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Your Daily Wrap: Big jolt for Cong in Punjab, Corbevax gets DCGI nod as India’s first heterologous booster Covid vaccine; and more

From arrests in Hyderabad gang-rape case to Sidhu Moosewala's parents meeting Amit Shah, here are the top news of today.

Clockwise from top left: Punjab Congress leaders who joined BJP; A boy getting Covid vaccine shot; Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik; Sidhu Mossewala's parents with Amit Shah Clockwise from top left: Punjab Congress leaders who joined BJP; A boy getting Covid vaccine shot; Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik; Sidhu Mossewala's parents with Amit Shah

In a big jolt to the Congress in Punjab, its Mohali mayor, four former ministers and a former MLA joined the BJP today, as did two former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLAs, giving the saffron party a major shot in the arm. State Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, however, termed the switchovers a “blessing in disguise”. He said the saffron party had taken “trash” into its fold and would realise in the next elections what a “tohfa” (gift) it had accepted.

Not just Punjab, there was a spate of resignations in Odisha too. All the ministers of the Odisha government as well as the Speaker of the state Assembly resigned on Saturday, paving the way for a much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Several ministers are expected to be dropped and drafted for organisational work.

Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer BiologicalE’s Covid vaccine Corbevax has become the first to be approved by the country’s drug regulator as a heterologous booster in adults, meaning those who have received Covishield or Covaxin as their first two doses can take Corbevax for their third shot. Currently, the vaccine is in use for immunisation of children between the ages of 12 and 14 under the government programme.

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The Hyderabad Police have arrested three accused so far in connection with the alleged gangrape of a teenager in an upscale area of the city. The three accused include an 18-year-old and two juveniles-in-conflict-with-the-law (JICL). The DCP afternoon said the two minors were being produced before a juvenile court.

The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry Saturday wrote to Twitter and YouTube to remove video advertisements of a deodorant brand called Shot for their alleged obscene content. The move came after the advertising self-regulatory body found the ads going against the existing advertisement codes. Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal also wrote to Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur seeking urgent action against the advertisement.

Festive offer

Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh and mother Charan Kaur met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Chandigarh today and sought a CBI probe into their son’s murder. Menawhile, as the tributes continue to pour in for the slain Punjabi singer, he is being widely called ‘Tibbeyan da Putt’. The expression now being used for Moosewala, however, has a deeper significance and connection with the geography, literature and music of Punjab.

#ExpressResearch: Our fourth story in the five-part series on Delhi’s ‘urban villages’ takes you through the lanes of Mehrauli. As one of the oldest “cities” of Delhi, Mehrauli has seen dynasties fight for her, like someone fighting for their beloved. Mehrauli village has survived and thrived as a spiritual center, a trading post, a wholesale market and now among the favourite destinations for the city’s elite to buy couture wedding wear. Read about its history, and its old and new mandis in this piece.

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And now a heartwarming story from Kerala, where two roommates who studied together successfully cleared the UPSC CSE exam this year. They now want to help their third friend ace the test.

Political Pulse

A week to go for the Rajya Sabha elections on June 10, nearly 70 Congress MLAs in Rajasthan are lodged at a resort in Udaipur, some 400 km from the state capital. In Haryana, where it is in a minority and even more divided, the Congress has ferried its MLAs (those it could gather) all the way to Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh, 1,470 km away from Chandigarh but, importantly, a state ruled by it. The trend of parking legislators in salubrious surroundings, to ensure they are not tempted by ostensibly more gainful lucre, can be traced back at least three decades. Read the lessons from nearly 40 years of resort politics.

The Rajasthan government is considering bringing in legislation to give the Chief Minister the power to appoint chancellors for the 28 state-funded universities. As per the Bill, the Governor, who is at present the Chancellor, will become the Visitor of these universities. If the new legislation — titled Rajasthan State Funded Universities Act – comes into effect, the Governor will also have no say in the selection process of vice-chancellors of state-funded universities. Deep Mukherjee reports.

Express Explained

Official celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee began on June 2 with the ‘Trooping the Colour’ ceremony, an annual military parade to mark the British sovereign’s official birthday for more than 260 years. The Queen was joined by senior members of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the flypast. As the Queen marks her Platinum Jubilee, a look at her record-breaking reign.

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Among the evidence relied upon by a special court in Mumbai while giving the death sentence to a 44-year-old man for the rape and murder of a woman in the Saki Naka area of the city, is a “gait analysis” report. The prosecution relied on a forensic report comparing images from CCTV camera footage with a sample video of the way the accused walks, to corroborate his identity. What is gait analysis? Is it a widely used legal technique? We explain.

Weekend Reads

Why Atal Bihari Vajpayee remains Pakistan’s best-loved Indian Prime Minister

Can a novel compete with OTT platforms? Annie Zaidi’s City of Incident shows the way

Inside a 77-year-old pen hospital in Kolkata, where old pens are treated and given a new life

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ICYMI: Here’s a list of best news reports, Opinion, Explained, and features from The Indian Express this week.

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Why today’s debates over Aurangzeb or Prithviraj Chauhan are not about good or bad history, but tussles over memory

Explained: The gangs of Punjab, their increasing criminal footprint

Off controversies, KK let his songs speak for him instead

First uploaded on: 04-06-2022 at 20:31 IST
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