Here are the top 5 news updates of December 23, 2021:
A blast inside the district court complex in Ludhiana today left one person dead and three injured, police said. The blast that took place in the wash room of the second floor of the court complex was so powerful that one of the walls in the complex got damaged and windows of some vehicles parked in the premises were shattered. The district court was functioning when the blast took place. Earlier, the police claimed that two people died in the blast but later on said one person had died. Condemning the blast, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said some anti-national and anti-state forces were trying to commit such disgusting acts ahead of the assembly elections in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said cow is mother and sacred to many people and those who find this as "sin" don't realise that livelihood of crores of people depends on cattle. The PM was addressing a rally after inaugurating and laying foundation stones of 27 projects worth Rs 2,095 crore in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, just months ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Taking a jibe at rival parties, he said those making jokes on cows and buffaloes forget that the livelihood of crores of people depends on "pashudhan" (livestock). "Cow is mother and sacred to us," he said, adding that some find it as "sin"
After appearing at Khar Police Station today morning to record her statement in a case related to alleged derogatory remarks made by her against Sikhs on Instagram, actor Kangana Ranaut expressed her disappointment saying that "this country continues to ill-treat nationalists." "This country continues to ill treat and devalue nationalists and if you love your nation you are on your own against a very powerful enemy," she wrote. For the unversed, on December 13, Bombay High Court asked Kangana to appear before Mumbai Police on December 22 for investigation of an FIR registered against her for her Instagram post with alleged derogatory remarks made against Sikhs.
Amid rising COVID-19 cases and Omicron variant threat in Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar today in the state assembly reprimanded the members for not wearing masks. Intervening during the proceedings of the assembly, Pawar said except few members, the rest are not using masks in the house which he claimed is a matter of serious concern. He also urged the Chair to remove the members, who are not wearing masks, out of the house. ‘’If few members are feeling uncomfortable while speaking by wearing masks, they can remove it and use it again after their speech is over,’’ he added. Immediately after Pawar’s statement, ministers, the leader of opposition and legislators put on their masks.
Equity benchmark Sensex surged 385 points today following gains in index majors Infosys, ITC and HDFC amid a positive trend overseas. The 30-share index jumped 384.72 points or 0.68 per cent to end at 57,315.28. Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced 117.15 points or 0.69 per cent to 17,072.60. PowerGrid was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 4 per cent, followed by ITC, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, NTPC and Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Maruti and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.
