Some of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi-run schools are 'horror houses', the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) remarked after it conducted surprise inspection and found them without adequate security and sanitation facilities.
No major glitches in electronic voting machines were reported and the voting passed off peacefully with high security observed at the 3,360 critical booths in 493 locations where more than 25,000 police personnel, nearly 13,000 home guards and 100 companies of paramilitary forces were deployed, officials said.
Three civil services aspirants died on Saturday after the basement of a building, which was part of a coaching centre, was flooded following heavy rain in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area.
Fish sellers of Chittranjan Park found themselves in a state of disbelief last week when the anti-meat overdrive of the Hindu right hit the local markets with a warning to shut shops because they were close to a temple.
'I have voted in several elections and now this is the first time I have been told that my vote is not here'
'BJP insiders acknowledge that the party needs to be helmed by someone who can match Arvind Kejriwal's stature.' 'A Sudhanshu Trivedi or Bansuri Swaraj could bring the freshness the party needs in Delhi,' points out Aditi Phadnis.
The basement of the coaching Institute in Old Rajendra Nagar where three civil services aspirants died by rain-induced flooding was functioning illegally as a library, officials said on Sunday.
According to a parliamentary response by the Union health ministry in 2023, around 654,000 families in Delhi are eligible to enrol under the scheme.
Criticising the police for arresting an SUV driver and blaming him for the incident, the high court said, "Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater for entering into the basement."
Kejriwal's remarks came after the Delhi State Election Commission sought the advice of legal experts on if it can still hold polls for the three municipal corporations here following a communication from the Centre for their unification.
Meanwhile, many BJP members chanted 'Hanuman Chalisa' for several minutes, awaiting resumption of the House.
"What is Delhi Police doing? Have they lost it?" wondered the Delhi high court on Wednesday, while castigating the police for a 'strange' probe by arresting an SUV driver for his alleged role in drowning of three civil services aspirants at a coaching centre.
While Lok Sabha members across party lines demanded an inquiry, hundreds of students continued their protests near Rau's IAS Study Circle in the west Delhi locality where the horror unfolded Saturday night, killing the three students trapped in the basement illegally used as a library as floodwaters rose outside.
The first municipal House after the high-stakes civic polls on December 4 is scheduled to take place on Friday during which all newly elected councillors will take oath and the mayor and the deputy mayor will be elected.
His remarks came after the Union cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill to unify the three civic bodies -- North, East and South -- in Delhi.
The owner and the coordinator of a coaching centre where three civil services aspirants died due to rain-induced flooding in the basement were arrested on Sunday even as protests erupted in the area over the incident.
The high court also said that Kejriwal's absence cannot allow students to go through the first term without free text books, writing material and uniform in schools under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
The police identified the driver and the vehicle through the CCTV footage of the area.
A team of the civic body reached the Old Rajinder Nagar area to seal several illegally-run basements of coaching centres, a statement by the Delhi government said.
The Aam Aadmi Party ended the BJP's 15-year-rule in the Municipal of Delhi poll in results announced on Wednesday.
The interim magisterial inquiry report and the MCD Karol Bagh zone superintending engineer report were submitted to revenue minister Atishi who alleged that the "bureaucracy" was showing "laxity" in investigating the death of the civil services aspirants.
He asserted that the AAP cared for the people of Delhi and that's why they announced financial assistance for the Resident Welfare Associations to help people ensure better security in their neighbourhood by hiring private security guards.
"The opposition parties should draw proper lessons from these results and draw up plans to put up an effective united opposition to the BJP state-wise by marshalling all the forces," the CPI-M said in a statement.
Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar, where three students died due to flooding in the basement of a coaching centre last week, was flooded again following a spell of heavy rain on Wednesday.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that the decision that Kejriwal should continue to be the chief minister even after being jailed was that of the people of Delhi.
Coaching institutions across the national capital, some lined up in cramped lanes while others housed in lofty buildings in busy commercial areas, are risking the lives of students, with lack of fire safety measures, single entry and exit points, faulty wiring and overloaded electrical circuits among the most common problems.
'They charge such high fees and offer us this safety. Our lives have become a mockery.'
The government had sent the proposal to hold the House session on February 16 and Saxena has accepted it, they said.
A bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar granted liberty to the petitioner to serve the advance copy of the plea to the standing counsel for the respondents.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to enrol Rohingya refugee children in local schools, saying it was the Centre's domain.
Elections to the posts of mayor and deputy mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi that were slated for April 26 were postponed on Thursday, with Lt Governor V K Saxena citing 'unprecedented' circumstances where the chief minister is under judicial custody and cannot discharge his constitutionally obligated functions.
The court said multi-storey buildings were being allowed to operate but there was no proper drainage.
The court said the Delhi government was "interested in appropriation of power".
According to the officials, the three-storey coaching institute, surrounded by residential and commercial establishments, had permission to use the basement as a store room, but it was being used as library in violation of the rules.
November 14 was the last day for filing nominations for the high-stakes Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections for 250 wards.
They stated that when a soldier fights for the nation, he does so not as a Hindu, Muslim, or any other religion, but as a patriot.
The Congress on Sunday called for fixing accountability over the death of three IAS aspirants due to waterlogging in a building in Delhi with Rahul Gandhi asserting that common people are paying the price for irresponsibility of institutions at every level.
In a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party which dominated the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the party managed to win only from three seats while the Aam Aadmi Party made its debut by winning five seats and the Congress wrested four seats in the bypolls to 13 wards.
Attacking the Election Commission, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said that people have started doubting the credibility of the EVMs in a "big way".
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