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- News18.com
- Last Updated: August 27, 2020, 7:41 AM IST
Mamata Banerjee & Amarinder Singh urge states to move SC against decision to hold NEET & JEE Exams; Congress to hold nationwide protests on Friday
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed for a joint plea with other state heads before the SC to postpone the NEET and JEE Mains examinations scheduled for the first week of September amid pandemic. Her views were echoed by her Punjab counterpart Amarinder Singh who has asked his state Advocate General to coordinate in other opposition-ruled states for filing a collective review petition in the Supreme Court to seek deferment of the national exams.
Nationwide protests: The Congress announced that it will hold countrywide protests on August 28 to oppose the government’s decision to hold NEET, JEE exams during the pandemic. In a statement AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said the move is in line with concerted opposition to this “dictatorial move” of the government.
In Other News
COVID count: India recorded more than 60,000 cases of COVID-19 for the eighth day in a row, as total cases crossed 3.2 million, data from the federal health ministry showed. Punjab CM said 23 ministers and MLAs were coronavirus positive two days before the Vidhan Sabha session on August 28.
Economic fallout: The poorest have been hit the hardest, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) says in its latest annual report, referring to the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. The RBI has noted that white collar employees can work from home (after the pandemic induced lockdowns) but essential workers have to work on site.
GST Council: The GST Council meeting is likely to be a stormy affair as opposition-ruled states unite to pressure the Centre to give them the promised compensation for loss of revenue arising from the implementation of GST. The 41st meeting of the GST Council, to be held via video conferencing, has just one agenda for discussion — making up for shortfall in states’ revenues, sources said.
Criminal case filed: A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) wrote to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to look into the drug angle in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, the NCB registered a criminal case against Rhea Chakraborty and others for their alleged dealings in banned drugs.
Unearthed: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has unearthed close links between Pakistani terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed and al-Qaeda as well as the Taliban during its investigation into the 2019 Pulwama attack. The NIA in its chargesheet has alleged that the main accused Umer Farooq trained at the Sangin camp of the Helmand province of Afghanistan.
On Our Specials
A snub: Late evening Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi announced the formation of a committee which will study and work the strategy of the party on ordinances. But the significance of the committee lies not in its formation, but in the names and the message it wants to send out — that the Grand Old Party will move on without addressing the concerns raised by those who wrote a letter seeking an “active and visible leadership”. Pallavi Ghosh writes.
RTI reveals: Setting aside the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the Department of Posts, trading as India Post has opted for private telecom players- Vodafone, Airtel and Reliance Jio for mobile connections provided to its employees. An RTI filed by Arif Jwadder revealed for a total of 4,487 connections, a little over Rs 4.5 lakh was paid to private telecommunication companies on a monthly basis. Raunak Kumar Gunjan writes.
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