Hazy, dusty conditions across Himachal
Shimla, June 15: Himachal Pradesh on Friday remained hazy and dusty with visibility reduced to less than 200 m in the state capital, the weather bureau said, adding the state may experience rain at many places in the next 24 hours which will increase the visibility.
"Dust and haze may prevail till the next 24 hours. The visibility is 100-200 m in Shimla and most parts of the state," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.
He said on Sunday, there is high possibility of rain or thunderstorms at many places in the state.
"Gusty wind is also expected. Therefore, this dust and haze very likely to disappear by Saturday," he added.
Lower areas of the state including Una, Bilapsur, Hamirpur Solan, Nahan and Mandi also experienced dusty conditions.
"There are chances of moderate to heavy rainfall in Kangra district by Friday night," the meteorological added.
The minimum temperature in Shimla was recorded at 15.2 degrees Celsius, while the maximum was 25.9 degrees, a fall by nearly two degree Celsius from Thursday.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
