Concluding his two-day visit to West Bengal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah departed for Delhi from Durgapur here on Sunday night.
Shah’s much-anticipated visit to the state began on Saturday. On the same day, eleven MLAs, an MP, and a former MP joined Bharatiya Janata Party at the rally of the Union Home Minister.
Suvendu Adhikari, Tapasi Mondal, Ashoke Dinda, Sudip Mukherjee, Saikat Panja, Shilbhadra Dutta, Dipali Biswas, Sukra Munda, Shyamapda Mukherjee, Biswajit Kundu, and Banasri Maity joined the BJP ahead of State Assembly elections in 2021.
Amit Shah / Pinterest
Speaking at a press conference in Birbhum here on the concluding day of his two-day visit to the state, Shah welcomed Adhikari into the BJP fold and said all those leaders are welcome into the party who raise their voice against injustice.
“Many leaders from TMC and Congress have joined BJP. I welcome Suvendu Adhikari into the BJP fold. We believe that whoever raises their voice against injustice should join BJP,” he said.
Shah on Sunday said that the turnout of a sizeable number of people in his roadshow at Birbhum indicated that people of West Bengal are “angry” with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and want a change. West Bengal is scheduled to go for assembly polls in mid-2021. The dates have not been announced yet.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh visited DRDO’s Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex during his visit to Hyderabad
Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri G Kishan Reddy and Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO accompanied Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh during the visit. Cluster DGs, Lab Directors, and Programme Directors briefed the dignitaries about the ongoing projects and technological developments. On this occasion, Hyderabad-based DRDO labs showcased various indigenously developed systems and technologies in wide-ranging areas including missiles, avionics systems, advanced materials, electronic warfare, quantum key distribution technology, directed energy weapons, Gallium Arsenide, and Gallium Nitride technology capabilities.
During his visit, two anti-drone technologies were demonstrated by DRDO labs to Raksha Mantri. DRDO Young Scientists’ Laboratory – Asymmetric Technologies (DYSL-AT) and RCI demonstrated drone and innovative anti-drone technologies. It has multiple capabilities including neutralizing ground targets and anti-drone applications to counter stationery as well as high-speed moving targets. Key features of the weapon system include secure communication link, effective recoil management system, high firing angular resolution, and vision-based target detection and tracking.
Hon’ble Raksha Mantri inaugurates the Advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility at Hyderabad DRDO complex. It is an indigenous development and an outcome of synergistic partnership with Indian industries. @DefenceMinIndiapic.twitter.com/fJWpNRXhN8
On this occasion, Raksha Mantri inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility. The state-of-the-art HWT Test facility is pressure vacuum driven enclosed free jet facility having nozzle exit diameter of 1 meter and will simulate Mach No 5 to 12 (Mach represents the multiplication factor to the speed of sound). After USA and Russia, India is the third country to have such a large facility in terms of size and operating capability. It is an indigenous development and an outcome of synergistic partnership with Indian industries. The facility has the capability to simulate hypersonic flow over a wide spectrum and will play a major role in the realization of highly complex futuristic aerospace and defence systems.
During the exhibition of a range of missile systems, various avionic systems and other technologies, scientists explained all the systems and technologies in detail and Hon’ble Raksha Mantri showed keen interest in the technical explanations and demonstrations.
Shri Kishan Reddy laid the foundation stone of the Explosive Test Facility for Propellant and Explosive Systems. This facility will be used for design validation and evaluation of missile sub-systems under different environmental conditions. He appreciated the efforts of DRDO for developing such a large number of systems. He said that he is happy that so much of high technology work is happening in the Hyderabad region, the region where he belongs.
Raksha Mantri addressed the DRDO fraternity and applauded the phenomenal technological achievements and recent series of successful missions and technological achievements by various clusters of DRDO including Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV), Anti-Radiation Missile (RUDRAM), Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM), Supersonic Missile Assisted Release Torpedo (SMART) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology during last six months. He lauded DRDOs contributions, despite COVID pandemic conditions, towards strengthening Atmanirbhar Bharat and for leading the indigenous development of state-of-the-art technology products and innovative solutions. He congratulated Dr. G Satheesh Reddy for DRDO’s contribution to the development of technologies and products for combatting the COVID-19 Pandemic. Also, he acknowledged the tremendous efforts in the establishment of COVID-19 hospitals at Delhi and Bihar, development of indigenous ventilators, PPE kits, and other protective equipment in a short span of time.
Shri Rajnath Singh appreciated the endeavors of contributions of DRDO Young Scientist Labs and said DRDO needs to focus on next-generation needs including cybersecurity, space and artificial intelligence, and evolve roadmaps. The immense potential available in DRDO has been a catalyst for the development of industries and the defense manufacturing sector. RM urged DRDO scientists to make India a Super Military Power thereby making India a Super Power.
Farmers at Delhi’s Ghazipur border have started using solar panels to charge their phones, tractor batteries and to carry out other important works
New Delhi [India]: Amid the lack of facilities, farmers protesting against the new farm laws at Delhi’s Ghazipur border have started using solar panels to charge their phones, tractor batteries and to carry out other important works. After using washing machines and chappati maker machines at the Singhu border, farmers at the Ghazipur border are now making arrangements for themselves.
“We have brought solar panels with us to charge our phones and tractors battery. Work is underway at our lands in our villages so we have to contact our family on regular basis via phone,” said an agitating farmer, Amrit Singh.
“We don’t know for how long we will have to sit here, the government is not listening to us so we have to make arrangements for ourselves till the time we stay here,” he added.
Meanwhile, a group of volunteers launched a newsletter named ‘Trolley Times’ on Friday, at the Singhu and Tikri borders of the national capital. The bi-weekly newsletter Trolley Times aims at providing information to farmers, the latest developments in talks with the government and other such reports are easily accessible to the agitating farmers.
Protesting farmers at the Singhu border are also making arrangements to install waterproof tents to protect them from the cold weather conditions.
A score of farmers have been protesting on different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws- Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood feels the visitors might find it hard to have a replacement for the “class-bowler” for the rest of the Test series.
India pacer Mohammad Shami retired hurt while batting in the second innings at the Adelaide Oval after he was hit on the right arm. Shami’s injury has put his participation in the Boxing Day Test in doubt. After the match, India skipper Virat Kohli said the bowler was in a lot of pain. Hazlewood, who turned the third afternoon of the pink-ball Test into a nightmare for the Indian batsmen, said Australia too wants to know the extent of Shami’s injury.
“It’s obviously a blow, we gonna see how bad it was. He will undergo scans to see if there is any fracture or bruising. We wanna find out how much damage is done,” Hazlewood said during the virtual post-match press conference.
Source- Social Media
“He is a class-bowler and he showed this in the game. So India might have to dig deeper in their arsenal to try and cover and him but we probably expect him to play, I am not sure how bad the injury is,” he added. India had claimed the advantage on day two after dismissing the Australian top-order, but skipper Tim Paine fought hard and added 80 runs with the tail.
“The partnership last night was hugely important, we were seven down and then last three wickets to put on 80 runs hugely important in a low scoring game. Paine batted beautifully with the tail and few of our guys chipped in here and there,” said Hazlewood.
Source- Social Media
After India was bundled out on 36 on day three, Joe Burns smashed a career-saving unbeaten 51 and Matthew Wade hit 33 as the duo put on 70 for the opening wicket to extinguish any hopes India had of staging a fightback.
“For Joe Burns, I think it was a perfect scenario today chasing a low score, so it freed him up and India had set attacking field so there were plenty of gaps, so he got on a roll and get the confidence back. We always have faith in him and we want to give him a long run as possible,” said Hazlewood.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue MG Vaidya passed away at 97 in Nagpur
Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India]: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue MG Vaidya passed away after a brief illness in Nagpur on Saturday. He was 97.
Vaidya was undergoing treatment for illness at Spandan Hospital, where he breathed his last 3:35 pm. His funeral will be conducted at Ambazari Ghat (Crematorium ground in Nagpur) at 9:30 am on Sunday. Dr Manmohan Vaidya, Joint General Secretary of RSS and son of MG Vaidya in a tweet said,
“Shri MG Vaidya, my father breathed his last today at 3.35 pm at Nagpur after completing 97 years of an active, meaningful and inspiring life. He was a veteran journalist, a Hindutva “Bhashyakar” and active Sangh (RSS) Swayamsevak for 9 decades.”
Shri M. G. Vaidya, my father breathed his last today at 3.35pm at Nagpur after completing 97 years of active, meaningful and inspiring life. He was a veteran journalist, a Hndutva “Bhashyakar” and active Sangh (RSS) Swayamsevak for 9 decades. pic.twitter.com/Gp6QPMsabW
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari condoled the demise of MG Vaidya, stating that it is sad that a pious and sage-like personality has passed away.
“My humble tribute to Baburao Vaidya. Baburao was fortunate enough to work with all Sarsanghchalak. It was a firm belief that Baburaoji would be a centenarian, but destiny had something different in mind. It is sad that a pious and sage-like personality has passed away. May God grant peace to the departed soul. Peace,” Gadkari said.
MG Vaidya was ace journalist, ex MLC, Sanskrit scholar and first official spokesperson of RSS.
The third wave of the coronavirus as the city reported 1,133 new cases and a positivity rate of less than 1.5 percent on Saturday, said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The first wave of this pandemic came to Delhi in the month of June when the number of cases started increasing and the number of deaths also increased, while in the month of August and September, the national capital witnessed the second wave of the pandemic. The city witnessed the third wave of COVID-19 in the month of October. “Delhi fought a war against COVID-19 pandemic and today the third wave of Coronavirus is under control,” Kejriwal said in a statement.
Citing the example of New York, he said that when New York reached its peak the patients were lying on the streets and corridors of hospitals, but it was not the case in Delhi as 7,000 beds were lying vacant when the highest number of corona cases in a day were reported in the city due to good management.
With the efforts of the people of Delhi, we have effectively and successfully surpassed the third wave of Corona. Sharing some latest figures | LIVE https://t.co/5srdpYAKDE
“At one hand the pollution level of Delhi was increasing due to the stubble burning at the neighboring states and on the other hand, the number of COVID-19 cases was also increasing,” he said.
Highlighting the Delhi government’s effort, the AAP chief said: “During this time, Delhi gave various new techniques to the world like home isolation and plasma therapy to fight against the pandemic. Delhi was the first state to announce Rs 1 crore financial assistance to the family in the case of COVID warriors’ deaths in the line of duty.”
He further informed that the number of active cases touched 45,000 in November and the city now has 12,000 active cases. “Today, Delhi has a recovery rate of 96.5 percent; there were 131 deaths on November 19, but today they have come down to 37. Delhi is conducting 4,500 tests per 10 lakh population in a day. The number of tests per 10 lakh population is 670 in Uttar Pradesh, 800 in Gujarat, 4,300 in the US, and 4,800 in the UK,” the Chief Minister mentioned.
President Kovind arrive in Goa to attend the 60th Goa Liberation Day event
Panaji (Goa) [India]: President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday arrived in Goa on a two-day visit to mark the occasion of 60th Goa Liberation Day. The President was received at the Goa airport by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
Chief Minister Sawant took to Twitter to share pictures of the President’s arrival in the coastal state where he will be participating in the function to announce the commencement of the celebrations of 60th Goa Liberation Day. “It was an honour to welcome the Hon’ble President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovindji at Dabolim Airport, on his visit to Goa on the occasion of Goa Liberation Day,” Sawant tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended greetings on the occasion earlier today.
“On the special occasion of Goa Liberation Day, greetings and best wishes to my sisters and brothers of Goa. We recall with pride the bravery of those who worked hard to free Goa. Praying for the continuous progress of the state in the years to come,” he tweeted.
Goa Liberation Day is observed on December 19 every year in the country. It marks the day Indian armed forces freed Goa in 1961 following 450 years of Portuguese rule.
Former Australia spinner Shane Warne on Saturday said that Indian opening batsman Prithvi Shaw will always struggle at the international level with the technique he has.
Warne’s remarks came as Shaw once again failed to get the runs in the ongoing first Test between India and Australia. Shaw was bowled out for a duck in the first innings by Mitchell Starc, while in the second innings, he managed to score four runs, but he was once again bowled by Pat Cummins.
“No surprise that Burns struggled yesterday as he looks horribly out of form – fingers crossed he can get some in his second dig. Shaw will struggle at this level with that technique,” tweeted Warne.
Other observations. No surprise that Burns struggled yesterday as he looks horribly out of form – fingers crossed he can get some in his second dig. Shaw will struggle at this level with that technique & a good debate with @mikehuss25 re keeping position in a team @FoxCricket !
The former Australia spinner Warne also said that there is no surprise that opening batsman Joe Burns failed to get runs in the first innings as he looks terribly out of form. Burns was sent back to the pavilion by Jasprit Bumrah after the batsman managed to score just eight runs.
India bundled Australia out on 191 in the first innings of the first Test after Umesh Yadav, Ashwin, and Jasprit Bumrah’s heroics with the ball. The visitors were 9/1 in the second essay when the umpires ended play on the second night.
The 62-run lead with nine wickets in the bag could prove to be crucial as the wicket isn’t getting any better for batting. Mayank Agarwal (5) and nightwatchman Jasprit Bumrah (0) will look to start afresh after battling it out against Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the dying stages of the second day.
Opening batsman Mayank Agarwal on Saturday became the third-fastest Indian player to register 1000 runs in the longest format of the game.
Mayank Agarwal achieved the feat against Australia on day three of the ongoing first Test here at the Adelaide Oval. The batsman has taken 19 innings to register 1000 runs in the longest format of the game. The Indian opening batsman hit a boundary off the bowling of Mitchell Starc in the very first over of day three and as a result, he brought up his 1000 runs in Test cricket.
Vinod Kambli is the fastest Indian batsman to register 1000 runs as he achieved the feat in 14 innings while Cheteshwar Pujara is the second-fastest having achieved the feat in 18 innings. Sunil Gavaskar had gone past the 1000-run mark in his 21st innings in Test cricket.
Source – Media
India bundled Australia out on 191 in the first innings of the first Test after Umesh Yadav, Ashwin, and Jasprit Bumrah’s heroics with the ball. The visitors were 9/1 in the second essay when the umpires ended play on the second night.
The 62-run lead with nine wickets in the bag could prove to be crucial as the wicket isn’t getting any better for batting. Mayank Agarwal (5) and nightwatchman Jasprit Bumrah (0) will look to start afresh after battling it out against Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the dying stages of the second day.
During a two-day visit to Kolkata Amit Shah paid tribute to Swami Vivekanand at Ramakrishna Ashram
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India]: Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah paid tribute to Swami Vivekanand at Ramakrishna Ashram in Kolkata. He is on a two-day visit to the state.
“This the place where Vivekananda Ji was born. Vivekananda Ji connected modernity and spirituality. I pray that we are able to walk on the path he showed us,” said Shah. Later today, he will address a public rally in Medinipur.
Meanwhile, preparations are underway at Belijuri village in Paschim Medinipur district, ahead of Shah’s visit today.
Shah reached Kolkata at around 1 am on Saturday for his two-day visit to the state. He was welcomed at Kolkata airport by several BJP leaders including Kailash Vijayvargiya and Dilip Ghosh.
His visit comes at a time when several MLAs from the ruling Trinamool Congress have resigned from the party and the state Assembly in a setback to Mamata Banerjee ahead of 2021 Assembly polls.
There are speculations of Suvendu Adhikari joining the BJP. Adhikari, who had earlier resigned as a minister, resigned from the Legislative Assembly and left the ruling Trinamool Congress on Wednesday
Shah is also scheduled to meet a farmer family and have lunch with them. On the second day of his trip, Shah will visit Vishwa Bharti University at Shantiniketan in Birbhum district, where he will pay tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, followed by an interaction with media.
The minister is also scheduled to visit Shyambati in Birbhum, where he will have lunch with the family of a Baul singer. Later he will hold a roadshow in Bolpur from hanuman mandir on Stadium Road to Bolpur Circle. Shah is expected to conclude the visit with a press conference at Mohor Kutir in Birbhum.
