03 February 2026
Samajwadi Party leader IP Singh on Friday received flak about his insensitive remark for his insensitive remark about PM Modi's mother Heeraben Modi.
Taking to Twitter, IP Singh posted a statement in Hindi where in compared PM Modi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
The Union government spent more than Rs 13,000 crore on cleaning the Ganga since 2014, with Uttar Pradesh receiving the largest outlay among states, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is learnt to have informed the National Ganga Council on Friday.
The council, which met after three years, was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conference. Modi was scheduled to travel to Kolkata for the meeting but addressed it virtually owing to the demise of his mother.
It is learnt that the NMCG, which is responsible for implementation of the government’s ambitious Namami Gange programme, provided a detailed financial progress report in the agenda note prepared for the council meeting.
A negative Covid-19 test report will be mandatory for passengers travelling to India from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand from January 1, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday.
Flyers from these countries will have to upload their test reports on the government's Air Suvidha portal before their departure, Mandaviya said in a tweet.
The move comes amidst an uptick in Covid-19 cases in China and East Asian countries.
Condolences poured in, mourning the death of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi on Friday early morning. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Former Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu, Shehzad Poonawalla, and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel among others expressed their condolences on Twitter. Rajnath Singh wrote, "I am deeply pained by the passing away of Hira Ba, mother of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi. The death of a mother leaves such a void in one's life that is impossible to fill. I express my condolences to the Prime Minister and his entire family in this hour of grief. Om Shanti!"
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, also wrote a message on Twitter, paying respects to Heeraben Modi - "Triveni of devotion, penance, and work, @narendramodi Regards at the feet of the mother who created a great personality like ji. Respected mother will always remain an inspiration."
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said while the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi has evoked a massive response, "translating this into votes is the next challenge and doesn't follow axiomatically".
Tharoor, who recently unsuccessfully contested the post of Congress President, also said his party will need to take other parties, especially regional players, along to mount a challenge in the 2024 general elections.
"By own impression is that the way he (Gandhi) has been personally received has done wonders for his image," he told PTI here.
