Here are the top 5 news updates of July 2, 2021:
The Trinamool Congress today wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking the removal of Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta over his meeting with West Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari in Delhi. The letter, written by TMC MPs Derek O'Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Mahua Maitra, stated that the meeting between Adhikari and Mehta "reeks of impropriety" as the BJP MLA is an accused in the Narada and Saradha cases where investigations are underway. According to the letter, the meeting "curiously" took place subsequent to Adhikari's meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray today wrote a letter to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, in which he defended the government's decision of holding the monsoon session of the state legislature only for two days starting July 5, saying that its duration cannot be extended in view of the coronavirus situation. He also appeared non-committal on holding the legislative assembly speaker's election during the two-day session, saying there was no "time-frame" for it. Thackeray also urged Koshyari to pursue with the Centre the state government's demand of sharing the empirical data on the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in order to take steps for restoring the political reservation for the community in local civic bodies.
A drone from Pakistan entered the Indian territory at the International Border (IB) in the Arnia area of Jammu district today morning, said the Border Security Force (BSF). After BSF jawans opened fire, they flew back into Pakistani territory, officials said. According to the BSF, the alert personnel fired at a small Hexa-copter belonging to Pakistan today morning at about 04: 25 am as it was trying to cross IB in the Arnia sector. "Due to the firing, it returned immediately. It was meant for carrying out surveillance of the area," said BSF officials. Since the last week, at least five drone activities have been reported in Jammu.
Alleging irregularities in the process of selecting a private firm by the Maharashtra State Mining Corporation Ltd (MSMC) for the work of supplying coal, Congress's state unit chief Nana Patole has demanded a probe into the tendering procedure. He claimed that Rukhmai Infrastructures Private Limited has been selected for the work of washing coal and supplying it to Mahagenco (Maharashtra State Power Generation Company) although the company does not fulfil the criteria. In a letter written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Patole said the tender awarded to the company should be stopped immediately since there were irregularities in the process.
Snapping its four-session losing run, equity benchmark Sensex jumped 166 points today, led by gains in index majors Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and HDFC. After trading in a range through the day, the 30-share BSE index ended 166.07 points or 0.32 per cent higher at 52,484.67. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 42.20 points or 0.27 per cent up at 15,722.20. Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 1 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC, M&M, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Titan and Infosys. On the other hand, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Auto were among the laggards.
