NEWS

Two days after former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat faced protests from priests in Kedarnath, who showed him black flags and raised slogans, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday visited the temple to sort out the issue with the priests and reviewed preparations before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit on Friday.

State ministers Harak Singh Rawat and Subodh Uniyal accompanied Dhami.

Priests of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamnotri dham are opposing the Devasthanam Board Act, enacted during Trivendra Rawat's tenure as CM. Under the law, 51 temples associated with the four shrines are governed by the Devasthanam Board, formed through a legislation two years ago.

Former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh, on Wednesday, submitted an affidavit through his lawyer before the justice (retired) Kailas Uttamchand Chandiwal inquiry commission stating that he does not have any more evidence to share against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, whom he accused of corruption.

The affidavit, filed last month by Singh’s power of attorney, reiterates the stand that he had taken earlier before the commission. Singh’s lawyer on Wednesday confirmed that the senior IPS officer submitted the affidavit in a previous hearing of the commission.

Special public prosecutor, Shishir Hirey, appearing for the inquiry commission said, “Param Bir Singh has refused to give any more evidence in the matter, over and above what he had said in the letter written to the chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray) making serious corruption allegations against Deshmukh. He is also not ready for cross-examining any witness.”

Work on the new residence and office of the Prime Minister, part of the Central Vista redevelopment project, will go beyond the December 2022 completion target.

The plots where the PMO and the Executive Enclave are proposed to be built are currently occupied by Defence establishment hutments that are being relocated to KG Marg and Africa Avenue in New Delhi.

Under the plan, the Prime Minister’s new residence is to come up on a 15-acre plot near South Block.

According to the CPWD timeline, the PM's residence was scheduled to be completed by December 2022. But that is set to change.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday hold a virtual meeting with senior officials of more than 40 districts across the country, where the Covid-19 vaccination coverage has been sluggish. According to reports, a number of chief ministers are also expected to attend the meeting, which is scheduled to take place at 12 noon.

As per the release by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the meeting's primary focus would be districts where less than 50% of the adult population has received at least one shot of the vaccine and those that have low coverage of the second dose. According to the statement, these districts are of states including Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, and others.