1. 43 Die in Himachal’s Kullu as Bus Skids off Road, Plunges into 500-Ft Gorge
At least 43 people were killed and nearly 30 injured when a private bus skidded off a mountain road and plunged into a 500-foot gorge near Banjar in Kullu district on Thursday, 20 June.
Kullu superintendent of police (SP) Shalini Agnihotri said the bus was on its way from Kullu to Gada Ghusheni and carrying at least 73 people despite having a seating strength of 42. The accident took place around 4:30 pm at Doth Mor, about two km from Banjar town.
Rescue teams led by Banjar sub-divisional magistrate MR Bhardwaj rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to the hospital with the help of local villagers. Local police said many of the victims were school and college who were going back home to nearby villages.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Four TDP MPs Join BJP Fold, NDA Is Now Just 18 Short of Majority in Rajya Sabha
With four Rajya Sabha TDP MPs joining the BJP Thursday, the saffron party will be looking to make a renewed push to ratify several contentious bills stuck in the upper House.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) currently holds 106 seats (including the four TDP MPs) – 18 short of a majority in the 245-member House. Meanwhile, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has 66 seats. And parties not aligned with either of the NDA or UPA have 66 seats. There are currently nine vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Kerala Offers to Send 20 Lakh Litres of Water by Rail to Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will on Friday take a decision on Kerala’s offer to supply 20 lakh litres of water by train from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai to tide over the water crisis, Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani said on Thursday evening.
The Minister’s response came after the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office posted a statement on Facebook stating that Tamil Nadu had declined its help to supply water (on a one-time basis).
“Kerala is willing to assist Tamil Nadu in tackling the crisis caused by water scarcity. We could deliver 20 lakh litres of drinking water through the rail network. In response to our offer, we have been informed that at present Tamil Nadu has sufficient supply and doesn’t require additional assistance from Kerala,” the statement said.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Gujarat Custody Death Case: Sacked IPS Officer Bhatt Gets Life in Jail
A district and sessions court in Jamnagar Thursday sentenced dismissed IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt to life imprisonment in a 1990 custodial death case when he was Additional Superintendent of Police in the district. He is already in Palanpur jail, under judicial custody since September last year, for allegedly framing a man in a drug seizure case.
His wife Shweta Bhatt said they plan to appeal the Jamnagar court order in a higher court after studying it thoroughly. In a press release, she called it “a classic case of political vindictiveness”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. West Bengal: Bhatpara on Edge as Fresh Clashes Leave Two Dead
Two persons were killed and three others injured in violence-hit Bhatpara in West Bengal’s North 24 Paraganas district Thursday after clashes broke out between two unidentified groups. Section 144 has been imposed in the area and senior police officials have rushed to the spot.
Considering the law and order situation in Bhatpara area, the West Bengal government formed a new police station by separating Jagdal and Bhatpara which was scheduled to be inaugurated by DGP Virendra Kumar in the morning. Hours before the inauguration of this newly formed police station, massive violence broke out in the area. “Two people have died, few have been injured. The situation is still tensed,” a senior police official told The Indian Express.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Party Will Decide on Leader, Says Rahul Gandhi
Nearly a month after Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced his intention to resign from party leadership at a Congress Working Committee meeting, which was rejected by the party through a formal resolution , Gandhi indicated on Thursday that he is firm on his decision and said that it is for the party to pick his replacement.
On Thursday, after President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to a joint session of Parliament, reporters asked Gandhi who may replace him as party chief. “I am not the one to decide,’’ he replied.
Gandhi declared he would quit after the electoral debacle faced by the party in the Lok Sabha polls. But the party’s senior leadership as well as state units had appealed to him to stay on.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. No Official Confirmation from US on H-1B Cap for Indians: Centre
There are no immediate plans to impose caps on H-1B work visas in retaliation for New Delhi’s data localisation plans though India and the US will have to contend with a full plate of trade-related issues during secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s visit next week, people familiar with developments said.
Trade tensions between the two sides have increased in recent weeks, with India imposing higher tariffs on some American goods on 16 June after the US withdrew export benefits under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme. The US has opposed India’s data storage plans that could hit firms such as Wal-Mart and Amazon.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. NHRC Questions Frailty of Health Infrastructure
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday issued notices to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry (MoHFW), and all States and Union Territories, over what it termed was the “deplorable public health infrastructure in the country”, an NHRC statement said.
The NHRC took suo motu cognisance of several media reports on recent deaths across the country due to “deficiencies and inadequacies in the healthcare system”.
This comes in the wake of over 100 children dying in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) recently.
(Source: The Hindu)
9. Cricket World Cup: Vijay Shankar Suffers Injury Scare During Net Session
All-rounder Vijay Shankar is the latest to suffer an injury scare in the Indian camp after being hit on toe during a rain hit training session on Wednesday.
During Wednesday’s training, a Jasprit Bumrah yorker hit Shankar flush on his toes and he was apparently in pain. However a team source informed PTI that there’s nothing to worry as of now.
“Yes, Vijay was in pain but it has subsided by the evening. Hopefully, there’s nothing scary,” the source said. Shankar is one of the designated No 4 batsmen in this Indian line-up although he is being used as a floater.
(Source: The Hindu)
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