Here are the top 5 stories of December 10, 2020:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone for the new Parliament building, which is expected to be completed by 2022.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and various religious leaders were also present at the event. Tata Trusts' Chairman Ratan Tata also attended the ceremony. For the uninitiated, Tata Projects Ltd has been given the contract for the project.
Speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony, PM Modi said: "We will have to take the pledge of 'India first'. Our decisions should make the nation stronger and be measured on the same scale - that nation's welfare comes first. Our efforts in next 25-26 years should be towards how do we want to see India in 2047, in our 100 years of Independence."
"We, the people of India, take this pledge - there will be no greater interest for us than national interest. We, the people of India, take this pledge - The country's concern for us will be more than our own concern. We, the people of India, take this pledge - nothing will be more important to us than the unity and integrity of the country," he added.
BJP President JP Nadda’s car was ransacked today while he was on his way to Diamond Harbour Road in West Bengal. The convoy included cars of other senior leaders like BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and BJP state president Dilip Ghosh.
Nadda reacted sharply to the attack allegedly carried out by Trinamool Congress supporters. He said he could only stay safe because he was travelling in a bullet-proof car, even as vehicles of other BJP leaders were damaged in the incessant stone-pelting.
Addressing party workers on the second day of his two-day visit to the state, Nadda said, "Today I have come here, but the scene I got to view on the way tells me that under Mamata Banerjee's reign, Bengal has become synonymous with anarchy and intolerance. Today, I could come here only with the blessings of Maa Durga. The TMC goons had left no stone unturned to choke democracy."
Nadda also accused the TMC of politicising the police and administration in Bengal. "We have to stop it and make the lotus (the BJP's party symbol) bloom in in the state."
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut today took a dig at Union minister Raosaheb Danve's claim of China and Pakistan's role behind the ongoing farmers' protests, saying if is true, then the Centre should teach a lesson to the neighbouring countries.
"If a Union minister has information that China and Pakistan have a hand behind farmers agitation, then the Defence Minister should immediately conduct a surgical strike on China and Pakistan," Raut said.
"The President, Prime Minister, Home Minister and the Chiefs of the Armed Forces should discuss this issue seriously," he added.
This comes after Danve on Wednesday claimed that China and Pakistan were behind the ongoing protests by farmers.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah today confirmed that the day-night Test between India and England will commence from February 24 in Ahmedabad. Shah also said that the four-match Test series will commence from February 7.
"The first Test will start from February 7 and the day-night Test will be played in Ahmedabad at the Motera Stadium from February 24," said Shah while inaugurating Gujarat Cricket Association's indoor academy for young cricketers.
Earlier, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had revealed that India will play five T20Is against England when the visitors tour the country early next year. The former India skipper had said that it will be a full-fledged tour of four Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is.
Shah has now also revealed that the five T20Is will also be held in Ahmedabad.
India's richest man Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita have become grandparents after son Akash and daughter-in-law Shloka welcomed their first child - a baby boy.
A statement from the Ambani family spokesperson read, "Nita and Mukesh Ambani are delighted to become grandparents for the first time, as they welcomed the great-grandson of Dhirubhai and Kokilaben Ambani. Shloka and Akash Ambani became proud parents of a baby boy today in Mumbai. Both mother and son are doing well. The new arrival has brought immense joy to the Mehta and Ambani families."
Akash Ambani had married diamantaire Russell Mehta's daughter Shloka in March 2019.
Meanwhile, the Ambanis has been blessed with a baby after almost 24 years. The youngest of the Mukesh Ambani's children - Anant Ambani was born in April 1995. While Anil Ambani's youngest son - Jai Anshul Ambani was born in 1996.
