The Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens, popularly known as the Mughal Gardens, was renamed as Amrit Udyan on January 28.
“On the occasion of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the President of India is pleased to give a common name to the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens as Amrit Udyan,” Navika Gupta, Deputy Press Secretary to President Droupadi Murmu said in a statement.
The gardens are thrown open for the public for a limited period during spring each year. On Sunday, in presence of President Murmu the garden will be opened to the public and will remain open till March 26.
Sukhoi, Mirage fighter jets crash near Madhya Pradesh’s Morena; one pilot killed
One Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot was killed after two fighter jets, a Sukhoi-30MKI and a Mirage-2000, were involved in an accident near Morena in Madhya Pradesh during a routine operational flying mission.
“Two fighter aircraft of IAF were involved in an accident near Gwalior today morning. The aircraft were on routine operational flying training mission. One of the three pilots involved, sustained fatal injuries,” the IAF said. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident.
Defence Ministry sources said that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was briefed by the Chief of Air Staff on the crash of the two aircraft.
It has been learnt that both the Su-30 pilots managed to eject safely and were recovered by rescue teams while the Mirage pilot was killed.
The SP of Morena said that two jets, a Mirage and a Sukhoi, took off from Gwalior in the morning. As per IAF, one aircraft had two pilots, while the other had one. Two pilots were rescued, while the body parts of the third were found.
From the details available and the burning wreckages of jets in Morena and Bharatpur, seasoned fighter pilots opined that the it could have been a midair collision and the Mirage went down immediately leaving no time for the pilot to react while the Sukhois flew some more distance giving time for the pilots to eject to safety.
Bharat Jodo Yatra | Rahul Gandhi pays tributes to Pulwama terror attack martyrs
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who resumed the Bharat Jodo Yatra amid stringent security measures in Kashmir, was joined by former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and her family. He also paid tributes to 40 deceased CRPF jawans at the 2019 blast site in Pulwama’s Lethpora area.
The Congress party, which had alleged that “security arrangements collapsed” on Gandhi’s arrival in Kashmir’s Qazigund on Friday, expressed satisfaction on the upscaling of security measures.
“We are satisfied with the fresh security arrangements. However, we are receiving calls from locals that they were being stopped from joining the yatra because of security reasons. It’s also the duty of the police to facilitate those people who intend to join the yatra,” senior Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir said.
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had written to Home Minister Amit Shah and sought “adequate security to the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir”.
“We are expecting a huge gathering to join the yatra over the next two days and also the function that will be held on 30th January at Srinagar. I shall be grateful if you could personally intervene in this matter and advise the concerned officials to provide adequate security,” Kharge had written.
Multiple layer security was put in place in Kashmir on the yatra route on Saturday. “We’re giving three-tier protection, and all security arrangements have been made. Bharat Jodo yatra is going on smoothly. Traffic has also been diverted, there won’t be any problem. No security lapses happened yesterday, so many people did a foot march,” ADGP Vijay Kumar said. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joined in the last leg of the yatra in Kashmir.
Plea in Supreme Court seeks direction to empower citizens to petition Parliament
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre and others to take steps to create an appropriate system which empowers citizens to petition Parliament and seek initiation of deliberations on issues highlighted by them.
The plea came up for hearing on Friday before a bench comprising justices K. M. Joseph and B. V. Nagarathna.
The bench asked the counsel appearing for petitioner Karan Garg to serve a copy of the plea to the Centre’s lawyer and posted the matter in February. Advocate Rohan J. Alva appeared for the petitioner.
The plea has sought a declaration that it is the fundamental right of citizens under Articles 14, 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution to directly petition Parliament to seek initiation of a debate, discussion and deliberation on the issues highlighted by them in their petitions.
The plea said as an ordinary citizen of the country, the petitioner felt “disempowered” when it came to participation in the democratic process and after people cast their votes and elect representatives there was no scope for any further participation.
It said there is a complete absence of any formal mechanism by which citizens can engage with the lawmakers and take steps in order to ensure that issues which are of vital importance are debated in Parliament.
The plea also said a system by which the citizens can directly petition Parliament is already in place in the United Kingdom and it has been working well for several years.
It also said that if citizens have the ability to engage with the Centre and Parliament at a deeper level, it may reduce the burden on the apex court and high courts “since there may exist an effective and alternative remedy for espousing and pursuing public interest causes”.
Australian Open tennis women’s final | Aryna Sabalenka subdues Elena Rybakina to win maiden Grand Slam
Aryna Sabalenka bludgeoned her way to a maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win over Kazakh 22nd seed Elena Rybakina in a thrilling final between two of the most exciting power-hitters in the women’s game. A 11th straight win of the year also means that the Belarusian will return to a career-high ranking of number two behind Iga Swiatek, reaping the rewards of her improved mental stability and service to emerge as a genuine threat in big tournaments.
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus kisses the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy after defeating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the women’s singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Rybakina went up 3-1 with a comfortable hold after fifth-seed Sabalenka dropped her huge serve with a double fault and sent a forehand long, but the Kazakh came under pressure and allowed her opponent to level the opening set at 4-4.
Rybakina hit back immediately, however, turning up the heat in gusty conditions at Rod Laver Arena to grab another break as Sabalenka double-faulted for a fifth time, and went on to seal the set with a big serve that the Belarusian returned into the net.
It was the first time that Adelaide champion Sabalenka had dropped a set in 11 matches this year and the nerves began to show just a bit, before the 24-year-old composed herself and saved two breakpoints in the opening game of the next set.
In Brief:
Israel police said they arrested dozens of people after a Palestinian gunman killed seven people outside a synagogue in one of the deadliest attacks in Jerusalem in years. Police identified the gunman as a 21-year-old resident of east Jerusalem, the sector of the city annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six-Day War. There has been no indication that he had prior involvement in militant activity or was a member of an established Palestinian armed group. He was killed by police following a brief chase after the shooting. In a statement, police said they had arrested “42 people for questioning” overnight, “some of them members of the terrorist’s family”. Others detained included residents of the gunman’s neighbourhood, police said.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
