Here are the top 5 news updates of January 17, 2022:
Accepting a demand by the state government and various political parties, the Election Commission decided today to hold the single-phase assembly polls in Punjab on February 20 instead of February 14 in view of Guru Ravidas Jayanti. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, BJP and its allies, the BSP and other organisations had urged the poll panel to postpone the date of voting as lakhs of followers of Guru Ravidas travel to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to celebrate his birth anniversary on February 16. In a statement, the Commission said polls would now be held on February 20. It coincides with the third phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh.
The Bombay High Court today refused to grant pre-arrest bail to BJP MLA Nitesh Rane in an attempt to murder case registered against him by the police in Sindhudurg district. A single-judge bench of Justice C V Bhadang rejected the anticipatory bail application filed by Nitesh, son of Union minister Narayan Rane, but allowed the plea of another accused in the case, Manish Dalvi. Nitesh's advocate Niteen Pradhan then sought the high court to extend the police's earlier assurance that no coercive action shall be taken against the MLA for one more week. The bench then asked special public prosecutor if the police are willing to extend such assurance. To which, Pasbola responded by saying that the police will not take any coercive action against Nitesh for a week.
Veteran Shetkari Kamgar Paksha leader Narayan Dyandeo Patil, popularly known as N D Patil, who fought for the cause of farmers and the marginalised sections in his entire life, died due to age-related ailments in Kolhapur in Maharashtra today. He was 94. Patil had joined the Shetkari Kamgar Paksha (SKP) for justice and rights of farmers and labourers in 1948. While working with the outfit, Patil studied academic and social issues in depth. He fought for the protection of the interest of the downtrodden during his life. Patil had served as an MLC for 18 years. He had also worked as the state Cooperative Minister.
Legendary Kathak dancer Birju Maharaj died at his home in Delhi early morning today, his granddaughter said. He would have been 84 next month. Maharaj-ji, as he was popularly known, died surrounded by his family and disciples. They were playing 'antakshari' after dinner when he suddenly took ill, Ragini Maharaj said. The Kathak exponent, one of India's best known artistes, had been suffering from a kidney ailment and was under dialysis treatment. He probably died of a cardiac arrest, his granddaughter said. "We took him to hospital immediately but we could not save him," she said. Condolence messages poured in from all quarters for Birju Maharaj, with President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Narendra Modi leading tributes as political leaders, the film fraternity and people from the performing arts world remembered Kathak's greatest ambassador.
Benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 85 points today following gains in auto, IT, energy and FMCG stocks amid a firm trend in European markets. In a largely range-bound session, the 30-share index ended 85.88 points or 0.14 per cent higher at 61,308.91. Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced 52.35 points or 0.29 per cent to 18,308.10. Ultratech Cement was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging nearly 3 per cent, followed by M&M, Maruti, Tata Steel, TCS, L&T, SBI and HUL. On the other hand, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid, and Sun Pharma were among the laggards, falling up to 5.89 per cent.
