New Delhi [India], March 22 (ANI): The Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar will visit West Bengal on Tuesday to review poll preparedness ahead of the first phase of the assembly polls.
“A full bench Commission along with senior officials are going to West Bengal tomorrow to review poll preparedness. It is simply routine work,” am Election Commission official told ANI.
The first phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls is scheduled to take place on March 27. The elections for 30 assembly seats will be conducted during the first phase. All the assembly constituencies of the districts of Purulia and Jhargram will go for polls in the first phase. While the segments of Bankura, Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur districts are going to be covered in the first phase of polls.
Meanwhile, central forces have been deployed throughout West Bengal ahead of the polls.
Elections to the 294-member assembly will be held from March 27 to April 29 in eight phases. Results will be declared on May 2. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 22 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday posted for hearing on March 23 a plea filed by Gautam Navlakha, an accused in Bhima Koregaon violence case, challenging the Bombay High Court order rejecting his plea for default bail.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice UU Lalit said it would hear the plea on Tuesday.
The High Court had rejected Navlakha’s plea on February 8 saying that the period for which an accused is under illegal detention cannot be taken into account while computing the 90-day custody period for grant of default bail.
Navlakha, in the apex court, has sought bail on the ground that the NIA failed to file its charge-sheet within the prescribed upper-limit of 90 days as per Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
He stated that the period for which he was confined to his house under house arrest should be calculated as part of judicial custody and should be taken into account while deciding the custody period under Section 167(2).
He had sought bail from the High Court on same grounds. Last year special court had rejected his application for default bail.
Navlakha, one of the several civil liberties activists in the Bhima Koregaon case, has been booked under stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for an alleged conspiracy to topple the government. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 22 (ANI): Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the passage of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Lok Sabha as “an insult to the people of Delhi”.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of cheating the people of Delhi, Kejriwal alleged that the bill effectively takes away powers from those who were voted by people and gives powers to those who were defeated.
The bill was brought in parliament last week, three years after a constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled on the dispute between Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the Lieutenant Governor.
“Passage of GNCTD Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha today is an insult to the people of Delhi. The Bill effectively takes away powers from those who were voted by people and gives powers to run Delhi to those who were defeated. BJP has cheated the people,” tweeted Kejriwal today.
The Bill entails that the term “government” referred to in any law made by the legislative assembly will imply Lieutenant Governor.
The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the bill after a reply to the debate by the Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy.
The bill seeks to amend the National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991.
The statement of objects and reasons of the bill states that the bill seeks to clarify the expression “Government”, which in the context of legislation to be passed by the Legislative Assembly of Delhi, shall mean the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, consistent with the status of Delhi as a Union territory to address the ambiguities in the interpretation of the legislative provisions.
It says that the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 was enacted to supplement the provisions of the Constitution relating to the Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers for the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
Section 44 of the Act deals with the conduct of business and “there is no structural mechanism provided in the Act for effective time-bound implementation of the section”.
“Further, there is no clarity as to what proposal or matters are required to be submitted to Lieutenant Governor,” it said. (ANI)

By Archana Prasad
Jorhat (Assam) [India], March 22 (ANI): Faced with rising LPG prices, tea workers of Assam’s Jorhat have urged political parties, contesting assembly elections say with their low wages, they are facing trouble in refilling cylinders due to low wages and are forced to burn firewood again.
Speaking to ANI, Puniaari, a tea worker from Jorhat said, “We can no longer afford gas refills so have switched back to burning wood. We have not use a cylinder gas since the last 10 months as prices are steep and we cannot afford it at all.”
“I don’t know what to demand from political parties, they only does big promises but never fulfils,” she further added.
She also urged the political parties, who voted to power in future to increase their daily wages that will help their livelihood and said, “We don’t even get any subsidy.”
“It’s not easy to cook on “Chulha” we feel irritation in our eyes, I face problem in breathing. Earlier, we use to Cook on gas stove but after hike in the price we have stopped using it at all,” said Lata, another tea worker.
“We can’t afford it now as we get only Rupees 173 rupees after working in tea gardens,” she said asking that tell me how can we afford this costly cylinder?
Another tea worker, Seema said, “Our children get late for schools or tuitions, my husband also get late for work because cooking on hearth takes much time s compared to gas stove.”
“I demand political parties increase our daily wages maybe than can we afford filling up gas cylinders,” she added. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 22 (ANI): The Parliament on Monday passed a bill that raises the limit of foreign investment in Indian insurance companies from existing 49 per cent to 74 per cent.
Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by Lok Sabha on Monday after it was passed by Rajya Sabha last week.
Replying to the debate in Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that policy holders’ funds will not go out.
“FDI will be fairly established, it will not only bring in the capital but greater competition. Consumers will have more choices, there’ll be best practices brought in from across the world,” she said.
“Private insurers have to meet the insurance regulator’s solvency margin norm of 150 per cent. Raising FDI to 74 per cent is important for private insurers to raise money and maintain that solvency ratio,” she added.
Sitharaman refuted allegations of opposition parties, saying that the bill has adequate safeguards.
“We have been hearing about FDI limit being raised and that it will form another East India company. It is only an upper limit, increasing does not mean foreign investment will increase. Policy holders’ funds will be invested only within India,” she said.
She said under PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, people are able to “insure life” at Re 1 per day.
“This has been possible because the Prime Minister has spent a lot of time understanding how to bring the premium down,” she said.
The minister said that the total number of insurers has increased from 53 to 68 within a span of five years.
“Listed insurers have also increased. Six of them have got listed. Asset under management has risen from 24 lakh crore to 42 lakh crore as of March 2020,” she said.
The statement of objects and reasons of the bill states foreign investment in Indian insurance companies is being raised from the existing 49 per cent to 74 per cent to achieve the objective of Government’s Foreign Direct Investment Policy of supplementing domestic long-term capital, technology and skills for the growth of the economy and the insurance sector, and enhance insurance penetration and social protection. (ANI)

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 22 (ANI): After Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s remarks that Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh was in hospital in February when former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh claimed he had met arrested policeman Sachin Waze, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis on Monday accused Pawar of “diverting the issue.”
Sharing a screenshot of the WhatsApp chats between Singh and ACP Sanjay Patil, Fadnavis tweeted, “It seems Sharad Pawar Ji is not briefed properly on Parambir Singh’s letter. In this letter only, the SMS evidence shows that the meeting date was mentioned as the end of February. Now, who is diverting issue?”
In the screenshot shared by Fadnavis alongside his tweet, Singh is asking Patil about the date of his meeting with Deshmukh to which Patil replies “in the end of February.”
Pawar in his press conference today had also said that Deshmukh was in-home quarantine till February 27. Reacting to Pawar’s statement Fanavis further tweeted, “Sharad Pawar Ji said, from February 15 to 27 Home Minister Anil Deshmukh was in-home quarantine. But actually, along with security guards and media he was seen taking press conference!”
The former Maharashtra Chief Minister also shared the tweet of Deshmukh with a video of him talking to reporters.
Deshmukh’s tweet dated February 15 said, “My statement regarding the tweets made by celebrities on the issue of farmers’ movement was distorted. It was not my order to inquire about celebrities. I had ordered an inquiry into the involvement of the BJP’s IT cell in the case. Lata Mangeshkar is our God.”
Giving clarifications on the dates mentioned by Pawar in his today’s press conference, D4eshmukh today speaking to ANI said, “I was in home quarantine from February 15 to 27. I stepped out of my house for the first time on February 28.”
“A few journalists were waiting for me at the hospital gate after I got discharged on February 15. I was feeling low and weak so I sat on the chair there and responded to their questions. Then I went straight to my car and went home,” claimed the Maharashtra Home Minister.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh on Saturday wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleging that Deshmukh had indulged in “malpractices” and asked suspended API Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month.
The allegations made by Singh came a day after Deshmukh had said that Singh was moved out as Mumbai Police Commissioner so that cases pertaining to Waze were probed without obstruction.
In the letter, Singh, who has now been posted as Commandant General of Home Guards, had said that he has been “made a scapegoat to divert attention from the actual wrongdoers”.
He had alleged that Sachin Vaze, who was heading the Crime Intelligence Unit of the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police, was called by Deshmukh to his official residence several times in the last few months and “repeatedly instructed to assist in the collection of funds”.
Waze, Assistant Police Inspector in the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU), who was transferred to the Citizen Facilitation Centre at Mumbai Police headquarters after his name came up in Mansukh Hiran death case, has been sent to the NIA custody till March 25, in connection with his alleged role and involvement in placing an explosives-laden vehicle near Mukesh Ambani’s residence. (ANI)