MONDAY www.thestatesman.com 27 JULY 2020 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |`5|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘IT’S TIME CONGRESS GETS A FULL-TIME PRESIDENT’ P5 WEATHER Generally cloudy sky with light rain or drizzle. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 34 and 24 degrees Celsius respectively. HUNDRED DAYS TO ELECTION DAY, TRUMP FACES HEADWINDS WHERE DID HYPE, HOOPLA AROUND IMRAN DISAPPEAR? P7 P10 Gehlot sends Mishra revised proposal RAINFALL: 22.6 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Rajasthan Cabinet has sought an Assembly session to start from 31 July Max: 95% PRESS TRUST OF INDIA TEMPERATURE Max: 36.2°C (+1) SUN RISES 05:41 hrs MOON RISES 12:44 hrs Min: 71% Min: 26.2°C (+1) SUN SETS 19:16 hrs MOON SETS 00:43 hrs THUMBNAILS Armed people march on the street on Saturday night in Richmond, Virginia, joining other protesters around the USA for the Stand With Portland rally in support of the Black Lives AFP Matter protesters in Portland, Oregon. Global coronavirus tally tops 16 million: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has topped 16 million. According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. leads the count with 4.1 million, followed by 2.3 million in Brazil and 1.3 million in India. The U.S. also has the highest number of deaths with 146,460, followed by 86,449 in Brazil and 45,823 in the U.K. Afghanistan minority community members: Around 11 members of minority communities of Afghanistan arrived in New Delhi on Sunday after India granted them visas and facilitated their travel. The government said Sikh community leader Nidan Singh Sachdeva, who was kidnapped and released from captivity earlier this month, is among those who reached Delhi. JAIPUR/NEW DELHI, 26 JULY T he Ashok Gehlotled Rajasthan cabinet, scrambling to save the government, has sent the governor a revised proposal for an assembly session on July 31, while the Congress is backing its leader with a digital campaign and plans for nationwide protests to ramp up the pressure. A day before the Supreme Court hears the case of the embattled Congress-led government, there was business-like calm in the Rajasthan capital on Sunday with Governor Kalraj Mishra meeting top officials to discuss the coronavirus crisis. As Congress leaders in the state and outside spoke in unison to support him and lash out against the BJP the , chief minister also held a separate review meeting to discuss the coronavirus crisis. The Rajasthan Congress called off its plans to protest in front of the Raj Bhawan on Monday. “Tomorrow, Congress workers will protest in front of Raj Bhawans as part of 'Save Democracy-Save Constitution' agitation call. But in Rajasthan we will not do anything like that,” state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasara said in a tweet. Discussion on the pandemic, the economy and the bills to be taken up are listed as part of the agenda for the assembly session in the Gehlot-led cabinet's revised proposal sent late Satur- Discussion on the pandemic, the economy and the bills to be taken up are listed as part of the agenda for the assembly session. It was not immediately clear whether a floor test was part of the proposal day night, Congress sources said. The government, fighting for survival after Gehlot's now sacked deputy Sachin Pilot staged a rebellion with 18 other MLAs following a bitter and prolonged feud, has been pushing the governor for an opportunity to prove its numbers on the floor of the house. However, it is not immediately clear whether a floor test is part of the proposal. The Congress has 107 MLAs in the 200-member assembly, including the 19 dissidents, and the BJP 72. The governor on Friday sought clarifications on six points from the state government after Congress MLAs held a five-hour dharna on the lawns of the Raj Bhawan pressing for aVidhan Sabha Delhi’s Corona tally crosses 1.3 lakh; death toll hits 3,827 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 JULY Delhi reported 1,075 fresh coronavirus (Covid-19) cases today, which increased the city's Covid caseload to over 1.30 lakh, while the death toll due to this infectious, dreaded disease rose to 3,827, according to the Delhi government’s latest health bulletin. Twenty-one Covid fatalities have been recorded today, the health bulletin stated. The recovery rate for Covid in Delhi has mounted to 87.95 per cent, while the positivity rate increased to 6.13 per cent from yesterday’s 5.56 per cent, the bulletin reportedly said. In the last 24 hours, 1,807 patients have recovered in the national capital, the bulletin stated. The recovery rate climbed to 87.95 per cent today from yesterday’s figure of 87.29 per cent, according to the bulletin. The total number of coronavirus cases In Delhi today increased to 1,30,606, even as a cumulative total of 1,14,875 Covid patients have recovered in the city so far. Delhi has conducted a total of 9,46,777 Covid tests so far, which amounts to 49,830 tests per million, according to the bulletin. It said that 17,533 tests have been conducted in the last 24 hours, which include 12,501 rapid antigen tests and 5032 RT-PCR tests. Out of the 15,475 beds available in private and government hospitals for Covid treatment in the national capital, only 2,856 are occupied now, the bulletin said, adding that a total of 6,976 patients were undergoing treatment under home isolation. The total number of active coronavirus cases in Delhi now stands at 11,904. SEE PAGE 2 SANGAKKARA BACKS GANGULY FOR ICC TOP POST The Congress is backing Gehlot with a digital campaign and plans for nationwide protests to ramp up the pressure, including in front of Raj Bhavans in various states. There will be no such protest in Jaipur, however, the party said. session. The dharna was called off, according to the Congress, after Mishra said he will abide by the Constitution but not act under any pressure. The governor asked Gehlot to resubmit the proposals with the clarifications. As the tussle over convening an assembly session continued, a Raj Bhawan statement said the governor noted that active Covid-19 cases have tripled in the state since July 1 and directed that serious efforts be made to control the spread of the disease. On Sunday, Rajasthan reported 611 new cases pushing the state's infection tally to 35,909. A furious Congress accused him of resorting to the “worst kind of obstruction of democracy” by rais- ing “superficial and motivated” queries on the Gehlot government's demand for convening a session of the state assembly. In New Delhi, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said his party is “begging” for a floor test in the state assembly but the governor is not convening the House and“delaying” the trust vote allegedly at the behest of the Central government. “Such superficial, clearly motivated, digressive and extraneous queries establish beyond doubt that they are coming from the highest authorities of the central government and being parroted without change as His Master's Voice from Raj Bhawan, Jaipur, Singhvi said at a virtual press conference. The Congress, which has announced that it will stage protests in front of Raj Bhawans across the country against what it called “misuse of powers” of governors to topple governments headed by opposition parties, also launched its nationwide digital campaign, “#SpeakUpForDemocracy”. Participating in the online campaign, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said democracy in the country will function in accordance with the Constitution. The people of the country will protect democracy and the Constitution by rejecting the BJP's conspiracy of deceit and deception,” he said in a tweet in Hindi. P12 India’s Covid-19 tally soars to 13.85 lakh PRESS TRUST OF INDIA NEW DELHI, 26 JULY With 48,661 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's Covid-19 tally climbed to 13,85,522 on Sunday, while the recoveries mounted to 8,85,576, according to Union health ministry data. The country's death toll rose to 32,063 with 705 fatalities being recorded in a day, the data updated at 8 am showed. There are 4,67,882 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country. As many as 36,145 patients have recuperated from coronavirus in a span of 24 hours, the highest recorded in a day, pushing the recovery rate to 63.92 per cent, the ministry said on Sunday. This is the fourth consecutive day when Covid19 cases have increased by more than 45,000. The total number of tests for detection of Covid19 has crossed the 16 million-mark in the country. According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 1,62,91,331 samples have been tested up to July 25 with 4,42,263 samples being tested on Saturday. Of the 705 deaths reported, 257 were from Maharashtra, 89 from Tamil Nadu, 72 from Karnataka, 52 from Andhra Pradesh, 42 from West Bengal, 39 from Uttar Pradesh, 29 from Delhi, 22 from Gujarat, 14 from Bihar, 12 from Jharkhand, 11 from Rajasthan and 10 from Odisha. Of the total 32,063 deaths reported so far, Maha- Security personnel order sellers to clear a roadside market during a lockdown imposed until July 29 to prevent the AFP spread of the coronavirus in Siliguri on Sunday. 13,85,522 4,67,882 48,661 36,145 32,063 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 08.00 A.M. SUNDAY 26 JULY 2020 rashtra tops the tally with 13,389 fatalities, followed by Delhi 3,806, Tamil Nadu 3,409 Gujarat 2,300, Karnataka 1,796, Uttar Pradesh 1,387, West Bengal 1,332, Andhra Pradesh 985 and Madhya Pradesh 799. NEW DELHI, 26 JULY In a departure from the otherwise non-political content of his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcasts to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, without naming anyone, said people should not do or say anything on social media that demoralises India’s armed forces fighting the enemy on the border. The Prime Minister’s remarks came after he paid tribute to the Indian soldiers, who had laid down their lives while trying to free India’s territories from Pakistan armed forces’ illegal occupation in the heights of Kargil, to mark India’s victory over Pakistan 21 years back, observed as ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’. The government has been in the Congress’ line of fire since the Galwan Valley clashes. Rahul Gandhi has been questioning the Centre’s handling of the situation on border with China near the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, posting comments and videos on social media in this regard. Quoting former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s speech from the ramparts of Red Fort in Delhi on 15 August, soon after the country’s victory over Pakistan, Modi said Vajpayee had then reminded the nation of Gandhi's mantra ~ in the face of any dilemma, in order to decide what to do or what not to do, one must think of the poorest and the most helpless person of India; one must assess whether one's deed will result in benefitting that particular person or not. “Going beyond Gandhi-ji's thought, Atal-ji had said the Kargil war has given us another mantra. Before taking any important decision, we should think whether our step, our endeavour is befitting to the honour of the soldier who laid down his life in those remote mountains,” “In a war-like situation what you say or do impacts the morale of soldiers on duty along the border. It also impacts their families’ morale. It makes Itolizumab use: The National Task Force on Covid-19 has decided against including the Itolizumab drug ~ used for treating psoriasis, a skin condition ~ in clinical management protocols for treating the disease even though the DCGI has approved its “restricted emergency use” in infected patients, official sources said. “The issue of including the drug in the clinical protocols was discussed in a meeting held on Friday. A majority of the members of the task force opined that there was not enough evidence currently to get the drug included in the clinical management protocols for Covid-19,” said an official source. Advani, Bhagwat among invitees to Ram temple ‘bhoomi pujan’ INCORRIGIBLE OPTIMISM NEW DELHI, 26 JULY Children playing amidst traffic on a water-logged road after heavy rainfall, in New Delhi on Sunday. DEEPAK Wars fought on borders and within country too: PM on Kargil Diwas STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 3,66,368, followed by Tamil Nadu 2,06,737, Delhi 1,29,531, Karnataka 90,942, Andhra Pradesh 88,671, Uttar Pradesh 63,742 and West Bengal 56,377. a very deep impact on them, we should never forget this. Therefore our ‘Aachaar, Byavaahar, Vani, Bayan, Maryada and Laksya should be such that whatever we do or say increases the morale of our soldiers,” Modi said. The Prime Minister added, “Taking the mantra of the ‘nation is supreme’ and binding the nation in a string of unity add to the strength of our forces thousands fold.” “Sometimes without taking into account the likely adverse impact on the nation we promote such things on social media platforms that cause immense harm to our nation. Sometimes out of curiosity we forward things knowing full well it is no good,” Modi said. The Prime Minister called upon people to show discretion while choosing the roles they wished to play amid a warlike situation. “Nowadays, wars are not fought on the borders alone. In the country battles are being fought on many fronts. The people of the country will have to decide on their role. We too have to decide on our roles keeping in our mind our soldiers posted in the difficult mountainous terrain,” Modi said. Warning people against any complacency, the Prime Minister said although the rate of mortality due to the Covid 19 pandemic was much less in India as compared to the rest of the world, the danger from Coronavirus was far from over. He said in many parts of the country the virus is spreading fast. “It is imperative to be very careful. It (Coronavirus) continues to be as deadly as it was at the beginning of the pandemic,” he said, reiterating the importance of wearing masks, maintaining ‘do gaj duri’ or social distancing, hand washing which he said were the only weapons against Covid 19. Stressing on the importance of wearing masks, he said people should remember doctors and nurses in the forefront of battling the Covid 19 who have to wear masks and coverall gowns for 8 to 10 hours a day in spite of it causing dis- comfort to them. Modi also addressed himself to meritorious students from various parts of the country who did exceptionally well in their recent school exams - Kritika from Panipat, Vinayak from Ernakulam in Kerala,Usman Saifi from Amroha in UP Kanika from , Namakkal. Modi also interacted with village heads and others engaged in serving their local people amidst the Covid 19 pandemic. He said Covid 19 crisis had also thrown up many opportunities along with challenges. In this context he pointed out how a solar apricot dryer in Ladakh is helping farmers earn better incomes. He said a group of youths from Bihar is helping train the migrant workforce in pearl farming and giving them livelihoods. Veteran BJP leaders LK Advani, MM Joshi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat are among those being invited to the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5 which will be shown live by Doordarshan, trustees of the temple said on Sunday. Besides them, there is also a view to invite spiritual leaders from all faiths, Anil Mishra, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, told PTI. He said that in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions of social distancing, there will be a limited gathering of up to 200 people at the event. The list is yet to be finalised, he said. Invitations are being extended to several people who have been part of this temple movement including BJP leaders LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, Mishra said. Kameshwar Chaupal, another trustee of the temple, said top leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh including its chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi are also being invited for the event along with VHP's working president Alok Kumar. According to the Trust members, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Ayodhya for the ceremony to begin the construction of the Ram temple. Chaupal also said soil is being collected from all major places of worship including gurudwaras and Buddhist and Jain temples for 'bhoomi pujan'. Underlining that it will be the most important event in the history of independent India, the Trust's general secretary Champat Rai said it will be shown live by Doordarshan and other PTI channels.