News Breakfast @6

01. Assam Elections: Akhil To Withdraw Nomination From Mariani

Amid electioneering in Assam, founding president of the newly floated regional party Raijor Dal, Akhil Gogoi, will withdraw his nomination from Mariani constituency for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections. He will now contest only from Sivasagar constituency. The peasant leader had filed nominations from two constituencies Mariani and Sivasagar on Saturday last at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.

02. Ajmal Plans Legal Action Against LRO Over 'Doctored' Video

All India United Democratic Front president Badruddin Ajmal on Thursday said that he will take legal action against the voluntary group Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) who released a "doctored" video in Twitter accusing the Ajmal of allegedly making a provocative statement in a public gathering. On Wednesday, LRO released a video clip in Twitter where he was seen addressing a rally.

03. Decks Cleared To Build Dam On Brahmaputra In Tibet

China's Parliament on Thursday adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan, the mega blueprint containing billions of dollars worth of projects, including the controversial hydropower project on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet close to the Arunachal Pradesh border over which India has raised concerns. The National People's Congress (NPC), China"s legislature with over 2,000 members mostly drawn from the ruling Communist Party, adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for national economic and social development and the long-range objectives through the year 2035, on the last day of its six-day session on Thursday, official media reported.

04. Assam Polls: AGP Releases Second List Of Candidates

Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Sunday has declared their first list of candidates who would be contesting in the upcoming Assam Assembly elections. AGP has selected six candidates to fight the assembly seats in the second phase of elections.

05. COVID: Total Lockdown In Nagpur For A Week

Amid an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, the state government has decided to impose a lockdown in Nagpur from March 15 until March 21. Only essential services will be allowed during the lockdown including medical stores and other emergency services will continue to be exempted from the restrictions, the order from the Nagpur administration said.

06. Mamata Banerjee Declares Assets Worth ₹ 16.72 Lakh

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has declared that her net worth is ₹ 16.72 lakh. Banerjee, who is contesting the Nandigram assembly constituency in Purba Medinipur district, doesn't own any vehicle or property, according to her self-sworn affidavit filed before the Election Commission of India.

07. Imphal: Assam Rifles Sentry Injured In Grenade Attack

Suspected insurgents lobbed grenade at an Assam Rifles transit camp at North AOC, Minuthong in Imphal on Wednesday night. An Assam Rifles jawan Bimal Rai was injured in the grenade attack. As per reports, Rai was on sentry duty at the entrance of the transit camp when the incident occurred. He was rushed to the military hospital at Leimakhong. He sustained injuries on his left hand.

08. Senior Congress Leader Ardhendu Dey Quits Party

Senior Congress leader Ardhendu Kumar Dey resigned from the party on Thursday after being denied ticket for the upcoming Assembly elections. The Congress leader handed over the resignation to the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Ripun Bora.

09. Assam Polls: Congress Announces Candidates for Bokajan & Diphu

The Congress party has selected Raton Engti for Bokajan (ST) constituency while Sum Ronghang for Diphu (ST) constituency for the second phase of Assam Assembly election. On March 7, Congress had announced the list of three candidates for the upcoming polls. 

10. Cachar: Unaccounted Cash of Over 4lakh Seized

The flying squad seized unaccounted cash of over Rs. 4lakh from two places in Cachar district ahead of the assembly elections, said a release issued by the local administration on Thursday. The flying squad personnel recovered cash of Rs. 2,63,850 during a search operation in Silchar on Wednesday while the surveillance team also seized Rs. 1,36,960 during raids in Katigorah area, the release said.

11. Mithun Chakraborty Gets "Y+" Security Cover

Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty who recently joined BJP has been accorded with "Y+" VIP security, said official sources. According to reports, the security cover will be provided by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that has a dedicated wing for this task, called the special security group (SSG).

12. At Least 8 Killed in Road Accident at Agra-Kanpur Highway

At least 8 killed and three others injured while a SUV collided with a truck on Thursday morning at Agra-Kanpur National Highway. The accident took place on the National Highway 2 at around 5:15 AM under Agra's Etmadpur area. The SUV driver probably dozed off and lost control of the car.

13. Delhi AAP MLA Raghav Chadha Tests COVID-19 Positive

Delhi Aam Aadmi MLA Raghav Chadha has tested positive for COVID-19. The AAP leader informed this through his official twitter handle on Thursday. Chadha in his tweet wrote, "I would like to inform you all that I have tested positive for COVID-19. No serious symptoms have surfaced yet but as a precautionary measure I am practicing self isolation for next few days."

14. PM To Launch Kindle Version Of Swami Chidbhavanandaji's Bhagavad Gita

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Kindle version of Swami Chidbhavanandaji's Bhagavad Gita on Thursday through video conferencing, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) informed. He will also address the event, which has been organised to commemorate the sale of over 5 lakh copies of the Swami Chidbhavanandaji's Bhagavad Gita, at 10.25 AM.

15. TMC Defers Its Manifesto Release Following 'Attack' On Mamata

Trinamool Congress has deferred its manifesto release scheduled for today following an alleged attack on party chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The Chief Minister, who was on a two-day visit to Nandigram from where she filed her nomination earlier on Wednesday, alleged that she was pushed by a few unidentified people during her election campaigning.