New Delhi: PM Modi and Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih reviewed the progress of India-supported development projects in the archipelagic nation and expressed satisfaction at the rapid pace of implementation despite the constraints of the Covid pandemic. Modi spoke over the phone with Solih and assured him of India’s commitment to supporting the Maldives in the fight against the pandemic. On his part, President Solih thanked Prime Minister Modi for India's cooperation and support in the fight against the Covid-19, the PMO said in a statement. “Spoke with President @ibusolih of Maldives. Assured him of India’s commitment to support Maldives in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” Modi tweeted. “We also reviewed progress of bilateral development projects. Conveyed congratulations for the election of FM (Abdulla) Shahid as UNGA President,” he said.
BJP, Cong MLAs slam Akhil Gogoi for making public answer to Assembly query
Guwahati: Independent Assam MLA Akhil Gogoi on Wednesday drew flak from the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress for making public the answer to a question he had raised even before the days agenda was circulated to the MLAs. Addressing the media outside the Assembly before the days proceedings began at 9.30 am, Gogoi shared with them the answer to a starred question related to the Subansiri Lower Hydro Electric Project at Gerukamukh along the Assam-Arunachal border. Governments replies to questions are made available to the legislator concerned the night before the order paper listing the days business is circulated among the members.
Ramesh Bais takes oath as J’khand Guv
Ranchi: Ramesh Bais on Wednesday took oath as the 10th Governor of Jharkhand, succeeding Draupadi Murmu. The Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, Justice Ravi Ranjan, administered the oath of office and secrecy to Bais at the Raj Bhavan in a ceremony attended by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his cabinet colleagues, MPs, MLAs and senior officials of the state government.
Satyadev Arya takes oath as Tripura Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya on Wednesday took over as the 19th Governor of Tripura, succeeding Ramesh Bais, who has been shifted to Jharkhand. He was administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Tripura, AK Kureshi, at the old Raj Bhavan in Agartala.
Mehbooba’s mother skips ED appearance
Srinagar: Gulshan Nazir, mother of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, did not appear before the ED on Wednesday as it has not responded to her letter seeking details of the case in which she is to be questioned, sources close to the Mufti family said. They said Nazir has only been told her appearance before the ED is required in a case lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. “She did not appear before the ED as the agency has not responded to a letter seeking details of the case in which she was to be questioned,” the sources said. “Details like the case FIR or the specific allegations of transactions that she needs to answer have not been communicated so far,” they added.
Dalit woman held captive for 9 days, raped
Gurugram: Police in Haryana’s Gurugram have registered a case against four men for allegedly raping a Dalit woman over 9 days after holding her captive while a man alleged that he was thrashed by some people for helping the victim file a complaint. The complainant alleged she remained unconscious for most of the time as the accused, including a police constable, injected her with sedatives. Police said the woman, who is married, knew the suspects who were from her village near Sohna here.
Attacks on police will be retaliated: Assam CM
Guwahati: Justifying the series of encounters taken place in Assam in the last two months, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday asserted attacks on the police will be “retaliated” and “extreme steps” as per the law will be taken to stop such criminals. Replying to a Zero Hour discussion on narcotic drugs initiated by AGP MLA Prodip Hazarika, Sarma said 1 person was killed and 7 injured for their alleged role in drug rackets since he assumed power on May 10. “Any attack on the police will be retaliated. The Assam Police cannot be a mute spectator when their service revolvers are snatched or culprits try to flee,” he said.
Cop kicks labourer in MP; video goes viral
Khargone (MP): A video of a police station in-charge kicking a labourer in MP’s Khargone went viral on social media, prompting the authorities to remove the cop from field duty, an official said. The video of the alleged incident, which took place on Monday, shows Balakwada police station in-charge Varun Tiwari kicking a labourer. “We found out about the viral video, and soon after, the Balakwada police station in-charge was line-attached (removed from field duty) following the directives of the superintendent of police, on Tuesday,” ASP Neeraj Chourasia said.
‘1L villages, 50k panchayats get tap water’
New Delhi: In a major milestone, 1 lakh villages and over 50,000 gram panchayats have tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the Jal Shakti Ministry said. Despite the Covid lockdown, the Mission provided 4.49 crore tap water connections in 23 months and made 50,000 gram panchayats ‘Har Ghar Jal’ by providing tap water supply to every household in these panchayats, it said.
