Security tightened in central Delhi ahead of AAP protest against Sisodia's arrest
New Delhi (PTI): Security on Monday morning was beefed up at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg here as the Aam Aadmi Party has called for a protest against the arrest of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia by the CBI in the excise policy case.
A senior police officer said heavy security arrangements have been made on the stretch -- DDU Marg -- in central Delhi where both the BJP and the AAP headquarters are located.
Traffic in the central part of the city is also likely to be affected during the day.
Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said the party will mark the day as a "black day" and will hold protests across the country against the arrest of Sisodia.
"In Delhi, we will stage a protest at BJP's national office at 12 noon," he said.
The CBI on Sunday arrested Sisodia in connection with alleged corruption in the now-scrapped excise policy relating to the sale of alcohol.
Sisodia's arrest, one of the highest-profile actions against an opposition leader, comes after that of Satyendar Jain, Delhi's then health minister, in June last year. Both ministers have led what the Aam Aadmi Party describes as the successful transformation of Delhi's education and health services, contributing to the party's popularity and continued electoral success.
Police on Sunday had detained 50 people, including AAP MP Sanjay Singh and minister Gopal Rai, who were protesting near the CBI office.
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Kumaraswamy to visit Andrew Yule's tea gardens in Assam soon
Guwahati(PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said he would soon visit tea gardens, owned by public sector enterprise Andrew Yule, to revive its estates as workers are facing immense hardship.
Kumaraswamy, the minister of steel and heavy industries, thanked Assam Industries Minister Bimal Borah for apprising him of various challenges being faced by the tea gardens and the need to support the management to alleviate suffering of workers.
"We are concerned about the economic challenges and hardship of the tea gardens owned by Andrew Yule Group in Assam and its impact on the wage earners," Kumaraswamy said at a press conference here.
The tea garden wage earners will also get a 20 per cent Durga Puja bonus, like workers of other gardens, he said.
Referring to his recent visit to the Cement Corporation of India Ltd factory at Bokajan in Karbi Anglong district, Kumaraswamy said there was a plan for the revival of the cement industry in the state by investing Rs 700 crore.
He also emphasised on the need for a cement manufacturing unit in the northeastern states.
On the current development of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) policy utilisation in Assam, the union minister said more than Rs 2,000 crore would be invested for battery charging stations and nearly 70,000 such facilities will be set up across the country.
More than 18,000 e-buses will also be purchased to fulfil the goal of carbon emission reduction, Kumaraswamy added.
