Delhi News Live Updates, March 30: As many as 22 flights were diverted from the Delhi airport today evening after thunderstorm and heavy rain lashed the national capital. Patel Nagar, Rajiv Chowk, Safdarjung, Lodhi Road, President House, India Gate, Delhi Cantonment, Budha Jayanti Park, and several other areas witnessed sudden downpour. Rain coupled with thunderstorms also hit various parts of Gurugram, Noida, and Ghaziabad.
In other top news of the day, Delhi Power Minister Atishi today accused Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena and Delhi BJP leaders of repeatedly pressuring power department officials to stop subsidies extended to the city’s farmers and advocates. The L-G and BJP’s larger objective, Atishi claimed, was to put an end to the power subsidy scheme currently in place in the capital. The BJP called the allegation “a new lie” and claimed that no such subsidy was being extended to farmers. Raj Niwas did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations.
Meanwhile, despite the Delhi police denying permission for Ram Navami procession and Ramadan prayers in Jahangirpuri, a group of men have gathered in the area and are currently taking out a procession to celebrate the Hindu festival. The police have beefed up security in the area. Last year, riots had broken out between two communities in Jahangirpuri area during a Ram Navami procession. Though the police claim that the crowd has been controlled, men could be seen shouting “Jai Shri Ram” and inching closer to the police barricades.
Temperatures fell sharply in Delhi with thunderstorms, rainfall, and strong winds across the city Thursday.
The temperature at the Safdarjung weather observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, fell by 13 degrees from 33 degrees Celsius at 4 pm to 20 degrees Celsius at 6 pm, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The city also recorded hail for the second time this month. According to IMD scientists, hail was reported in isolated parts of the city like in East Delhi. Read more
As many as 22 flights were diverted from the Delhi airport today evening due to bad weather in the national capital, airport authorities said.
While 11 flights were diverted to Lucknow, 8 were diverted to Jaipur and one flight each to Dehradun, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh were stopped or diverted, officials told the Indian Express.
Power consumers in Delhi who have opted for subsidy will get it till March 31, 2024, after which they will have to submit fresh applications to continue with the benefit, Power Minister Atishi said.
“Those who opted for subsidy in October (2022), will get it till March 31 of coming year. After that they will have to opt for it in each financial year,” the minister told during a press conference today.
Last year, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a change in the free electricity scheme of his government, saying the power subsidy will be provide to only those consumers who would apply for it.
Students of Delhi government schools will take forward the Happiness Curriculum activities in the community and family and will teach people to be happy through mindfulness, Education Minister Atishi said today.
दिल्ली के सभी स्कूलों के प्रिंसिपलों, शिक्षकों व अधिकारियों के साथ हैपीनेस करिकुलम पर बात की
इस साल हैप्पीनेस क्लासेज़, स्कूल से बाहर निकल कर परिवार और समाज में भी जायेंगी। अब बच्चे अपने घरों में और मोहल्लों में सिखायेंगे खुश रहने के गुर! pic.twitter.com/2F3eJwSydc
The minister addressed Delhi government school teachers, principals and happiness coordinators at an event organised by the Education Department at Thyagaraj Stadium where she discussed the responsibilities of teachers and administrators. She also highlighted the role of Happiness Curriculum and mindfulness in the entire learning process in Delhi government schools.
While hearing Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s plea seeking review of a March 17 order on the payment of unpaid dues to Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Ltd under 2017 arbitral award, the High Court said Wednesday that the salaries, medical benefits and other operation and maintenance expenses of the Metro will be protected.
A single judge bench of Justice Yashwant Varma was hearing the DMRC’s review plea wherein appearing for the corporation attorney general R Venkataramani drew the court’s attention to a March 10, 2022 order of another HC bench and submitted that even in said decision “adequate protection had been extended insofar as salaries and other operation and maintenance (O&M) expenses which are to be borne by the DMRC is concerned”. It was submitted that the court while framing direction ‘D’ in March 17 order has inadvertently failed to make an identical provision. Read more
Rash and negligent driving does not necessarily mean excessive speed and will include not taking due care while driving, particularly overtaking either a stationary or moving vehicle, the Delhi High Court has said.
The court’s observation came on a petition by the family of a motorcycle rider who died after colliding with a DTC bus parked in the middle of the road without any signal or light indicator on the night of July 22, 2012. The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal had granted more than over Rs 17 lakh to the family but ordered a deduction of 20 per cent towards contributory negligence by the deceased. The claimants were also awarded interest of 7.5 per cent per annum from the date of filing the plea till payment is made by the insurance company.
The family sought enhancement of the compensation amount before the high court. (PTI)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a neurosurgeon of Safdarjung Hospital here and his four accomplices, who allegedly forced patients into buying surgical equipment from a particular establishment at exorbitant prices, officials said on Thursday.
The agency raided several Delhi and Uttar Pradesh locations linked to Manish Rawat, the neurosurgeon, and busted the nefarious nexus, they said. After a thorough investigation, the CBI sleuths arrested Rawat and four of his cohort, including Deepak Khattar, the proprietor of Kanishka Surgical in New Delhi, and middlemen Avnesh Patel, Manish Sharma and Kuldeep, a CBI spokesperson said.
The charges levelled against them pertained to bribery and corruption. The CBI has accused Rawat of colluding with his accomplices to extract payment from patients for medical consultations and surgical procedures while flouting the hospital’s established protocols. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court has sought the stand of the Tree officer (South Forest Division) and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Delhi government, in a contempt plea for “wilful disobedience” of previous orders of the HC pertaining to two fully grown trees which were “cut down” in Greater Kailash-II.
A single judge bench of Justice Najmi Waziri on March 24 issued notice on a contempt plea moved by the petitioner, Harsh Vardhan, wherein his counsel Aditya Prasad submitted that despite this court’s repeated orders requiring due application of mind and reasons for cutting down the trees, two fully grown trees were cut down in GK-II for transplantation.
Prasad argued that the rationale for cutting down the trees as well as methodology of transplantation, i.e. whether it was scientific advice, is not borne out from the record. Read more
Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj Thursday (March 30) said that the Covid situation in the capital is not alarming and the department was fully prepared to tackle any surge in cases.
For the last few weeks, many states across the country have been witnessing a surge in Covid cases and the sewage tests conducted for three weeks hinted towards the rise in Covid cases in Delhi as well. The Centre also focuses on the six states — Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi — where a surge has been witnessed.
“A trend has been seen that when Maharashtra witnesses a surge, Delhi also sees a spike in cases due to the large number of international flights which land in Mumbai and Delhi. We are fully prepared for it,” said Bharadwaj during a press conference after chairing an emergency meeting to review the Covid situation. Read more
The India Meteorological Department has advised Delhiites to stay indoors amid its prediction of rain, thunderstorm and lighting across the national capital in the next 2 hours.
Impact expected:
Actions suggested:
Residents of Delhi are expected to witness thunderstorm, lightning and rain in the next few hours today, the IMD bulletin said.
Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas of few places of Delhi, New Delhi, South Delhi ( Patel Nagar, Budha Jayanti Park, President House, Rajeev chauk, Delhi Cantt, India Gate, Safdarjung, Lodi Road, Vasant Vihar, R K Puram, Defence Colony, Vasant Kunj).
Light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas of few places of Delhi, North-West Delhi, West Delhi, Central-Delhi, South-West Delhi, South-East Delhi, East Delhi ( Kanjhawala, Pitampura, Delhi University, Civil Lines, Mundaka, Pashchim Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Kashmiri Gate, Seelampur, Shahadra, Vivek Vihar, Rajauri Garden, Red fort, Preet Vihar, ITO, Jafarpur, Nazafgarh, Dwarka, Akshardham, Palam, Nehru Stadium, IGI Airport, Lajpat Nagar, Hauzkhas, Malviyanagar, Kalkaji, Mahrauli, Tughlakabad, Chhattarpur, IGNOU, Ayanagar, Deramandi), NCR ( Bahadurgarh, Ghaziabad, Indirapuram, Chhapraula, Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad, Manesar, Ballabhgarh) during next 2 hours.
The Delhi BJP today alleged corruption by the AAP government in Delhi in the power subsidy scheme.
“There is a huge scam in this scheme, which will surface soon. Why is power subsidy not given through Direct Benefit Transfer? Why don’t you enable consumers to avail of the benefits individually and choose to keep private players in between?” Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana asked.
“Let me assure you, one of your ministers is going to land behind bars regarding this scheme very soon,” Khurana threatened.
Power Minister Atishi said she would meet farmers and lawyers tomorrow to resolve their confusion about the power subscidy scheme.
“Since the news about the power department’s proposal to stop subsidy broke, the government officials have been getting calls from lawyers wanting to confirm whether the free power being supplied to their chambers will be revoked; the farmers are calling to know whether the free power they get for their fields will be stopped,” Atishi said.
“Till Arvind Kejriwal is there, it doesn’t matter what is written on a file under pressure from the LG and BJP leaders, your free power will not stop,” the minister added.
Delhi Power minister Atishi on Thursday alleged that Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and Delhi BJP leaders have forced the Power Department to prepare a proposal to stop free electricity to farmers and lawyers’ chambers.
“This morning, I received a file from the Power Department which proposes that the free power that the Delhi government supplies to Delhi’s farmers, lawyers should be stopped. I was shocked when I received it; when the elected government, its Chief Minister, its power minister have not issued any directions to stop free power being supplied to lawyers’ chambers, or to farmers, where did this proposal come from?” Atishi said.
On being summoned, the officials unequivocally said that the L-G and BJP leaders are exerting a lot of pressure on them, the Power Minister said, adding, “They said that they are being repeatedly told by the L-G and BJP leaders that they need to find a way to stall the Delhi government’s power subsidy scheme.”
Despite the Delhi police denying permission for Ram Navami procession and Ramadan prayers in Jahangirpuri, a group from Akhil Bharat Hindu Yuva Morcha has gathered in the area and are currently taking out a procession to celebrate the Hindu festival.
The locals joined the group ans started their celebrations at the Jahangirpuri park. The procession then walked towards the B and C blocks of Jahangirpuri where police personnel had placed barricades.
Nobody was been detained and no FIRs have been lodged against any person yet, the police said.
The Delhi BJP Wednesday sought action against former AAP Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam over his “anti-Hindu” comments in the Delhi Assembly.
Alleging that he called for the boycott of a Hindu scripture, BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “The anti-Hindu face of Arvind Kejriwal and AAP was exposed against today when former minister Rajendra Pal Gautam called for the boycott of the pious Hindu scripture ‘Shri Ramcharitmanas’ and not even a single MLA of the ruling party opposed him.” Read more
The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court has expressed the “apprehension” of a “well-coordinated attempt to do away with the restrictions on the construction activities in morphological ridge”.
The morphological ridge is the area that has ridge-like features typical of the Aravallis and has ecological significance but lies outside the notified ridge forest land. The Delhi Forest Department says that the morphological ridge should work as a buffer zone to protect the “core forest area of the ridge” and that the morphological ridge area is a “high-risk zone”, making the construction of high-rise buildings dangerous. Construction in the area requires clearance from the Ridge Management Board and the CEC. Read more
With 37 districts in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) being identified as air pollution ‘hotspots’, including nine districts in Delhi and those of Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed that these districts be listed as ‘air quality sensitive districts’ and polluting sources operating in them be monitored closely.
The NGT’s order came after a joint committee appointed by it had submitted a report on air pollution in the IGP, in January this year. On the report, the NGT said in its recently issued order: “It is stated that in view of air pollution in Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), development activities can be only with advanced technology and management interventions, particularly during October and November.” Read more
Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj Thursday urged those with flu-like symptoms and those visiting hospitals to wear masks. He was briefing the media about Delhi’s Covid preparations after holding a review meeting.
“Last night, the CM called me and spoke about the meeting which we conducted today. Virologists, epidemiologists, genome sequencing experts, Special Secretary (Health) and others were present at the meeting. We discussed and monitored the whole situation closely. Tests are very less because of which the positivity rate is high. We had earlier issued an advisory. Those with flu symptoms and those visiting hospitals should wear masks. A mock drill has been conducted already. We have taken an update on Oxygen cylinders and LMO. We will show the CM the mock drill results tomorrow.”
“The strains in genome sequencing are not a cause to worry. We are on alert. Patients are not requiring hospitalisation. Ventilators and oxygen are also not much needed. Not even 10 per cent of the total oxygen we have is being. We are closely monitoring the situation. The new variant is not something to panic about,” he added.
Pointing out that the government has so far not moved any proposal to make masks compulsory, he said: “People are not showing enthusiasm due to which vaccination uptake has been very less for past few months. We will get in touch with the Centre to discuss more on vaccination.”
Launching a scathing attack on the BJP, Delhi Environment Minister and AAP state convenor Gopal Rai Thursday said: “Today, the AAP is running a campaign, “Modi Hatao Desh Bachao”, across the country. This campaign is being organised in as many as 22 states. Instead of fixing the education and health systems and resolving unemployment, Prime Minister Modi is engaged in ending the country’s democratic systems.”
आज देशभर में AAP #Modi_Hatao_Desh_Bachao अभियान चला रही है।
ये अभियान 22 राज्यों में चलाया जा रहा है।
आज PM Modi शिक्षा-स्वास्थ्य व्यवस्था को ठीक करने, बेरोजगारी दूर करने की जगह देश की लोकतांत्रिक व्यवस्थाओं को ख़त्म करने में लगे हुए हैं।
– @AapKaGopalRai pic.twitter.com/8MP0KbGTU6
A delegation of 50 students and five faculty members from JNU, Delhi University, Indira Gandhi National Open University and Indraprastha University left for NIT Silchar in Assam under the government’s initiative to connect the youth of eight North Eastern states and other states.
The students were sent as part of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Yuva Sangam’ programme on Wednesday, a Government of India initiative. The JNU is the nodal agency on behalf of the Ministry of Education for this trip.
The delegation members will stay in Silchar from April 1 to April 5 to understand the culture and traditions of the region. Through this visit, the emphasis will be on increasing the exchange of rich cultural and traditional and exchange of ideas between the two states, the JNU said in a statement.
“Further promotion of tourism, tradition, progress, technology and mutual contact is also part of the agenda. As part of this visit later on the sidelines, the delegation will visit the nearby district of Haflong and the adjoining district of Badarpur and Karimganj, the adjoining Borakhai tea estate, Borail eco-park,” read the statement. (PTI)
Despite the Delhi police denying permission for Ram Navami procession and Ramadan prayers in Jahangirpuri, a group of men have gathered in the area and are taking out a procession to celebrate the Hindu festival. The police have, meanwhile, beefed up security in the area with Rapid Action Force and other forces on the ground.
Last year, riots had broken out between two communities in Jahangirpuri area during a Ram Navami procession. More than nine persons, including a policeman, were injured. A senior police officer said, “We had denied permission due to law-and-order issues. However, there’s a gathering in the area. We are controlling it. We have given them a 200-metre stretch and a park where they can celebrate the festival.”
Though the police claim that the crowd has been controlled, men could be seen shouting “Jai Shri Ram” and inching closer to the police barricades.
Delhi | A procession is being taken out in Jahangirpuri on the occasion of Rama Navami. pic.twitter.com/iIHVokZZb0
As posters asking whether India needed an educated Prime Minister surfaced across Delhi, including outside the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) headquarters, on Thursday, the BJP said that such posters will only add to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity.
The AAP had announced a national campaign against PM Modi starting March 30 as part of which thousands of posters attacking the Prime Minister were to be put up. Read more
क्या भारत के PM पढ़े-लिखे होने चाहिए? https://t.co/dbjU1Z6EI5
किसी ने पूछा क्या इस देश के प्रधानमंत्री पढ़े लिखे होने चाहिए
मोदी जी ने तुरन्त अपनी पुलिस को बोला जा के फाड़ पोस्टर
और
बोला बिल्कुल नहीं होना चाहिए pic.twitter.com/yWV4r94fPG
With the number of Covid cases rising in the national capital, doctors are advising that people follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. Wearing a mask in public places is the ideal thing to do at the moment, says Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.
Read more for a few tips from Dr Chatterjee on dealing with the current situation
A 28-year-old man in outer Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy area has allegedly killed his wife for not cooking food for him and doing household chores, the police said. The arrested identified as Bajrangi Gupta, Sunday assaulted his 22-year-old sick wife Preeti with a wooden stick that led to her death, officials said.
Preeti was anaemic and weak and had recently delivered a child, and hence she was not able to do household chores or cook food regularly, police said, adding that this “angered” her husband who killed her in a fit of rage. The accused allegedly felt she was not doing household work and accused her of being “lazy” and “disinterested” in doing household chores. Read more
Amid a spurt in Covid cases in the national capital, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj Thursday said: “An emergency meeting has been called today at 12 noon, on the instructions of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, keeping in view the increase in Covid cases in Delhi. As of now, there is no discussion on any restrictions.” (ANI)
#WATCH | An emergency meeting has been called at 12 noon today on the instructions of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, keeping in view the increase in COVID cases in Delhi. As of now, there is no discussion on any restrictions: Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj pic.twitter.com/BRHuY1gmlt
A 44-year-old civil defence volunteer fought off two boys who allegedly robbed money of her son at knife-point, in East Delhi’s Shakarpur on Saturday, officers said.
Sapna Kumar (44), a civil defence volunteer since 2020, said that the skills acquired by her during the job helped her during the incident and in helping the two accused get caught. Read more
Hearing a school bus driver’s plea challenging a trial court order convicting and sentencing him to five years in jail for sexually assaulting two 10-year-old girls in 2014, the Delhi High Court dismissed his plea and said on the issue of hostile witness that the term does not merely mean that a witness is “unreliable”.
On the driver’s contention that the prosecution’s counsel during the trial had asked leading questions to one of the minor victims without declaring her hostile in order to put words in her mouth, a single-judge bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh in its March 29 verdict observed, “The declaration that a witness is hostile merely means that the witness is adverse or unfriendly and not that the witness is unreliable”. Read more
A 28-year-old man in outer Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy area has allegedly killed his wife in Delhi for not cooking food for him and doing household chores, the police said. The arrested identified as Bajrangi Gupta, Sunday assaulted his 22-year-old sick wife Preeti with a wooden stick that led to her death, officials said.
According to the police, Preeti was anaemic and weak and had recently delivered a child, and hence she was not able to do household chores or cook food regularly, said the police, adding that this “angered” her husband who killed her in a fit of rage. The accused felt she was not doing household work and accused her of being “lazy” and “disinterested” in doing household chores, said the police. Read more
Days after a nine-year-old boy died allegedly after being trapped inside a lift in West Delhi’s Vikaspuri, the boy’s mother said she did not realise when her son entered the lift.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the mother, Rekha (30), a resident of Sitapuri Dabri, who along with her mother irons clothes in the Vikaspuri locality, said: “On Friday morning, I went up to collect clothes in the building through the stairs. A few minutes later, I saw my son trapped between the doors of the building’s lift. My son used to play at the place where I would iron clothes and I didn’t realise that he followed me to the building. I had no idea how he operated the lift.” Read more
A fresh spell of rain along with thunderstorm is likely in the city on Thursday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The minimum temperature settled at 18.8 degrees Celsius while the maximum is expected to hover around 32 degrees Celsius.
According to the data by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 9 am stood at 175 (moderate category).
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe. The relative humidity at 8.30 am was 70 per cent, the IMD bulletin said. (PTI)
📌 Delhi’s COVID-19 cases climbed to 300 on Wednesday for the first time since September last year, while the positivity rate climbed to 13.89% according to data shared by the city health department. Two more Covid-related deaths were also reported, it said.
📌 On Tuesday, Delhi logged 214 cases with a positivity rate of 11.82%
📌 Delhi recorded 115 fresh coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 7.45% on Monday.
#WATCH | Delhi: Rain lashes parts of National Capital
(Visuals from Khan Market) pic.twitter.com/QDjtIzuUIV
The Delhi Commission for Women has issued notice to the Delhi Police and a college principal based on the reports of sexual harassment of students during a fest organised in the college. The commission has sought an action taken report by April 3.
It was alleged that some boys entered the Delhi University’s Indraprastha College for Women campus during a college fest, harassed the girls, and also tried to enter the hostel of the girl students. Seven men were arrested for trespassing on the campus premises. (Read More)
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena told the Delhi High Court Wednesday that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Jasmine Shah’s challenge to orders restricting him from using the office of Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDCD) as vice-president is “premature” and the decision of the President of India, to whom the dispute was referred to, was awaited.
Appearing for the L-G, additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain submitted before a single-judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh said, “Power in the matter has already been exercised…If your lordship were to decide the correctness of the decision-making process at this stage which has been referred to the President, it would disturb the scheme of the constitution”. (Read More)
The Delhi MCD has passed both the revised estimates 2021-22 and budget for 2023-24.
Deputy Mayor Aale Mohammad Iqbal today mocked the BJP leaders for reciting poems, he says let me also become a Mirza Ghalib for a bit.
“There is a dialogue in Pathan “Kursi ke pethu baand kr rakhiye, Mausam bhigadne wala hai”…..I want to tell the people of Delhi that “Ab aap kursi par Aram se baith sakte hain, kyunki Mausam achcha hone wala hai Delhi ka,” he said.
“ED and CBI officers come, they conduct raids, hold a gun to your head and say: do you want to go to jail or to CBI. They did the same with Manish, Held a gun to his head and asked if he wanted to go to jail or to BJP. He said I will go to jail,” said Prem Chauhan of the Aam Aadmi Party.
“We will die, bit not join BJP. A gun was held to Satyendar Jain’s head and he was asked if he wanted to go to jail or BJP. He said I will die but not go to BJP. They held a gun to Himanta Biswa Sarma’s head and asked him he same question. He said he will join BJP. Why? Because he was corrupt. These people (Sisodia and Jain) are not corrupt. They know they will come out of jail in 6-7 months. They will get bail, if not today then tomorrow,” he said.
You (BJP) valued AAP MLAs at 25 and BRS MLAs at 50?, Kejriwal laughs and says. Don’t try now if you have any shame. This is Aam Aadmi Party. We are followers of Bhagat Singh. We will happily go to the gallows. We cannot be bought. We cannot betray the nation.
“In 2017 they tried to bring our government down. At the time, we thought they are Chanakyas, but now we know they are hollow. They only make noise, there is no substance. In 2017 they used to say they would disqualify 21 MLAs and others will break away. We had 67 MLAs then. They had 3. Even if I had 4, I would have had a majority,” said Kejriwal.
“How would they have achieved this? People told me Amit Shah is at work, they will manage. They tried in 2017, in 2019, 2020. Don’t do it now if you don’t want to be embarrassed. In Telangana in November last year, there was a sting operation. Three BJP leaders were there to buy MLAs and break the Telangana government. There were three BJP MLAs and four BRS MLAS and they were talking for 3 hours. Everything was recorded, They were saying BL Santhosh will meet you, Amit Shah will meet you,” he said.
“They were offered 50 crores. They were saying we have bought Delhi MLAs for Rs 25 crore. KCR sahab called me and he said your government is about to do down. I told him to not worry, they have been making these attempts for three years,” Kejriwal.
“A discussion of 65 minutes has taken place, 35 of these were given to BJP. 30 minutes to the party in power. I read the rules and it stated that time is given in proportion to the number of MLAs. They have 11% MLAs, they should have got 7 minutes based on that calculation. I was noting everything they said,” said Kejriwal.
“I would say that they should forget about the 2025 election, they will not be able to win even the 2050 elections if this is how you behave. Criticism for the sake of it is not right. Say something proper, talk about the people. You keep criticising Kejriwal. We will do the remaining work as well. We will give medicines where they are not available,” he said.
“So we moved this confidence motion. It is for the first time that the oppositon could not bring a no confidence motion but the ruling party voluntarily moved a confidence motion so that they could say what they wanted. We want them to criticise us and point out our mistakes so that we can improve,” said Delhi CM Kejriwal.
“Despite all their efforts, nothing could move them (AAP MLAs). When BJP realised they don‘t have the numbers, they withdrew the motion. If their party had been in our place, they would have insulted us. But we believe in democracy. I felt that if they are bringing this motion, they want to say something. They should be allowed to. I said they are our friends, our people. Today they are in that party, tomorrow they will be in ours,” said Kejriwal.
“What has happened in this Assembly today is very good for democracy. When the session started right days ago, they announced in the media that they will place a no-confidence motion in the assembly. Everyone was wondering how they would do this since they have only 8 MLAs and you need 14 MLAs to support it. A journalist asked them and they said we have spoken to six other (AAP) MLAs. I thought my MLAs are not like this. I asked everyone. They said they were threatened. Said they will use the CBI and ED and make false allegations against you and put you in jail like they did with Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain,” said Arvind Kejriwal.
“Some were offered 20 crore – 25 crore. They hoped they would get 14 eventually. But no one from AAP switched sides. We have 62 MLAs. Manish ji and Satyendar ji are not here. Which leaves 60. Out of these 60, Prakash Jharwal, Rajesh Gupta and Rohit Mehraulia are not in Delhi. That leaves 57. Then there is the SPeaker (RN Goel), and that leaves us with 56. All 56 are here,” he said.
AAP MLAs on Wednesday raised the issue of alleged harassment of students at Delhi University’s Indraprastha College for Women in the Delhi Assembly and blamed the Lieutenant Governor for “poor” law and order situation in the national capital.
Meanwhile, four BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the Assembly following arguments with Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on the issues to be taken up for discussion in the House.
AAP MLA Bhavna Gaur raised the matter of women security and law and order in view of the Tuesday’s incident at Indraprastha College for Women where several men scaled the college walls and harassed students. (PTI)
Water supply in parts of Delhi has been affected once again on account of high ammonia levels in the Yamuna river.
In a note issued on Tuesday, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said that the ammonia level in the river at Wazirabad was more than 5 ppm (parts per million) and production has been curtailed by 10 per cent to 50 per cent at the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants. Water supply is likely to be available only at pressure from Tuesday evening onwards in parts of the city till the situation improves, according to the DJB. (Read More)
BJP councillor Shika Rai says that everyone should be given time to speak and how come only three people can discuss the matter in just 10 minutes.
The mayor now says BJP can also now have 4 members. But BJP starts arguments.
“The budget should have been finalised in January and passed by February. But, due to circumstances, it could not be held peacefully but we now want it to happen peacefully,” said AAP Leader of the House, Mukesh Goyal.
“This is the first budget of the deliberative wing of the unified MCD, we owe it to the citizens of Delhi to ensure that we give them a fully functioning MCD and make it the number one civic body in the country,” said Mayor Shelly Oberoi.
“Today and tomorrow is a festival so we will not hold this session for long. Leading opposition can select 3 councillors to speak and put their matter for discussion. The AAP ruling party can have 4 members,” she said.
The Election Commission on Wednesday said it is looking into the issue of according the national status to the Aam Aadmi Party.
“It is under review… We will soon come back to you,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a press conference here when asked about the issue. (Read More)
Citing law and order issues, Delhi Police has denied permission to hold the ‘Shree Ram Bhagwan Pratima Yatra’ on the occasion of Ramnavami Mahotsav in Northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on Thursday.
In a letter dated March 27, the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Jitendra Meena said that the request to conduct the congregation “could not be acceded to from the law and order point of view”. Read more
Capturing photos of question papers, sending them to distantly located academic associates who would solve them, and forwarding answer keys to candidates via WhatsApp – a five-member gang used this intricate modus operandi to leak papers of many competitive exams, including that of the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), at different centres in Delhi-NCR for years.
However, closely monitoring online activities of one of the facilitators, who was receiving the answer keys from the academic associates and sending them to applicants minutes before the exam, and based on specific inputs, checking phones of a few candidates, helped Delhi Police crack the case this month. Read more
To remove dark spots and decongest the area around Kashmere Gate Inter State Bus Terminal, the Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) has devised plans to revamp the key roads with aesthetic design, artwork and beautification under its streetscaping project.
The Indian Express, in a series on streetlights of Delhi in January, highlighted dark spots on Rajghat and Kashmere Gate flyover, roads and around the stretch. Gayathri Mani reports
The Delhi High Court Tuesday directed a society managing Kali Mata Mandir at Jhandewalan to remove a glass door that had been installed blocking access to devotees despite the court’s previous order allowing them access to the temple.
A single judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh was hearing a plea challenging a March 18 notification issued by the temple management at the behest of Badri Bhagat Jhandewalan Temple Society, which said that the opening time of Kali temple from Navratri will be from 6 am to 7.30 am and 6 pm to 7 pm. Read here
Days before Nepal put fugitive Amritpal Singh on its surveillance list, intelligence agencies have found that he was in Delhi. According to sources, a second-year Delhi University student purportedly provided shelter to him and his associate Papalpreet at her rented flat in East Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar.
A senior officer from the Delhi Police has confirmed the same. Intelligence agencies, along with Punjab Police, are now questioning the woman. Mahender Singh Manral reports
A special budget meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) house, presided over by mayor Shelly Oberoi, was adjourned Tuesday within three minutes after it commenced. The mayor distributed the copy of the budget to all councillors, informing them that a discussion will take place on Wednesday.
The meeting was convened to approve the budget proposals for the Revised Budget Estimates for 2022-2023 and Budget Estimates for 2023-2024. The house meeting has now been adjourned till 2 pm on Wednesday. Read the full story here
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday alleged that India’s “undereducated” Prime Minister was the primary investor backing industrialist Gautam Adani, and both “looted the country” in pursuit of Modi’s ambition to “become the richest person on Earth”. During his address at the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Kejriwal said that money invested in the Adani Group “belonged to the PM”, adding that the businessman was “just the manager” of funds Modi had.
Good morning! Welcome to today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news updates from the Delhi-NCR region. Stay tuned!
Indian National Congress workers organised a protest march near Red Fort in New Delhi on Tuesday against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha (Express)
Later this summer, Delhi, along with other parts of the country, could get a ‘heat index’ or a sense of what the temperature actually feels like, from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The heat index tells us what the temperature feels like when humidity is also factored in and is provided by weather agencies. In other parts of the world, like the United States, the heat index is calculated, and colour-coded warnings are provided based on the impact a certain heat index can have on the body, like fatigue or the likelihood of heat strokes.
The Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) has taken up repairing and electrical work on seven foot overbridges (FOBs) after receiving complaints from the people over non-functional lifts and dilapidated conditions which force pedestrians to take risks by crossing busy roads.
“We received several complaints from the public over non-functional lifts, poor conditions and lack of working lights. Theft is a major problem in these FOBs because most parts in lifts and electrical items like aluminium wires, light fittings, holders and others are stolen. Even if a wire is cut or a minor part is broken, the entire lift or light goes off,” said a PWD official.
