The odd-even scheme faces a real test with reopening of offices, schools and other institutions after the extended weekend.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal also challenged the BJP to announce its chief ministerial candidate by 1 pm Wednesday and said he is ready for a public debate with him.
Fearing forcible hospitalisation of three fasting activists, including Arvind Kejriwal, scores of Team Anna supporters kept vigil throughout the night at the Jantar Mantar protest venue.
The team held two rounds of talks at the protest site of Jantar Mantar, where Anna Hazare's fast entered the fourth day and that of Kejriwal, Rai and Manish Sisodia entered the eighth day.
As team Anna sat on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar reiterating their demands, thousands joined them in pledging their support to the cause. Rediff.com's Priyanka mingled with the crowd to get their reactions.
Team Anna met in Noida on Monday amid a rift between them and yoga guru over the treatment meted out to Arvind Kejriwal in public and differences within them over attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
As the health of his aides deteriorated, Anna Hazare on Wednesday warned the government that he will not negotiate with them if the fasting activists are forcefully removed from the Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi.
In tough posturing, Anna Hazare on Tuesday ruled out any talks with the government or even the prime minister to end their stir and expressed readiness to return Padma Bhushan award bestowed on him, even as government showed no signs of initiating negotiations with his team.
He claimed media reports stating that talks between the AAP and the Congress had been finalised were planted by the grand old party.
Political analysts say the road to the 2024 polls for the Congress is going to get tougher as it is a party that is 'in the ICU' and cannot be revived with quick-fix solutions.
Team Anna members like Arvind Kejriwal and Gopal Sisodia and others will launch an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on July 25 as part of the agitation to press for the bill, Rai told media persons.
Officials have admitted that the problem of frothing will continue until sewage treatment plants in Delhi are upgraded to meet the new standards.
Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain, Gopal Rai, Kailash Gehlot, Imran Hussain, and Rajendra Gautamas took oath as the ministers in Delhi.
The neighbouring cities of Faridabad (469), Greater Noida (464), Ghaziabad (470), Gurgaon (472) also recorded 'severe' air pollution levels.
Stating that 'we cannot...infuse creativity in your bureaucracy', the apex court warned it will have to do something extraordinary if the authorities failed to control pollution.
Arvind Kejriwal took oath as Delhi chief minister on Saturday along with a team of six ministers with an average age of 37 years.
The search operation was on to recover more missing persons by the army, the NDRF, the Sashastra Seema Bal and other rescue teams.
Big banners bearing messages like 'Dhanyawad Dilli' along with the image of the Aam Aadmi Party supremo were put up on Saturday in and around the venue ahead of the mega function which is 'open to public'.
According to the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), the air quality is considered to be in the emergency category if the PM2.5 and PM10 levels continue to be above 300 micrograms per cubic metre and 500 micrograms per cubic metre respectively for 48 hours or more.
AAP volunteers and its frontal organisations protested near BJP headquarters on the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, demanding the party to clear its stand on full statehood to Delhi.
The central government's Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi said a significant increase in the number of "fire points" was observed over Punjab (around 3,000), Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, which is likely to impact the air quality of Delhi-NCR and other parts of northwest India.
Delhi's air quality was again in the severe category with the 24-hour average AQI recorded at 403 after remaining in the 'very poor' category till Tuesday morning, when the AQI was recorded at 396.
The sources said Hussain has been suspended from the primary membership of the AAP till police probe is completed.
Central government ministers will remain exempt from odd-even scheme while CM Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues will come under the ambit of the second phase.
An advisory issued by the Delhi development commissioner said that residents can distract the locusts by making high-decibel sound through beating of drums, utensils; playing high-volume music, bursting crackers, and burning neem leaves.
Rai said Salem's lawyers were making efforts to get his name registered in the voter list in Mubarakpur assembly segment.
The smog reduced the visibility to merely 300 meters in the morning affecting traffic, an official of the India Meteorological Department said.
In line with exit poll predictions, the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken an early lead in Uttar Pradesh, after one hour of counting.
More people are expected to hit the roads after celebrating the New Year and an extended weekend.
After following Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the party's official Twitter handle, he began following senior leaders P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Ahmed Patel, Ashok Gehlot, Ajay Maken, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot and CP Joshi from this month.
Similar traffic restrictions in other cities did not see a significant improvement in air quality only because car owners begin making more trips during their unrestricted periods. The other apprehension, as seen in other cities, is that residents have bought secondhand cars, using the other number plate so that they can continue to drive to their work place, thereby defeating the very purpose of this scheme.
Kejriwal asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to work with his officers not attending his meetings.
Atishi will contest from East Delhi, Guggan Singh from North-West Delhi, Raghav Chadha from South, Dilip Pandey from North-East, Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk and Brijesh Goyal will contest from New Delhi seats.
The protesters, including AAP MLAs and newly appointed Delhi convener Gopal Rai, alleged that the manipulation of electronic voting machines was killing democracy.
The AAP won in 62 with a total vote share of 53.58 per cent. The BJP recorded victory in eight seats, receiving 38.49 per cent of the total votes. The Congress could not even manage a single seat and ended with 4.27 per cent vote share.
The dip in the air quality can be attributed to low wind speed and temperatures which allowed accumulation of pollutants.
Transport Minister Gopal Rai said that the government will make the announcement on Thursday after reviewing over 11 lakh responses received from the public through multiple channels.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has gone into self-quarantine after developing sore throat and fever, and will get himself tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, officials said on Monday.
'We were ready to drink the poison of the Congress, but the statements show that the Congress is still seeped in its arrogance'
The ground, which served as the battleground for the 51-year-old bureaucrat-turned-politician during the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption movement, is getting decked up and workers are busy making arrangements.
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