India's COVID-19 tally crosses 12-lakh mark, 63.18 per cent people have recovered so far
New Delhi, July 23 (PTI) With the highest-ever single-day spike of 45,720 cases, India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 12-lakh mark on Thursday, while the death-toll mounted to 29,861 with a record 1,129 fatalities in a day, according to the Union Health Ministry data.
The country crossed the 12-lakh mark just three days after it crossed the 11-lakh milestone. The coronavirus caseload in the country surged to 12,38,635, while 7,82,606 people have recovered so far in the country, the data updated at 8 am showed.
There are 4,26,167 active cases of coronavirus infection presently in the country. Thus 63.18 per cent people have recovered so far.
The total number of confirmed cases includes foreigners.
Of the 1,129 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, 518 are from Tamil Nadu, 280 from Maharashtra, 65 from Andhra Pradesh, 55 from Karnataka, 39 from West Bengal, 34 from Uttar Pradesh, 29 from Delhi, 28 from Gujarat, 14 from Madhya Pradesh and 10 from Jammu and Kashmir.
Telangana and Jharkhand have reported nine fatalities each followed by Haryana with eight deaths, Assam, Punjab and Rajasthan six each, Odisha five, Goa and Uttarakhand two each while Kerala, Puducherry, Tripura and Chandigarh have registered a fatality each.
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Karnataka power tussle: BJP leader calls Siddaramaiah 'Sultan for 15 days'
Bengaluru/Bagalkot (PTI): In the midst of the ongoing power tussle within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, senior BJP leader and MP Govind Karjol called CM Siddaramaiah "Pandrah din-ka-Sultan" (Sultan for 15 days), and said after that, he will not be the chief minister of the state.
Speculation has once again surfaced within the Congress party and political circles about a possible decision on leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after May 4, once the results for Assembly elections in four states and one union territory, along with bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, are announced.
"With the fight for the CM chair in the Congress, there seems to be no administration at Vidhana Soudha. The result for Siddaramaiah's CM chair fight will also be declared, along with election results for five states (four states and one union territory) and bypoll results for Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly seats in Karnataka," Karjol, a former Deputy CM, said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "As per today's information, Siddaramaiah is a Sardar for fifteen days, he is Pandrah din-ka-Sultan, after that Siddaramaiah will not be the chief minister of the state."
Stating that Shivakumar is ready to take up the top job, the MP said that this is the reason Siddaramaiah's supporters have gone to New Delhi to meet the Congress President.
"Already 40-odd legislators have lobbied in support of Siddaramaiah; about 50 are lobbying in support of Shivakumar. Amid this fight for the CM chair, the administration has completely collapsed," he said, urging the government to focus on addressing drinking water issues in various parts of the state amid summer by releasing at least Rs 50 crore per district.
PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Monday met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary (in charge of Karnataka) Randeep Surjewala in New Delhi and requested them to address the speculation regarding the change of leadership in Karnataka.
Subsequently, Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa too met the party leadership in Delhi.
Both Jarkiholi and Mahadevappa are considered close to Siddaramaiah.
While MLAs and leaders who want Shivakumar to be elevated as CM have recently claimed they expect some "sweet news" by May 15, which is their leader's birthday.
Meanwhile, a team of 40 MLAs is preparing to visit New Delhi to press the Congress high command for a Cabinet reshuffle.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka hit out at the Congress leadership for indulging in "power tussle" instead of addressing the people's concerns. He called the government "anti-people" and "dead" to the people of the state.
With the fight for the CM chair, the ruling Congress in Karnataka seems to be shifting to Delhi. Congress MLAs are repeatedly touring Delhi, upset over the state leadership amid a power struggle between the CM and Deputy CM. This proves that there is no value for the state leadership," he said.
Pointing out that the Deputy CM Shivakumar was not present at the recent special cabinet meeting, which decided on internal reservation among SCs, the opposition leader said, "If the cabinet meeting was held purposely, despite knowing that Shivakumar was in Delhi, it proves that there are factions within the party"
"This government is dead in a way," he said, as he hit out at the Congress MLAs and Ministers, including Shivakumar, for doing "Delhi Yatras" instead of addressing drinking water issues in various parts of the state amid summer, picking up in the state.
