India

Lucknow, Jan 5 (PTI) Though the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya continues to dominate poll-eve politics in Uttar Pradesh, the deity's subsequent incarnation Lord Krishna too has made an entry in the political arena with the ruling party and the opposition repeatedly invoking him.

So far, God Krishna's torchbearers have been the current and a previous chief minister, a deputy CM, Deputy Speaker of the legislative assembly, a state cabinet minister and Mathura MP Hema Malini.

New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) Launching a scathing attack on the Congress over the breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security, the BJP on Wednesday alleged the ruling party in Punjab "tried to physically harm him".

Modi's Punjab visit was cut short on Wednesday after a "major security lapse" as he was stranded on a flyover for 20 minutes due to a blockade by protesters, prompting the Union Home Ministry to seek an immediate report from the state government and strict action against those responsible.

Balrampur (UP), Jan 5 (PTI) A local Samajwadi Party leader was killed by unidentified assailants near his house here, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place when Firoz Ahmed, alias Pappu, a former chairman of Tulsipur Nagar panchayat, was returning home on Tuesday night. The assailants slit his throat, police said.

Mumbai, Jan 5 (PTI) Mumbai reported 15,166 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, its highest-ever daily count and up 4,306 from a day ago, while three more patients succumbed to the infection, the city civic body said.

With these additions, the city's overall coronavirus count jumped to 8,33,628, while the death toll increased to 16,384, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a bulletin.

New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) The RSS Muslim wing has plans to hold a door-to-door campaign in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh to apprise women from the community of the measures taken by the BJP governments at the Centre and the state for their welfare and empowerment.

As part of the move, the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) has decided to organise at least 50 meetings with minority community members in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly polls next year.

New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) Amid a surge in cases of coronavirus and its Omicron variant, the Delhi government has asked its nine hospitals to increase their cumulative Covid bed capacity to 4,350 from the existing 3,316, an official order said on Wednesday.

New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) The Delhi zoo has been closed to visitors for an indefinite period in view of an alarming spike in coronavirus cases in the capital, officials said on Wednesday.

An official said the zoo was closed to the public on Tuesday but a few people who had already bought tickets online were allowed on Wednesday.

"The link for booking tickets online on our website has been disabled," he said.

Lucknow, Jan 5 (PTI) The ruling BJP on Wednesday set up a 24-member election committee, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls next year.

According to a statement issued by the UP BJP, after the approval of party's national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, the national general secretary of the party, Arun Singh, announced names of the members of the committee.

Srinagar/New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) Four former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, including Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad, are likely to lose their Special Security Group (SSG) protection as the union territory's administration has decided to wind up the elite unit established in 2000, officials said on Thursday.

Jammu, 05 January 2022: Three Kashmiris were killed on Wednesday by Indian security forces in Pulwama district of the Indian Administered Kashmir, Indian officials said.

Indian security forces alleged that one of the insurgent was from the Pakistan side of Kashmir.