The Evening Wrap: Amit Shah tests positive for COVID-19

The Hindu Newsletter - The Morning Filter Sunday 02, August 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the biggest news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Covid Watch: Home Minister Amit Shah tests positive The number of coronavirus cases reported from India has crossed the 17-lakh mark and stands at 17,94,050 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll standing at 38,013. India on Sunday reported 54,735 new [coronavirus]( cases. It’s been a day of high new cases, and one recovery, being reported. Home Minister [Amit Shah tested positive]( for COVID-19 today and has been admitted to the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. Doctors say that since he has other co-morbidities he is more vulnerable to the virus and is under observation as of now. Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu Governor [Banwarilal Purohit]( had tested positive for COVID-19 but is asymptomatic and clinically stable, Kauvery Hospital in Chennai said toay. At least 87 persons living in the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of Governor have tested positive for COVID-19 since the past few days. Actor Amitabh Bachchan meanwhile, [has been discharged]( from hospital after he tested negative for the coronavirus, his son Abhishek Bachchan says in a tweet. He, however, is still in hospital. And an important numbers update — Andhra Pradesh, which has seen a surge in cases over the past two weeks, has now surpassed Delhi as the third-most affected region in India. As of Saturday evening, Andhra had 1,50,209 infections, while Delhi had 1,36,716 cases. Will not impose any language, Education Minister tweets in Tamil The [Centre will not impose any language]( on any State through the new National Education Policy, Union Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said today. Mr. Nishank’s clarification, conveyed through a tweet in Tamil, comes in the backdrop of opposition to NEP in Tamil Nadu on the grounds that the policy allegedly imposed Hindi and Sanskrit. [ Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank ] Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank The M.K. Stalin-led DMK and many opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have opposed NEP and want a review of the sweeping reforms it has proposed. On Saturday, the DMK chief said the policy was an attempt at alleged imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit and vowed to fight against it by joining hands with like-minded political parties and Chief Ministers of other states. Confusion over Advani invite for Ram temple ceremony Amid massive preparations for the ‘bhoomi poojan’ (ground- breaking ceremony) for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya slated for August 5, [confusion prevails]( over whether the architect of the Ramjanmabhoomi movement, former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, has received an invitation to participate in the ceremony. Senior aides of Mr. Advani confirmed to The Hindu that an invitation was yet to be received from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, set up for the construction of the Ram Temple. [ Veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani. ] Veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani. On the other hand, sources in the Trust said that arrangements were being made for Mr. Advani’s participation in the event via videoconference as his age and the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic made it risky for him to attend in person. “Phone calls were made on Saturday and an invitation from the general secretary of the Trust will be issued soon,” said a source. Fifth round of Corps Commander-level talk between India and China The [fifth round of Corps Commanders talks between India and China]( are underway at Moldo on the Chinese side to take forward the stalled process of disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The talks began around 11 a.m. on August 2 at Moldo, opposite Chushul, a defence source said. The confirmation for the meeting came from the Chinese side late on August 1 evening. Like in earlier rounds, the talks are led by Leh-based 14 Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Harinder Singh and South Xinjiang military commander Maj. Gen. Lin Liu. [Indian soldiers patrol the mountainous terrain in Leh on June 23, 2020. ]Indian soldiers patrol the mountainous terrain in Leh on June 23, 2020. The Corps Commanders of the two sides have held four rounds of talks so far on June 6, 22, 30 and July 14 to de-escalate from the build-up areas in Galwan Valley, Gogra-Hot Springs and Finger area along the Pangong Tso (lake) in Ladakh sector along the LAC. This has become something of a circular exercise and there are real concerns that this could be a long drawn out, and far more complicated situation than it is portrayed to be. We covered some of these concerns in a previous [episode]( of The Hindu In Focus podcast. Scindia and Pilot were ‘princelings’: Manish Tiwari Lok sabha member and former Union Minister Manish Tiwari has weighed in on the current rift within the Congress party in an exclusive interview with The Hindu. Among other things he spoke of the need to have ideological clarity to take on the BJP and hold elections to appoint a full-time party president if the Gandhis are not inclined. You can read the whole interview [here](, but we pick out this noteworthy excerpt for today’s newsletter. “Mr. Scindia and Mr. Pilot were ‘princelings’ of the party. They inherited their fathers’ respective Lok Sabha seats after their tragic demise. They never went through the grind of the NSUI or IYC. Theirs was not to spread mats at public meetings, paint slogans on the walls, get knifed in student politics, or lathi charged by the cops… For them, it was but a vehicle to catapult them into organisational or governmental positions. When they thought that this lorry had outlived its utility, they ditched it for the next bus available.” Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [alt_text]( [IISER team maps evolutionary dispersal patterns]( [alt_text]( [We are going ahead with women’s IPL on time, says BCCI President Sourav Ganguly]( [alt_text]( [Watch | Indian businessman converts office into COVID-19 ward]( [alt_text]( [SpaceX capsule departs ISS, set for ocean splashdown]( You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0b41pufgbf2f90kauhrxfebysa8hkm9@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. 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