distribution among the states, it said.

Responding to a question on whether a large number of COVID-19 patients died on roads and hospitals due to acute shortage of oxygen in the second wave, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar noted that health is a state subject and states and UTs regularly report the number of cases and deaths to the Centre.

"Detailed guidelines for reporting of deaths have been issued by the Union Health Ministry to all states and UTs.

"Accordingly, all states and UTs report cases and deaths to the Union Health Ministry on a regular basis. However, no deaths due to lack of oxygen have been specifically reported by states and UTs," Pawar said in a written reply. -- PTI

Intermittent rains lashed Mumbai on Wednesday, but the rail and transport services were not affected, officials said.

The India Meteorological Department has sounded an 'orange alert' for Mumbai on Wednesday, indicating the possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places.

According to BMC officials, the IMD has predicted moderate to heavy rain in the city and suburbs with the possibility of very heavy showers at a few places and occasional winds reaching 45-55 kmph gusting to 60 kmph in some areas.

The island city recorded 11.69 mm rain, while the eastern and western suburbs received 17.95 mm and 13.24 mm rain, respectively, in the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Wednesday, the BMC said.

"In spite of the heavy rains, the Western Railway's suburban train services are running normal," WR's chief public relations officer Sumit Thakur said.

The local train services on the Central Railway route, which were badly hit due to the heavy downpour on Sunday and Monday, were also running normal, a CR official said.

There was no diversion of bus services of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and the operations were smooth so far, its spokesperson said.

Border Security Force personnel and Pakistan Rangers exchange sweets at India-Pakistan International Border in Barmer, on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha.

The health condition of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh is critical and he has been put on life support system, the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow said on Tuesday.

"Kalyan Singh ji's health status is critical. He has been intubated and put on life saving support system since Tuesday evening. His clinical parameters are being closely monitored by the expert Consultants," the hospital statement said here.

The senior faculty of the critical care medicine, cardiology, nephrology, neurology and endocrinology are keeping a close watch on all the aspects related to his health, it said

SGPGIMS Director R K Dhiman is closely monitoring his treatment on a daily basis, it said.

Singh, 89, who is also a former governor of Rajasthan, was admitted to the ICU of the hospital on the evening of July 4 due to an infection and reduced consciousness level.

Earlier, he was undergoing treatment at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow. -- PTI

The Shashi Tharoor-led Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology will hold a meet on July 28 amid the row over the Pegasus snooping allegations.

During the meeting, the committee will discuss "citizens' data security and privacy", reported news agency ANI.

Members from the Ministry of IT and home ministry to be present.

10:52 Intense rain likely in Mumbai

Moderate to intense rain is likely in Mumbai, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.

Intense rain at isolated places is likely in Navi Mumbai and Thane, the IMD further said.

Navi Mumbai and Thane have been put on Orange alert, while Mumbai has been put on Yellow alert.

With the onset of the monsoon, Mumbai has been receiving incessant rains. Several parts of the city have reported waterlogging. -- ANI

Ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Wednesday in a statement urged people to vote wisely.

Maulana Syed Rabey Hasani Nadwi, President of AIMPLB in his statement said, 'People are demanding from us that an appeal should be issued in support of any one of the parties. Those people who are demanding this, do not know about the formation of the Muslim Personal Law Board, neither about its scope, nor about its aims and objectives, nor since its inception.

'Article 4 of the Constitution of the Board expressly states that the Muslim Personal Law Board functions as an institution and it has nothing to do with politics.'

'People have the right to vote and this right makes democracy strong and it is up to you to decide whom to vote for, but whenever you vote, vote wisely,' he said.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls are scheduled to be conducted next year.

In 2017, the Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide victory winning 312 Assembly seats.

The party secured a 39.67 per cent vote share in the elections for 403-member Assembly.

The Samajwadi Party bagged 47 seats, the Bahujan Samaj Party won 19 while the Congress could manage to win only seven seats.

Meanwhile, on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, the AIMPLB president also urged people to follow the Covid guidelines issued by the government.

'Our country is currently battling the Corona crisis, necessary precautions should be taken on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha and follow the instructions given by the government,' he said. -- ANI

India reports 42,015 new COVID-19 cases, 36,977 recoveries, and 3,998 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union health ministry.

Daily positivity rate at 2.27 per cent, less than 3 per cent for 30 consecutive days.

Total cases: 3,12,16,337
Active cases: 4,07,170
Total recoveries: 3,03,90,687
Death toll: 4,18,480
Total vaccination: 41,54,72,455

IMAGE: Beneficiaries stand in a queue to receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination drive at Lungla, in Tawang on Tuesday. Photograph: ANI Photo

09:39 Modi extends wishes to people on Eid-ul-Adha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday extended his wishes to the people on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha.

'Eid Mubarak! Best wishes on Eid-ul-Adha. May this day further the spirit of collective empathy, harmony and inclusivity in the service of greater good,' PM Modi said in a tweet.

Earlier, President Ram Nath Kovind extended Eid-ul-Adha's wishes to all fellow citizens. -- ANI

09:08 Prof arrested for FB post on Smriti Irani

A professor, who allegedly made derogatory remarks against Union Minister Smriti Irani on Facebook, was on Tuesday sent to jail after he surrendered himself before the magistrate at a local court in Firozabad.

Shahyaar Ali surrendered before Additional Sessions Judge Anurag Kumar and moved interim bail application.

The judge cancelled the bail plea after which the professor was sent to jail.

Firozabad Police had booked Ali, head of History department at SRK College, in March for an allegedly obscene Facebook post against the women and child development minister. -- PTI

After Union Minister of State (MoS) for Health Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar on Tuesday told the Rajya Sabha that no deaths due to lack of oxygen were specifically reported by states/Union territories during the second wave of COVID-19, Congress leader K C Venugopal accused her of misleading the house and said his party will move a privilege motion against the Minister.

Addressing a press conference, Venugopal said, "Government has given a reply today (on Tuesday) that nobody in the country died due to a shortage of oxygen. In every state, we saw how many patients died due to a lack of oxygen. We know. The minister misled the House. We will move a Privilege Motion against that Minister."

Condemning the Centre's 'no deaths due to lack of oxygen' remarks, the Congress MP said that this is the manner in which the Centre is carrying out COVID management.

Taking a jibe at the Centre's presentation on the COVID-19 situation and vaccination programme to the floor leaders of both the Houses of Parliament, the Congress leader said, "This is the way in which the Government of India is doing COVID control. This is a clear answer because the PM is giving a presentation today, I don't know if these types of answers will be given in that presentation. This is totally condemnable."

His remarks came as prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted with floor leaders of all parties of both houses of the Parliament to keep them informed of the trajectory of COVID-19 in India and the public health response to the pandemic.

Earlier on Tuesday, the central government informed the Rajya Sabha that no deaths due to lack of oxygen have been specifically reported by states/Union territories during the second wave of COVID-19. -- ANI

00:07 India reports this year's first bird flu death

An 11-year-old boy who was undergoing treatment for Avian Influenza has died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. This is the first bird flu death recorded in the country since the beginning of this year.

The entire staff at AIIMS, New Delhi, has been placed in isolation as a preventative measure.

According to the World Health Organisation, human cases of bird flu (Avian Influenza) occur " occasionally" but when they do happen, the mortality rate is about 60 per cent.

Bird flu outbreaks were reported across the country earlier this year, including in Haryana where experts detected the H5N8 subtype of the Avian Influenza virus. This strain is not known to infect humans.

The central government had sounded an alert when cases of bird flu were confirmed in Delhi and at least ten states, including Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana. Culling of birds was carried out in large numbers across the country in a bid to counter the spread of infection.

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