Heena Sharma Blog

  The Delhi government has decided to provide free COVID-19 vaccines to everyone above 18 years of age, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, adding that approval has been given for the purchase of 1.34 crore doses. "The Delhi government has decided to provide free vaccines to everyone above 18 years of age. Today we have given the approval for the purchase of 1.34 crore vaccines. We will make an effort to ensure that it is purchased soon and administered at the earliest to people," Kejriwal said in an address. Other states who have decided to provide free vaccines include Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal, among several others. The Delhi Chief Minister further urged people to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible, stating that vaccinated people are less likely to get the infection and the people who do get it have mild symptoms. He also hit out at the varying price of the vaccines, saying "One manufacturer has sai...

  Delhi will be under curfew from 10 pm to 5 am night till April 30, the city government said on Tuesday as Covid-19 cases rise in the national capital. Delhi recorded 3,548 fresh cases and 15 deaths on Monday. NDTV reports that traffic would not be stopped and those going for vaccinations will be allowed with an e-pass. Essential services and retailers who need to travel after hours for ration, grocery stocks, vegetables, milk and medicines will also be allowed with similar passes. Journalists of the print and electronic media will be allowed to travel, too. Private doctors, nurses and other medical staff would be allowed movement with ID cards. Exceptions will also be made for pregnant women and those needing treatment. The curfew will check the movement of people, not essential services, said the Delhi government in an order. Read More

  Coronavirus Update : The Maharashtra government has asked the authorities to ensure there is no complacency in testing and said labs should be functional in every district and municipal corporation limits. A circular from the government's health services directorate dated November 11 said a second wave of the pandemic is likely in January-February based on what is happening in Europe. If we talk of the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has pointed at pollution as a reason for the spike and hoped to control its spread in the next 7-10 days. The number of Covid-19 deaths in Delhi rose by a record high on Thursday to 104 as the city also reported the greatest number of infections (7,053) in India. Read More

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that despite Delhi's COVID-19 cases having almost reached the 1-lakh mark, people must not panic as the recovery rate in the national capital now stands at 72 per cent. "The number of Covid-19 cases have almost reached the one lakh mark in Delhi. However, there is no need to be intimidated by the number one lakh as almost 72,000 people have also recovered from the virus," said the Delhi Chief Minister. He said that Delhi's Covid-19 recovery rate now stands at 72 per cent which "is pretty big because it signifies that even though people are testing positive, they are recovering as well". "Close to 20,000-24,000 samples are being tested in the national capital on a daily basis," he added. Read More

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Tuesday said that the government can say that there is a community transmission in the national capital only after the Centre admits it. Speaking ahead of the meeting called to review the possibility of community transmission, Jain said, "We can say that (there is community spread) only when Centre admits it. Community spread is when there are cases in which source (of infection) cannot be ascertained. Almost half of our cases are like this." The Delhi government conducted the review meeting along with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). Deputy CM Manish Sisodia attended the meeting as CM Arvind Kejriwal is in isolation after he fell ill and showed symptoms of the viral infection. Read More

Seven more fatalities have been recorded at three hospitals, taking the total death toll in the northeast Delhi communal violence over the amended citizenship law to 34 on Thursday, according to senior officials. Till Wednesday night, the total count of casualties had stood at 27, 25 of those at GTB Hospital in Dilshad Garden. "Five more deaths recorded at GTB Hospital, and one more death at LNJP Hospital. One fatality was reported at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital on Thursday, taking the total death toll to 34," a senior official of the Delhi Health Department told PTI. One person was declared brought dead by doctors, while another had died during treatment at the LNJP Hospital on Wednesday. Over 50 patients have been provided treatment at the LNJP Hospital since the violence broke out on Sunday in various parts of northeast Delhi, officials at the hospital said. Read More

At least 20 people have been killed in the Delhi during violent clashes between Hindu and Muslim groups over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), according to GTB Hospital authorities, although there was an eerie calm on Wednesday in the riot-torn areas. "There are 15 patients in critical condition," the hospital official from the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital said, adding a total of 20 people had now died at the facility. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal the situation has become "alarming" and asked the Centre to bring in the Army. Meanwhile, the high court has directed police to respond by 12:30 pm on Wednesday to a plea seeking lodging of FIRs and arrests of those involved in the ongoing communal violence in parts of northeast Delhi over CAA. The Supreme court is scheduled to hear pleas claiming BJP's Kapil Mishra incited violence later in the day. Read More

Under a warm sun that marked the end of winter, Arvind Kejriwal took his third oath as Delhi chief minister in seven years. Keen to reshape his and his party’s image from that of disruptors to a centrist, problem-solving umbrella party, the 51-year-old bureaucrat-turned-politician sought cooperation from rival parties in making Delhi the “number one city”. Kejriwal reached out to supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and other parties, and said he was now their CM too and they should approach him unhesitatingly. He said he was keen to move beyond the bad blood of elections, and sought cooperation and blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre. “ I had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi but he could not come as he may have been busy. We want to seek his blessings for smooth governance of Delhi,” Kejriwal said in his nearly 20-minute address. The prime minister, who was in his constituency Varanasi where he inaugurated several projects, later g...

Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday won the Delhi elections, reducing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress to eight and eight and zero seats in the 70-member Assembly. The largest margin of victory was in Burari where AAP's Sanjeev Jha secured 139,598 votes. Janata Dal (United) candidate Shailendra Kumar was the runners up with 51,440 votes, trailing Jha by 88,000 votes. The smallest victory margin was also secured by an AAP candidate. Bhupinder Singh Joon retained the seat for his party with 57,271 votes, defeating a close second Sat Prakash Rana (BJP) ticket and secured 56,518 votes a difference of just 753 votes. AAP won in 5 of the constituencies in which the victory margin was the lowest. In terms of vote share, while the AAP saw a marginal decline from 54.34 per cent to 53.57 per cent, the BJP’s share rose by 6 percentage points from 32.19 per cent to 38.46 per cent. The Congress’ vote share, meanwhile, plumbed further to 4.34 per cen...

The final voter turnout in Delhi assembly polls was 62.59 per cent, five per cent less than 2015, the Election Commission announced on Sunday evening nearly 24 hours after the polling ended, while the Aam Aadmi Party questioned the "delay". Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh, however, said there was no unusual delay in announcing the final voter turnout as the returning officers were busy with scrutiny of data to ensure its accuracy. After elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly were held on Saturday, poll officials had said that there was a turnout of 61.46 per cent, subject to revision. However, as there was no final word from the EC till 4 pm on Sunday, AAP chief and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter saying it was "absolutely shocking" that the poll panel was not coming out with the voting figures. "What is EC doing? Why are they not releasing poll turnout figures, several hours after polling?" Kejriwal tweeted. Read...

Stressing that the assembly polls are dedicated to a clean and beautiful Delhi, BJP leaders on Thursday said the country was moving fast on the path of development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi but the AAP and the Congress were trying to "weaken" it. BJP chief JP Nadda hit out at the ruling AAP and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing them of "saving Tukde Tukde gang and endangering security of the country for political gains". "This election is dedicated to a clean, healthy, beautiful, safe and developed Delhi," he said. Nadda addressed meetings in Adarsh ??Nagar, Tri Nagar and Jangpura Assembly segments on the last day of campaigning for the Delhi election. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari held a series of roadshows in various constituencies seeking support for the party in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. He attacked Kejriwal and his government alleging, "Before the elections, Kejriwal showed only dreams to the people of D...

Wednesday attacked BJP leaders, saying their character can be defined by the kind of slogans they raise, and claimed that the AAP was copying former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit's development model. She also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of being "hungry for publicity". "Slogans tell character. Those who worked in the nation's interest can be identified by their slogans. Our (Congress) slogans were 'Jai jawan, jai kisan', 'Mai yuva hoon', 'Mera ek sapna hai', 'Aaram haram hai', 'Roti, kapda, makaan'," the Congress leader said. "Their (BJP's) slogans are 'Goli maro; khoon se tilak karo, boli nahi goli. Ye desh jodne wale nare hain'? (Are these slogans in favour of bringing the country together)," she said at a poll rally in Chandni Chowk. The Congress general secretary also said that Dikshit during her tenure as chief minister ha...

On the penultimate day of campaigning for the Delhi polls on Wednesday, the AAP, the Congress and the BJP slugged it out over issues ranging from citizenship law, appeasement politics and unemployment. The Congress fielded its leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to attack the AAP and the BJP, even as war of words escalated between the BJP and the AAP which traded barbs over the Shaheen Bagh shooter. On Tuesday, police had said that Kapil Baisala, the man who opened fire at Shaheen Bagh protest site last week, was an AAP worker. Addressing a press conference, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that if Baisala was even remotely connected to the his party then he should be given a "double punishment". "I am not aware of his (Baisala's ties) with the any political party. If he is even remotely connected to the AAP, he should be given double punishment. There should be no compromise on national security," he said. Read More

With his ambitious ' Mohalla clinic ' model to provide better health services in every area of the national capital and improving classrooms in government schools, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal has impressed the people of the city ahead of the Assembly polls with 71 per cent happy with his performance, a NETA App Survey report claimed on Monday. According to the survey findings, Kejriwal despite falling behind his Deputy Manish Sisodia and two other party MLAs, has impressed the people with his performance in education and development. The Neta App leader ratings for Delhi's sitting MLAs, released ahead of Assembly polls for the 70-member House on February 8, said that Kejriwal, who represents the New Delhi constituency, has scored 3.5 out of 5. The Neta App ratings of the AAP MLAs is based on the feedback of 650,000 respondents that has been carried out over the last two years. Read More

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) must name its contender for Delhi's main pastor by Wednesday 1 pm for a discussion on the races, said the city state's pioneer Arvind Kejriwal as he discharged his Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) declaration. "Delhiites need BJP to proclaim its CM applicant—I am prepared for banter (with the competitor)," said Chief Minister Kejriwal "AAP's vision is to empower each regular man to live with poise and success," he said three days before Delhi holds decisions. Discharged by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as a "28-point ensure card", guaranteed quality training, medicinal services, clean water, and continuous power. The AAP vowed to increase its determination for the section of Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill. Neatness of the city and Yamuna stream, ladies wellbeing are among different guarantees of the gathering. Read More

Campaigning for the Delhi Assembly elections has intensified with the date of polling inching closer. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally in Dwarka, while Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will release its manifesto. The campaign on Monday had leaders of the BJP, the AAP and the Congress launching a no-holds-barred attack on rivals on issues like anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh and performance of the Kejriwal government. Modi slammed the anti-CAA agitators in Shaheen Bagh and other areas saying the protest against the new citizenship law was an "experiment" and there was a design of politics behind it, which would ruin the national harmony. Addressing an election rally at Karkardooma in east Delhi, Modi said the spurt in protests in areas like Shaheen Bagh, Seelampur and Jamia were not just co-incidences. "Attention is being diverted from the real conspiracy," the Prime Minister said. Campaigning for the polls will conclud...

Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the coming Delhi Assembly elections will be a battle between two ideologies. "Your vote to the BJP will ensure security and development for Delhi as well as the country. This election is between two ideologies. At one side there is Rahul Gandhi and Kejriwal who say we are with Shaheen Bagh," he said at a rally in Chirag Delhi. "I want to ask you are you with Shaheen Bagh? On the other hand, there is the ideology of BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi for whom the country is the top priority," he said. Shah continued, "What kind of slogans are raised at Shaheen Bagh? 'Humein Chahiye Azadi (freedom), Jinnah Wali Azadi'. Those who are supporting Shaheen Bagh tell what kind and from whom you want freedom." Attacking the AAP government in Delhi, the Home Minister accused Kejriwal of telling lies. "Kejriwal is on top when it comes to telling lies. There are competitions amongst governmen...

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said there is no need of the odd-even road rationing scheme now as the pollution levels have come down. The Delhi government brought the scheme into effect from November 4 as the city's air quality plunged into the "severe" category. The scheme concluded on November 15 with Kejriwal saying it could be extended if required. He had said that a final decision on extension will be taken on Monday. "The sky is clear now, there is no need of it (scheme)", he said in a press conference. Over 5,000 violators of the rule were fined with Rs 4,000 each during the scheme. The air quality in Delhi improved marginally on Monday but remained in the "poor" category for the second consecutive day. At 9 am on Monday, the air quality index (AQI) in the national capital stood at 207 against an AQI of 254 at the same time on Sunday. Read More

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invited him to visit ' mohalla clinics and schools ' in Delhi while asserting that his dispensation will examine whether the Centre's Ayushman Bharat programme can be integrated with the Delhi government's health scheme. Kejriwal, who had skipped the all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister two days back, also assured full cooperation of his government to the Centre. It was the first meeting between Kejriwal and Modi since the BJP-led NDA has formed government for second term following a thumping victory of the Bhartiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections. "Ayushman Bharat was briefly discussed. Informed Hon'ble PM that Delhi Govt's Delhi Health scheme is much bigger and wider in scope. "However, assured him to examine if Ayushman Bharat scheme cud also be integrated into our scheme (sic)," Kejriwal said in a series of tweets after the meeting. Read ...

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday took to Twitter to make public the negotiations for a pre-poll alliance for Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats between his party and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which triggered a war of tweets between supporters of the two parties. “ An alliance between the Congress and AAP in Delhi would mean the rout of the BJP. The Congress is willing to give up four Delhi seats to the AAP to ensure this. But, Mr. (Arvind) Kejriwal has done yet another U turn! Our doors are still open, but the clock is running out,” Gandhi tweeted, with the hashtag that said the ball was in AAP’s court. Kejriwal, chief of AAP and Delhi chief minister, retorted wondering which “U turn” the Congress was referring to when negotiations were still on. “Your tweet proves that an alliance (in Delhi) is not your wish but for public consumption. I am saddened that you are indulging in such public recriminations. Today, the country needs to be saved from (Narendra) Modi and (Amit...