LIVE! Mamata's assets decreased by 45.08%

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Wed, 24 March 2021

Mamata's assets decreased by 45.08%

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23:53 Mamata's assets decreased by 45.08%

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's asset value has decreased by 45.08 per cent now compared to what it was during the 2016 assembly elections.

Banerjee, who is contesting this year's assembly election from Nandigram, has in her affidavit which was submitted along with her nomination to the Election Commission declared her total worth to be Rs 16,72,352.

The Trinamool Congress supremo's asset during the 2016 election when she contested from Bhawanipore constituency in the city was Rs 30,45,013, the 'Analysis of criminal, financial education, gender and other details of candidates' for West Bengal Phase II polling stated.

Assets of Banerjee's party colleagues Mamata Bhunia and Sukumar De, who are in the poll fray, decreased by 37.53 per cent and 36.18 per cent respectively.

Communist Party of India-Marxist's Panskura Purba candidate Sk Ibrahim Ali witnessed a surpsiring 2,141.48 per cent growth in his asset, the highest among candidates between 2016-2021, it said.

Ali's total asset during the 2016 elections, when he contested from the same seat was Rs 49,730.

This year histotal worth is Rs 10,64,956.

Trinamool Congress sitting MLA of Kakdwip, Manturam Pakhira's assets grew by a considerable 735.95 per cent, the report said.

In 2016 Pakhira's net worth was Rs 8,02,335. It has increased to Rs 59,04,754 this year.

In the second phase polling will be held on April 1 in Bankura (Part II), Paschim Medinipur (Part II), Purba Medinipur (Part II), South 24 Pargana (Part 1). -- PTI

Enraged over the day-long rumpus created by the opposition on the previous day, Bihar ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday warned the Grand Allianceagainst provoking the ruling National Democratic Alliance which was numericallystronger.

Kumar made the remark inside the legislative council wherehe rose to intervene when MLCs of the opposition coalition ledby Rashtriya Janata Dal tried to create a ruckus over the previous dayshappenings inside the assembly.

The Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021, which had ledto the day-long drama on Tuesday, was presented and beingdebated inside the Upper House a day later when Grand Alliance members made noises about the 'high handed' manner in which MLAs were thrown out of the assembly a day earlier.

Quivering with rage, the 70 years old chief minister screamed at the top of his voice 'the entire public saw what goondaism took place yesterday. They will give you a befitting reply'.

Waving an angry finger at Congress MLCs, Kumar said they seemed to have lost their sense of propriety following their long association with Lalu Prasad's party which has often been accused of rowdyism.

He also said 'do not forget that we are greater in number than you are. Yesterday, people of this side sat quietly, maintaining decorum, while you were engaging in mischief. Bemindful of the consequences'.

In the 243-member assembly, the ruling NDA has 126 MLAs besides it enjoys support of an Independent.

The opposition has 110 legislators while All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has five and one MLA is from Lok Janshakti Party.

In the 75-member legislative council, the ruling coalition has overwhelming numbers.

Later, talking to reporters, Kumar expressed displeasure over the opposition accusing him directly of having called the police, on Tuesday, inside to help marshals physically evict the most unruly of the Opposition MLAs.

"It is the Speakers prerogative to requisition whatever resources he deems necessary to maintain order inside the premises.

"Whatever happened yesterday was unusual but has there been any other instance, in any state legislature, of the Speaker having been held hostage", Kumar asked.

He also deplored the opposition indulging in acts like tearing up documents and throwing shreds of paper towards the Chair besides clambering atop the speakers dais to physically prevent him from running the House.

Asked about the intention expressed by speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha that action might be taken against those MLAs whose behaviour was found most objectionable, the chief minister replied 'the government has nothing to do with that'.

"If the speaker deems it fit, he will take action inaccordance with rules. We will neither egg him on nor try to restrain him". -- PTI

22:34 M J Akbar moves HC against Ramani verdict

JUST IN: Former Union Minister M J Akbar approaches Delhi high court challenging a trial court order which had dismissed the criminal defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani.

The trial court had acquitted journalist Priya Ramani.

Hearing to be held tomorrow. -- ANI

Dharavi, Mumbai's largest slum, on Wednesday recorded 62 new coronavirus cases, a significant growth in daily cases after a gap of nearly 10 months, a civicofficial said.

On May 18 last year, Dharavi had reported 85 suchcases.

However, the infection count had started dropping gradually due to factors like lockdown, migration out of the slum and a number of steps taken by the administration, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.

"However, with the new virus strain and easing of restrictions on movement, the cases have witnessed a surge again," he said.

With this, the overall case count in Dharavi reached 4,531, he added.

"The BMC's aggressive campaign of rapid antigen testhas helped us detect more and more infection cases.

"We willcontinue the drive and also isolate the patients as soon aspossible to avoid further spread," the official said.

Mumbai city reported 5,185 COVID-19 cases, the BMC said, adding that its overall tally rose to 3,74,611.

A total of 2,088 people were discharged, which tookthe city's tally to 3,31,322, while six deaths pushed thefatality to 11,606, the civic body said. -- PTI

21:02 Mukul Roy's security upgraded from Y+ to Z

The security of the national vice president of Bharatiya Janata Party, Mukul Roy has been upgraded from Y+ to Z category in West Bengal.

Roy will contest from Krishnanagar Uttar assembly constituency.

He will be facing off against Trinamool Congress candidate Kaushani Mukherjee.

The first phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls is scheduled to take place on March 27.

The elections for 30 assembly seats will be conducted during the first phase.

Elections to the 294-member state assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29.

The counting of votes will take place on May 2. -- ANI

20:30 Rate of Covid tripled in Maha in over 1 month

The rate of increase in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra between February 14 to March 23 was three times that recorded in the previous four months, data shows.

After a steady decline since October, the new cases surged noticeably since February 14.

On March 20, Maharashtra reported over 30,000 new cases, the highest since the pandemic began.

Between February 14 and March 23, in the span of 37 days, 4,68,748 cases were added in the state, taking the caseload to 25,33,026.

On average, 12,668 cases were added daily.

In preceding months, it had taken 119 days for the addition of over 4.68 lakh cases.

Between October 18, 2020 and February 13, as many as 4,68,897 new cases were reported, at average daily rate of 3,940.

Maharashtra had gram panchayat elections in some 12,000 villages in January, followed by big political gatherings.

Some health experts blamed the later surge in cases on these events.

"People continued flouting safety norms and during the same period the virus started mutating and became more infectious," a senior health official said.

"The new strain is more infectious. We have to find out more about the strain and how it responds to the ongoing vaccination drive," he added.

The average daily fatality count, however, is lower since February 14 compared to the earlier period.

The COVID-19 death toll increased by 9,414 between October 18 to February 13, at daily average of 79.

It went up by 2,060 up to March 23, with daily average of 55, the data shows.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Wednesday the situation in Maharashtra and Punjab was of 'grave concern'.

'Top five districts' in Maharashtra where high number of cases are being reported are Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane and Nashik, he said. -- PTI

Mumbai on Wednesday reported 5185 new Covid-19 cases, 2088 recoveries and six deaths.

As per the figures released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Wednesday evening, Mumbai has a total caseload of 3,74,611, with total recoveries amounting to 3,31,322, the death figure standing at 11,606, and active cases at 30,760.

19:25 88% of Covid deaths in post 45 age group: Govt

About 88 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths in the country are in the age group of 45 years and above, making them the most vulnerable section that needs to be protected, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the case fatality rate in this age group is 2.85 per cent.

"About 88 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths in the country are taking place in the age group of 45 years and above, making them the most vulnerable group that needs to be protected," he said, adding that this is the reason behind allowing vaccination for those above 45 years from April 1.

Speaking about the new coronavirus variants, National Centre for Disease Control Director S K Singh said 771 variants of concern (VOCs) have been detected in 18 states and union territories, which include 736 samples positive for viruses of the UK (B.1.1.7) lineage.

Till now, no linkage has been established to say that the surge being witnessed in some states is directly because of only mutations.

There are various reasons behind a surge.

States having a larger pool of susceptible population are prone to witness rise in cases.

Whenever the susceptible population will lower their guard and not follow COVID-19-appropriate behaviour, they will get the infection, be it the normal virus or the mutants, he said.

There are only three variants of concern, detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.

In addition to these, some other variants of interest have also been found in some states, including Maharashtra and Delhi, which need to be further analysed and investigated, he added.

Bhushan said there are roughly three per cent active cases of COVID-19 and these active cases are concentrated mainly in 10 districts -- nine in Maharashtra and one in Karnataka.

"Two states are of grave concern which showed recent surge in cases. First is Maharashtra which reported over 28,000 cases.

"The top five districts are Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane and Nashik," he said.

Bhushan said Punjab is another state of grave concern because, considering its population, a very high number of cases are being reported by it.

Jalandhar, SAS Nagar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Hoshiarpur in Punjab are reporting high number of cases, he said. -- PTI

The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday returned the Finance Bill 2021 without any new amendment, completing the Parliamentary approval for Budget 2021-22.

The Upper House debated the amended Finance Bill 2021 that was approved by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

It returned the bill after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had to curtail her reply to the discussion on the legislation after a verbal spat with TMC members over implementation of central schemes such as PM Kisan Yojana and Ayushman Bharat in West Bengal.

While Sitharaman said the state government had not given names of farmers for giving cash help under the PM Kisan Yojana, TMC members countered saying the state had given the nod for the scheme and the minister was not speaking the truth.

The two houses had previously approved the Appropriation Bill, authorising spending of certain sum of money.

With the Rajya Sabha returning the Finance Bill 2021, the parliamentary approval for Budget 2021-21 has been completed.

Superstar Salman Khan on Wednesday received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

The 55-year-old actor, who was spotted at the Lilavati Hospital in suburban Bandra in the evening, shared the news on Twitter.

'Took my first dose of vaccine today....' Salman Khan wrote on the microblogging site.

The Bharat star's parents -- veteran screenwriter Salim Khan and producer Salma Khan -- received their first dose of the vaccine a few days ago, a source close to Salman Khan told PTI.

On Tuesday, the government announced that from April 1, all people above 45 years of age will be eligible to get COVID-19 vaccines.

Union minister Prakash Javadekar said now even people without comorbidities who are more than 45 years of age can get inoculated.

Salman Khan is the latest Indian film celebrity to be vaccinated, after Sanjay Dutt, Sharmila Tagore, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Mohanlal, Jeetendra, Kamal Haasan, Nagarjuna, Neena Gupta, Rakesh Roshan, and Johnny Lever.

According to the Union health ministry, the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 5 crore till Tuesday.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting vaccinated first and immunisation of frontline workers began from February 2.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for those who are over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. -- PTI

18:44

COVID-19 vaccination in India.

18:19 Top losers as stock market takes a tumble

At the closing bell on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex quoted at 49,180.31, a drop of 871.13 points or 1.74 per cent, its biggest one-day fall since February 26.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty dived 265.35 points or 1.79 per cent to settle at 14,549.40.

In the Sensex pack, all shares closed in the red, barring Asian Paints and PowerGrid.

M&M was the top loser, shedding around 4 per cent, followed by SBI, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, ITC and L&T.

All sectoral indices ended lower, with BSE realty, metal, auto, bankex, industrials and finance indices falling up to 2.93 per cent.

Broader midcap and smallcap indices fell up to 1.69 per cent.

Pic: Niharika Kulkarni/Reuters

18:12 Will Covid surge shut down movie theatres again?

Is the government considering closing down movie theatres once again?

According to reliable sources, closing down movie theatres again is a "proximate possibility' that is now being considered.

Sources further add that in states where the Covid numbers have gone up exponentially, theatres are "most likely' to be shut down.

So where does it leave all the lately-announced release dates for big films such as Rohit Shetty's Sooryavanshi, Kabir Khan's '83, Nikhil Advani's Bell Bottom and the Jayalalitha bio-pic Thalaivi?

All these big-budget, made-for-cinema projects have been scheduled for release during the next few months.

But with the growing pandemic, a pall of uncertainly hangs over their future.

This correspondent spoke to one of the big filmmakers whose film is slotted for a big movie theatre release. He said he can only hope for the best.

"If the current trend of growing numbers (of Covid cases) continues and as you say movie theatres are likely to close again, then what choice do we have? We will have to release digitally."

-- Subhash K Jha

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Wednesday moved the Madras high court with a plea to restrain the Election Commission from using electronic voting machines that were beyond the expiry period of 15 years, in the April 6 Tamil Nadu assembly polls.

The other prayers of the DMK, represented by its Organisation Secretary R S Bharathi, were to provide CCTV live coverage/web-stream during voting in all the polling booths and voting centers, to install jammers at the strong rooms, where EVMs are stored and at the counting centres.

The opposition party also wanted the court to direct the Returning Officers to count at least 50 per cent of VVPATs, simultaneously.

After listening to the preliminary arguments by DMK senior counsel P Wilson, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy ordered notice to the EC, returnable by March 29.

It also directed the ECI to convene a meeting with all political parties immediately to identify the critical and vulnerable booths for fixing CCTV cameras for video graphing the polling.

The judges also wondered as to whether the EC would eliminate the usage of EVMs, which were more than 15 years old.

The bench also told the EC to explore whether jammers could be installed around the strong room where the EVMs are stored.

When a request was made to count the VVPATs, the same might be allowed as per the rules, it added.

The DMK counsel told the judges that the set of prayers were to ensure purity in the election and to uphold the democratic tradition of the country. -- PTI

Pic: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

17:31 9 of 10 districts with max Covid cases are in Maha

Of the top 10 districts in the country with high active Covid-19 cases, nine are from Maharashtra and one is from Karnataka, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.

The 10 districts where the maximum active cases are concentrated Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nanded, Jalgaon, Akola (all in Maharashtra) and Bengaluru Urban, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

The recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra and Punjab is of grave concern, the Union health ministry admitted, and said that about 88 per cent of all Covid-19 deaths in India is in the age group of 45 years and above.

There is also no linkage yet to show that the recent surge in Covid-19 cases is due to the new variants detected abroad, the ministry said.

JUST IN: The National Investigation Agency has invoked Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against suspended Mumbai Police officer Sachin Waze in the Antila bomb scare case.

More details awaited. -- ANI

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's letter to his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan was a step in the right direction, and expressed hope that it would lead to a process of dialogue and reconciliation.

"PM Modi reaching out to his Pakistani counterpart is a step in the right direction. As Vajpayee ji famously said, one can change his friends but not neighbours. I hope this leads to a process of dialogue & reconciliation. Kashmir needs healing," she said on Twitter.

Modi had on Tuesday written to Khan to extend greetings to the people of that country on the occasion of Pakistan Day.

"As a neighbouring country, India desires cordial relations with the people of Pakistan. For this, an environment of trust, devoid of terror and hostility, is imperative," he said in the letter.

-- PTI

15:47 Sensex tanks 871 points, Nifty by 265 points

Just In: Sensex tanks 871.13 pts to end at 49,180.31; Nifty tumbles 265.35 pts to 14,549.40.

15:42 Open to Sasikala's return to AIADMK: OPS

Tamil Nadu's Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has indicated that though Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisami has categorically ruled out return of VK Sasikala to the party, he feels it can be considered.

"She spent four years in prison. She was with and served Amma (Jayalalithaa) for 32 years. Just on humane consideration, I think if she accepts the present set-up of the party under a chief coordinator and his deputy, we could consider her return,'' he has said.

That is a 180 degree turn by Panneerselvam, who, in February 2017, had resigned as the Chief Minister and sat on a "dharmayuddham (battle for righteousness)" at Jayalalithaa's memorial, apparently protesting the leadership style of Sasikala.

"The party does not function for an individual or a family," Panneerselvam said while admitting that his boss had categorically ruled out her return to the party.

Panneerselvam, who heads the party while Palaniswami heads the government, said this in an interview to a local Tamil channel. He also said he had no anger or regret or disappointment in Ms Sasikala.

"Even at that time when I sat on a protest at Amma's memorial, I did not say I doubted her," he claimed.

The Deputy CM said he respected both Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, who incidentally recommended him to Jayalalithaa over 20 years ago and played a part in his rise. Panneerselvam had replaced Dhinakaran as the treasurer of the AIADMK in 2007.

Sasikala, who recently returned after serving a 4-year jail term following her conviction in the disproportionate assets case in which te late chief minister Jayalalithaa was the prime accused, has announced that she will stay away from politics.

With the BJP questioning Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's "silence" on various issues and asking the state Governor to seek a status report from the government, NCP leader Nawab Malik on Wednesday said the CM will speak at right time and that the Maha Vikas Aghadi has support of more than 175 MLAs.

He also termed as "baseless" the BJP's allegations against the Shiv Sena-led government on several issues.

Taking a swipe, Malik, who holds Minority Development portfolio, said leaders of BJP must understand that President's Rule cannot be imposed in a state "just like that".

He claimed the MVA -- comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress -- has support of more than 175 MLAs.

The state assembly has 288 MLAs.

Malik's reaction came after a BJP delegation met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday morning and requested him to send a report on current situation in the state to President Ram Nath Kovind.

The BJP has been targeting the Thackeray-led government over former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh's graft charges against state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and also on a purported state intelligence department report on "corruption" in police transfers in Maharashtra.

-- PTI

Union Health Additional Secretary writes to Chief Secretaries/Administrators of states and UTs," may consider imposing local restrictions in public observations of Holi, Shab-e-Barat, Bihu, Easter and Eid-ul-Fitr and limit mass gatherings".

Any laxity at this point may result in losing the impetus and benefits that the country has gained so far in managing Covid-19 cases : Health ministry to states and UTs

The Indian benchmark indices added to their early losses and fell over 1 per cent in Wednesday's noon deals, amid weakness in metals, auto, and financial stocks.

Among the headline indices, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 600 points, or 1 per cent, to 49,430 levels and the broader Nifty50 index gave up the 14,650-mark. ONGC, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and IndusInd Bank fell 1 per cent each.

Oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday as investors sought bargains after the previous day's drop, but gains were limited as pandemic lockdowns in Europe and a build in US crude stocks dampened risk appetite and raised concerns about oversupply.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Contai on Wednesday slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for terming his party leaders outsiders.

Taking on Mamata, who has made Bengalis versus outsiders an issue during these elections, PM Modi at a public rally in recited Rabindra Nath Tagore's Vande Mataram.

"The very Bengal from where Gurudev weaved every Indian in one garland and gave us - Punjab Sindh Gujarat Maratha Dravida Utkal Banga, Bindhya Himachal Yamuna Ganga Utkal Jaldhi tarang, in same Bengal, Didi is talking about Indians being outsiders," said the PM while responding to TMC chief's outsider jibe at BJP leaders.

Mamata Banerjee had taken pot-shots at the BJP leadership for sending its leaders from other states to West Bengal to strategise in the elections.

"In India, not a single Indian is an outsider. All of them are children of Mother India. The Bengal that has given Vande Matram to the country and tied all of us together, in the same Bengal Mamata Didi is speaking about Bohiragoto," added the PM.

He also recalled that the state is a land of Bankim Chandra, Rabindra Thakur, Subhash Chandra Bose, Mata Hajra, Syama Prasad Mookerjee who are children of the soil.

The PM also slammed the Chief Minister for terming BJP leaders tourists.

-- ANI

A 35-year-old Nigerian national was arrested in Mumbai on Wednesday for alleged possession of cocaine worth Rs 1.5 crore, an official from the Anti-Narcotic Cell (ANC) said.

A team from the Azad Maidan unit of the ANC nabbed Chikuameka Emmanuel Envonko from Agripada locality in South Mumbai in the early hours of the day, the official said.

Based on a tip-off, a trap was laid near a civic school and the accused was apprehended when he came to deliver 500 gm of cocaine worth Rs 1.5 crore, he said.

The accused, a resident of Juinagar area of Navi Mumbai, has been booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Foreign National Act, the official added.

13:17 New Covid strain found in 18 states: Centre

A new "double mutant variant" of the coronavirus has been detected in 18 states in the country in addition to many other strains or variants of concern which have also found abroad, the health ministry said today.

"Though VOCs and a new double mutant variant have been found in India, these have not been detected in numbers sufficient to either establish a direct relationship or explain the rapid increase in cases in some States," the ministry said.

12:55 Aamir Khan tests positive for Covid-19

Superstar Aamir Khan has tested positive for coronavirus and is currently under home quarantine, the actor's spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The 56-year-old actor is doing "fine" and has asked those who came in contact with him to also get tested.

"Mr Aamir Khan has tested positive for Covid-19. He is at home in self-quarantine, following all the protocols and he's doing fine.

"All those who came in contact with him in the recent past should get themselves tested as a precautionary measure. Thank you for all your wishes and concern," the statement from the spokesperson read.

Khan will be next seen on-screen in his upcoming Laal Singh Chaddha, scheduled to release in December this year.

On Tuesday, Mumbai recorded 3,512 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total to 3,69,426.

The Supreme Court of India has refused to entertain the plea of former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh seeking a CBI investigation into the alleged corrupt malpractices of Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, and asked him to approach the high court.

Following this, Param Bir Singh has withdrawn his plea from Supreme Court and said he will approach the Bombay high court.

"Liberty to approach the high court granted," the Supreme Court says in its order.

12:23 Bangla chaaye BJP sarkar, says PM Modi

Taking a dig at the Trinamool Congress-led state government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party is committed to the development of West Bengal and gave the slogan "Bangla chaaye BJP sarkar" (Bengal wants BJP government).

Prime Minister Modi while addressing a public rally in the Contai area of poll-bound West Bengal's East Midnapore, said, "This is a very crucial time for first-time voters and youth aged around 25 in Bengal. They have the responsibility to build the future of Bengal and thus, 'Ashol Poriborton' is the need of the hour."

Targeting the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Prime Minister repeated the slogan, "2 May, Didi jacche, ashol poriborton asche" (On 2 May Didi will go and real change will come).

"Didi, even the children of West Bengal have understood your 'khela'. Thus on May 2, West Bengal will show the door to Didi," he said.

"TMC's khela sesh hobe, bikash arambho hobe. The development of Bengal is BJP's commitment. We will work very hard for Bengal's future," Modi said.

The PM further questioned regarding the relief material sent by the Central government and said, "Didi has not been able to answer those who were first destroyed by Amphan and later by 'tolabaaz' of TMC. The relief sent to Bengal by Centre got stuck in the 'Bhaipo window'."

Elections to the 294-member state assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

-- ANI

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday urged the people of Tamil Nadu to punish the AIADMK-BJP alliance in the upcoming state assembly elections for abstaining from the UNHRC vote on Sri Lanka.

He also termed the development as "gross betrayal of the Tamil people".

"India abstained from voting on the Resolution on Sri Lanka in the UN Human Rights Council. This is a gross betrayal of the Tamil people and their unanimous sentiment and desire," Chidambaram said on Twitter.

"The people of Tamil Nadu must and will punish the AIADMK-BJP alliance for this grievous blow to the interests of the Tamils," he said in another tweet.

The United Nations Human Rights Council had adopted a resolution against Sri Lanka's rights record, which gives the UN body a mandate to collect evidence of crimes committed during the country's brutal civil war (2008-09) against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

India had abstained from voting, saying its approach to the question of human rights in Sri Lanka is guided by two fundamental considerations.

One is support to Lankan Tamils for equality, justice, dignity and peace and the other is ensuring the unity, stability and territorial integrity of that nation.

It also urged Colombo to fulfil its commitments on the devolution of political authority, to carry forward the process of reconciliation and address the aspirations of the Tamil community in the island nation.

-- PTI

How will the Mumbai rule to secure a Covid negative certificate before entering malls impact the already-floundering movie trade?

Trade experts weigh in:

Amod Mehra (trade analyst): "The guidelines are for the safety of all the patrons. But then it is not specified the number of days the negative certificate is valid for. Suppose one gets certified 10 days back, so can he enter the mall? And what about families coming together? The dates can vary. This will lead to a lot of confusion and end up with a huge decline in the films collections."

Rahul Mittra (producer): "Well, the move comes amid a surge in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra and I am sure it is to avoid a complete lockdown. But these measures will surely lead to stringent curbs on the movement of movie-goers and will unfortunately gravely affect box-office collections."

Kishan Damani (distributor): "This will have a negative effect definitely as no healthy person will opt for this test just to enter a mall or theatre."

Atul Mohan (trade analyst): "Business will get affected wherever this rule is applied. For watching a movie you will be inviting an additional expense of 200 to 300 rupees for rapid test in malls. And who would be interested in getting a Covid-negative certificate to watch a movie? The overall scenario is scary and then a rule like this is the last straw. People would prefer consuming entertainment in the convenience of their homes. Looking at the rising cases, I think it would be better for everybody to stay away from crowded places for some days."

Suneel Darshan (producer): "The theatrical business for Hindi movies will take some more time to recover, seeing the critical uptrend in the Covid curve. Both precaution and cautious monitoring are essential to curb the spread. Therefore the current trend of business slump in theatres is inevitable. However, what totally baffles me is the overwhelming response to some Telugu and Tamil releases recently in theatres in Telangana, Andhra and Tamil Nadu."

-- Subhash K Jha

11:37 Cinemas, temples are 'super spreaders': Delhi

In wake of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, cinema halls, malls, metro and religious place have been called 'super spreader' areas.

"All district magistrates have been instructed to increase surveillance in areas," news agency ANI quoted the Delhi government as saying on Wednesday.

India's coronavirus caseload surged to 1,17,34,058 with 47,262 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, the Union health ministry said Wednesday morning. Total deaths due to the infection in the country has mounted to 1,60,441.

11:29 Verdict in Tarun Tejpal rape case on April 27

A sessions court in Goa will on April 27 pronounce its verdict in the 2013 rape case registered against Tarun Tejpal, former editor-in-chief of Tehelka magazine, a police officer said on Wednesday.

Tejpal is accused of raping his journalist colleague inside an elevator of a five-star hotel in Goa in 2013 during an event organised by the news magazine.

Additional district and sessions court judge Kshama Joshi heard final arguments in the Tejpal case on March 8 and fixed the matter for judgment to a later date.

Investigating Officer Sunita Sawant told PTI that the court fixed the date of verdict on April 27.

Tejpal faces charges under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 376 (2)(f) (person in position of authority over women, committing rape) and 376(2)(k) (rape by person in position of control) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The arguments in the matter were held in-camera by the North Goa district and sessions court in Mapusa town during which 71 prosecution witnesses and five defence witnesses were examined.

The Goa crime branch had filed a 2,846 pages chargesheet against Tejpal in February, 2014.

After the case was booked against him, Tejpal denied the allegations saying they were part of a "political vendetta" by the BJP government in Goa.

11:06 CJI Bobde recommends NV Ramana as successor

Chief Justice of India SA Bobde has recommended Justice NV Ramana as his successor after he retires.

Chief Justice Bobde is set to retire on April 23. The government had last week asked him to recommend his successor, news agency PTI had reported quoting sources.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday reportedly sent a letter to Justice Bobde, seeking his recommendation.

Justice NV Ramana is the most senior judge in the Supreme Court after the Chief Justice Bobde.

Born on August 27, 1957, justice Ramana has tenure till August 26, 2022.

As per the Memorandum of Procedure governing the appointment of members of the higher judiciary, "appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of India should be of the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office".

With the ongoing assembly polls in four states and one Union Territory, the curtailment of the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament is likely, sources said.

According to sources, the month-long second part of the Budget session that started on March 8 is likely to be curtailed and may end on March 25. The session, which was earlier to be concluded on April 8, could be adjourned sine die before time, sources added.

Several members on behest of their parties had earlier approached the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker and Chairman of Rajya Sabha to curtail the session citing elections as the reason.

Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party Lok Sabha Floor Leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Leader of the TMC Parliamentary Party in Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien had written to Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman respectively requesting them to adjourn the same.

Elections are being held in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry from March 27 to April 29. The results for the same will be announced on May 2.

The first part of the Budget Session commenced with the address of President Ram Nath Kovind on January 29 and concluded on February 29.

-- ANI

10:20 Fadnavis meets Maharashtra governor

Amid fast-paced political developments in Maharashtra, a delegation of opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leaders led by former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis arrived at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai to meet Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday morning.

The BJP has been attacking the three-party ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi alliance over the allegations against state home minister Anil Deshmukh, demanding his resignation. The NCP leader has been accused of corruption by Param Bir Singh, an IPS officer who was transferred as Mumbai police commissioner during the investigation into security threat case against billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

Singh said in a letter to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray that Deshmukh gave Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze, arrested in the Ambani bomb scare case, a target to extort ₹100 crore from various establishments of Mumbai. Singh has moved the Supreme Court against his transfer and to seek a CBI probe against Deshmukh. The court will hear the petition today. The minister has, meanwhile, denied all the charges.

The NCP, part of MVA, has also backed the minister, ruling out his resignation. NCP chief Sharad Pawar - credited with stitching the three-party alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress - acting as the chief crisis manager, held a press conference and multiple meetings with party leaders and discussed the issue. He told reporters on Monday that Deshmukh was recuperating from Covid-19 during the period Param Bir Singh has claimed that he was indulging in "extortion activities" through police officers.

While BMC officials state there is no need to panic, the civic body is preparing for a worst-case scenario.

According to the BMC, there has been an increase in the number of occupancy which saw a jump from February last month, to March this month.

Its been decided to increase 18,000 beds from the current 14,000 in Dedicated COVID Hospitals & Dedicated COVID Health Centres.

Also, beds will be increased from the current 25,000 to 50,000 beds in Covid care centres.

Mumbai city reported 3,514 new cases and eight deaths on Tuesday, taking its cumulative caseload to3,69,451 and death toll to 11,604.

India recorded 47,262 new cases of the coronavirus disease in a timespan of 24 hours, according to Union health ministry update on Wednesday morning. This took the nationwide tally to 11,734,058, the data showed.

The country also recorded 275 related fatalities, its highest one-day toll this year. The fatality count pushed the death toll up to 1,60,441, the ministry data showed.

Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu - which have reported a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases - are major contributors in the nationwide tally, the health ministry has said.

These states together account for 80.90 per cent of the new cases, according to the ministry.

India's total active caseload is rising after touching its lowest mark in mid-February. On Wednesday morning it stood at 23,080.

09:12 Maha CM's wife also tests positive for Covid

After Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, his mother and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's wife Rashmi Thackeray too tested positive for coronavirus, officials confirmed.

The chief minister and his wife had taken a first dose of the vaccine against coronavirus at the government-run J J Hospital on March 11.

"Her COVID-19 test came out positive on Monday night. She has been quarantined at `Varsha'', the official residence of the chief minister," said an official.

Aaditya Thackeray, state tourism minister, had disclosed two days ago that he had tested positive for the viral infection.

On Sunday, Maharashtra had reported 30,535 fresh Covid-19 cases in the state, the highest rise in a single day so far.

Hong Kong suspended vaccinations using Pfizer shots -- known as BioNTech shots in the city -- on Wednesday after they were informed by its distributor Fosun that one batch had defective bottle lids.

The suspension was immediate while Chinese pharmaceutical firm Fosun Pharma and BioNTech, the German company which created the vaccine with American pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, investigate the matter, according to a statement by the Hong Kong government.

BioNTech and Fosun Pharma have not found any reason to believe the product is unsafe, according to the statement. However, vaccinations will be halted as a preventive and safety measure.

The defective lids were found on vaccines from batch number 210202. A separate batch of vaccines, 210104, will also be not be administered.

Macao also said Wednesday that residents would not receive the Pfizer vaccinations from the affected batch.

08:05 Mumbai cops close to Sachin Waze transferred

An Assistant Police Inspector who was questioned by the NIA in the Sachin Waze case was among 86 officials who were transferred on Tuesday, a city police official said.

Earlier in the evening, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had met Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as the home department is facing heat over the Waze case as well as the allegations of corruption against Deshmukh himself.

API Riyazuddin Kaazi, who was Waze's colleague at the the Crime Intelligence Unit, was transferred to the Local Arms unit, a relatively low-key department, the police official said.

In all, 65 officials from the Mumbai Crime Branch alone were shunted out, some of them to the traffic department, he added.

Kaazi had been questioned by the National Investigation Agency which is probing the case related to the recovery of a Scorpio with explosives near Mukesh Ambani's house. Waze has been arrested in the case.

-- PTI

The Senate voted to confirm Indian-American doctor Vivek Murthy to be US President Biden's surgeon general, handing the administration one of its top public health officials amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Senators voted 57-43 to confirm the Indian American as Biden's surgeon general. Dr Murthy had served as surgeon general under the Obama administration but was fired by former President Trump in 2017.

"I am deeply grateful to be confirmed by the Senate to serve once again as your Surgeon General. We have endured great hardship as a nation over the past year, and I look forward to working with you to help our nation heal and create a better future for our children," Vivek Murthy tweeted.

Republicans Senators Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Roger Marshall, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney and Dan Sullivan joined Democrats in supporting Vivek Murthy's nomination on Tuesday.

Dr Murthy is a distinguished physician and former Vice Admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde said he had tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, adding that his health was fine.

This is the second time the state minister for social justice is contracting COVID-19, the first being in June last year. -- PTI

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