NEWS

India continued to witness a rise in the Covid graph as 44,230 new cases were reported on Friday, the highest in three weeks, prompting fears of another wave of infections. 

The R-factor, which indicates the speed at which COVID-19 infection is spreading in the country, is climbing steadily with Kerala and the northeastern states occupying top spots fuelling worries about the pandemic rearing its head again. An analysis by researchers at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in Chennai shows that the R-values of among the metro cities, including Pune and Delhi, are inching towards one.

With the Pegasus row disrupting Parliament for the ninth straight day, sources said on Friday that the government is “seriously considering the curtailment of the Monsoon Session”.

The session, which began on July 19, was to go on until August 13.

Said a minister, “The government is ready to discuss every people-related issue in Parliament, but the Opposition does not want that. It’s a complete waste of money and time.” He added that the “looming Covid threat… with many areas reporting cases” would also be a factor if the government decides to wind up the session.

CPI has become the latest outfit to warm up to the Ramayana, with its Malappuram district committee holding a series of online discourses on the epic to combat what it sees as appropriation of the ancient text by the Sangh Parivar and right-wing forces.

The seven-day online talks on the Ramayana are being carried out on the Facebook page of the party district committee and has state-level CPI leaders as speakers. The series, titled “Ramayana and Indian Heritage”, which started on July 25, will conclude on Saturday.

“Currently, communal and fascist forces are claiming exclusive rights over everything related to Hinduism, especially with society at large and other political parties ceding ground and moving away. Epics like the Ramayana are part of the shared tradition and culture of the country,” Malappuram CPI district secretary P K Krishnadas said. He added that holding a talk series on Ramayana was an attempt by the party to see how the epic should be read and understood in progressive times.

As Parliament remained paralysed due to opposition protests, Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi on Thursday called on Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge in the latter’s chamber in the Parliament complex urging him to end the deadlock as several days had been wasted due to disruptions.

When the two ministers reached Kharge’s chamber, other opposition leaders were also present. “The ministers urged all the opposition leaders to discuss and end the impasse as several key legislations are to be cleared and issues of importance are to be discussed,” a senior BJP functionary said.