The Evening Wrap: Margaret Alva is Opposition’s candidate for Vice-President

Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva will be the Opposition candidate for Vice-President. A meeting of 17 Opposition parties held in New Delhi on July 17, 2022 decided to field her as their candidate. Ms. Alva has held various posts such as Cabinet Minister, Governor and Member of Parliament in her long service in politics. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar announced the decision after the meeting of the Opposition parties. Sources said the AAP, which was not present in the meeting, has also offered support to Ms. Alva. The Trinamool Congress and the Left parties will also support the senior Congress leader. “Margaret Alva, former Governor, former Union Minister, long time MP and very distinguished representative of India’s wonderful diversity is the common Opposition candidate for Vice-President,” tweeted Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh. The ruling NDA had announced West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as their candidate on Saturday. Excitement among tribals, women over my nomination, says Droupadi Murmu A day before the presidential poll, NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said tribals and women in the country are excited and delighted over her nomination for the country’s top constitutional post, according to sources. Ms. Murmu interacted with NDA MPs and thanked them for nominating her as their presidential candidate. She was also facilitated at the meeting. “With my nomination there is excitement among tribals and women,” Ms. Murmu told the meeting, according to the sources. “There are around 10 crore tribals with more 700 communities, and all are delighted with my nomination,” she said. Centre offers to discuss all topics during monsoon session; Opposition cites lack of time The Centre convened an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Sunday ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament scheduled to begin on July 18, 2022. Attended by leaders of about 36 parties, the meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Mr. Singh assured the leaders that the Centre is ready to discuss any issues in Parliament and requested the cooperation of all parties for a smooth running of the session. The Opposition criticised the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the meeting. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the Centre invited 45 political parties of which 36 attended the meeting. “36 leaders put forth their views, gave suggestions and demanded some issues to be discussed by the Government. We are ready to discuss any issue in Parliament,” Mr. Joshi said. The Government has decided to call another all-party meeting to be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the current crisis in Sri Lanka. It will be held on Tuesday, Mr. Joshi said. Senior Congress leader raised the issue of the absence of Modi in the meeting. Joshi retorted after the meeting that before 2014, the Prime Minister never used to attend all-party meetings before the session. “How many times did Manmohan Singh attend the all-party meeting?,” Mr. Joshi asked. Opposition leaders will meet separately to chart the floor strategy for the session. Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters after the meeting that they raised 13 issues in the all-party meeting. India crosses milestone of 200 crore COVID-19 vaccination doses in 18 months India’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination drive has surpassed the 200-crore milestone on Sunday and as per provisional reports till 1 p.m., a total of 2,00,00,15,631 doses have been administered across the country. This was achieved through 2,63,26,111 sessions, said the Health Ministry. It took the country almost nine months to reach the 100-crore mark and another nine months to touch the 200-crore vaccination mark since the start of the drive on January 16 2021, with the highest single day vaccination record of 2.5 crore doses achieved on September 17, 2021. Calling India’s vaccination drive “unparalleled in scale and speed,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his tweet, congratulated the countrymen on bringing about this significant feat. The nation-wide vaccination programme was launched on January 16, 2021. The Ministry in its release noted that several systematic interventions were carried out in ensuring capacity building for carrying out this nationwide exercise. Violence breaks out over schoolgirl’s death in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district Massive violence broke out on the premises of a private school in Kallakurichi district in north Tamil Nadu on Sunday morning, four days after the body of a Class XII girl was found in the hostel block on the campus. Protesters vandalised the institution and set ablaze over 15 vehicles and other properties. The police had to open fire in the air twice to break up the protesters, and 70 persons were arrested in connection with the violence. In the evening, Director General of Police C. Sylendra Babu ordered the transfer of the probe in the case to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID). He said school chairman Ravikumar, secretary Shanthi Ravikumar and the principal were arrested for their failure to ensure adequate safety measures in the hostel. Earlier, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin appealed for calm and said those responsible for the girl’s death would be punished. Political party leaders, including Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami, however, blamed the violence on intelligence failure and charged the government with failure to take appropriate action at the right time. While peaceful demonstrations were held over the past four days to seek “justice” for the deceased girl, on Sunday morning a large number of youths, outsiders, and locals went on the rampage at ECR International School, a CBSE-affiliated residential institution, at Kaniyamoor near Chinna Salem. The protesters rammed the stationary school buses with tractors belonging to the institution and set fire to at least 12 buses and three tractors, besides vandalising the building and furniture. A police bus was also set ablaze and nine police vehicles, including a riot control vehicle, were damaged. According to Mr. Sylendra Babu, 54 police personnel, including a DIG and a SP, were injured in the violence. In Brief India and China on Sunday held the 16th round of Corps Commander level talks at Chushul on the Indian side as the two sides attempt to revive the stalled process of disengagement and de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. Talks began at 9.30 a.m. at Chushul border personnel meeting point, an official source said on Sunday. The Indian side is led by Lt. Gen. Anindya Sengupta, 14 Corps Commander. Child tests negative for monkeypox in Andhra Pradesh A two-year-old girl being treated for fever and rashes at the Government General Hospital (GGH) in Vijayawada tested negative for the monkeypox virus. Suspecting that the child contracted the virus, authorities of the Health Department sent her samples, who had a recent history of international travel, to the National Institute of Virology, Pune on Saturday. The test result came out negative for the virus and there are no cases of monkeypox in Andhra Pradesh, said Health and Family Welfare Commissioner J. Nivas in a release on Sunday. According to NTR District Medical and Health Officer Dr. M. Suhasini, the girl along with her two siblings and mother came to the city on July 11 from Dubai via New Delhi. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 17 JULY 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Margaret Alva is Opposition’s candidate for Vice-President Senior Congress leader [Margaret Alva will be the Opposition candidate]( for Vice-President. A meeting of 17 Opposition parties held in New Delhi on July 17, 2022 decided to field her as their candidate. Ms. Alva has held various posts such as Cabinet Minister, Governor and Member of Parliament in her long service in politics. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar announced the decision after the meeting of the Opposition parties. [Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva in 2014. ] Sources said the AAP, which was not present in the meeting, has also offered support to Ms. Alva. The Trinamool Congress and the Left parties will also support the senior Congress leader. “Margaret Alva, former Governor, former Union Minister, long time MP and very distinguished representative of India’s wonderful diversity is the common Opposition candidate for Vice-President,” tweeted Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh. The ruling NDA had announced [West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as their candidate]( on Saturday. Excitement among tribals, women over my nomination, says Droupadi Murmu A day before the presidential poll, NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said [tribals and women in the country are excited and delighted over her nomination]( for the country’s top constitutional post, according to sources. [Droupadi Murmu, NDA’s candidate for President, is greeted during a meeting of the alliance at the Parliament building on July 17, 2022. ] Ms. Murmu interacted with NDA MPs and thanked them for nominating her as their presidential candidate. She was also facilitated at the meeting. “With my nomination there is excitement among tribals and women,” Ms. Murmu told the meeting, according to the sources. “There are around 10 crore tribals with more 700 communities, and all are delighted with my nomination,” she said. Centre offers to discuss all topics during monsoon session; Opposition cites lack of time The [Centre convened an all-party meeting]( in New Delhi on Sunday ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament scheduled to begin on July 18, 2022. Attended by leaders of about 36 parties, the meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Mr. Singh assured the leaders that the Centre is ready to discuss any issues in Parliament and requested the cooperation of all parties for a smooth running of the session. The Opposition criticised the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the meeting. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the Centre invited 45 political parties of which 36 attended the meeting. “36 leaders put forth their views, gave suggestions and demanded some issues to be discussed by the Government. We are ready to discuss any issue in Parliament,” Mr. Joshi said. The Government has decided to call another all-party meeting to be chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the current crisis in Sri Lanka. It will be held on Tuesday, Mr. Joshi said. Senior Congress leader raised the issue of the absence of Modi in the meeting. Joshi retorted after the meeting that before 2014, the Prime Minister never used to attend all-party meetings before the session. “How many times did Manmohan Singh attend the all-party meeting?,” Mr. Joshi asked. Opposition leaders will meet separately to chart the floor strategy for the session. Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters after the meeting that they raised 13 issues in the all-party meeting. India crosses milestone of 200 crore COVID-19 vaccination doses in 18 months India’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination drive has [surpassed the 200-crore milestone]( on Sunday and as per provisional reports till 1 p.m., a total of 2,00,00,15,631 doses have been administered across the country. This was achieved through 2,63,26,111 sessions, said the Health Ministry. It took the country almost nine months to reach the 100-crore mark and another nine months to touch the 200-crore vaccination mark since the start of the drive on January 16 2021, with the highest single day vaccination record of 2.5 crore doses achieved on September 17, 2021. Calling India’s vaccination drive “unparalleled in scale and speed,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his tweet, congratulated the countrymen on bringing about this significant feat. The nation-wide vaccination programme was launched on January 16, 2021. The Ministry in its release noted that several systematic interventions were carried out in ensuring capacity building for carrying out this nationwide exercise. Violence breaks out over schoolgirl’s death in Tamil Nadu’s Kallakurichi district [Massive violence broke out]( on the premises of a private school in Kallakurichi district in north Tamil Nadu on Sunday morning, four days after the body of a Class XII girl was found in the hostel block on the campus. Protesters vandalised the institution and set ablaze over 15 vehicles and other properties. The police had to open fire in the air twice to break up the protesters, and 70 persons were arrested in connection with the violence. In the evening, Director General of Police C. Sylendra Babu ordered the transfer of the probe in the case to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID). He said school chairman Ravikumar, secretary Shanthi Ravikumar and the principal were arrested for their failure to ensure adequate safety measures in the hostel. Earlier, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin appealed for calm and said those responsible for the girl’s death would be punished. Political party leaders, including Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami, however, blamed the violence on intelligence failure and charged the government with failure to take appropriate action at the right time. While peaceful demonstrations were held over the past four days to seek “justice” for the deceased girl, on Sunday morning a large number of youths, outsiders, and locals went on the rampage at ECR International School, a CBSE-affiliated residential institution, at Kaniyamoor near Chinna Salem. The protesters rammed the stationary school buses with tractors belonging to the institution and set fire to at least 12 buses and three tractors, besides vandalising the building and furniture. A police bus was also set ablaze and nine police vehicles, including a riot control vehicle, were damaged. According to Mr. Sylendra Babu, 54 police personnel, including a DIG and a SP, were injured in the violence. In Brief India and China on Sunday [held the 16th round of Corps Commander level talks]( at Chushul on the Indian side as the two sides attempt to revive the stalled process of disengagement and de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. Talks began at 9.30 a.m. at Chushul border personnel meeting point, an official source said on Sunday. The Indian side is led by Lt. Gen. Anindya Sengupta, 14 Corps Commander. Child tests negative for monkeypox in Andhra Pradesh A two-year-old girl being treated for fever and rashes at the Government General Hospital (GGH) in Vijayawada [tested negative for the monkeypox virus](. Suspecting that the child contracted the virus, authorities of the Health Department sent her samples, who had a recent history of international travel, to the National Institute of Virology, Pune on Saturday. The test result came out negative for the virus and there are no cases of monkeypox in Andhra Pradesh, said Health and Family Welfare Commissioner J. Nivas in a release on Sunday. According to NTR District Medical and Health Officer Dr. M. Suhasini, the girl along with her two siblings and mother came to the city on July 11 from Dubai via New Delhi. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow  Today’s Top Picks [[Voters believe Rishi Sunak will make good PM, U.K. opinion poll finds] Voters believe Rishi Sunak will make good PM, U.K. opinion poll finds]( [[Pay 5% GST on pre-packed, labelled food items, hospital rooms above ₹5,000 from Monday] Pay 5% GST on pre-packed, labelled food items, hospital rooms above ₹5,000 from Monday]( [[In Frames | At the elephant camp] In Frames | At the elephant camp]( [[India set to be home of cheetahs after 70 years at Madhya Pradesh park] India set to be home of cheetahs after 70 years at Madhya Pradesh park]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](