NEWS

The Lok Sabha Monday passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which aims at correcting “drafting errors” in the NDPS Act, 1985. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, introducing the bill, said there was “no reason to oppose” it as it simply seeks to rectify “clerical errors” in the existing law.

The bill will replace an ordinance that the government promulgated in September.

National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Sunday condemned Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's remarks that offering 'Namaz' in open spaces will not be tolerated, saying the decision was wrong and it clearly meant that one particular religion was being targeted.

He said there is total freedom to practice one's religion in the country.

"The Haryana CM's statement and his decision is totally wrong," Abdullah told reporters after a party function in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.

"I would have accepted it had this ban been on every religion, but by this pick and choose, it is clear that the target is one particular religion which is not allowed by the Constitution of this country," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a conclave of Chief Ministers from 12 BJP-ruled states and also attend the 98th-anniversary celebration of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yog Sansthan on the second day of his Varanasi visit on Tuesday.

According to Prime Minister`s Office (PMO), at around 3:30 PM, PM Modi will attend the 98th-anniversary celebrations of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yog Sansthan at Swarved Mahamandir in Varanasi.

The Prime Minister will participate in a conclave of Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Deputy CMs from Bihar and Nagaland.

States that have withdrawn their general consent to the CBI to probe corruption cases are selectively giving consent in cases that they want to be investigated by the agency, minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said at the CBI's investiture ceremony on Sunday. Till now, eight opposition-ruled states have withdrawn consent to the CBI in the last few years, alleging vendetta by the central government.

Expressing concern over certain states withdrawing their general consent to the CBI to investigate cases, but nevertheless holding on the prerogative to give selective consent where it suits them, Singh called for wider introspection by the polity, the society and the nation at large on whether this was the kind of propriety which was to be followed.