NEWS

The renewed activism of Congress in Uttar Pradesh under Priyanka Gandhi is making other opposition parties such as the Samajwadi Party restless.

Naresh Uttam Patel, Samajwadi Party leader and state president told media in Jalaun on Sunday: “The Congress and BJP are two sides of the same coin and both have an understanding. The people of the state understand that the alternative of Yogi Adityanath is only Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. In such a situation, the BJP has a well thought out strategy to create confusion in the votes of the opposition.”

Many in the opposition camp feel the increasing activism of the Congress is primarily because Priyanka wants to put the Congress in a position in UP where the party can bargain on seat-sharing with other parties.

As India races against time to meet the December deadline for vaccinating all eligible beneficiaries against the novel coronavirus, a petition filed by a Kottayam resident has raised questions over the photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the CoWin certificates that are issued after one takes the Covid jabs in India. Seeking the removal of the picture, RTI activist M Peter, moved the Kerala High Court. In his plea, Peter says that PM Modi's photo on the vaccination certificate has 'no relevance' and 'no public interest is served.' The Kerala High Court has issued notices to both the state and the Centre. The hearing is slated after two weeks.

Despite assurances from Jammu and Kashmir administration and the regional political parties made fervent appeals to Kashmiri Pandits -Hindus not to consider any idea of migration, a large number of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) not only abstained from attending offices, but many also have returned to Jammu in panic in the wake of targeted killings of two Pandits among seven other civilians in the past one week.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration and the regional political parties made fervent appeals to Pandits not to consider any idea of migration. The District Development Commissioners (DDCs) in Kashmir region have also been directed to reach out to the community.

As per reports and returnees, the district commissioners have asked the Pandits living in designated enclaves in parts of the Valley to restrict their movement for the time being and avoid travelling to volatile pockets.

From MPs to MLAs, councillors to common workers, the entire Congress landed up at the venue of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi son’s wedding except party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who instead of heading back home from Lakhimpur Kheri, suddenly decided to land up in faraway Vaishno Devi shrine on Sunday.

Channi’s son Navjit Singh got married at Sacha Dham gurdwara in Mohali on Sunday. With senior cabinet minister, Manpreet Badal by his side, others who were in attendance included Harish Rawat, the AICC general secretary in- charge of Punjab affairs.

“Darshan of the primordial mother during Navratras is synergising… Washes away all the dirt from the soul!! Blessed to be at the lotus feet of Mata Vaishno Devi,” Sidhu said in a tweet.