From The Newsroom: Sonia Gandhi meets 7 Oppn-ruled states' CMs on NEET/JEE; SC asks Modi govt to clarify stand on interest waiver

In your evening news brief, From The Newsroom, Supreme Court tells Modi government to clarify stand on interest waiver; Congress president Sonia Gandhi meets seven opposition chief ministers to discuss issues relating to NEET/JEE examinations and GST and Covid-19 tests to be doubled in Delhi.

Here are the top news of today, Wednesday: August 26, 2020:

Congress President Sonia Gandhi met seven opposition chief ministers on Wednesday afternoon to discuss issues relating to NEET/JEE examinations and GST, signalling the first outreach for a joint strategy after a stormy meeting of the Congress Working Committee.

The Congress chief said that all the opposition parties should jointly fight against the central government's decision of allowing exams to be held amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have to work and fight together against Central government. Students' problems and exams issue dealt with uncaringly by the Centre. National Education Policy, a setback to secular and scientific values, reveals insensitivity of the government," Gandhi said according to PTI.

Also, West Bengal CM, Mamata Banerjee said, "The exams are in September. Why should the lives of students be put at risk? We have written to the PM, but there has been no response," reports ANI.

Mamata also urged all CMs should together move Supreme Court for postponing NEET, JEE exams as students "are not prepared".

The Supreme Court on Wednesday took note of the Centre's alleged inaction and asked it to clarify its stand within a week on the waiver of interest on interest for deferred payments of instalments for loans during the moratorium period announced due to the coronavirus lockdown.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said the Centre had not made its stand clear on the issue despite the fact that ample powers were available with it under the Disaster Management Act and was "hiding behind the RBI".

The apex court granted time to the government after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought a week's time to file a response.

"My Lordships may not say that. We are working in coordination with RBI," Mehta said.

The bench, also comprising Justices R Subhash Reddy and Justice M R Shah, asked the solicitor general to clarify stand on the Disaster Management Act and whether additional interest on existing interest could be accrued.

Mehta argued that there cannot be a common solution for all the problems.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, informed the bench that the loan moratorium's deadline would end on August 31 and sought its extension.

"I am only saying that till these pleas are decided, the extension should not end," Sibal said.

The apex court has now posted the matter for hearing on September 1.

The top court had earlier said there was "no merit in charging interest on interest" for deferred loan payment installments during the moratorium period announced in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 tests in Delhi will be doubled to 40,000 per day within a week as there has been a marginal increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the city, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday.

Addressing an online media briefing, Kejriwal said that at present, 20,000 tests are being conducted per day in the city. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal had called a high-level meeting to discuss the rising number of coronavirus cases in Delhi.

The chief minister said that the government has issued directions for stringent enforcement of COVID-19 guidelines, adding that everyone should wear face mask and maintain social distancing at public places.

He said that after August 17, there has been a marginal increase in COVID-19 cases in the national capital.

In the last 24 hours, 1,693 new COVD-19 cases have been reported in Delhi, he said, adding that the government has a total of 14,130 COVID beds and of those, 10,448 are vacant.

Taking suo motu cognizance of actress Rhea Chakraborty’s entry to the morgue of Cooper Hospital where the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s body was kept, the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has slapped a notice to the Mumbai Police and BrihanMumbai Police demanding an explanation.

Treating the matter as a priority, the SHRC has ordered the police and civic authorities to submit their detailed explanation in the matter by Monday.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing a money-laundering angle into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and has questioned his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, has referred some evidence to the CBI and the Narcotics Control Bureau about her alleged links to banned drugs, a charge vehemently denied by her lawyer.

The officials said the central probe agency stumbled upon certain data and these "prima facie" inputs have been shared with the two federal agencies but did not give any details of the nature of evidence referred to the agencies.

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