NEWS

PM Modi on Friday said fitness and not age would be the criteria to scrap old vehicles. Private vehicles of more than 20-year vintage and commercial vehicles older than 15 years will be scrapped if they don’t pass the fitness test.

While launching the National Vehicle Scrapping Policy, Modi said the move would help create wealth from waste, a concept followed in developed countries, and called for India to work towards “clean, congestion free and convenient mobility” in the 21st century.

However, many old vehicles in Delhi-NCR won’t get the benefit as their age, and not fitness, has been made the criterion for retirement by NGT and the Supreme Court.

Opposition leaders from 15 parties, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, marched towards Vijay Chowk from Parliament, further intensifying the protests against the Centre over the Monsoon Session that was riddled with agitation, chaos and repeated adjournments.

With a bunch of opposition leaders standing next to him, Rahul Gandhi said, "We raised the Pegasus issue, inflation, farmers issue, but were not allowed to speak in Parliament. Today, we had to come out here to speak to you as we are not allowed to speak in Parliament. This is murder of democracy."

"This is the first time that MPs have been attacked in Parliament. Outsiders were brought in who thrashed the MPs. Even then, they talk about the Chairman's tears. The Chairman's job is to make the House run," said Rahul Gandhi.

Launching a counter-offensive against the Opposition’s charges of abrupt end of the Parliament’s Monsoon Session and manhandling of its MPs, the BJP-led government demanded the former’s apology for its "disruptive and threatening behaviour".

Seven Union ministers, including Pralhad Joshi, Piyush Goyal and Anurag Thakur, took turns to lash out at the Opposition and said that the Rajya Sabha Chairman must take the strongest possible action against those who broke the rules.

Addressing a joint press conference here, they also accused the opposition leaders of manhandling marshals, while Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Opposition’s approach of "my way or highway is highly condemnable" and the country also condemns such attitude.

Two days ahead of Independence Day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be virtually launching multiple major events. According to  a statement issued by the ministry, these events will commemorate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence Day.

One of the events would be of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) whose 75 teams would be leaving on Friday (August 13) for 75 remote places in the border areas of the country where they would unfurl the national flag on August 15, the Defence Ministry's statement noted. "The Indian Coast Guard will be unfurling the national flag at 100 islands pan-India on August 15 as a part of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'. The proceedings will start on Friday," it said.