1. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman took her holy dip in the Maha Kumbh days after President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi did their sacred dips at the Sangam. On reports of Coliform in Sangam water, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has chided the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCP) of using ‘old samples’ as CM Yogi Adityanath assured that all parameters are within permissible limits and the water is fit for both bath and ritual drinking. UPPCP, however, said it has recent samples and would submit its report in a week.
2. The Lokayukta Police investigating the MUDA scam have given a clean chit to Chief Minister Siddaramaih and his wife, BM Parvati, citing a lack of evidence to prove any irregularities. While the CM’s party colleagues have lauded the report, the state BJP has called the report ‘pre-planned.’ Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, on the other hand, asked whether a probe agency under the CM can report against him.
3. In Delhi, first-time BJP MLA from Shalimar Bagh Rekha Gupta was sworn in as the Chief Minister at a grand function at Ramlila Maidan, along with six others as ministers. CM Rekha Gupta vouched that she would work towards Vikshit Delhi. Her colleague Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who took oath as a Minister, said he would act against the corrupt. He further added that Arvind Kejriwal will be in jail longer.
4. A 1995 case gets Maharashtra Agriculture Minister and NCP leader Manikrao Kokate two years in prison. The Minister and his brother Sunil Kokate allegedly submitted fake documents to qualify for a LIG category, flat on College Road, under a government quota. Former Minister late T.S. Dighole registered a complaint against the duo in 1995. Kokate, on bail, said he would approach the High Court.
5. Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla has asked people in the hills and valleys of the state, belonging to various groups and communities, to surrender their weapons looted and illegally held at nearby police stations or security posts in 7 days. He assured them the administration would not pursue any punitive action against them. However, the Governor warned that possessing such weapons beyond the deadline would attract strict action.
6. Following the Supreme Court’s observations on the need for regulating content on YouTube, the Ministry of Information and Technology has released an advisory to OTT platforms, asking for strict adherence to the Code of Ethics under the IT Rules 2021. The SC’s advisory came while it was hearing YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia’s plea urging the top court to club FIRs against him after he made a dirty joke at India’s Got Talent show.
7. N Rajalingamurthy, who filed a case against former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was stabbed to death by two unidentified persons on Wednesday. In October 2023, Rajalingamurthy sought court intervention to register an FIR against KCR over damage to the Medigadda barrage. While Police claimed the murder was due to a land dispute, the victim’s wife N. Sarala, alleged that BRS MLA Gandra Venkatramana Reddy and his men killed her husband after threatening him to withdraw the case ten days ago.
8. American President Donald Trump has accused India of levying a 100% tax on imports from the US. With Elon Musk beside him at an event, Trump said Tesla opening a factory in India would be unfair to the US. However, per reports, Tesla is recruiting people and buying showroom spaces in India, anticipating low duties following PM Modi’s recent visit to the US.
9. Latest in the war of words between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump has called Zelensky a ‘Dictator’ without elections. He also blamed the latter for starting the war and doing little in the last three years to bring peace. Trump’s sharp remarks come after Zelensky accused the American President of living in a disinformation space created by Russia.
10. Unidentified gunmen have shot dead seven Pakistani Punjabis traveling on a bus to Faislabad from Quetta. The gunmen stormed inside the bus near the Punjab Provincial border after bursting its tires. They singled out the victims after verifying their identity cards. After lining them up and firing at them, the assailants escaped into the Koh-e-Sulaiman mountain ranges.
References: Times of India | Mint | NDTV | Hindustan Times