Delhi

It was a pleasant Thursday morning in the national capital with the minimum temperature recorded a notch above season’s average at 13.0 degrees Celsius. The Met Office forecast rain in the afternoon.

“Partly cloudy sky with spells of rain in some parts of the city could be recorded,” an India Meteorological Department official said.

The city recorded 0.3mm of rainfall Wednesday.

The maximum temperature Thursday is likely to hover around 24 degrees Celsius.

Humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 97 percent.

Refugees in India can avail of free treatment facilities at any of the 45 private hospitals in the national capital which have been identified by Delhi government to render such services, the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) has said.

Replying to a Delhi-based lawyers’ group which has alleged that a Myanmarese refugee was denied treatment by a south Delhi private hospital, DHS clarified that the designated private hospitals cannot deny free assistance to any refugee who came under the EWS category.

Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung Wednesday informed the Delhi High Court that the city government has decided to scrap the five additional points to be given to children of parents who come under the inter-state transfer category in nursery admissions.

Advocate Raju Ramachandran, appearing for Jung, informed Justice Manmohan that a survey was carried out in 58 leading private schools in the city that found massive misuse of the transfer points.

A notification in this regard will come Thursday, the advocate said.

The Delhi High Court Wednesday allowed a plea by the Aam Aadmi Party to withdraw a petition filed by the erstwhile Congress government against a trial court order for lodging a complaint against former chief minister Sheila Dikshit for allegedly misusing government funds.

Justice Sunil Gaur also allowed an application of the former chief minister seeking impleadment in the case.

The national capital will experience a warm, sunny Wednesday and the maximum temperature will hover around 25 degrees Celsius, the Met Office said.

“The sky will remain partly cloudy through the day and the afternoon will be warm and sunny,” an official of the India Meteorological Department said.

Wednesday’s minimum temperature settled a notch above the season’s average at 12.5 degrees Celsius.

The Delhi High Court Tuesday directed former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and former minister Somnath Bharti to respond within two weeks on a plea seeking cancellation of their election for exceeding the expenditure limit in assembly polls.

The court sought their response by April 17 on petitions by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Vijender Gupta and Arti Mehra alleging that Kejriwal and Bharti each spent beyond the statutory limit of Rs.14 lakh.

The national capital woke up to a pleasant Tuesday morning. The Met Office has forecast a cloudy day.

According to a Northern Railway official, 12 trains coming to Delhi were running late due to fog in and around the national capital.

“The day will be partly cloudy. Moderate fog was witnessed early morning,” said an India Meteorological Department official.

The visibility at 8.30 a.m. was 400 metres.

Tuesday’s minimum temperature was recorded two notches below average at 10.3 degrees Celsius.

Humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 95 percent.

Cooking gas distributors across the country have threatened to go on an indefinite strike from Tuesday to press for their multiple demands, which include withdrawal of the petroleum ministry’s recent marketing discipline guidelines.

The dealers are opposing the heavy financial penalties and distributorship termination clauses under the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG), which, they say, makes the distributors unjustifiably responsible for all lapses in the system.

It was a pleasant morning here Monday with the minimum temperature recorded a notch below average at 10.0 degrees Celsius. The Met Office has forecast a cloudy day ahead.

“The day will become cloudy towards the afternoon and shallow fog was also witnessed early morning,” said India Meteorological Department official.

The early morning fog delayed 14 trains.

Humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 97 percent.

Monday’s maximum temperature is likely to hover around 23 degrees Celsius.

The Delhi High Court Friday issued notice to the Lt Governor on a PIL challenging fresh nursery admission guidelines which club the economically weaker section (EWS) category with that of children with disabilities.

Justice Ravindra Bhat and Justice R.V. Easwar also issued notice to ministry of human resource development and Delhi government’s education department on a plea also seeking three percent seats for children with disabilities in the aided and unaided private schools in Delhi.

The government has taken various measures to ensure the safety and security of people from the northeastern states, settled in New Delhi and other parts of the country. Munirka village in South Delhi is home to a large number of people from the northeastern states, a majority of them students.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress had caused price rise in Delhi on purpose and added that the party has called for a CAG enquiry in the matter.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Monday the Aam Aadmi Party’s plea seeking a direction to the Lieutenant Governor to dissolve the Delhi Assembly and hold fresh polls along with the Lok Sabha elections.

The bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said it will hear the petition on February 24.

AAP leader and advocate Prashant Bhushan on Thursday said the party has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to direct the central government and the lieutenant governor to dissolve the Delhi Assembly, and order for fresh elections in the capital.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and advocate Prashant Bhushan on Thursday said that the party has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to direct the Central government and lieutenant governor to dissolve the Delhi Assembly, and order for fresh elections in the capital.

“Today an important petition has been filed in the Supreme Court by the AAP, in which we have challenged the decision of the Central government and lieutenant governor to impose President’s rule in Delhi,” said Bhushan,

The Delhi administration Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that it does not favour battery-operated e-rickshaws on the roads without licences or number plates.

A division bench of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Jayant Nath was informed by advocate Zubeda Begum, appearing for the government, that a notification was issued in 2011 that e-rickshaws should not ply unless they were registered and insured.

“We are not in favour of e-rickshaws. The MCD is in favour of them,” Begum said.

Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani Wednesday met Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung for nearly an hour which officials described as a “courtesy call”.

Both sides declined to comment on the deliberations between Ambani and Jung.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of issues concerning two group companies – BSES Yamuna and BSES Rajdhani – which together supply power to over 66 percent of the capital’s population.

Indian wing of global corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI), on Tuesday refuted former Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, claims that corruption had come down in the city during his regime. Executive director of Transparency International (TI) India, Ashutosh Kumar Mishra, denied the existence of any such report or survey that Kejriwal quoted while addressing business leaders.

“Transparency International, India, has not conducted such a study as it was said. We don”t have any publish or unpublished report.

It was a chilly Sunday morning in the national capital with the minimum temperature recorded four notches below average at 7.2 degrees Celsius. The Met Office forecasts a warmer and clearer day ahead.

“The day will remain clear with the maximum temperature likely to hover around 19 degrees Celsius,” said an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official.

Humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 100 percent.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Political Affairs Committee (PAC), which met earlier today to discuss the future course of action of the party, on Saturday, congratulated Arvind Kejriwal for taking a bold decision to resign from the post of chief minister and to dissolve his government.

Addressing the media after the PAC meeting, AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said, “The PAC has congratulated the Delhi Government under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal. It has set a precedent of a government, which is willing to give up power in this country where power means everything.”

Senior lawyer and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Prashant Bhushan on Saturday said that after rejection of the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Assembly, the party was left with no option but to quit as it was their first promise in the manifesto.

“Our biggest responsibility was to form a corruption-free government and run it. It was our first promise in the manifesto. But if the BJP and the Congress are not letting us pass the bill, then what is the point of us staying in power,” Bhushan said.

Accusing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of speaking untruths, BJP leader Harsh Vardhan Friday said his party was fully in support of the Jan Lokpal bill.

Addressing the press after the Delhi assembly was adjourned sine die, the Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief said: “Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should stop making false and baseless claims.”

He said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) should practice transparent governance.

BJP leader Harsh Vardhan Friday said his party was committed to the Jan Lokpal bill.

“I want to tell (Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal that we want the Jan Lokpal bill more than you do. AAP has been saying all ‘netas’ are against the bill,” said Vardhan, leader of the opposition in the house.

“The media knows more about the bill than we do. Don’t paint the BJP as a party against Lokpal. We are committed to it,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said Delhi’s first Lokayukta bill was tabled 20 years ago.

Reacting to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung’s letter to Delhi Assembly Speaker M.S. Dhir, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesman Ashutosh on Friday said Jung should consider the views of former attorney general Soli Sorabjee, who described the Home Ministry 2002 order as an attempt to departmentalize the Delhi Government.

“I think the LG should consider the views of former attorney general Soli Sorabjee that the 2002 diktat of the Home Ministry is unconstitutional. He described this order as an attempt to make the Delhi Government a department of the Central Government,” said Ashutosh.

After witnessing disruptions on the first day of the special assembly session, the Arvind Kejriwal led-Delhi Government on Friday will table the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Delhi Assembly.

Late on Thursday, reacting to the disruption in the Delhi Assembly, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday had said that the incident exposed nexus between Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who have been brought together by Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

A rainy day lies ahead of Delhi on Friday with the maximum temperature expected to be around 18 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.

A total of 23.2 mm of rain was recorded in the national capital from midnight till 8.30 am, said an official of the India Meteorological Department.

The night-long rain caused waterlogging at some places of the city.

Long traffic jams were witnessed on the roads, giving office-goers a difficult time.

The minimum temperature early Friday was recorded a notch above the average at 11 degrees Celsius.