Junior Digest

New Delhi, October 24,2020: Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) on Saturday deteriorated to the ‘severe’ category, which is likely to affect people’s health, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee data (DPCC).
The AQI in Alipur was at 432 while it stood at 427 and 409 in Mundka and Wazirpur, respectively.
According to experts, the severe category affects the health of people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases.
An AQI between 0-50 is marked good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor and 401-500 is considered severe.
Amid the rise in pollution levels, people are having problems with breathing and some children have started facing throat problems due to contaminated air.

Recently, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) submitted before the Delhi High Court that it has issued directions to implementing agencies including State Pollution Control Boards, construction agencies, municipal bodies, traffic police and transport department of Delhi and NCR for strict action against air polluting activities.
On Friday, a plea sought filed in Delhi High Court sought directions to the Delhi government and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to issue fresh orders and instructions at the earliest putting a strict ban on bursting firecrackers and burning of effigies to prevent further air pollution.

It also sought directions to the Department of Environment, Delhi Government, and the Union Ministry of Environment to come up with eco-friendly ways of celebrating Dusshera.

The petitioners urged the court to direct appropriate departments to take immediate and appropriate steps to ban burning of effigies and fire-crackers in Delhi on the festival of Dussehra in light of COVID 19 pandemic.

Oct20,2020:The poll spending limit for candidates contesting Lok Sabha and assembly elections has been enhanced by 10 per cent based on the recommendation of the Election Commission that contestants be allowed to spend more on campaigning keeping in mind difficulties they may face due to COVID-19 curbs.

The hike in expenditure limit will help candidates contesting Bihar assembly poll as well asbypolls to one Lok Sabha and 59 assembly seats.

Over a month ago, the Election Commission had recommended a 10 per cent hike in expenditure for all elections to be held during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hike was recommended keeping in mind the difficulties candidates may face in campaigning amid the restrictions imposed, including those on holding rallies amid the pandemic.

The notification issued by the Law Ministry on Monday night said the maximum expenditure a candidate can incur for campaigning in Lok Sabha polls is now Rs 77 lakh. It was so farRs 70 lakh.

For assemblies, it has been hiked from Rs 28 lakh to Rs 30.8 lakh.

The maximum expenditure limit for candidates to spend for their campaigning varies from state to state.

The notification, which amended the Conduct of Elections Rules, does not mention that the limit has been hiked keeping in mind the pandemic and whether it is limited for polls being held amid COVID-19.

The amended rules, the notification said,”Shall come into force on the date of their publication in the official Gazette and shall remain in force till such date as may be notified by the Central Government.”

“The maximum expenditure limit was enhanced for a reason. But the notification need not mention the reason,” explained a senior EC functionary.

The last time the expenditure ceiling was enhanced was in 2014 just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Assembly polls in Bihar will be held on October 28, November 3 and November 7.Most of the assembly bypolls will be held on November 3.

Bypolls to the Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha seat in Bihar and some assembly seats in Manipur will take place on November 7.

New Delhi, Oct 27,2020: The CBI investigation in the sensational Hathras case, in which a Dalit girl was allegedly brutally raped and died of injuries, will now be monitored by the Allahabad High Court, the Supreme Court Tuesday said.
The apex court said that all the aspects of the case, including monitoring of probe and providing security to the victim’s family as well as the witnesses, would be considered by the high court.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said that plea for transfer of trial out of Uttar Pradesh in the case would be considered later after the CBI probe is completed.

The top court, which passed the verdict on a batch of pleas of activists and lawyers who have claimed that a fair trial was not possible in Uttar Pradesh as the probe has allegedly been botched up, said that CBI will file the status report in the case before the high court.

The bench considered the request of Uttar Pradesh government and asked the Allahabad High Court to delete the victim’s name from one of its orders on a PIL pending there.

A 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four upper-caste men in Hathras on September 14. She died on September 29 at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital during treatment.

The victim was cremated in the dead of the night near her home on September 30. Her family alleged they were forced by the local police to hurriedly conduct her last rites. Local police officers, however, said the cremation was carried out “as per the wishes of the family”.

Itanagar, Oct 24,2020: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said the times now are different from 1962 and the people of the state and the Indian Army will never fall back no matter how many times China tries to claim the territory as its own.

Khandu was speaking at a programme on Friday at Bum La, a pass on the Indo-Tibet border in the northeastern state, to honour a soldier who died fighting in the 1962 India-China war.

“This is not 1962, but 2020, and things are different now. Right from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, we are fully prepared. If required, the people of Arunachal will not hesitate to stand behind the Indian Army,” he said.

China does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh as an Indian state but as a part of southern Tibet, a claim that has been rejected outright by India.

Speaking on the changes in the last six decades since 1962, the chief minister said infrastructure development along the border areas has received a major thrust under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The development of border areas, specially roads, is important. It is being done in full speed in Arunachal Pradesh and we will soon witness several such infrastructural revamps in the state,” he said.

Khandu was at Bum La to pay tribute to Subedar Joginder Singh on his 58th death anniversary. He recalled the supreme sacrifice of Singh, who laid down his life fighting the Chinese army in the 1962 Indo-China war.

Singh, who was a subedar in the 1st battalion of the Sikh Regiment, was commanding a platoon at Bum La in the then North East Frontier Agency, now Arunachal Pradesh.

“Fighting against all odds, Subedar Singh attained martyrdom on this day during the 1962 India-China war. The people of Arunachal salute his bravery and will always remember the supreme sacrifice he made for the nation,” Khandu said.

Though heavily outnumbered, Singh had led his troops against a Chinese assault and defended his post until he was wounded and captured. He died of his injuries while in Chinese custody and is believed to have single-handedly killed several Chinese soldiers and created history in the annals of the Indian Army.

He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest military gallantry award of the country, in 1962.

Kulwant Kaur, Singh’s daughter, inaugurated a newly-built war memorial in her father’s name at the programme.

The memorial has been built by the Arunachal Pradesh government just below the famous IB Ridge to commemorate Singh’s heroic defence against the People’s Liberation Army of China.

Siliguri (WB),Oct 20,2020: J P Nadda Monday said the execution of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has been delayed due to the pandemic and asserted that the law will be implemented soon.

Nadda, who was speaking at a meeting of social groups of north Bengal, accused the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal of indulging in “divide and rule politics” in the state to serve the political interests of her party – the TMC, unlike BJP which works for the development of all.

All of you will get the benefits of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. It has been passed in Parliament. We are committed to it,” he said at the meeting.

“Due to COVID-19 pandemic, implementation of CAA got delayed. But as the situation is slowing improving, work has started and rules are now being framed. It (CAA) will be implemented very soon. Nadda added.

Srinagar, Oct 25,2020: Seven mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday gave a formal shape to their recently cobbled alliance for the restoration of Article 370, electing National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah as its chairman and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti as vice-chairperson, and asserted that theirs was “not an anti-national” grouping

Veteran CPM leader M Y Tarigami was elected as the convenor while Lok Sabha member from South Kashmir Hasnain Masoodi would be the coordinator of the conglomerate known as Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD)

Sajjad Gani Lone of People’s Conference would be the spokesman for the amalgam

After a meeting held at Mehbooba’s house, Abdullah, who turned 84 earlier this week, said the alliance is fighting for the restoration of special status to Jammu and Kashmir and is an “anti-BJP platform” and not an anti-national amalgam

“I want to tell you that this is false propaganda by the BJP that the PAGD is anti-national. I want to tell them that this is not true. There is no doubt that it is anti-BJP, but it is not anti-national,” he told reporters here

Abdullah alleged that the BJP has tried to break the federal structure through acts like the abrogation of Article 370 and dividing Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories

“They have tried to destroy the Constitution of the country, they have tried to divide the nation, to break the federal structure which we saw what they did on August 5 last year,” the NC president said

“I want to tell them that this (PAGD) is not an anti-national jamaat. Our aim is that the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh should get their rights back. That’s where our battle is. Our battle is not for more than that,” he said

Abdullah said the BJP was doing propaganda against the constituents of the PAGD in Jammu and elsewhere in the country

“They are trying to divide us (people of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh) in the name of religion. This attempt will not succeed. This is not a religious battle, this is a fight for our identity, and for that identity, we are standing together,” he said

The amalgam, which met for the first time after its formation, will come out with a white paper within one month?on governance in Jammu and Kashmir over the past one year since the abrogation of article 370, Lone told reporters after the meeting

“The white paper will not be rhetoric.?It will be based on facts and figures to present the reality to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and around the country….? An impression is being given that all the corruption had happened in Jammu and Kashmir,” Lone said

The amalgam decided to hold its next meeting after a fortnight in Jammu, followed by a convention in? Srinagar on November 17

As a mark of defiance to the constitutional changes made by the Centre with respect to Jammu and Kashmir last year,? the alliance adopted the flag of the erstwhile state as its symbol

While the Communist Party of India’s Kashmir head A R Trukroo joined the PAGD, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee has quietly distanced itself from the alliance

JKPCC chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir,?who was part of the meetings that took place before the formalisation of PAGD earlier this month, has skipped the last two meetings

The JKPCC had issued a statement after the previous meeting that Mir could not attend due to the advice of doctors

This time the party did not explain its absence from the meeting.

New Delhi, Oct 21,2020: With the onset of festival season, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made an impassioned appeal to people to follow COVID-19 guidelines, saying this is not the time to be careless as the virus is still around and even a small negligence can dampen the festive spirit.

In his seventh address to the nation following the COVID-19 outbreak, Modi cited examples of the US and several European countries to note that the coronavirus cases there have seen a sudden and worrisome rise after witnessing a fall, as he cautioned citizens against any laxity until an effective cure is found.

He said pictures and videos have of late emerged showing that many people have either stopped following precautions like wearing masks or have become negligent.

“This is absolutely not right. Those who have become negligent and are moving around without masks are putting themselves and their families, including children and elderly, at risk,” he said in his televised speech.

He noted that people have been getting on with their lives after the lockdown was lifted while economic activities are picking up and crowds are slowly returning to markets in the festive times.

At one point in his speech, he folded his hands to impress upon people to take precautions like wearing masks, sanitising their hands and maintaining social distance and said he wants to see them safe and their families happy.
Modi invoked sages like Kabir and the holy scripture of Ramcharitmanas to make his point about not taking a disease lightly until it is fully overcome.

People should continue to be careful and not be callous until a vaccine is found, Modi said.

Countries across the world are working at a war-footing to develop a vaccine, and scientists in India have also been working hard in this regard.

The prime minister said the government is making all efforts to ensure that a vaccine, whenever it is launched, reaches every Indian.
Modi also highlighted India’s “success” in saving lives in the fight against the disease compared to resourceful countries like the US, Spain, Brazil and Britain.

While there are 25,000 COVID cases for one million population in countries like the US and Brazil, the corresponding figure in India is only 5,500. The number of fatalities in India is 83 for a million population against more than 600 in nations like the US, Brazil, Spain and Britain, he said.

India now has more than 90 lakh beds for COVID-19 patients, 12,000 quarantine centres, 2,000 labs for testing, the prime minister said, adding that the total number of tests will soon cross 10 crores.

Festivals are a time of happiness but even a small amount of negligence can dampen our spirits, he said.

While Navratra and Durga Puja festivities have already begun, festivals like Diwali and Chhath will be celebrated next month.

Modi also greeted people for various festivals, including Eid-Milad-un-Nabi and Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary.

The number of new coronavirus infections reported daily in India dropped below 50,000 for the first time in nearly three months, taking the COVID-19 caseload to 75,97,063 on Tuesday, according to the Union Health Ministry.

A total of 46,790 fresh infections were reported in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,15,197 with 587 fatalities being registered in a span of 24 hours, the data updated showed.

The number of new fatalities reported daily across the country was recorded below 600 for the second consecutive day.

The total recoveries crossed 67 lakh while active cases of coronavirus infection remained below 8 lakh for the fourth consecutive day. A total 67,33,328 people have recuperated from the disease so far pushing the national recovery rate to 88.63 per cent while the case fatality rate due COVID-19 stands at 1.52 per cent.

New Delhi, Oct 22,2020: The Supreme Court has sought response from the Centre on a plea seeking formulation of standard operating procedure (SOP) for mandating pre-litigation mediation across the country to reduce pendency of cases.

A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde, A S Bopanna, and V Ramasubramanian issued notices to the Ministry of Law and Justice and various high courts on the plea.

Issue notice returnable in four weeks, the bench said.

The apex court was hearing a petition filed by Youth Bar Association of India and advocate Sanpreet Singh Ajmani which suggested that alternate and pre-litigation processes be made mandatory to reduce pendency of cases in various courts.

According to the petition, use of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms will help to control frivolous matters coming up for hearing by giving an opportunity to parties to settle their disputes amicably before any litigation can start.

The plea contended that pre-litigation mediation is an attempt to resolve the dispute among the parties amicably with the help of neutral third party called Mediator before going to the court or even before filing litigation or sending a notice.

It gives a chance to both the parties to end the dispute in a win-win position. In it issues can be sorted out sooner and this process is inexpensive compared to the expenditure incurred at every stage of the case/issues in litigation.

To reduce the number of pending cases, the Government should work on a mechanism to introduce a pre-litigation mediation process, so that avoidable cases can be prevented from reaching the courts and settle the issue effectively, the plea said.

Srinagar, Oct 25,2020: Leaders of “ Political Alliance of Gupkar Declaration” (PAGD), including three former Chief Ministers (CMs) on Saturday met here to discuss future strategy with regard their demand for restoration of Article 370 and 35 A which were abrogated by the Centre on August 5, 2019.

The meeting held at the residence of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former CM Mehbooba Mufti at Fairview Gupkar, was attended among others by former CMs Dr Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah, CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Peoples Conference (PC) chief Sajjad Gani Lone and Awami National Conference (ANC) vice president.

However, Congress after supporting the first Gupkar Declaration on August 4,2019, gave slip to subsequent meetings, including on Saturday.

Todays meeting was held a day after Mehbooba addressed press conference, first since her release after 14 month detention, during which she announced that she will not hoist the national flag until the flag of erstwhile state was not restored. However, the statement of Mehbooba evoked serious criticism, particularly from Bharatiya Janata Party and other saffron parties who demanded her arrest on sedition charges.

Earlier, during the day Dr Abdullah met eight senior leaders of the party from Jammu and discussed the current political situation and aspirations and concerns of the people of Jammu. Dr Abdullah also attended the meeting after he was questioned twice by Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 19 and 21, when he turned 84, in connection with J&K Cricket Association (JKCA) multi crore scam. The signatories of the PAGD alleged that questioning of Dr Abdullah was a political vendetta.

The PAGD are demanding restoration of special status of the Jammu and Kashmir and release of all other detenues arrested before or on August 5 last year.

New Delhi, Oct 27,2020: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended 4th Annual India Energy Forum by CERA Week on Oct 27. She said, “India’s growth this year will be negative or near zero. Next year India can be one of the fastest growing economies. Festival season has commenced in India, as a result of which I expect the demand to go up and therefore, be sustainable also.” She further said, “Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow between April and August of 2020, grew by about 13% compared to non-COVID 2019’s comparable period. Globally, we are one of the lowest in terms of Corporate Taxation. For any investment which comes into manufacturing and which commences production by 31st March 2023, they shall be paying only 15% Corporate Tax.”

DEHRADUN: Oct19, 2020: In recreation of famous ‘Chipko Movement’ dating back to 1973, thousands gathered in Thano of Dehradun on Sunday opposing felling of over 10,000 trees for expansion of Dehradun airport.

A 12-year-old ‘Global Climate Activist’ Ridhima Pandey termed as Greta Thunberg of India, who was also there to support ‘Save Thano Forest’ movement said, “We are hell-bent on destroying our ecosystem mercilessly. This is a threat to whole mankind. These forests are source of life. We will be protesting against the felling of trees until the decision is reversed.”
Thousands of locals of Thano, Dehradun, Rishikesh, Bhaniyawala gathered and tied ‘Raksha Sutras’ to the trees pledging to protect those trees.

Slogans were raised and Raksha Sutras were tied around trees which represent that ‘we the people’ are the protectors of the forest.
Activists, environmentalists are apprehensive that the move to cut the trees in the Thano range of the Dehradun forest division could affect wildlife movement in the elephant corridors and change course of a river in the vicinity of the forest.

New Delhi, Oct 27,2020: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that in spite of various challenges, India is projected to emerge as a leading energy consumer and to nearly double its energy consumption over the long term.

Delivering the inaugural address at 4th India Energy Forum CERA Week through videoconference, the Prime Minister said ,’In spite of various challenges like fall in energy demand by almost one third, prevailing price instability, impacted investment decisions, projected contraction in global energy demand over the next few years, India is projected to emerge as a leading energy consumer and is projected to nearly double its energy consumption over the long term.’

Speaking at the energy forum, whose theme was “India’s Energy Future in a world of Change”, Mr Modi pointed that India is the third largest and the fastest growing aviation market in terms of domestic aviation and Indian carriers are projected to increase their fleet size from 600 to 1,200 by 2024.

He said India believes that access to energy must be affordable and reliable.’That is when socio-economic transformations can take place,’ Mr Modi said.

The Prime Minister said India’s Energy Plan aims to ensure energy justice while fully following India’s global commitments for sustainable growth.

‘This means more energy is needed to improve the lives of Indians with a smaller carbon foot-print,’he said.

He envisioned India’s energy sector to be growth centric, industry friendly and environment conscious. Mr Modi said India is among the most active nations in furthering renewable sources of energy.

The Prime Minister listed the interventions which made India the most attractive emerging market for clean energy investment viz, distributing more than 36 crore LED bulbs, reducing the cost of LED bulbs by 10 fold, installing over 1.1 crore smart LED street-lights in the last 6 years.

He said these interventions have enabled an estimated energy savings of 60 billion units per year, estimated green-house gas emission reduction of over 4.5 crore tonnes of Carbon dioxide annually and monetary savings of around Rs. 24,000 crore annually.

The Prime Minister remarked that India is well on track to meet the global commitment. He said the target to increase the installed renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022 has been further extended to 450 GW by 2030.

He said in spite of India having one of the lowest carbon emissions than the rest of the industrialized world, India would continue its efforts to fight climate change.

New Delhi, Oct 23,2020: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday suggested that after the full roll out of the new National Education Policy (NEP), the board examination of classes 10 and 12 should discontinue.

Speaking at the 57th General Council meeting of NCERT, Mr Sisodia gave some important suggestions to realise the vision of NEP 2020, the Delhi Government said in a statement here.

He also gave inputs on the current academic session, which has been seriously disrupted due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Concurring with Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on ‘transformative value of NEP 2020’, Mr Sisodia said that ‘transformation should be holistic and not piecemeal’.

Elaborating the point, he said, ‘It is about time that we introduce muti-year stage wise classes and external assessment at the end of each stage, replacing the existing year wise classes and two board exams in classes 10 and 12.’

Mr Sisodia pointed out that the 5+3+3+4 model recommended in the NEP can attain its full potential, if the existing one year per grade system is removed.

It means instead of the existing class system, where all children of a class move together in all subjects, despite being at different learning levels, the multi-year stage will help them move as per their learning need in different subjects, at their own pace, said the Minister.

He added that a stage-wise curriculum with a clearly stated learning goal in terms of knowledge, skill and values be created.

Going by the logic of the stage, Mr Sisodia said that after the full roll out of NEP, board exams of classes 10 and 12 should also discontinue.

Patna (Bihar), October 22,2020: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday released its manifesto for three-phased Bihar elections and promised that after the approval of the coronavirus vaccine from ICMR, every person in the State will get vaccinated free of cost.
“In the fight against coronavirus, the NDA government has set an example in the country. It is our resolution that as soon as the vaccine will be approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), every person in the State will be vaccinated,” the manifesto said.
Union Finance Minister and BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman released the party’s manifesto.
“As soon as COVID-19 vaccine will be available for production at a mass scale every person in Bihar will get free vaccination. This is the first promise mentioned in our poll manifesto,” Sitharaman said.
The senior BJP leader said that Bihar is one State where all citizens are politically sensitive and well informed.
“They know and understand the promises a party makes. If anyone raises questions on our manifesto, we can answer them with confidence as we fulfill what we promised,” she added.

New Delhi, Oct 25,2020: The BJP on Saturday accused PDP president Mehbooba Mufti of “disrespecting” the Indian flag and asserted that the revocation of Article 370 was done constitutionally and that it will not be restored.

Her comments that she will not hold the tricolour till the Kashmiri flag is restored is “downright denunciation” of the national flag’s sanctity, senior BJP leader and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister had on Friday said that she was not interested in contesting elections or holding the tricolour, the national flag, till the constitutional changes enforced on August 5 last year were rolled back.

She said she would hold the tricolour only when the separate flag of the erstwhile state is restored.

Prasad asserted that Article 370, which gave the erstwhile state a special status and was revoked last year, will not be restored.

It was removed following a proper constitutional process and both Houses of Parliament approved it with overwhelming numbers, he said.

Revoking it was our commitment to the nation and people have appreciated it, he said.

In many ways, Mufti has shown serious disrespect to the very image of India which the tricolour represents, he added.

The minister also hit out at other opposition parties, saying they have maintained a stony silence at her remarks showing serious disrespect to the national flag, even as they criticise the saffron party at the “slightest of issues”.

“This is hypocrisy and double standard,” Prasad said.

He claimed that the revocation of the Article 370 has led to increased development in the union territory with the weaker sections of society, like SCs, STs, OBCs and women, enjoying the same rights that they do in the rest of the country.

People participated in local polls in Jammu and Kashmir with joy and happiness, he said.

“Some people and families who used to rule with impunity and without accountability are going to have problems,” he said.

New Delhi, Oct 18,2020: Criticizing statements of Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijay Singh regarding Article 370, Information and Broadcasting Minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said that the Congress leaders are speaking in unison with the separatists.

Talking to mediapersons, Mr Javadekar asked whether the Congress will refer to the repeal of Article 370 in its manifesto for the Bihar Assembly elections?

The senior BJP leader said that Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijay Singh, while denouncing the decision to withdraw Article 370, have spoken of withdrawing it which is against the sentiments of the people of the country.

Mr Javadekar said, ‘ Rahul Gandhi (Congress leader) also continues to praise Pakistan. He likes to praise Pakistan and China on any subject.’

The senior BJP leader said that the people of the country had welcomed the decision of abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir.

‘After the abrogation of Article 370, everyone has seen how much progress has been made in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,’ Mr Javadekar said.

Oct 27,2020: In a relief to candidates contesting bypolls in Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed an order of the Gwalior bench of MP High Court restraining physical campaigning in nine districts under its jurisdiction.

A three-member bench of the SC, headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, however took a strict view of the role of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the political parties, while listing the matter after six weeks. The other judges on the bench were justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjeev Khanna.

The SC said that the ECI should have intervened at the appropriate level and asked the government to take steps. The poll panel should have ensured that SOPs (standard operating procedures) were followed at public meetings and candidates who were found to violate norms should have been issued notice, the apex court said, adding that if the parties maintained protocol, this situation would not have arisen.

The court directed the ECI to take cognisance of issues raised in the petition before the MP High Court. “All contentions are left open. It will be open to parties to invite attention of the ECI in respect of issues arising,” the bench said in its order.

Katra (Jammu and Kashmir), October 17,2020: Devotees queued up at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Katra for ‘darshan’ on the first day of Navratri on Saturday.
7000 people are being allowed to visit the shrine in a day. Their temperature is being checked and all necessary SOPs, in the wake of the pandemic, are being followed.
Sanitizing, social distancing and masks are mandatory. The per-day pilgrims limit has been increased from five thousand to seven thousand. Also, the Pitthu and pony services have also been resumed. Helicopter services are already operational.
A Mata Vaishno Devi App has been launched through which people, who are not able to come to Mata Vaishno Devi, can have live darshans at their homes.

A devotee said, “The decoration is very good and flowers have come from Bengaluru. The arrangement for COVID-19 has been done.”
“They are facilitating conducting COVID-19 tests before coming here,” she added.
The celebrations of Sharad (autumn) Navratri involve worshipping Goddess Durga and her nine forms. The festival is celebrated in different ways across the country. Over the next nine days, devotees offer their prayers to Goddess Durga and observe fasts.
Also known as Sharad Navratri, the occasion is believed to mark Goddess Durga’s victory over demon Mahishasura, signifying the victory of good over evil.
The 10th day of Sharad Navratri is celebrated as Dussehra or Vijaya Dashami.

Lucknow, Oct 27,2020: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government has acknowledged the honesty and hard work of street vendors by offering them loans that were inaccessible to the poor in the past.

“Those doing politics in the name of the poor had created an atmosphere that if a loan is given to them it would not be returned. Those who had themselves been involved in scams had always put the blame for all dishonest things on the poor,” he said, addressing beneficiaries of the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme in Uttar Pradesh via video conferencing.

Modi said today the poor have been linked to the banking system and loans have been given to street vendors who are repaying them in time.

“I have always been saying the poor of the country have never compromised with honesty and self respect. Through the PM Svanidhi Yojna the poor have once again presented the example of their honesty before the country,” he said.

“The street vendors of UP are repaying loans through their hard work besides earning their livelihood. This is the will power and hard work and honesty, Modi said.

Modi, who explained the scheme in detail, also took the opportunity to attack those who had questioned the government’s move of linking the poor with the banking system.

The doors of the banks which have today been opened for you have not happened in a day. It is the result of the ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas’ policy,” he said.

The PM said the scheme was a reply to those who were sceptical about linking the poor with the banking system.

He claimed that when the jan-dhan accounts were opened, many people had questioned and laughed but now those accounts had come to the help of the poor.

“The street vendors are helping in taking the poor forward, they are getting connected to banks, the mainstream of the economy. In a global pandemic which forced big nations to bow before it, the common man of the country bravely did it,” he said.

The PM SVANidhi scheme was launched on June 1 this year to help poor street vendors, impacted by economic distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in resuming livelihood activities. Around 25 lakh applications have been received of which 12 lakh have been sanctioned.

While interacting through video conferencing with Preeti, a fruit vendor from Agra, Arvind Maurya who sells momos and coffee in Varanasi and Vijay Bahadur who sells bhelpuri in Lucknow, the PM enquired about their businesses and how the scheme has helped them.

Expressing satisfaction on coming to know that Preeti accepts digital payments, Maurya gives one momo extra to those using masks and maintaining social distancing and Bahadur used the loan amount to better manage his business, the Prime Minister said other people too can learn from their example.

He said while earlier people had to go to the banks to take loans, the banks are now coming to them to give loans.

He also said in the economy of Uttar Pradesh, street vendors have an important role to play. Such a big state with a big population. Through street vending, a large number of people are not only earning their livelihoods but also helping in meeting the requirements of the people in their own towns and villages.”

Street vending jobs have an important role in checking migration from Uttar Pradesh which is today the top performing state in the scheme, he said, praising Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his team for their efforts.