But the numbers have continued to rise in 23 states including Bihar, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Asharam Choudhary, son of a ragpicker battled the odds to study at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of the party's strategy group on September 8, the sources said. Opposition leaders are keen that various like-minded parties should work closely with each other to take on the government in Parliament.
The CBSE had announced that it had rationalised the syllabus for Classes 9 to 12 for the 2020-21 session by up to 30 per cent to make up for the academic loss caused due to COVID-19. However, it was the decision to drop topics related to Social Sciences which drew sharp reaction from opposition parties like the Congress, Left, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena.
"The provisions of the said bill are nothing short of draconian and promote gross incompetence and mockery of professionals currently working day and night and sacrificing their youth for this broken system," said the protesting doctors.
'In a fraction of a second everything started...'
Post-Jayalalithaa AIADMK cannot take on the Narendra Modi dispensation like their late charismatic leader did it on several occasions in the past, says R Ramasubramanian.
'The feeling is that Rajinikanth is pro-Modi than anti-Modi.'
'The Ayush minister (Shripad Yesso Naik) himself was suffering from COVID-19 and got treated in a modern hospital.'
Indications are that Modi will have words of encouragement for Stalin, and the meeting is likely to be much less acrimonious than critics of either would want it to be. notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
It does not stop here, though. According to field information, state ministers, AIADMK candidates and campaigners are asking BJP cadres accompanying them not to carry party flags at common rallies and also avoid their saffron shawl on those occasions. BJP cadres are also asked to stay out of the common campaign when it enters a minority-dominated areas, especially of Muslims, and re-join later, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
His comments come a day after state Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar claimed that 111 MLAs had attended the meet convened by the chief minister.
Former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir says he's being wrongly indicted by his successor CJI P Sathasivam and demands an apology. In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN, the former CJI also denies any leak of the National Eligibilty cum Entrance Test judgment.
Neither emotions nor a structured approach to addressing critical issues came out in Kamal Hassan's inaugural speech on Wednesday, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Stalin, whose party has a strength of 89 members in the 234-member house, claimed his efforts were not aimed at taking DMK to power nor was there any intention of enjoying posts.
'I always say I am a teacher by choice and an entrepreneur by chance.'
Rediff.com does a quick checklist on what the two manifestos have to say on hot-button issues of the day.
'This government wants to keep control of everything in its hands.' 'If they have their stooges sitting on the National Medical Commission, they will do only the government's bidding.' 'Imagine a scary situation where people who have no knowledge about medicine sit on a commission that will take decisions on matters related to medical education, doctors and medical ethics.'
