PM Modi’s Rajasthan ‘hate speech’ in Congress’s 16 complaints to Election Commission
A Congress delegation comprising Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Gurdeep Sappal and Supriya Shrinate met with the Election Commission of India at 4 p.m. on April 22 and put forward 16 complaints against the BJP and other actors for violations of The Representation of the People Act, 1951, various judgments of the Supreme Court, and the ECI’s Model Code of Conduct. “We hope that immediate action will be taken on these very legitimate complaints,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. One of the 16 complaints is against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly using religion to ask voters to refrain from voting for the INC while also making false, defamatory statements against the INC and its leaders.
BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal elected unopposed from Surat Lok Sabha seat
BJP’s Mukesh Dalal has been elected unopposed from the Surat Lok Sabha seat on April 22, after all other candidates withdrew their nomination papers. On the last day of withdrawal of the nomination forms today, as many as eight candidates, mostly Independents and Pyarelal Bharti of Bahujan Samaj Party, withdrew their papers. This development comes a day after nomination papers of the Congress party’s candidate Nilesh Kumbhani were rejected after his three proposers claimed in an affidavit to the district election officer that they had not signed his nomination form.
The Supreme Court on April 22 used its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to do “complete justice” to permit the medical termination of pregnancy of a 14-year-old rape survivor in Maharashtra. Her pregnancy, emanating from the sexual assault, is nearing 30 weeks. The minor became aware of her condition only at a very late stage.
Normalisation of scores for CUET-UG, NET to be done away with: UGC chief
Normalisation of scores for the Common University Entrance Test-UG (CUET-UG) and the National Eligibility Test (NET) is being done away with from this year, according to UGC Chief Jagadesh Kumar. “No normalisation of scores will be required this year since both exams will be conducted in a single shift for a subject,” Mr. Kumar said. “Earlier, we had to conduct the test for the same paper for two or three days in our endeavour to provide the first-choice centre to the students as much as possible. But this year, by adopting the OMR mode, a large number of centres will be available at schools and colleges, enabling us to conduct the test across the country on the same day,” he said. “If the test is conducted on multiple days for the same paper, normalisation is required and it is a scientific method,” the UGC chairman said.
Venkaiah Naidu, Mithun Chakraborty, Usha Uthup, Ram Naik conferred Padma awards
Former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu, founder of Sulabh International Bindeshwar Pathak and a host of other prominent persons were conferred with Padma Awards by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremonial function held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on April 22. Mr. Naidu, Mr. Pathak, who was given the award posthumously, and renowned Bharatanatyam dancer Padma Subrahmanyam were conferred with the Padma Vibhushan.
Court directs AIIMS to constitute medical board to examine Arvind Kejriwal
A Delhi court on April 22 directed the AIIMS to constitute a medical board to examine Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to determine whether he needs insulin to control his sugar levels and consider his other medical issues. Special Judge for CBI and ED cases Kaveri Baweja passed the order while declining Mr. Kejriwal’s plea for video consultation with his doctor. Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court listed Kejriwal’s petition challenging the summonses issued to him by the ED in connection with its probe into an excise policy-linked money laundering case for hearing on May 15.
Neha Hiremath murder case to be transferred to CID, special court to be set up, says Karnataka CM
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said the investigation into the murder of Hubballi student, Neha Hiremath, will be handed over to the CID. Speaking to the media at Shivamogga airport on April 22, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the CID would investigate the case and a special court would be set up for the speedy trial of the case. Further, responding to a question, he said he would visit Neha’s family in Hubballi on his next visit to the city. Strongly condemning the murder of 23-year-old Neha Hiremath and seeking stringent punishment to her assailant, Muslim organisations and trade bodies observed voluntary bandh in Hubballi-Dharwad and took out silent protest march in Dharwad.
The Supreme Court on April 22 did not immediately stay the bail granted by the Delhi High Court to four men serving a double life sentence for the cold-blooded murder of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan in the national capital while she was returning home from work in 2008.
No heatwave but temperature likely to hit 40°C in next three days: IMD
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on April 22 said that the maximum temperature in the national capital will hit 40°Celsius in the next three days. “There are no heatwave conditions expected in the upcoming days, but Delhi’s temperature will reach 40°Celsius in the next three to four days,” Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist and head of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Delhi, told PTI. He said the new western disturbance (WD) will approach northwest India but it will have no impact in the capital. The sky, therefore, will stay clear in Delhi in the coming week and there is no prediction of rain as well.
Odisha records max temperature of 44.6-degree Celsius; summer vacation announced for schools
Odisha continued to reel under intense heat wave conditions with the maximum temperature of 44.6 degrees Celsius recorded at Baripada town in Mayurbhanj on April 21. According to a bulletin of IMD’s Bhubaneswar centre, nine places in the state recorded a maximum temperature of 43 deg Celsius or above during the day.
The Calcutta High Court on April 22 declared as null and void the recruitment process of State Level Selection Test-2016 in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools, ordering cancellation of all appointments made through it. A division bench comprising justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi also directed the CBI to undertake further investigation in respect of the appointment process, and submit a report in three months. The bench directed the West Bengal School Service Commission to initiate a fresh appointment process.
Rishi Sunak says first migrant flight from U.K. to Rwanda will leave in 10-12 weeks
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on April 22 that the first flight carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda would leave in 10-12 weeks, as he set out plans for for his flagship policy to tackle illegal migration. Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Sunak said he would not outline the exact operational details of the plan, but said the government had made specific preparations.
Papua New Guinea leader takes offense after Biden implies an uncle was eaten by cannibals
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape accused Joe Biden of disparaging the South Pacific island nation by implying that an uncle of the U.S. President had been eaten by “cannibals” there during World War II. Mr. Biden’s comments offended a key strategic ally as China moves to increase its influence in the region. “They never found the body because there used to be — there were a lot of cannibals for real in that part of New Guinea,” Mr. Biden said, referring to the country’s main island. Mr. Marape said in a statement on Sunday that Mr. Biden “appeared to imply his uncle was eaten by cannibals.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on April 22 agreed on joint efforts to eradicate terrorism as they discussed ways to promote cooperation between their countries, months after the two neighbours carried out tit-for-tat air strikes against alleged terrorist hideouts on rival lands. Mr. Raisi, the first head of State of any country to visit Pakistan after the February 8 general elections, was welcomed by PM Sharif at the Prime Minister House where the Iranian leader inspected the Guard of Honour.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has said that the PCB would be open to the idea of playing with India in bilateral series if they send their team to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy next year. Talking to reporters in Lahore during a function, Naqvi was asked about the recent interview of Indian captain Rohit Sharma, in which he praised the Pakistan cricket team and said it would be “awesome” to play the neighbours from across the border in a Test series overseas.
WADA stands by decision to clear Chinese swimmers for Tokyo Olympics, citing contaminated samples
The world’s top anti-doping regulator said after reviewing a television documentary and newspaper reports that it stands by its decision to clear 23 Chinese swimmers to compete at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics despite testing positive for a banned heart medication. The World Anti-Doping Agency issued a statement following the release on April 21 of a documentary on the cases by German broadcaster ARD. In an earlier statement following initial newspaper reports, WADA said it agreed with Chinese authorities and ruled that the swimmers’ samples had been contaminated.
