Delhi Assembly looks to the future — by hosting astrologers
Two days before the Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party legislators are expected to gather at the Delhi Assembly to discuss the CBI summons to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for Sunday, the premises saw a gathering of astrologers, tarot card readers and palmists.
The Jyotish Mahakumbh 2023 was organised by Jyotish Mahasangh and was held in the Assembly premises for the first time, said Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, who also spoke at the event.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Goel said his address to the gathering on Saturday was about two things. “One was about denouncing people who have turned astrology into a business to fool people. The second was to talk about garbhadharan (conception) sanskar (culture)… This has an element of astrology and is very important for us today. If I have to buy a shirt, I will go to the market and choose, if I buy flowers for my house, I will go and choose them, but what about the best creation of God (children)… There is no planning, no thinking. There are texts about this in our culture, which are linked with astrology, how it should happen, how it shouldn’t… Every household should follow this in today’s time,” Goel said.
A Delhi Court Monday extended the judicial custody of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia till May 1 in ED as well as CBI cases related to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped excise policy. Sisodia was brought to the Rouse Avenue Court from the Tihar jail early today. On April 3, the court had extended Sisodia's judicial custody till April 17.
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has been fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party for a second term. Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal also filed his nomination for his present post. They filed their nominations for the upcoming mayoral polls, likely to be held on April 26, at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Civic Centre on Monday.
Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Trisha, Sobhita Dhulipala and Aishwarya Lekshmi are back at it! The Ponniyin Selvan actors are on a tour to promote the upcoming historical fiction Ponniyin Selvan 2, which will be released on April 28 across the world. The stars took a private flight for their tour and were spotted chilling in the capital city having kulfis to beat the heat. However, as the Tamil saying goes ‘Vallavanuku pullum aayudham (To the valiant, even a grass blade is a weapon),’ the actors turned the kulfi sticks into swords for their mock fights. Looks like the bunch is finding hard to snap out of character yet. See here
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With the Supreme Court setting aside the Bombay High Court order discharging former Delhi University teacher G N Saibaba and five others, who were convicted over Maoist links, and remanding the matter back to the high court to be decided afresh by a different bench, his wife Vasantha expressed hope that he will be acquitted on merits of the case soon.
The Supreme Court bench has ordered that the matter be decided by the high court within four months. Read the story here
The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed the Centre to ensure that no news channel displays contents of the charge sheet in the Shraddha Walker murder case till the disposal of the petition filed by the Delhi police. Read more here
“I am very excited to be here and have an iftar at Jama,” said Mohammad Shahim, a visitor from Meerut at Delhi’s Jama Masjid. “I enjoy having Aslam’s chicken, Haji Mohammad’s chicken fry, and Hilal’s nihari,” Shahim continued to share his musings in and around the second-largest mosque of the Indian subcontinent.
During the holy month of Ramzan, if one would be asked to describe Jama Masjid in a word, it would be rich. Rich in its architecture, crowd, and aroma. While the architecture of the mosque is ethereal, the lanes surrounding it reveal the intricacies of Delhi’s old-world charm. Read the story here
Stating that a victim now has unbridled participatory rights in such cases as has been held by the apex court, the Delhi High Court Wednesday held that there is no requirement in law to make a victim in sexual offence cases a party to criminal proceedings.
A single-judge bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani in its judgment while restricting the observations to criminal matters concerning sexual offences said, “There is no requirement in law to implead the victim, that is to say, to make the victim a party, to any criminal proceedings, whether instituted by the state or by the accused.” Know more here
The city government will hold a crucial roundtable conference next month where the findings of a real-time source apportionment study will be shared with all stakeholders and a strategy will be developed to further reduce pollution in Delhi-NCR, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday. (PTI)
Apple CEO Tim Cook, on a visit to India for launching stores in Mumbai and Delhi, has shared glimpses of his trip to Delhi’s Lodhi Art District, where the billionaire lauded the St+art India Foundation.
A disturbing video of a performer being trashed by Delhi Police went viral on social media on Tuesday. It has now come to light that the busker was India’s Best Dancer former contestant Varun Dagar, who was beaten up by the police and a few bystanders. Speaking exclusively to indianexpress.com, the dancer-singer, who is also a busker, shared that the incident has left him shaken, however, he wouldn’t let it affect his love for his craft. He also shared that he doesn’t want to hate anyone but wonders why people have so much hatred in their hearts.
What happened?
Elaborating on what transpired on that ill-fated night, Varun shared that he was performing at Delhi’s Connaught Place. It’s his usual spot and he said the police often come to stop them from performing. “Because it has happened multiple times in the past, I did not pay much heed. And like most days, a few of us asked them how they can stop us if it’s not an illegal act. The audience was cheering and hooting for us and that may have angered them. The officers immediately got into action mode,” he shared. Read more here
India’s second Apple Store will be inaugurated in Delhi’s Saket on Thursday, coming just days after the first store opened in Mumbai BKC.
The store, situated at Select City Walk Mall, is much smaller than the flagship store in Mumbai but will still showcase all the Apple products and experiences.
Days after a team from the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) found a 50-litre canister containing acid in a public toilet near the GB Pant Hospital, the body issued a notice to the MCD commissioner Wednesday, asking for an explanation in the matter.
The DCW has asked the MCD to provide details of toilets in which operating and maintaining agencies have been directed to use acid to clean the toilets, along with their contact document. Know more here
Another judge of the Delhi High Court Wednesday recused from hearing Asif Iqbal Tanha’s plea against the “leak” of his alleged confession statement by the Delhi Police to the media in its 2020 Northeast Delhi riots “larger conspiracy probe”.
After Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, Justice Amit Sharma, before whom the matter was listed, recused from hearing the matter. Justice Sharma asked the Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, who was present in the court, if the charge sheet filed in the matter is the same one being investigated by the Special Cell. To which, Prasad replied in the affirmative. Read more here
Justice Amit Sharma of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday recused himself from hearing a petition filed by northeast Delhi riots accused, Asif Iqbal Tanha, against the alleged leak of his "disclosure statement" in a case pertaining to the "larger conspiracy" behind the communal violence that took place here in 2020.
"List before another bench subject to the orders of the Chief Justice on April 24," said Justice Sharma. The petition was listed for hearing before the judge after the recusal of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani last week. During the proceedings, Justice Sharma asked if the matter arose from the FIR probed by the special cell of Delhi Police under the UAPA.
Lawyer Sowjhanya Shankaran, representing the petitioner, said the present case did not "arise" as such from the Delhi riots FIR but Tanha was an accused in that FIR and his purported disclosure statement was put in public domain by certain media organisations even before the charge sheet was filed and taken cognisance of. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to ensure that no news channels display the chargesheet in Shraddha Walkar murder case till the disposal of the plea filed by the Delhi police.
The petition was moved by the police after the sessions court on Monday directed Aaj Tak not to telecast the contents of the narco analysis and psychological assessments conducted on the accused Aaftab Poonawala.
Additional Sessions Judge Manisha Khurana further granted the Delhi police permission to approach the high court for seeking restrain on the channel as well as other media channels from utilising in any form any material related to the FIR.
It is extremely vital that changes are undertaken in methods of teaching and learning to ensure that curiosity of a child can be leveraged in a manner that enables them to learn as much as possible, Delhi Education Minister Atishi said Tuesday.
She was sharing key findings of the Delhi government’s Delhi Arts Curriculum pilot project as part of which children were taught Hindi, English, Mathematics and other mainstream subjects through the means of music, dance, theatre and art, besides the traditional textbooks, according to an official statement. Read more
A 16-year-old boy has been apprehended by the Delhi Police for allegedly killing a man after the latter forced him to have sex with him. The police said they received a PCR call on April 15 regarding a dead body of a man lying on the footpath at the back of Red Fort. Subsequently, a police team rushed to the spot and found the man had a head injury.
Crime and FSL teams were called to the spot and a friend of the deceased identified the body as that of Shambhu, aged around 40 to 45 years. Other details related to the deceased could not be ascertained and a case of murder was lodged and an investigation was initiated. Read more
The Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) will conduct topographical surveys of drain lines in different parts of the city to redevelop the drainage and change points, said officials.
According to a PWD official, the topographical survey will be conducted using the total station and differential global positioning system (DGPS) instrument. “The survey will be done on the existing drains connection drains/pipes etc and it will show the drainage inventory, invert levels and top level of drains at suitable intervals but not more than 100 metres and also at critical points/ change points/junctions i/c measuring cross-sections of drain etc,” said the official. Read more
A 32-year-old man was stopped by the Delhi Police in Central Delhi while he was carrying his mother’s body in his e-rickshaw. The man, Jagdish, told the police his 65-year-old mother had died of chronic illness.
Police said the man had admitted his mother to Dr Ambedkar Hospital on Monday and she was later discharged on the same day. On Tuesday, however, she died. The man was then seen taking his mother to his native place in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda in his e-rickshaw. Read more
A group of students of Delhi University's Ramjas College have developed biodegradable cutlery from stubble with vegetable seeds embedded in them which, they claim, has the potential to address pollution and unemployment problems.
Food can be served using these cutlery and can be planted after use so that the seeds in them can germinate, said the group, who are part of the Ramjas chapter of nonprofit organisation Enactus which uses business as a catalyst for positive social and environmental impact.
Enactus representatives said the cutlery has been designed to address a multitude of problems, including the menace of stubble burning, waste produced by paper and plastic plates, and continuous deforestation.
The project, named Waraq, is in the pilot stage and students are looking to establish a workshop for the production of cutlery. Though the price of the biodegradable cutlery is slightly on the higher side, students associated with the project said "its benefit should not be ignored". (PTI)
A lot can change in a month’s time in politics. The allegations against the Arvind Kejriwal government in the Delhi excise policy case were serious and there should be an investigation, the Congress had said just over a month ago.
On Tuesday, the party saw the case as yet another instance of misuse of investigating agencies by the BJP government against the Opposition parties.
The two parties which were at daggers drawn till some time ago are now partners in the Opposition unity project. Read the Political Pulse here.
The Khan-e-Khana and the Humayun's tomb Tuesday illuminated at dusk in New Delhi, as the world observed the International Day for Monuments and Sites.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982 took a decision to celebrate April 18 as the International Day for Monuments and Sites, popularly known as World Heritage Day.
(Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
The Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (Sahmat) Art Collective Monday organised a programme in Delhi in memory of contemporary artist Vivan Sundaram who died of brain haemorrhage at the age of 79 on March 23.
Sundaram’s memorial programme held at Jawahar Bhavan included an exhibition of pictures and videos from his life and works from his artistic career that spanned over six decades.
On ‘Memorial’ (1993–2014), a room-size installation by Sundaram, which is on display at Tate Modern, Nakamori said, “Sundaram carefully took charge of how every small component needs to be placed. The entire exercise was done remotely”.
Read the full story here.
LG VK Saxena Tuesday ordered the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission to conduct Special Audit of Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) regarding the AAP government’s flagship power subsidy scheme.
Saxena also directed DERC to assess, through a CAG empanelled external auditor, whether the subsidy reached the intended beneficiaries — that is the city’s poor — “in the most transparent and efficient way” from the financial years, starting 2016-17 till 2021-22.
Shikha Rai, the BJP's pick for the post of Mayor, is a Supreme Court advocate and has held various positions both within the party's state unit as well as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. In the party, she has held positions ranging from vice president to general secretary as well as the Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha.
In the MCD, during 2017-18, Rai was Leader of the House and Standing Committee Chairperson in the year 2018-19; she has contested the Delhi Assembly elections from the Kasturba Nagar and Greater Kailash constituencies.
The party especially sought to underline that Rai was among leaders from the party's state unit to have participated in the unfurling of the national flag at the Lal Chowk in Srinagar during a curfew in the year 2011.
Soni Pandey, who has been chosen for the post of Deputy Mayor, according to the BJP, is an “active member” of its Purvanchal Morcha and belongs to a family which is “committed to the BJP's ideology”
The Delhi BJP Tuesday decided to field Shikha Rai, the councillor from the Greater Kailash-1 ward, and Soni Pandey, from northeast Delhi’s Sonia Vihar ward, for the elections of mayor and deputy mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), PTI reported.
Rai and Pandey filed their nominations today. The voting will be held on April 26.
The BJP on Tuesday decided to field Shikha Rai and Soni Pandey for the election of mayor and deputy mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi despite not having adequate numbers in the House. Rai and Pandey will file their nomination papers later on Tuesday, according to a Delhi BJP statement. Tuesday is the last date for filing nominations and voting will be held on April 26.
Shikha Rai is the councillor from the Greater Kailash-1 ward while Soni Pandey represents northeast Delhi's Sonia Vihar ward in the civic body. Earlier, a top leader of the Delhi BJP had claimed that it was unlikely to contest the polls as there was a "clear mandate" in the favour of the Aam Aadmi Party.
The AAP has fielded sitting mayor Shelly Oberoi and deputy mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal for the polls. (PTI)
A 20-year-old woman has been found hanging at her house in south Delhi's Devli village with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide. The woman's husband informed the police about the incident on Monday evening, a senior police officer said.
Harsh (21) told the police that his wife hanged herself to death from the ceiling fan with a saree, the officer said. No suicide note has been recovered and the body has been sent to AIIMS for post-mortem, police said, adding the couple got married six months ago. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought Delhi University’s (DU) response in three working days to a plea by a PhD scholar who was debarred for a year over his alleged involvement in the disturbance of law and order in the university during the screening of the BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ in January.
A single-judge bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, while hearing the case, orally remarked to the university’s counsel: “There has to be independent application of mind… It is not reflected in the order. You are a statutory body…a university,” adding that the order must “reflect the reasoning”. Read more
The Delhi Traffic Police have issued more than 5,384 challans for drunk driving in the national capital in the first three months of 2023, a rise of more than 13 times from the last two years’ figures, said officials. The corresponding numbers for 2022 and 2021 were 399 and 286.
The steep hike in the number of challans is a result of the traffic police’s crackdown on drunk driving after the Covid pandemic. They started a campaign against drunk driving at night through breath analyzers and the deployment of multiple personnel at important stretches. Read more
The Public Works Department (PWD) has started the first phase of desilting work across the national capital to avoid waterlogging during the upcoming monsoon season, said officials.
This year in the run up to the G20 Summit, Lieutenant Governor G Vinai Kumar Saxena has directed all the departments to work in coordination and strictly ensure that no waterlogging incident takes place in September when the foreign delegates will visit India. Read more
A day after he narrated the tale of an “uneducated king” to make a case for change of political guard at the Centre, the BJP slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal calling him a “sarfira mukhyamantri (madcap chief minister)”.
Accusing him of wasting public funds on the single-day session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly on Monday, the BJP on Tuesday attributed Kejriwal’s veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his “frustration” over the possibility of landing behind bars in the excise policy case. Read more
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a direction to the Law Commission to prepare a comprehensive report on uniform judicial code in consultation with high courts to make judicial terms, abbreviations, norms, phrases, court fee structure and case registration process uniform.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Yashwant Varma asked the petitioner how it can entertain the plea when the Supreme Court had treated the petition to be “dismissed as withdrawn”. "Your petition was dismissed as withdrawn in the Supreme Court. If your matter was withdrawn from the Supreme Court and no liberty was granted, how can we entertain it? You go and get clarification from the Supreme Court," the bench said.
To this, petitioner and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay said he had withdrawn the petition from the apex court and it's a general language used in orders. (PTI)
A 30-year-old man died after he was hit by a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus in the RK Puram area of New Delhi. According to the police, the deceased was crossing the road when the bus hit him. He was immediately taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.
According to the police, the information about the accident was received by them around 8 am. A case has been registered and the investigation is going on, said the police.
According to the 'Delhi Road Crash Report 2021' prepared by Delhi Traffic Police, on average, three persons were killed in road accidents every day in Delhi over the last two years of 2021. The majority of the victims were pedestrians. The report highlighted overspeeding of the vehicles as one of the main factors of fatal accidents. (ANI)
As per the Patiala House Court's directions Monday, Lawrence Bishnoi has been brought to the court and will be produced before it soon. On Monday, Delhi's Patiala House Court had directed the authorities to keep Lawrence Bishnoi in Tihar Jail and produce him before it Tuesday.
He was to be produced before the court in an NIA case. He was being brought from Bathinda Jail, Punjab. The court of Principal District and Sessions judge Dharmesh Sharma was informed that Punjab Police and other agencies were on the way to Delhi and won't not be able to reach there within court hours.
Thereafter, the court ordered them to take him to Tihar Jail and produce him Tuesday morning before the court. The court also directed the jail authorities to ensure the safety and security of Lawrence Bishnoi as he is a high-risk accused.
The court had on April 11 issued a production warrant to produce Lawrence Bishnoi in a case registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under section related to Waging war against the State, conspiracy to wage war against the State, sections 17, 18, 18 B and 38 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
-- With inputs from ANI
A Srinagar-bound Spicejet flight returned to Delhi International Airport nearly 30-40 minutes after departure. Airport officials said an emergency was declared at the airport. The flight and all passengers in it are safe. Airport officials said the reason behind the redirection was unclear.
Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) has begun a probe into allegations by the varsity’s Ambedkarite Students Forum (ASF), which has claimed that the university administration “repeatedly tried to disrupt the programme with the help of security guards” while they were celebrating Ambedkar Jayanti on the campus on April 14.
University authorities said the matter has reached the proctorial board and is under preliminary investigation. “Prima facie, there is an involvement of a student from the university and the proctorial board is further looking into the level of the student’s involvement in the matter,” said Anshu Singh, PRO, AUD. Read more
L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena Monday reiterated his demand that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal produce proof to substantiate allegations that the former was conspiring to do away with the city’s power subsidy scheme.
He also warned the CM of legal action and accused the Delhi government of playing “petty political games” over the issue. Responding to the L-G, the AAP called his allegations false.
Citing examples, including statements issued to the press and tweets over the past few weeks, the L-G stated in a letter to the Chief Minister that Power Minister Atishi, Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and Kejriwal himself had been making “blatantly false, misleading, accusatory, libellous and defamatory statements” in this regard. Read more
An FIR was registered in connection with the collapse of two buildings due to an LPG cylinder blast at Nangloi road in the national capital on Monday. Police said a PCR call was received at around 5.06 am on Monday, informing about the collapse of two houses at Kunwar Singh Nagar, Nangloi.
In the first incident, a two-storey building caved in, leaving a total of seven persons injured. In the other incident, a single-storey building went down, leaving 2 persons injured. Two fire engines, 2 PCR vans, 5 CATS (Centralised Accident and Trauma Services) ambulances, a vehicle of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority and a minibus of the Disaster Management Service along with Delhi Police personnel reached the spot, the police added.
All nine persons were rescued with the help of locals and firefighters and were rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital at Mangolpuri in Delhi. (ANI)
A route rationalisation study conducted by the Delhi government, which understood the needs and demands of public transport users, has laid the path for introducing "mohalla" buses in Delhi, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has said. He said the buses will operate on shorter distances, connecting important points of interest in the national capital, including transport hubs such as metro stations.
"With the introduction of mohalla buses and the integration of different transport modes, we aim to make Delhi one of the top 10 cities in the world for public transport. We are also taking steps to ensure hassle-free operations, including finding new spaces to house the electric buses," he said on Monday.
Gahlot further said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has been planning to integrate different transport modes into a reliable, affordable, convenient and high-frequency multi-modal transport system in the coming years. A meeting was chaired by the minister with international experts on the Mohalla Bus scheme. The virtual consultation was attended by Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra, Delhi Transport Corporation, Managing Director Shilpa Shinde, officials from the DTC and the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System and public transportation experts from India, Colombia and the United States.
The Mohalla Bus scheme is an initiative to provide affordable and convenient public transport services to the residents of all localities, especially those living on the city outskirts. Small and medium-sized buses will ply on designated routes, covering all neighbourhoods and localities, especially poorly connected residential as well as commercial hubs. The buses will be equipped with modern amenities and will operate on a frequent and regular basis.
The scheme was announced earlier this year and aims at deploying nine-metre-long electric buses to provide a neighbourhood or feeder bus service. The Arvind Kejriwal government plans to roll out 2,180 such buses by 2025. (PTI)
The national capital recorded a minimum temperature of 22.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning, a notch above the normal, as the weather department forecast a partly cloudy sky later in the day. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 41 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The relative humidity was recorded at 37 per cent at 8:30 am. The weatherman has forecast a partly cloudy sky later in the day on Tuesday. Heatwave conditions persisted in parts of Delhi for the second consecutive day on Monday, with some weather stations recording maximum temperatures at least five degrees Celsius above normal.
The Safdarjung Observatory registered a maximum temperature of 40.6 degrees Celsius, four notches higher than normal, on Monday. It was the third consecutive day when the maximum temperature settled above 40 degrees Celsius here.
In 2022, Delhi recorded its second hottest April since 1951 with a monthly average maximum temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius. The city's Air Quality Index (AQI) was on Tuesday recorded in the 'poor' (230) category at 9 am, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'. (PTI)
Hyderabad businessman Abhishek Boinpally, accused in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering probe into the excise policy case, told the Delhi High Court Monday that there was an “obvious dichotomy of approach and understanding” in the orders passed by the court which granted him bail in the CBI case and rejected it in the ED case.
Boinpally has moved the HC seeking bail besides moving a writ petition challenging his arrest, remand and other proceedings conducted by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Read more about the case here.
A no-objection certificate from police to hold any event, allowing entry to only pre-registered students, security drills, CCTVs at gates – Delhi University Monday issued a 17-point advisory to colleges and departments for holding any programme, event or fest.
This comes following the alleged harassment of students of Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW) during their annual fest last month, and similar incidents at Miranda House and Gargi College over the past few years.
What are these guidelines? Read here.
The Delhi High Court Monday asked gaming platform WinZO Games to seek instructions on a notification issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) amending the IT Rules, providing a self-regulatory mechanism for verification of online games on intermediary platforms.
A single-judge bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula was hearing a lawsuit moved by WinZO seeking a declaration that the games hosted by them are predominantly games of skill and enjoy constitutional protection.
Read the full story here.
For the third consecutive day, the maximum temperature in Delhi crossed 40 degrees Celsius on Monday.
The maximum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung weather station, which provides representative figures for the city, was 40.6 degrees Celsius, four degrees above the normal for this time of the year.
No heatwave warning is in place for Delhi on Tuesday or later this week. A western disturbance is likely to bring rainfall to Delhi and other parts of northwest India this week.
Read more here.
A Delhi High Court judge who was hearing Asif Iqbal Tanha’s plea against the “leak” of his alleged confession statement by the Delhi Police to the media, in its 2020 Northeast Delhi riots “larger conspiracy probe”, has recused from hearing the matter.
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani had on an earlier hearing indicated that he may have to recuse from hearing the matter after News Broadcasters & Digital Association moved an intervention application stating that he has had a “past association” with the organisation.
Read the full story by Malavika Prasad here.
SP leader Azam Khan's condition is stable, according to Dr. BB Agarwal, Vice Chairman, Laproscopic, Laser & General Surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
Khan was admitted to the hospital Monday morning with complicated hernia case. “He is presently off blood thinners because of recent heart stenting and will be operated soon for hernia,” Dr Agarwal said.
The moral of the story is... "agar aapke desh mai mehngayi hai, samasya hai, sab kuch gadbad chal raha hai to sabse pehle jaanch kar ke dekho aapka Raja (King) unpadh to nahi hai. (If you find everything is wrong in your country, if there is inflation... see if your king is uneducated), and also if he has a friend... otherwise there will be no solution for your problems..."
Kejriwal concluded in Assembly by taking a jibe at PM Modi and his ability to govern the country by saying, "Kehte the andher nagar ka chaupat raja, sava sher baja, sava sher khaaja".
Referring to himself, Arvind Kejriwal, while narrating the story during the Assembly session Monday, said, "There was a small state in that country and it had a CM. That CM was very honest, kattar imandar (very honest), deshbhakt (patriotic) and most importantly, he was educated. He used to take care of his people, and to help his people, he made electricity free.
Kejriwal alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi threatened him for providing free electricity, and said, "because he (King) had captured all the power companies, he thought if the CM will give free electricity, his business will come down..."
"Now the people in the society also realized how their King was....they threw that King away... And elected an honest, deshbhakt man in his place, and formed his government," Kejriwal continued the story. "Then the country saw only progress and development, and became number one."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal continues his story, attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi:
One day the King thought, I dont know how long I am gonna live, I should start earning quick money now... But he was also all confused because his image was also at stake... Then he called one of his friends and told him that I will help you get all the tenders from liquor shops, companies and everything... Name will be yours and money will be mine, you will get 10 percent commission and the rest will be mine.
The two of them looted the entire country... First they looted a bank... The Raja (King) threatened a bank chairman to give his friend a loan amount iof Rs 10,000 crore, and if he does not, files against him will be opened and he will be sent to jail. Gradually, the 4th pass King and his friends looted 2.5 lakhs crores from banks.
After that they wanted to buy the country, so they bought six airports, coal mines, sea ports, power companies, increased electricity rates, bought private companies of small businessmen at gunpoint ... destroyed the entire country. The country saw huge inflation... prices, of petrol, milk, cylinder etc increased.
Now, the people also got tired and started raising their voice but the Raja (King) ordered to arrest everyone who would speak against him — from a cartoonist to a journalist and even a judge — everyone who raised voice against him has been arrested and put behind bars.
Kejriwal's attack on PM Modi continues in Assembly...
One day, a group of people met the 4th pass Raja (King) and told him they had a great idea... demonitize all the 500 and 1000 currency, and corruption will end in the country. The uneducated King asked them something but he did not understand anything, and blindly listened to them... And one day went on TV at 8pm and announced demonetization... Pure desh mein haa-haakar mach gayi... (there was public outcry) ... long queues outside bank, inflation, unemployment etc increased... Neither terrorism ended nor the corruption..The 4th pass King destroyed the entire country.'
'Similarly, the King fell into the trap of some other group of leaders, signed and imposed three Black Bills (refering to the now-scrapped three farm bills)... thousands of farmers stepped on roads in protest, and around 750 died.'
'The problems in the country started growing because of this uneducated King...'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, during the Assembly session, Monday narrated a story targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The story continues ...
"Now, as the astrologer said that the boy would grow up to become the king of that country. "poore desh mai uska naam hogaya 4th pass Raja... He became the king but he did not know anything, or had any knowledge as he was uneducated... Officers used to come and speak in "angrezi" (English), and everything went above his head because he did not understand anything. So, whatever document the official will give him, he will sign and approve. Because he was ashamed to ask them anything or any clarification because he was uneducated.
"Na jaane, iss class 4 raja ne kis kis file par sign kar diye hain" (Don't know which all files have this King signed?)
But the Raja later started feeling bad as people called him "class 4 Raja"....So, what did he do, he got himself a fake degree and started saying I am M.A... Now, people also thought that how can our class 4 King can become an MA graduate all of a sudden, so they started filing RTI to know the truth....But he imposed a challan of Rs 25,000 on every person who filed RTI seeking a copy of his degree.
The Gujarat High Court, earlier in March, imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal, who had requested information on Modi’s degrees under the RTI Act. Kejriwal had also said that an illiterate or less educated Prime Minister was dangerous for the country.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday, during the one-day long special Assembly session, said, "today, I want to tell a story in the house... title of the story is "Chauthi (class 4) pass raja". You people must have heard a lot of stories about Raja-Rani. Meri kahani mai rani nahi hai bas raja hai... (There's only king in my story, not the queen)."
This Raja (King) is uneducated, studied upto class 4 and very egoistic, he said in his speech ... This King had a huge lust for money, was very corrupted."
"This is a story about a great country which thousands of years old. And in that country, a baby was born into a very poor family... when he was born, an astrologer told him, "Maayi, tera beta bada ho kar bahut bada samrat banega..."("Your son will become a great king one day").
"Maayi ko yakeen nahi hua (His mother did not believe him) — mera beta kaise samrat banega, mai to bahut garib hoon (How can my son be a king, I am very poor)," Kejriwal continued the story.
"The boy grew up, he used to go to a nearby school in his village but he was not interested in studies... He somehow passed class 4, left school and education..There was railway station near the village and the boy used to sell tea in the station to run his family...," the story continues.
"Ladke ko bhashan dena ka bada shauk tha... aas paas ke gaon ke ladke ikkhata kar leta tha aur bhashan deta tha... jis bhi chiz par ek baar shuru hota tha ye band nahi hota tha.." (The boy liked giving speeches ... he used to bring other boys together and give them lectures ... he refused to stop delivering them once he started), the Delhi CM continued his attack on PM Modi.
The Supreme Court Monday sought Delhi Police’s reply on CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat’s plea which challenged the trial court’s refusal to direct registration of an FIR against Union Minister Anurag Thakur and his BJP colleague Pravesh Verma for their alleged hate speeches on anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh here.
Earlier in January, the apex court had referred the plea to another bench. Read the full story here.
A Delhi Court Monday extended the judicial custody of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia till May 1 in ED as well as CBI cases related to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped excise policy.
Sisodia was brought to the Rouse Avenue Court from the Tihar jail early today.
On April 3, the court had extended Sisodia’s judicial custody till April 17.
BJP workers protested against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his alleged links to the excise policy case in the national capital on Monday.
BJP accuses AAP government of deliberately trying to trigger a “Constitutional breakdown” in Delhi.
"Surrounded by allegations of corruption itself, the Aam Aadmi Party is now pushing Delhi towards a Constitutional breakdown. Just the consideration of the possibility by the ruling party of summoning the Lieutenant Governor to the Vidhan Sabha Privileges Committee means breaking constitutional conventions," says Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor.
Delhi MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi and deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal file nomination for coming term.
They filed their nominations in the presence of AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, Education Minister Atishi, and MCD Leader of the House Mukesh Goyal. The upcoming mayoral elections are likely to be held on April 26. Read here.
BJP leader Vijendra Gupta alleges that calling a one day session for the political agenda is mockery of the House.
Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla has referred the matter to the Privileges Committee. She also asked the committee to examine whether the L-G should be summoned in the matter or not.