Opposition convene meeting of CMs- NEET, JEE postponement on agenda; Authorities make regulations for exam centres
A day after fireworks at the Congress meeting, an attempt is being made to recover lost ground and do some damage control. Sources said party interim president Sonia Gandhi and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee have got together to take on the BJP over issues- postponement of the NEET and JEE Main examinations and protecting the federal structure of the country. Meanwhile, Bollywood actor Sonu Sood also requested the centre to postpone the exams citing the current situation in the country.
Arrangements made: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has made adequate arrangements for maintaining social distancing norms in the examinations centre for JEE and NEET- scheduled from September 1-6 and September 13, respectively. NTA earlier had issued instructions for candidates to ensure their safety during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Conspiracy: A fire broke out in the protocol department in the North block of the Kerala Secretariat, which houses important offices, in state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Soon after, the opposition said the fire was a conspiracy to destroy evidence in the gold smuggling case.
COVID count: With 60,975 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,67,323, while recoveries surged to 24,04,585. The death toll climbed to 58,390 with 848 fatalities being reported in a span of 24-hours. The COVID-19 case fatality rate has declined to 1.84 per cent.
Prashant Bhushan case: The Supreme Court reserved the order in a contempt case against activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan, also granted him 30 minutes to 'think over' his stand of not expressing regret over his tweets against the judiciary. "He (Bhushan) should withdraw all statements and express regret," said the top law officer when the bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra sought his views on the 'defiant' statement of Bhushan.
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