Latest News: Pithani may turn CBI witness; Ravi Kishan gets Y+ security; COVID-19 update

Haryana BJP leader quits over farm acts

Haryana BJP leader Shyam Singh Rana quit the party over the controversial farm acts. Earlier, two other BJP leaders from the state - Parminder Singh Dhull and Rampal Majra - had also dubbed the Centre's farm reforms "anti-farmer", claiming that the apprehensions about the minimum support price needed to be addressed. In his resignation letter to state BJP chief Om Prakash Dhankar, Rana said keeping in view the problems faced by the farmers, "I support them and resign from all the posts I hold and also resign from the party. The government should have created avenues for farmers by improving the existing system. The farmers' concerns are genuine and the government should have addressed these," he said

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Ravi Kishan gets Y+ security after alleged threats

BJP MP Ravi Kishan announced that the UP government has provided him with Y+ security and thanked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth, adding that he will continue to raise his voice for the people. Ravi Kishan said that he is not afraid if Hindi films are not offered to him anymore as he will continue to "raise his voice". Speaking to Republic Media Network, he said, "I want to thank Yogi Adityanath Maharaj Ji for providing me with Y+ security. I knew that when I had raised the issue of the drug cartel in Parliament, this would become a movement and I would get threats for my life. I told this to the Chief Minister and also wrote a letter to him." 

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Pithani may turn CBI witness in SSR case

Sushant Singh Rajput’s flatmate-teammate Siddharth Pithani may turn a witness in the actor’s death investigation currently underway, sources told Republic. He could record a statement with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under Section 164. As per sources, Pithani has been placed under the CBI radar and is being monitored by the authorities. He had been one of the people in the house in Mumbai's Bandra where Sushant Singh Rajput had died on June 14. Pithani has been the only one to give details of the arrival of ‘outsiders’ at the residence, on June 13, a day allegedly before the unfortunate event occurred. 

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India's COVID tally crosses 63 lakh-mark

India reported a single-day surge of 86,821 new COVID-19 cases with 1,181 related deaths on September 30. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare said that the total number of coronavirus cases now stands at 63,12,585 including 9,40,705 active cases. The ministry said that 52,73,202 COVID-19 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated so far and 98,678  infected people lost their lives. India remains the second worst-hit nation in terms of coronavirus cases and related deaths.

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Trump administration accused of 'exploiting' Pope

With the US Presidential election just around the corner, the Trump administration has been accused of exploiting Pope Francis in the final weeks of the campaign. According to The Guardian report, a top Vatican official has accused the US President of trying to exploit the Holy Father in the run-up to the elections. The US embassy in Italy organised a conference on religious freedom on September 30, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaking at the event. When Vatican’s secretary for relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher was asked if the organisation of such an event amounted to exploitation of the Pope, he reportedly said that it did since the event was so close to the election.

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