LEAD

Ahead of the Gujarat elections, former chief minister (CM) Vijay Rupani has written to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership stating he won’t contest this time, while senior BJP leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, too, has announced that he won’t contest the polls, according to party sources. Nitin Patel, former deputy CM, too, is not keen on contesting from Mahesana, said sources in the state unit. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to cut tickets of 20 per cent of its sitting members of the legislative assembly to end anti-incumbency of six terms.

According to party sources, a few prominent former ministers and top leaders might not get tickets. “There are MLAs against whom there is anti-incumbency. The distribution of tickets will be solely on the basis of winnability. There are at least 20 sitting MLAs who may not get tickets this time,” said sources.

Strong tremors were felt across north India in the small hours of Wednesday after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Himalayan region near Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand along the Nepal border.

The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said the epicenter of the earthquake was in Nepal, about 90 km east-southeast of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, and it struck at 1.57 am Wednesday.

The tremors were felt in Delhi and surrounding areas of Ghaziabad and Gurugram and even in Lucknow, jolting people out of their sleep.

In a big win for the government, the Supreme Court today backed a 10 per cent quota in jobs and education for the poor or EWS (Economically Weaker Sections), introduced just before the 2019 general elections.

The quota is not discriminatory and does not alter the basic structure of the constitution, a Supreme Court constitution bench said in a majority judgement. Two judges dissented, including Chief Justice UU Lalit, who retires tomorrow.

Justice Ravindra Bhat, the other dissenting judge, said he supported quota for the economically backward, but the exclusion of the socially backward sections is not allowed in the constitution. "I regret my inability to concur with the majority opinion. Our constitution does not speak the language of exclusion. In my considered opinion the amendment by the language of exclusion undermines the fabric of social justice and thereby the basic structure," Justice Bhat said.

With Delhi air quality continuing to improve Centre’s air quality panel directed authorities revoking curbs imposed in Delhi-NCR under the final stage of an action plan to combat air pollution. The ban on plying of non-BS VI diesel-run light motor vehicles in Delhi-NCR and entry of trucks into the capital imposed under the GRAP three days ago were lifted on Sunday.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) that made the decision to revoke curbs said that it will continue to keep a close watch on the air quality scenario and may take the appropriate decisions depending on the air quality, as recorded from time to time, and the forecasts made by IMD/IITM to this effect.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday remarked that pollution is not Delhi's but North India's problem, urging the Centre to take specific steps to relieve the region from the problem. Kejriwal also said that the Delhi government is mulling whether the odd-even scheme for vehicles should be implemented.

He went on to announce that the primary schools in Delhi will be shut from Saturday onwards till the pollution situation in the National capital improves. The Delhi CM's remarks come after the national capital reported the air quality in the 'severe' category for the second consecutive day.