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Two phases of polling for the seven phase assembly elections to the five states have been over by now and the third phase is due on February 20. By then in three states Goa, Uttarakhand and Punjab, the polling will be completed. Only two states Uttar Pradesh and Manipur will be left. Already, the top leaders of the two national parties BJP and the Congress have covered the poll bound states and with the covid curbs easing, offline rallies are witnessing the presence of both the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in their respective party rallies.

Ever since the battle for Uttar Pradesh has begun, the RSS - BJP big shots are anxious about their political fortunes. Though states like Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa also are scheduled to the polls, the chieftains of the Sangh Parivar are more nervous about UP. They believe that the verdict of UP would have a direct impact on the great battle of 2024. Hence, lion’s share of their resources, time and energy are devoted for the largest state in the north.

Visakhapatnam: Jahanvi Bakshi, carded 68 and that was enough for her the emerge leader after first round of the second leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the East Point Club here on Wednesday.

New Delhi: Promising forward Abhishek, who made his debut for the country at the FIH Hockey Pro League earlier this month, says that South Africa tour was a great learning experience.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is a strange paradox. While the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government is pulling out all the stops to woo investors, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), affiliated to the CPI(M), is indulging in acts which effectively undermine the Government’s efforts.

Has Covid-19 gone? If you think yes, you are not alone. Large chunks of people across continents and countries believe the same. There are still the cautious, those who advise there should not be laxity in Covid-appropriate behaviour. To the majority of world denizens, however, the novel coronavirus is on the retreat or has retreated. Therefore, the assertion in most quarters why vaccine mandates—masks and social distancing, all should not be thrown in the bin?

I met Rahul Bajaj first time in Central hall of Parliament when he was an MP in Rajya Sabha; we developed instant liking for each other. As an MP, he made a mark in the upper house as a parliamentarian; he participated in every important debate and did not spare government and opposition for their lapses. Rahulji liked to spend time in Central hall with journalists and friends over cups of steaming coffee. The talk varied from current issues to gossips. Even when his six-year term ended, he would visit Central hall, at least, once during Parliament sessions to meet friends. Often asked why not he is not coming back to Rajya Sabha, his reply would invariably be: “it is not in my hands”.

Quietly passed away Professor Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya, former Union minister of commerce in the 1970s on 13 February in Kolkata – known as DPC and also ‘Chhoto Debida’ among his juniors in the academia to be differentiated from the older DPC, a Marxist, famous for his Lokayata and other highly acclaimed works. He was born on 5 November 1933.His granddaughter and journalist Sohini Chattopadhyay tweeted on Sunday: ‘My grandfather Prof Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya, among the foremost scholars of philosophy of Indian science, passed around 1:30 pm. He served as former Union minister of Commerce in the 1970s. Since Oct 2019, he was non-verbal, fed by PEG tube.’

KOLKATA: In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) made a flying start towards winning the civic polls: blowing away all opposition at Siliguri, Asansol, Chandannagore and Bidhannagar (Salt Lake City). In the first phase of polling, out of 226 urban wards in contention, the TMC won 198, some candidates winning by record margins.

Access to clean water is not a basic human right in India, nor will be in near future, given Modi government’s lenient attitude towards polluters. It had even abstained last year when a motion was moved in the United Nations Human Rights Council that recognized access to clean environment a basic human rights. Right under the nose of the seat of power in New Delhi, the River Yamuna remains one of the most polluted rivers in the country, and now an international study has found Indian rivers as one of the most contaminated ones from drugs presenting greatest health risks for humans and other lives.