Bihar elections: Suspense on deputy CM, other ministers in Bihar

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Latest News LIVE updates: With the election of Nitish Kumar as the leader of the ruling NDA in Bihar, all eyes are now set on who will be his deputy and other ministerial colleagues in his government. There is some suspense whether Sushil Kumar Modi will continue as deputy chief minister or if the saffron party would choose a new face.

Names of eight-term MLA from Gaya town Prem Kumar and that of Kameshwar Choupal, a Dalit MLC who had laid the foundation stone for the temple at Ayodhya in the 1990s, are also doing the rounds for the post in the political circles.

Meanwhile, the air quality dipped to "severe" at several places across the national capital on Saturday night owing to a combination of stubble burning and firecrackers burst during the Diwali celebrations in violation of a ban on the same. The Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM 2.5 pollutant stood at 481 in Anand Vihar, 444 in IGI Airport area, 457 in ITO, and 414 in Lodhi Road area, all four in the 'severe' category, at 11 pm on Saturday, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) data.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

10:24 PM

West Bengal CM, governor pay homage to Soumitra Chatterjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday paid homage to legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee who died at a city hospital after a prolonged battle with multiple ailments.

 

Banerjee said the actor was a "fighter" who will be celebrated for his works and his death has delivered an irreparable blow to the film fraternity of the country.

 

Dhankhar said Chatterjee's death has left a deep void and is a colossal loss to the world of cinema.

 

Chatterjee died after a 40-day battle with multiple ailments, a statement issued by the hospital, where he was undergoing treatment, said. He was 85.

10:10 PM

500 reported arrested in Belarus protests

A human rights group in Belarus said more than 500 people were arrested in protests around the country calling for authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to step down.

 

The Sunday demonstrations continued the wave of near-daily protests that have gripped Belarus since early August. In the capital Minsk, police wielded clubs and used tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of demonstrators.

 

The Viasna human rights organization reported detentions at demonstrations in other cities, including Vitebsk and Gomel. It said the nationwide arrest numbers exceeded 500.

9:09 PM

Brexit: Trade deal 'may not succeed' before year end

The UK's chief Brexit negotiator said Sunday before renewed talks that a trade deal with the European Union may not succeed, but he was still hopeful of a resolution.

 

Arriving in Brussels, David Frost tweeted that there has been some progress in a positive direction in recent days. We also now largely have common draft treaty texts, though significant elements are of course not yet agreed, he said.

 

We will work to build on these and get an overall agreement if we can. But we may not succeed. Britain left the EU on Jan. 31, but continues to follow the bloc's economic rules until a transition period ends on Dec. 31. The two sides are trying to strike a new trade deal before then, but key sticking points such as fishing rights and competition rules haven't been resolved.

8:57 PM

India dismisses Pak charge on terrorism as figment of imagination: MEA

India on Sunday mounted a hard-hitting attack on Pakistan for accusing it of involvement in some of the terror strikes in that country and said the so-called claims of proof' are figments of imagination.

 

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Pakistan's "desperate attempt" will find few takers as the international community is aware of its tactics, and proof of Islamabad's terror sponsorship has been admitted by none other than its "own leadership".

 

The angry reaction by India came a day after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi addressed a press conference alongside Army spokesman Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar to claim that India was behind some of the terror attacks in that country.

8:26 PM

Spike in COVID cases: More ICU beds, testing in Delhi, says HM Amit Shah

To deal with the recent spike in coronavirus cases in Delhi,the Centre on Sunday said it will soon make available 300 additional ICU beds and double the number of daily RTPCR tests in the national capital.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also said some of the hospitals under the municipal corporations of Delhi will be converted into dedicated COVID hospitals and doctors and paramedics of paramilitary forces will be deployed in the national capital to deal with the shortage of manpower.

Shah said to save more lives, the Centre will also provide oxygen, high flow nasal cannula and other health equipments to Delhi.

The decisions were taken at a high level meeting chaired by Shah and attended byDelhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan among others.

7:48 PM

BJP surprise selection in Bihar: Tarikishore, Renu Devi could be DY CMs

The fourth term Katihar MLA Tarkishore Prasad was on Sunday named as the BJP legislature party leader, indicating he could be deputy chief minister in the new NDA government headed by Nitish Kumar.

Bettiah MLA Renu Devi has been made party's deputy legislature party leader and she could be another deputy cm from the saffron party in the NDA ministry which will be sworn in Monday evening.

Prasad and Renu Devi's names were announced at the BJP legislature party meeting here during the day.

The meeting was attended by senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the party's state in-charge Bhupendra Yadav, election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis, Union minister Nityanand Rai and state party chief Sanjay Jaiswal, among others.

Sushil Kumar Modi proposed name of Prasad as the party's legislature party leader which was seconded by all the newly-elected MLAs.

7:33 PM

Noise pollution lowest in 15 years during Diwali in Mumbai:NGO

Mumbai recorded the lowest level of noise pollution in the last 15 years on the first day of Diwali festival on Saturday during the permissible hours when the use of firecrackers was allowed, according to an NGO.

 

Sumaira Abdulali, founder of Awaaz Foundation, told PTI on Sunday that the credit for the lowest levels of decibels (dB- the unit in which sound is measured) goes to the strict guidelines of the state government on bursting of firecrackers and growing awareness among citizens.

 

"The noise pollution level recorded during Diwali this year is the lowest in the last 15 years," Abdulali said.

 

In a statement, the NGO said the noise level was measured from 8 pm to 10 pm (on Saturday) and then until the next morning (Sunday).

7:32 PM

Delhi, its suburbs witness light rains

The national capital and its suburbs recorded light rainfall on Sunday under the influence of a fresh Western Disturbance, according to India Meteorological Department.

 

Higher wind speed aided dispersion of pollutants. The maximum wind speed was around 25 km per hour, IMD officials said.

 

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded 0.4 mm rainfall.

 

The weather stations at Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge, Jafarpur, Najafgarh and Pusa recorded 1.8 mm, 0.3 mm, 1.2 mm, 1mm, 1mm and 2.5 mm rainfall respectively.

6:56 PM

Air quality "severe" in Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon

The air quality deteriorated to 'severe' level in Ghaziabad, Noida,Greater Noida, Faridabad and Gurgaon in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Sunday, according to a government agency.

Concentration of major air pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 remained high in the five immediate neighbours of Delhi, according to the air quality index (AQI) maintained by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

According to the index, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

The average 24-hour AQI at 4 pm on Sunday was 448inGhaziabad, 441 in Noida, 417 in Greater Noida, 425 in Gurgaon and 414in Faridabad,according to the CPCB's Sameer app.

On Saturday, the average AQI was 456inGhaziabad, 425 in Noida, 394 in Greater Noida,378 in Faridabad and358 in Gurgaon.

6:55 PM

BJP's Tarkishore Prasad tipped to be Bihar Deputy CM now

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has emerged as the largest party in the NDA in Bihar, is yet to decide its nominee for the Deputy Chief Minister's post, long held by its veteran leader Sushil Kumar Modi.

However, as per sources, Tarkishore Prasad, who was elected as the BJP's legislature party leader on Sunday, is likely to get the post.

As the NDA secured the majority in the recently held election, winning 125 seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the BJP was the clear leader in the combine with 74 seats, against the Janata Dal-United's 43 and eight in the kitty of smaller allies, VIP and HAM.

Following this, the party's central leadership wants to change its face in the state, while also claiming a bigger stake in the new cabinet.

6:23 PM

Shah takes stock of Covid-19 situation in Delhi

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday took stock of Delhi's COVID-19 situation in the wake of recent spike in cases in the national capital, officials said.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and senior officers of the central government attended the meeting chaired by Shah.

The home minister reviewed the situation arising due to the spike in COVID-19 cases in Delhi and discussed ways to deal with it, a home ministry official said.

Delhi recorded 3,235 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the infection tally to over 4.85 lakh on Sunday, while ninety-five more fatalities pushed the death toll to 7,614.

The meeting was convened to devise a strategy to contain the spread of the virus in Delhi, especially in view of the festive season and decreasing temperatures accompanied by rising pollution, the official said.

6:13 PM

Air quality "severe" in Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon

The air quality deteriorated to 'severe' level in Ghaziabad, Noida,Greater Noida, Faridabad and Gurgaon in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Sunday, according to a government agency.

 

Concentration of major air pollutants PM 2.5 and PM 10 remained high in the five immediate neighbours of Delhi, according to the air quality index (AQI) maintained by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

 

According to the index, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.

 

The average 24-hour AQI at 4 pm on Sunday was 448inGhaziabad, 441 in Noida, 417 in Greater Noida, 425 in Gurgaon and 414in Faridabad,according to the CPCB's Sameer app.

 

On Saturday, the average AQI was 456inGhaziabad, 425 in Noida, 394 in Greater Noida,378 in Faridabad and358 in Gurgaon.

5:03 PM

16-17 Ministers likely to be sworn in with Nitish

Around 16 to 17 ministers are expected to be sworn-in along with Chief Minister-designate Nitish Kumar in the oath-taking ceremony on Monday, but it was not clear yet if Sushil Kumar Modi will return as Deputy Chief Minister.

 

Nitish Kumar, who was invited by Governor Phagu Chauhan to form the government, said that the list of ministers will be decided by late Sunday evening or early Monday.

 

"We will finalise the names of ministers by late night or tomorrow morning and submit it before the Governor," he said.

 

However, the name of the Deputy CM has not been finalised yet, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was present in the meetings at the CM's residence as well as at the Raj Bhavan, not speaking on the issue.

5:02 PM

Delay in finalising seat sharing hurt 'Mahagathbandhan' in Bihar: Tariq Anwar

Delay in finalising seat sharing for the Bihar election adversely impacted the Mahagathbandhan's poll performance, senior Congress leader Tariq Anwar said on Sunday, asserting that the Congress must learn from it and complete alliance formalities well in advance for upcoming assembly polls.

Anwar, party's general secretary and a veteran leader from Bihar, acknowledged that there were shortcomings due to which the party performed worse than other 'Mahagathbandhan' constituents and asserted that the high command was serious about an introspection as well as a thorough analysis of the results.

In an interview with PTI, Anwar said the Bihar poll results were "definitely below" the

5:02 PM

BJP, Cong MP flay firecracker ban, root for workers of industry

The raging debate over the ban on firecrackers in several states continued with BJP national general secretary C T Ravi on Sunday questioning the rationale and flagging concerns about other pollutants.

 

The social media was abuzz with many, including Ravi and Congress MP Manickam Tagore, highlighting the plight of lakhs of workers employed in the fireworks industry's national hub of Sivakasi in southern Tamil Nadu.

 

Several states had banned sale and use of firecrackers this year citing the COVID-19 pandemic and environment concerns with the decision coming as a blow to the industry.

 

A day after the nation celebrated the festival amid the ban, Ravi, the in-charge of the party for Tamil Nadu, said about ten lakh people were dependent on the cracker industry.

 

"Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu is where Crackers are manufactured & nearly 10 lakh people are employed. If activist Govts or tribunals want to ban crackers for #Deepavali, they should ban for all purposes now. No pontificating cricketer or actor should celebrate weddings with Crackers," he tweeted.