The Budget session of the parliament began on Friday with strict observance of restrictions for COVID-19. The Union Budget will be presented on February 1. The budget session will continue till the first week of April and is set to be stormy, with the opposition out to corner the government over the contentious farm laws amid the ongoing farmers' protest.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday inaugurated multi surgery microscope at Swargadeo SiuKaPha Multispeciality Hospital at Dimow in Sivasagar. This is the first of its kind in Northeast. It will be useful in neurosurgery, spine surgery, head and neck surgeries etc. The hospital was built as a part of Corporate Social Responsibility of ONGC and maintenance is being looked after by Babasaheb Ambedkar Vaidakiya Pratisthan, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The high end ENT microscope can be used for all microear surgeries, lateral skull base surgeries, microvascular surgeries with fluorescence imaging.
Social activist Anna Hazare will begin an indefinite fast from January 30 at his hometown Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra over various demands related to the farmers. He also urged his supporters to protest from their respective locations to support the farmers. In a press statement, the 84-year old activist said, "I have been agitating for the crucial demands of farmers for the last four years. It seems like the government is not taking proper decisions on the issue of farmers. The government is not sensitive towards the farmers."
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) kick started its process of selecting candidate for the upcoming state assembly polls by issuing a notice seeking application for aspiring candidates. The last date for receiving applications is set for 10th February. The opposition party has asked applicants to deposit an amount of Rs. 40,000 in the form of demand draft favouring APCC payable along with the application. For ST & SC, the applicants have to deposit an amount of Rs.20,000.
The Income Tax (IT) department on Friday carried out search operations at residences and business establishments of leading businessman Suresh Prithani in Guwahati as well as in New Delhi. As per sources, the IT Department raided Prithani's 'Brahmaputra Infrastructure Limited' situated at Christian Basti, both residences in Signature Apartment in Ulubari and Spanish Garden in Zoo road at 8 AM today. The raid went on for more than 8 hours.
A minor-intensity explosion took place on Friday evening near the Israeli embassy at Lutyens' Delhi located at Aurangzeb Road, distance of 2 km from the Vijay Chowk, where the Beating Retreat ceremony was going on. Few cars were damaged in the explosion.
The Income Tax (IT) department has conducted a raid at the residence of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee's (APCC) General Secretary Pradyut Bhuyan in Nalbari on Friday. A five-member team from the department conducted the raid at his residence at Gopal Bazar. Bhuyan, also known as an established businessman, is a strong contender from the Congress party for the upcoming state assembly election.
A case of gang-rape has come to light when a video of the incident went viral on social media recently. The incident took place when the victim had gone to the jungles of Faizganj Behta area, Uttar Pradesh to collect wood. As per sources, six accused, including five minors, have been taken into custody on the basis of the complaint lodged by the victim, a 32-year old woman, on Thursday, police said. In the complaint, the woman has stated that five youths' gang-raped her while the sixth one made a video of the horrific act, police added. She said that the culprits threatened to make the video viral and kill her husband and children if she told anyone about the incident, police further added.
The Maharashtra government on Friday announced an extension in prevailing lockdown restrictions till February 28. The government in an order said that existing 'Mission Begin Again' guidelines in relation to the coronavirus pandemic will remain in force till the end of February. "The state government is satisfied that the state of Maharashtra is threatened with the spread of COVID-19 virus, and therefore to take certain emergency measures to prevent and contain the spread of virus, it is expedient to extend the lockdown in the entire state of Maharashtra further till 28h February, 2021," the order issued by state Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar, on behalf of the Maharashtra Governor.
A group of around 200 people threw stones and vandalized tents at the Delhi-Haryana border in Singhu, the epicenter of farmers' protest for over two months. Delhi Police baton charges and uses tear gas shells to control the situation at Singhu border where farmers are protesting against farm laws. A group of people claiming to be locals were also protesting at the site demanding that the area be vacated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the upcoming budget was the next in a series of mini-budgets presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Addressing the media outside the Parliament, the Prime Minister said, "This is the Budget Session. For the first time in India's history, in a way, the Finance Minister had to present 4-5 mini budgets in 2020 in the form of different packages. So this Budget will be seen as a part of those 4-5 mini budgets, I believe this."
The budget session of the Parliament kicked off with President Ram Nath Kovind's speech. In his speech, the President said that the joint session was essential amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing the Parliament, the President said the MPs are present with a message and trust however tough is the challenge neither we nor India will stop.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Economic Survey 2020-21in the Parliament on Friday during the first day of the budget session starting today. The union budget will be placed on February 1. Following the presentation of the economic survey, Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian will address a press conference at 2.30 pm.
The elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) will be held on April 9. This was confirmed by the Meghalaya Cabinet during a meeting held on Thursday chaired by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma. The counting will take place on April 14. The GHADC has 30 members- 29 elected and one member nominated by the Governor. Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong while speaking to reporters said that the publication of draft electoral rolls will be on February 4 and the last date for filing of claims and objections is February 18.
Hostels in Assam will reopen from February 1 after a gap of more than 8 months. Although the hostels were opened partially in December for final year students, the other boarders will return to the hostels from February as per the notification of the state government. However, the students will return to the hostel in a phased manner with the permission of their parents. According to the government notification, the hostel authorities would have to collect the travel details of the returning students properly.
