Delhi News Live Updates (December 22): As the MPs of the INDIA alliance gathered at Jantar Mantar today to protest against the suspension of the Opposition legislators during the Winter Session of Parliament, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Central government of silencing crores of Indians by removing their representatives from the House. Addressing the rally, Congress Party President Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that democracy in India “is under threat under the BJP government”.
In other news, at a time when the country has been witnessing an uptick in Covid-19 cases, Noida reported its first coronavirus case in months after a man tested positive for the virus on Thursday. The patient is a 54-year-old male who lives in Noida but works at a multinational company in Gurugram. The healthcare department has urged residents to follow Covid-appropriate measures amid concerns over the infection spreading once again.
Weather Update 🌥️: Skies are most likely to be cloudy throughout the day with very light rain/drizzle at night in Delhi-NCR. The maximum temperate is expected to be around 23 degrees celsius, with minimum temperatures predicted to be near 5 degrees celsius.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge began his address by questioning the goals of the opposition’s INDIA alliance. “The alliance was for made because Modi and Shah are stern upon destroying this democracy in this country, ” he said.
Kharge also said that Prime Minister Modi is being overconfident and that the INDIA alliance will not be silenced through the use of the Enforcement Directorate, or suspension of MPs.
At the rally, Gandhi said that by suspending the MPs, the government has silenced crores of people as every MP carries lakhs of votes and represent the people of the country.
Speaking at the rally being held at Jantar Mantar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi blamed the Modi government for unemployment which eventually led to the parliament security breach.
Gandhi questioned how the youths who were able to enter the parliament were able to carry the gas canisters. “If they could have passed the security checks then they could have also carried anything else, how were they able to pas the security checks?” Gandhi questioned.
He further said, “The narendra Modi government has not given employment to youth, this is why they jumped and entered the parliament.”
VIDEO | “We are seeing an assault on our parliamentary democracy which is extremely grave and the purpose of the rally is to draw the attention of the public to perilous situation facing our democracy. Never in history, 146 MPs have ever been suspended. It is a blot on democracy… pic.twitter.com/Tpq3Jgw2I4
VIDEO | Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury and other leaders join opposition’s protest against suspension of MPs at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. pic.twitter.com/mL8lKcsEec
VIDEO | Congress leader @RahulGandhi arrives at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to join opposition’s protest against suspension of MPs from Parliament. pic.twitter.com/3V5x5IR6vr
#WATCH | On INDIA bloc protest against mass suspension of MPs, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram says, “It was only natural on the part of the opposition to ask for a statement by the home minister… But the government was adamant in not heeding our request. So there were protests… pic.twitter.com/rWQOL7fOee
#WATCH | Delhi: India Bloc protest against suspension of MPs, Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin says, “The members of the Parliament are suspended, this is not democracy. 5 or 6 are fine but suspending around 150 members is not democracy. This message should reach the people.… pic.twitter.com/MilyrCPnwi
VIDEO | “We will fight for 140 crore people, fight for Parliament and parliamentary dignity, fight for the Constitution,” says Congress leader @rssurjewala during Opposition’s protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. pic.twitter.com/0LwWp7se6H
Public Prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh said that they asked for 14 days custody so that all the accused can be produced on the same day. Yesterday, four accused in the same matter were sent to 15 day police custody.
VIDEO | “We would like to say that the Parliament is the most reputed institution in the country and if we do not get the opportunity to raise issues in the Parliament then where will we go” says Congress leader @adhirrcinc during Opposition parties’ protest at Jantar Mantar in… pic.twitter.com/MeiO7YjR0Z
The Delhi police approached the Delhi High Court challenging the Trial Court order directing supply of copy of UAPA FIR to Neelam Azad, an accused in the parliament security breach case.
The matter was mentioned today before a division bench led by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan who allowed it to be listed today.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, people familiar with the development said on Friday.
India had invited US President Joe Biden to grace the occasion but he expressed inability to travel to New Delhi in January.
French President Macron has been invited as the Republic Day chief guest, the people cited above said.
PTI reports.
VIDEO | A dense fog cover surrounds parts of #Delhi. Visuals from Kartavya Path area.#WeatherUpdate pic.twitter.com/jDORmXhvJd
Amid a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases across the country, the Delhi State Health Department has directed all government hospitals to ensure samples are collected from Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) patients and an adequate number sent for RT-PCR testing for Covid. Instructions have also been passed to perform genome sequencing of positive RT-PCR samples as per guidelines.
As on December 19, Delhi reported a positivity rate of 0.48 per cent; 208 RT-PCR tests were conducted on the day.
Know more.
From dedicating one of its divisions for the purpose to posting senior engineers at the helm of such projects for completion, the Delhi government has gone into damage control mode after being rapped by the Supreme Court earlier this month for the “serious dearth of judicial infrastructure” in the capital.
On December 11, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra had termed the “inordinate delay” on part of the Delhi government in granting funds for infrastructure projects approved by the Delhi High Court “a matter of regret”. Some of these projects have been pending since 2019.
Write Jatin Anand and Apurva Vishwanath.
The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Centre to consider a plea seeking linking of immovable and movable property documents of citizens with their Aadhaar numbers to curb corruption and benami transactions, as a representation, and decide the same in three months.
The plea moved by petitioner and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay states that it is the duty of the State to take appropriate steps to curb corruption and seize ‘benami’ properties amassed by illegal means.
Read full story.
Skies are most likely to be cloudy throughout the day with very light rain/drizzle at night in Delhi-NCR. The maximum temperate is expected to be around 23 degrees celsius, with minimum temperatures predicted to be near 5 degrees celsius.
The INDIA Alliance will take to the streets on Friday to protest against the suspension of Opposition MPs in an “undemocratic manner” with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and other alliance MPs and leaders to address the demonstration at Jantar Mantar.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Congress launched the AICC’s crowdfunding ‘Donate for the Country’ campaign from its state headquarters at an event presided over by Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Continue reading.
A Noida resident has tested positive for Covid, in a first case of the infection in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar after several months, officials said on Thursday. The patient is a 54-year-old male who lives in Noida but works at a multinational company in Gurugram, Gautam Buddh Nagar Chief Medical Officer Dr Sunil Sharma said.
“His test sample has been sent to Delhi for genome sequencing. The result is awaited,” Sharma said. District Surveillance Officer and public healthcare expert Dr Amit Kumar said the patient travelled to Nepal earlier this month and also went to work at his Gurugram office after returning.
“The patient is asymptomatic and went for the COVID-19 test on his own,” Kumar said, adding that this is the only confirmed case in Gautam Buddh Nagar so far. CMO Sharma said testing for the virus had come down in the district this year.
People can get themselves tested for Covid at primary and community health centres here and the district hospital, he added. The healthcare department, meanwhile, urged residents to practise Covid-appropriate measures amid concerns over the infection spreading once again.
People should wash their hands with soap for a minute, practice social distancing, use alcohol-based sanitisers, wear face mask when outdoors, among other measures, Kumar said. PTI
Body parts of an unidentified man were recovered from an open drain on the Nangloi-Najafgarh Road early on Thursday, Delhi police said. The body parts were found in two polythene bags by locals while walking towards a drain to dump garbage, they added.
Police said they have only managed to recover a few body parts, adding they are conducting raids in the area to get further leads.
A call was made by a local man from Baprola Village around 9.27 am Thursday informing police about the open drain being filled with a long polythene bag containing suspected body parts, police said. The bag was transparent and open, they said. Read more
A 36-year-old Gurugram-based club owner was chased for seven kilometres by a group of people, beaten up, and threatened with gunshots fired at his car in south Delhi’s Fatehpur Beri area on Thursday morning, police said. The victim, identified as Sundar, received injuries in his head and his car several gunshots, they said.
According to a police officer, a PCR call was received at 8.53 am by one Rahul, who stated that his brother Sunder who runs a club in Gurugram was attacked by some people on his way back home in Delhi.
Police found a Hyundai Creta parked at a roadside with three bullet shots in its body. “Sundar had been taken to the AIIMS hospital as he received multiple injuries to his head and other body parts. He had not received any bullet wound,” said an officer.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Chandan Chowdhary, Sundar had a financial dispute with some people, who are suspected to have chased him in cars from Gurugram’s Gwal Pahari to Fatehpur Beri area. They first fired two shots at Sundar’s car near Gwal Pahari and when he reached near Dera Mandi Road in Fatehpur Beri, they waylaid him and attacked him with rods and sticks.
The attackers fired three more shots at his car before leaving, said Chowdhary. The suspects have been identified and the teams have been formed to nab them, police said. PTI
The Delhi health department has ordered authorities to send an “adequate” number of Covid samples for RT-PCR test amid an uptick in coronavirus cases, officials said on Thursday. The department has also ordered them to conduct the genome sequencing of Covid-positive RT-PCR samples, they said.
India on Thursday recorded 594 fresh COVID-19 infections, which took the number of active cases from 2,311 the previous day, to 2,669, according to Union health ministry data.
A meeting was convened by the Delhi Health Minister to review the preparedness of health facilities to tackle ILI/SARI (influenza-like illness/severe acute respiratory infections) on Wednesday, officials said.
“Adequate number of Covid samples are to be sent for RT-PCR testing, as per guidelines. Genome sequencing of positive RT-PCR samples is to be performed, as per guidelines. And, measures are to be taken for raising community awareness for avoiding overcrowded and poorly ventilated settings, and wearing masks in crowded and close settings and in hospital premises,” an official said.
The data on COVID-19 testing is presently being maintained by the Indian Council of Medical Research, which has been requested by the Delhi government to share it, the person said.
On Tuesday, the number of RT-PCR tests done in Kerala and Karnataka was 537 and 487, with positivity rate 20.75 per cent and 2.41 per cent, respectively, they said. In Delhi, the number of RT-PCR tests done and positivity on the same day was 208 and 0.48 per cent.
PTI
The Court of Hardeep Kaur allows parents of Neelam Azad, one of the accused in Parliament security breach to get a copy of the FIR. The Court also grants them permission to meet the accused.
On November 21, after India’s World Cup loss, Gandhi said at a rally in Balotra, “Panauti… panauti…Achha bhalaa hamare ladke wahaan World Cup jeetne waale the, par panauti harwaa diya. TV waale ye nahin kahenge magar janta jaanti hai (Our boys were going to win the World Cup, but panauti got them defeated. TV channels will not say this but the public knows).”
The EC, in its notice, said that the use of “panauti” falls under the definition of corrupt practice, as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as attempts to make an elector believe that he or she “will become or will be rendered an object of divine displeasure or spiritual censure”. Read more
A DTC bus caught fire in south Delhi’s Ashram area on Thursday, officials said.The fire officials said that they received information regarding the incident at 12.52 pm.
The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus caught fire in its rear portion, they said. The fire officials said that three fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames.
The fire was extinguished around 2 pm and no casualty was reported, they said. A transport department official said the bus that caught fire was a “cluster CNG bus”, which was going from the IP Depot to Badarpur.
“It was a minor fire and there were 15 passengers in the bus at the time of the incident, but they did not sustain any injury. The bus has minor damages. We will inquire into the cause of the fire,” the official added. PTI
The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission to take a decision in eight weeks on the notice sent to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his “pickpocket” remark targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Hearing a plea seeking action against Gandhi for making a speech on November 22 calling PM Modi a “pickpocket” and seeking directions for framing stricter laws on the issue, the high court remarked that it was not in the court’s domain to pass directions while also noting that the ECI is already seized of the matter.
“Lets leave it to the wisdom of the people who decide the results of elections. They are hearing everything,” the court said. In a complaint filed by the BJP to the ECI in November this year, the saffron party had accused Rahul of making “wild allegations” and speaking in a “derisive and obnoxious manner about the PM” during an election rally in Rajasthan.
ECI said that a notice was issued to Gandhi on Nov 23, however no response was recieved and deadline was submitting reply is over. The court said that though statements are not in good taste but since ECI is examining the matter the plea is disposed of.
A 16-year-old boy died after he allegedly fell from a foot-over bridge on Wazirabad road in Delhi on Wednesday afternoon.
The police said the boy was leaning against the guardrail on the bridge but some portion of the guardrail was missing which caused the accident. The boy fell from a height of 6 metres, said the police.
He died on the spot. The Delhi Police said they are conducting an enquiry into the matter. Read more
In hearing for his chargesheet in the excise policy case, Delhi’s Rose Avenue Court has remanded AAP’s Sanjay Singh to judicial custody till January 10. Judge MK Nagpal directed the Enforcement Directorate to supply all copies (along with the fifth chargesheet) to the accused by Saturday.
The judge will decide on Sanjay Singh’s bail plea by 4:00 PM today.
#WATCH | Delhi: AAP leader Sanjay Singh produced at Rouse Avenue Court. pic.twitter.com/5leXzYPHnQ
The Delhi Police on Thursday produced four accused arrested in the Parliament security breach case before a court here on expiry of their seven-day police custody.
The accused- Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde and Neelam Devi-? were produced before Special Judge Hardeep Kaur.
The court is likely to take up the matter shortly.
In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on December 13, two of them- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D- jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by some MPs.
Around the same time, two others- Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi- also sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting “tanashahi nahi chalegi” outside the Parliament House premises. (PTI)
A fire broke inside the Gopaldas Bhawan building in Connaught Place. Fire officials said a total of 15 fire tenders rushed to the spot.
he Delhi HC has issued notice on actress Jacqueline Fernandez’s plea seeking quashing of ED’s ECIR and second supplementary complaint in the 200 cr money laundering case involving Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
The HC has called for ED’s response and listed the matter on January 29, 2024. Fernandez has alleged that she was duped by Sukesh and had no indication that she had any involvement whatsover in aiding him to launder his purportedly ill gotten wealth.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal responded to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons in the Delhi excise policy case on Thursday, saying that their timing ‘strengthens his belief that the summons are purely propaganda and sensational news making ahead of Parliamentary Elections in the country.’ Kejriwal was served summons on 18 December, a day before he was to depart for a Vipassana meditation retreat.
In a letter to the ED Director, he termed the summons illegal.
Second Illegal Summon from Enforcement Directorate – Second Response from Delhi Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal:
✍🏽 I receive a summon on the eve of my pre-announced & widely published departure to Vipassana Meditation.
✍🏽 Timing of summon say that the objective is sensational… pic.twitter.com/kVH1WRfzNE
The Delhi Police have detained a 30-year-old software engineer from Bagalkot in Karnataka in connection with their probe into the security breach at the new Parliament house last week.
According to the officers of the Delhi Police Special Cell, Saikrishna Jagali is the son of a retired police officer from Bagalkot and works with a multinational company.
Saikrishna’s name cropped up during the interrogation of Manoranjan D who was arrested last week in the case.
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) is set to develop the nation’s first multi-modal interstate transport hub near Aerocity, aiming to integrate bus, metro, and air services.
The proposed hub near the GMR Aerocity will provide connectivity through an Interstate Bus Terminus (ISBT) planned near the Delhi airport, upcoming phase 4 line of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the proposed Passenger Transport Centre (PTC), and the proposed Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) station, DIAL said in a statement.
Indira Gandhi International airport, being Delhi’s major air hub, draws passengers from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Currently the airport premises lack adequate facilities for parking interstate buses, and hence the proposed hub aims to provide connectivity through metro, bus, and trains for passengers from neighbouring states heading to catch international flights.
Hours after he reported his 14-year-old daughter missing, Markandey, who lives in North Delhi’s Burari, received a call from an unknown number.
“I am calling from the police station. We have located your daughter near Chandigarh and are heading there to recover her. Please transfer Rs 8,000 so that we can buy petrol,” the caller told him, giving him a basic description of the girl. Desperate, Markandey transferred the money to the caller.
Then the calls stopped.
Read the full report by Arnabjit Sur.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal responded to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons in the Delhi excise policy case on Thursday, calling them ‘illegal’ and ‘politically motivated’. He said, “This ED summon is also illegal like the previous summon issued by the agency. ED should withdraw this summon as it is politically motivated. I have lived my life with honesty and transparency. I have nothing to hide.”
Kejriwal had earlier departed for a Vipassana meditation retreat a day after he attended the Opposition INDIA alliance meeting. The AAP is expected to file a written response to the investigation agency later today.
While a total of 21 cases of the new coronavirus variant, JN.1, have been reported from across the country, no case has been detected in Delhi so far as no samples have been sent for genome sequencing since July. Random testing too has not been started.
Earlier this week, the investigating agency had called Kejriwal for questioning on Thursday in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. (File Photo)
A day after he attended the Opposition INDIA alliance meeting, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday left for a Vipassana meditation retreat and is likely to skip the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons in the Delhi excise policy case. Earlier this week, the investigating agency had called Kejriwal for questioning on Thursday.
According to AAP sources, Kejriwal will not go for the ED questioning. “The CM has left for Vipassana. A response indicating his unavailability is likely to be sent to the agency. His departure was pre-scheduled,” said a senior party leader.
Kejriwal arrived for the 10-day course in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur Wednesday. During this retreat, Kejriwal will refrain from participating in any official duties and will adhere to the centre’s regulations, which include abstaining from the use of mobile phones, internet, television, or newspapers.
Ultrasonic obstacle detection glasses that can help the visually impaired, security systems for homes, and a self-defence device that can “stun” an attacker — these were among the products, developed by students from Delhi government schools under the ‘Business Blasters’ programme, presented at an expo Wednesday.
The Business Blasters Students’ Expo was held as part of a conference to mark five years of the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum (EMC) in Delhi government schools.
Education Minister Atishi said the Entrepreneurship Mindset curriculum aimed to ensure students graduating from Delhi government schools “don’t just seek jobs, but become job providers.”