Congress & Akali Dal boycott PM's briefing on Covid
Darpan News Desk IANS, 20 Jul, 2021 11:42 AM
New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) The Congress and the Akali Dal on Tuesday decided not to attend the Prime Minister's meeting on Covid, called to brief the floor leaders about the steps taken by the government for its management.
While Akali Dal boycotted the meeting on the issue of farmers protest against the three farm laws, the Congress said that all the MPs should have been briefed and not only the floor leaders.
Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said, "We have said that all the MPs should have been briefed."
Earlier, the Rajya Sabha discussed the issue of Covid where the opposition members mounted attack on the government for its 'mismanagement' while praising the work done by corona warriors. Kharge even disputed the number of deaths due to Covid.
Kharge said, "the government's number on deaths is not correct as India has more than six lakh villages and if five persons died in one village, its more than 31 lakh people have died but if you add urban centres then the data could be more than 52 lakh people who succumbed to Covid-19. The government is releasing incorrect data, so its necessary to expose them."
According to data shared by South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which is the nodal agency in this regard, from January 1 to July 17 this year, 40 cases of dengue have been registered.
"In light of rumours that the Mumbai Airport HQ will be moving to Ahmedabad, we unambiguously state that MIAL and NMIAL airports will remain headquarters in Mumbai," the Adani Group said in a statement.
Even as the farmers continue their protest at the borders of Delhi against the three Central farm laws, the government has reiterated its stand that it is "always open to discussion with farmers' unions and will remain open to discussion with the agitating farmers to resolve the issue".
Upping the ante against the Modi government over the Pegasus phone tapping issue, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said that the alleged snooping on the phones of Chief Ministers, politicians, judges and people violates multiple laws of the country and is a threat to national security.
Claiming that Amnesty International is directly involved in the Pegasus "international conspiracy" to malign the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday demanded that the Central government ban the activities of the organisation in India.
