Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh. With its victory in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party has also secured berths in Rajya Sabha. On Wednesday, hours after Bhagwant Mann was sworn in as Chief Minister, AAP sources said former cricketer Harbhajan Singh is among the names that the party has shortlisted to send to the Upper House, where its current strength stands at three. Singh is also likely to be made the head of a proposed sports university in the state. On March 10, Singh had welcomed Mann’s elevation to the CM’s post with a tweet: “Congratulations to @AamAadmiParty and my friend #BhagwantMann on becoming our new chief minister… great to hear that he will be taking oath as the new CM in Bhagat Singh’s village Khatkarkalan…”
Movie break: Apart from declaring The Kashmir Files as tax-free in BJP-ruled states, the party is also organising special screenings of the film. On Wednesday evening, a special show was held for BJP MPs and ministers in Delhi — Ministers Kiren Rijijju and Ashwini Kumar Choubey were among those present. Madhya Pradesh BJP leader Prabhal Pratap, son of Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, invited party leaders for the show. A day before, the Delhi BJP organised a show for party leaders in the national capital. Party leaders said the state units will also organise special shows in the coming days.
Slow start: While India rolled out the new phase of Covid-19 vaccination for 12-14 years age group on Wednesday, the first day saw lukewarm response — just over 3 lakh got their jab, compared to over 37 lakh for 15-17 years earlier. However, the response was along expected lines. At a meeting with the health ministry earlier, the states had pointed out that the timing coincides with school exams and Holi celebrations. They assured that the pace would pick up after Holi.
Goodwill move: Railway stations may be included in the web of counters offering Aadhaar-enabled services. The UIDAI has written to Railways to offer the same. The hardware required to get such a system installed involves a capital cost of around Rs 1.5 lakh. The UIDAI reasoned that this would add to the goodwill of Railways.
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