Here are the top 5 news updates of December 30, 2021:
Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra today said all political parties in Uttar Pradesh want the Assembly elections to be held according to schedule while ensuring Covid protocol. The number of polling booths will be enhanced and the voting time increased by an hour, he said, adding polling officials will be vaccinated and those eligible will be given a booster dose. The CEC also asked the state to step up vaccination. On a three-day visit to Lucknow to review preparations for the elections slated to be held early next year, Chandra held a series of meetings with representatives of different political parties as well as state and district-level officials. Elections are due in Uttar Pradesh by mid-March when the term of the Yogi Adityanath government ends.
Omicron is gradually spreading in the community and the new, fast-spreading variant of concern has been found in 46 per cent of the latest samples analysed in the national capital, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said today. He said stringent curbs have been put in place as part of the Graded Response Action Plan for COVID-19 to check the spread of the infection and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will decide on implementing more restrictions. "The latest genome sequencing report showed 46 per cent of the samples have Omicron. These people include those who do not have any travel history. It means Omicron is now inside Delhi," Jain said. "Indeed, the variant is gradually spreading in the community and its proportion will increase in the coming days," the minister said when asked if Omicron will be the dominant variant in a possible third wave of the pandemic.
A fresh political row erupted after Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen for an NCP-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government in Maharashtra after the October 2019 Assembly polls threw up a fractured verdict. Pawar referred to his meeting with the PM on November 20, 2019. At that time, Pawar had confirmed how Modi wanted NCP-BJP to "work together" and even offered a central Cabinet berth to his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule. "There was a discussion about an alliance... I had told the PM right in his office that it was not possible... I would not like to keep them in the dark," Pawar recalled the incident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hit out at hit out at the Opposition for "manufacturing and spreading rumours". Addressing a public rally after the inauguration of various projects in Uttarakhand, the Prime Minister said, "Due to the people who want to keep you from prosperity and happiness, Manaskhand that was the entry gate of Mansarovar did not get a road. Now that the public knows their (Opposition) truth, these people have started a new business of rumours, by manufacturing, spreading, and then screaming about it. These Uttarakhand rebels are spreading rumours about the Tanakpur-Bageshwar rail line as well." "After Independence, the people of Uttarakhand have seen two streams. One which keeps the mountain region from development. The other works for the development of the mountain region. The people of Uttarakhand and the country have exposed the people who brought destruction and now known their truth," the Prime Minister added.
Equity benchmarks indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally down today due to losses in Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance and Maruti as investors remained cautious amid surging Omicron cases. The 30-share index ended 12.17 points or 0.02 per cent lower at 57,794.32. Similarly, the broader Nifty fell 9.65 points or 0.06 per cent to 17,203.95. Reliance Industries was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling nearly 2 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma and SBI. On the other hand, NTPC, HCL Tech, IndusInd Bank, Titan, Wipro and Dr Reddy's were among the gainers.
