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While the political arena is already witnessing a war of words over freebies, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has knocked the doors of the Supreme Court by way of an intervention application. The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP through its intervention application filed before the top court in an ongoing matter has claimed that electoral promises such as free water, free electricity are not “freebies” but examples of discharging “constitutional responsibilities of the state” towards creating a more equitable society.

“….it is clear as day that the entire exercise of governance in our constitutional polity is a process of creating a more equitable society, where those who need the support of the State to access various amenities necessary to a life of dignity and freedom, are provided that support,” the plea said.

The value of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s movable assets increased by Rs 26.13 lakh during 2021-22 — and he no longer owns any immovable property after donating his share in a residential plot in Gujarat, according to his latest declaration of assets on the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) website.

With details provided upto March 31, 2022, the declaration shows that Modi's movable assets increased from Rs 1,97,68,885 at the end of March 2021 to Rs 2,23,82,504. This includes a fixed deposit, bank balance, National Savings Certificates, life insurance policies, bank balance, jewellery and cash in hand.

The PM has mentioned “NIL” in the column for immovable assets. A note under the list states: “Immovable property Survey No. 401/A was jointly held with three other joint owners and each having an equal share of 25%, is no more owned by the self as the same has been donated.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday (August 8, 2022) slammed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his freebies remark. BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, Kejriwal has lost credibility among the people and was trying to become a "hero" by promising "revadis" (sweets) during elections.

While addressing a press conference in the national capital, Bhatia said that Kejriwal lacks the "farsightedness and clarity of thought" required of a politician and his party has emerged as a "synonym of corruption".

India's 61 medals at Birmingham might seem well short of the 101 won in the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010 and their 22 gold medals below the 26 won at Gold Coast four years ago, but account for disciplines that were missing here, and this is actually India's best CWG performance.

Here's how that works out. The 101 medals in Delhi included 30 from shooting, eight from archery, seven from Greco-Roman wrestling and four from tennis. None of these disciplines were part of the 2022 Games. Subtract those from the Delhi total and what we're left with is 52 medals including 17 gold. For a fair comparison, also take away the lawn bowls gold and silver from Birmingham, the cricket silver and the judo medals because cricket and judo were not part of the 2010 CWG and lawn bowls in 2010 did not have men's and women's fours, the events in which India won medals here. That reduces the 2022 tally to 55 medals and 21 gold, better on both counts than 2010.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a strong case for modernising the country’s farm sector by using technology so that it can become self-sufficient in more crops, including pulses and oil seeds.

Noting that half of the country’s edible oil demand is met through imports resulting in annual import bill of Rs 1 trillion, he called for steps, including a shift in cropping pattern by states to cut this dependency to 25% in the next few years.