NEW DELHI: As the country is battling the second wave of covid-19, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party led NDA government at the Centre for the mismangement in tackling the pandemic and said that 97 per cent Indians have witnessed depreciation in their income due to the arrogance of the Central leadership.

He also mentioned that the various mutants of Coronavirus is the second reason for the economic devastation. The Congress leader shared a report that stated that lockdowns imposed in various parts of the country to contain the second wave has left 97 per cent of Indians poorer.

“One man and his arrogance + One virus and its mutants, tweeted the Congress leader,” the Congress leader tweeted.

According to the report shared by Gandhi, the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic seems to be impacting jobs in India. It is reported that there has been a drop in the number of salaried jobs in India largely. In addition, 97 per cent Indians have witnessed depreciation in their income as well, stated the report.

The report quoted Mahesh Vyas, chief executive officer, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), stating that over 97 percent of India’s population has become poorer compared to where they were in terms of income (a year ago) while accounting for inflation.

As per the report, Vyas stated that salaried jobs in India have declined by 11-12 million. He stated that pre-Covid-19, there were around 85 million jobs and now that has dropped to around 73-74 million today. ANI

As the BRICS (a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) foreign ministers gear up to discuss the Covid-19 crisis and ways to come out of it, all eyes will be set on China which is said to be upset over various study reports saying that Chinese scientists created the coronavirus in a lab in Wuhan. What has angered the Dragon all the more is a probe ordered by US President Joe Biden to “find out whether the coronavirus resulted from a lab accident in China”.

That no powerful nation has come on record as of today to dismiss the Wuhan lab-leak theory has also enraged the Dragon further. With the BRICS foreign ministers’ Covid meet being held in this charged atmosphere, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s remarks during the parley will be keenly watched for. Sources said that Biden is himself interested in what happens in the BRICS meet which is being hosted by India as the chair of the grouping this year. The US Embassy has been asked to keep a tab over what comments Chinese minister makes during the exercise.

“President Biden directed his intelligence agencies to take another look at whether the coronavirus resulted from a lab accident in China.” MEA sources believe what the Dragon is breathing fire over is that this kind of probe has brought the conspiracy theory about the virus’s origin back under the world’s focus.

Indian diplomats do agree that Beijing is also not happy with Delhi where it is being put in the dock over the virus leak theory, with international studies being widely reported by the media. It is in this backdrop that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be participating in this virtual BRICS Ministerial meeting. The event assumes significance from this point of view.    

The agenda of the meeting is solely issues related to tackling Covid and counter-terrorism. Bilateral issues including LAC dispute between India and China are also not on the agenda. No one-to-one will be there between Indian and Chinese foreign ministers, with the meeting being held on a virtual platform.

But sources say that Chinese foreign minister might refer to the “lab-leak theory” diplomatically. There is no denying that the communist leadership in Beijing is finding it difficult to counter this theory which has brought embarrassment to the entire country. With this in view, what remains to be seen is how Wang Yi reacts during the meet. MEA issued a statement on the agenda saying, “The ministers are expected to exchange views on the Covid-19 pandemic situation, the need for strengthening and reforming the Multilateral System with a view to enhancing its capacity to effectively address the diverse challenges of our time and to adapt them to contemporary realities, on global and regional issues of concern, sustainable development, countering terrorism besides discussing ways to enhance intra-BRICS cooperation, especially people-to-people cooperation.” BRICS will also discuss India’s proposal to set up a consortium to tackle post-Covid-19 health challenges and tackling non-communicable diseases, among other issues.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Ambassador Carlos Alberto Franco França, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi, and the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor, are to participate in the meeting.

The ministers will also set the course for the BRICS summit to be held later this year, either in person or virtually, which will be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and will include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

More trouble is brewing for wrestler Sushil Kumar as Delhi Police has now started acting in another case registered against him in September last year. The case was registered by a shop owner in Delhi who had accused the wrestler of beating him up at the Chhatrasal Stadium for asking for due payments.

The complaint was lodged by Satish Goyal, who runs a grocery shop. Goyal told The Daily Guardian, “The ration for the stadium used to be supplied from my shop. My money was due before the last lockdown. I went to the stadium where the newly transferred coach Ashok Kumar took the due slip from me and handed over to Sushil Kumar. I made a calculation of Rs 405,950 which was due. Ashok Kumar promised to make the payments, but it was not made. One day, I was called to the stadium by an associate of Sushil Kumar. When I reached there, Sushil Kumar and his associates were standing. He asked me about the whole thing and then refused to pay. Then I said I would die if do not get the payment. Soon after this, Sushil Kumar and other wrestlers beat me up heavily.” Satish Goyal registered the complained with the Model Town Police Station. However, no action was taken at that time due to Sushil Kumar’s “influence”.

When The Daily Guardian spoke to coach Ashok Kumar, he said the allegations levelled by Satish Goyal are baseless and only Rs 1,605 is due. “I don’t remember any single incident of Sushil Kumar beating up the shopkeeper. Just because lockdown was imposed again, we were unable to give him the payment,” Kumar said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police Crime branch is taking the investigation ahead and the double Olympic medalist is likely to be charged for destroying evidence. Police claim that Sushil Kumar tried to destroy evidence, including mobile phones and video footages, after having been arrested for his alleged role in the murder of Sagar Rana. It is learnt that Sushil Kumar got rid of his mobile phone in Haridwar. Also, police are looking for the clothes Sushil Kumar was wearing on the night of the incident. 

This is the reason Sushil Kumar was taken to Haridwar for further investigation in the murder case by the Delhi Police Crime Branch.

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking to halt construction work at Central Vista Avenue in the national capital in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Delhi High Court in its order said: “The project in question is of vital importance and essential and has a direct nexus with the main project, namely, the Central Vista Project.”

The court stated that once the workers were staying at the site and all facilities had been provided and the Covid-19 protocols were being adhered to, there was no reason for it to exercise powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to stop the project.

The court further observed that a project of national importance cannot be stopped, especially when the conditions imposed by the order of the DDMA dated 19 April, are not flouted or violated.  “By no stretch of imagination, it can be said that the Central Vista Project (which is the main project) or Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project is not an essential project.”

“The Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project, which is a sub-set of the main project, is equally important and essential as the main project. If this type of project is stopped by the court, the main project cannot be completed within the stipulated time,” the court said.

The court further said: “We are of the view that this is a motivated petition preferred by the petitioners and not a genuine public interest litigation. In view of the aforesaid, present petition is hereby dismissed with costs of Rs 1 lakh only to be deposited by the petitioners with the Delhi State Legal Services Authority within four weeks from today.”

The story of Ghatane, a village in Solapur district of Maharashtra, has now become an example for thousands of villages across India. The sarpanch of this village has made the entire village Covid-free in just a few months after he was appointed as the head.

Rituraj Deshmukh, 21, took up the task of making the entire village Covid-free and now there is not even a single corona case in Ghatane village. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has applauded him in his recent virtual interaction with the people of the state.

While many rural areas across the nation are being affected badly by the rapidly increasing numbers of Covid cases, Ghatane village has emerged as an exemplary model. A village with population of around 1,500 in Solapur district has brought Covid cases down to zero under the leadership of one of Maharashtra’s youngest sarpanch Ruturaj Deshmukh. 

Ruturaj Deshmukh, a science graduate, was elected sarpanch in January this year. He had no idea about the challenges he was going to face in the coming months. According to him, the situation in the village was grim at that time. Due to Covid-19, the families of the village had lost their loved ones. In such a situation, the biggest challenge for him was to make the people of the village aware of Covid appropriate behavior. Keeping each step firmly, this village and the sarpanch of this village have become an example for everyone.

In April, death of two residents, a father-son duo, shook the villagers. It was

Rituraj Deshmukh

21-year-old sarpanch makes Maharashtra village Covid-free later confirmed that they both had contracted the Covid infection. There was panic among the villagers as this small village does not even have a primary health centre; Covid care centres were around 20 km from the village. The local residents had to go to the Public Health Centre at Narkhed, around 10km away, or to the tehsil place of Mohol, around 20 km away, which had the nearest Covid care centre.

Talking exclusively to The Daily Guardian, Ruturaj Deshmukh said, “The battle has not been won yet. Few of the villagers who were staying in their farm huts, have returned to the village. We have distributed Covid safety kits to each house. We have provided masks, sanitisers and soaps in these kits. Also, pulse oximeters and digital thermometers have been given to families with elderly members. We held vaccination camps. We can say the battle will be won only after we vaccinate every individual in the village.”

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in his address to the state on Sunday announced a “Corona-free village” drive to check the spread of Covid-19 in rural areas and appreciated sarpanch Ruturaj Deshmukh for his dedication and efforts.

In a dramatic turn of events, West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay retired on Monday afternoon only to be appointed as the Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. However, according to sources in the Central government, a chargesheet may be issued and action will be taken against Bandyopadhyay for defying orders to join duty in Delhi.

Harekrishna Dwivedi has been appointed the new Chief Secretary of West Bengal. As per reports, though Alapan Bandyopadhyay has retired, he is getting a “big post” by way of being made the Chief Adviser to the Chief Minister. B.P. Gopalika has come to the post of Home Secretary. As per the new order, Bandyopadhyay will take on the new role from 1 June for a period of three years.

Mamata Banerjee said, “State Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay has retired as his service ends today (31 May 2021). He didn’t