Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], March 1 (ANI): The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will contest Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, informed party Chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday.
“We will contest Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. Some of our candidates won in Gujarat local body polls. I’ll be going to Rajasthan today to review and speak with party members. Our party workers are also working hard in Uttar Pradesh,” Owaisi said.
The Tamil Nadu assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 6 and the counting of votes will be done on May 2. As many as 6,28,23,749 electors will choose candidates for the sixteenth legislative assembly in the state.
When asked about the Indian Secular Front’s (ISF) Abbas Siddiqui sharing the stage with the Left and Congress in a rally in Kolkata on Sunday, the AIMIM chief said he would speak about his party’s strategy when the time is right.
‘Main akela hi chala tha janib-e-manzil magar, log saath aate gaye aur kaarvan banta gaya’. I’ll speak about it (party strategy in West Bengal) when the time is right,” he said.
This comes ahead of the elections for 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal that will begin on March 27. The state is going to witness eight-phase Assembly polls this year.
West Bengal is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with TMC, Congress-Left alliance, and BJP in the fray.
Speaking about the Prime Minister getting the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine earlier in the day, Owaisi said, “It is essential for everyone to take the vaccine in order to protect ourselves from the coronavirus. By receiving the first dose today, PM Modi has told the country that they should take it as well.” (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): Following Covid protocols set by the Union Ministry of Family Health and Welfare, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will hold Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), its highest decision-making body, at Bengaluru on March 19 and 20 and its 40 ‘prants’ will connect via video conferencing to avoid large gathering at the meeting.
According to sources in the RSS, a limited number of people will be allowed to congregate in Bengaluru where the top functionaries will gather and the new Sarkaryawah of the Sangh will be elected.
A senior functionary of the RSS informed that while a limited number of people (approximately 500) will participate in the meet in Bengaluru, the rest of the functionaries will connect via video conferencing from their respective ‘prants’. ABPS has 1,400 to 1,500 representatives from Sangh affiliates.
“There are 40 ‘prants’. So those who are otherwise invited to ABPS every year will participate this time from their ‘prants’ barring those who have to be there in Bengaluru. We have decided that every ‘prant’ will have one place where functionaries from nearby can come to attend the meet virtually,” stated the senior functionary.
The RSS will hold the meeting of Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha on March 19 and 20 keeping in mind COVID-19 protocols. This meeting was scheduled to take place in Bengaluru last year but had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 onset and the ensuing lockdown. The agenda, however, was passed and circulated.
Apart from Nagpur, the ABPS meeting takes place in east, west, north and south regions of the country. (ANI)

Awantipora (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], March 1 (ANI): One terror associate Muzamil Qadir Bhat, who was in touch with terrorist commanders of Jaish-e-Mohammad, was arrested in a joint operation by security forces from Lorow Jagir Tral village in Pulwama on Sunday.
The operation was carried out by Jammu and Kashmir Police, 42 Rashtriya Rifles and 180 battalions of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
During questioning, the forces seized incriminating material of Jaish-e-Mohammad and one hand grenade was recovered from him that he has kept concealed in the compound of his home.
A case under relevant sections of the law has been registered in Police Station in Tral.
Further investigation is going on. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Monday adjourned till April 19 hearing on petition against WhatsApp’s new privacy policy after the Central government sought more time saying that they are examining the issue.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva asked the Centre to file a status report and listed the matter for April 19.
The Court noted that the government is examining the issue and granted more time to the Centre to respond on the matter.
Appearing for the Centre, advocate Kirtiman Singh told the Court that the government is in process of obtaining certain clarification and they need time to consider it.
He also told the court that the Supreme Court has already issued a notice on a similar application relating to WhatsApp’s updated policy.
In the last hearing, the Central government had told the Delhi High Court that differential treatment given to Indian users relating to WhatsApp’s privacy policy is a matter of concern as the messaging application policy differs for users in European Union.
The government has told the court that the data protection bill is being discussed and WhatsApp’s response has been sought by the Central government and the Centre is concerned about the way in which Indian users are not being given the option to choose.
The Court was hearing a petition seeking direction for an injunction against WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy. The plea was filed by Chaitanya Rohilla through advocate Manohar Lal.
The petitioner lawyer Manohar Lal has told the court that the government has brought a data protection bill but the bill never saw the light of the day. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): Monday’s editions of various Urdu publications gave prominent coverage to the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) first space mission of this year and highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to promote science. The newspapers also gave importance to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s recent statement against the new farm laws, which he described as “death warrants” for farmers.
Rashtriya Sahara: The newspaper led with the report of ISRO’s first space mission this year. It reported that the PSLV-C51 successfully injected Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite and 18 co-passenger sattelites into their intended orbits in a predetermined sequence.
It has also highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to promoting science. “Modi has emphasised on the importance of science and said that every urban of the country will promote science in its life, only then will the path of progress be opened and the country will also be empowered,” the publication said.
Rashtriya Sahara also reported Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s speech at a Kisan Mahapanchayat organised in Meerut. Kejriwal called the new farm laws a “death warrant” for farmers as they would take away their land and reduce them to laborers on their own farms. He claimed that three-and-a-half lakh farmers have committed suicide in the last 25 years.
The newspaper also reported that Congress leader and former Lok Sabha MP Ranjeet Ranjan claimed that the G-23 or the groups of 23 dissenting leaders of Congress are “conspiring against the party” just to get Rajya Sabha seats.
Hindustan Express: The newspaper reported Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury’s statement that people of Bengal are against the government of loot and killings.
The newspaper also reported Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement against PM Modi. (ANI)

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], March 1 (ANI): Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Monday as the nationwide inoculation drive of persons above 60 and those over 45 with illnesses began.
“Happy to share that I took my first dose of #COVID19 vaccine today. Grateful to our scientists, health workers for their race against time to deliver the vaccines to people,” tweeted Patnaik.
“Appeal to all eligible people to come forward and get vaccinated for a Covid Free Odisha,” he added.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the first dose of Covaxin, India’s homegrown coronavirus vaccine developed by biotechnology firm Bharat Biotech and Indian Council of Medical Research, addressing the hesitancy over the COVID-19 vaccine.
PM Modi took the first dose of the vaccine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi.
“Took my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS,” PM Modi tweeted with his picture of receiving the jab.
“Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against COVID-19,” the Prime Minister added.
Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine Covaxin had run into a controversy after it got regulatory approval for emergency use without phase-3 trial results.
However, in January, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director Dr Krishna Ella clarified that the vaccine is safe and Bharat Biotech conducted trials in over 12 countries besides India.
In the picture that PM Modi tweeted, he is seen wearing a gamcha of Assam, which is symbolic of blessings of women from the eastern state. He has been seen wearing it on many occasions.
PM Modi was administered Bharat BioTech’s Covaxin by Sister P Niveda from Puducherry. The second nurse was from Kerala.
The Covid-19 vaccines- Covaxin and Covishield, will be made available to the general public from today.
The Prime Minister went to AIIMS without any route on the roads, thus choosing early morning to avoid inconvenience to public.
The first phase of the nationwide vaccination drive against Covid-19 had begun on January 16. The second dose of vaccine had begun from February 13. (ANI)