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Radheshyam Khemka, former President of Gita Press Gorakhpur, has been posthumously honoured with the Padma Vibhushan award in the field of literature and education.He has died in Varanasi in April 2021. Khemka, during his 40 years of association with Gita Press, had edited several religious books. He also had edited many religious magazines, such as 'Kalyan Patrika'

West Bengal IPS officer Nagendra Tripathi, who told Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that he would "not let any black spot on his police uniform", along with two IAS officers and another IPS officer of the state, were on Tuesday conferred the National Awards for the Best Electoral Practices for 2021-22 for their efficiency in conducting the Assembly polls last year.

Former Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, on Tuesday refused to accept the Padma Bhushan award conferred upon him by the government of India on the eve of the country's 73rd Republic Day. Bhattacharya was given the award for his contribution in the field of Public Affairs. A statement issued by the veteran CPI-M leader read: "I don't know anything about the Padma Bhushan award, nobody told me about it. If I were awarded the Padma Bhushan, I would reject it."

After former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Tuesday refused to accept the Padma Bhushan bestowed upon him the government of India on the eve of Republic Day, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has taken a jibe at party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad, who has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan. Ramesh tweeted on Bhattacharya's refusal to accept the award, saying: "Right thing to do. He wants to be Azad not Ghulam."

Out of the 128 Padma awardees, 13 are posthumous, 34 are women, while 10 persons are from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and OCIs. The four Padma Vibhushan recipients are -- CDS General Bipin Rawat (Civil Service, Posthumous), Prabha Atre (Art), Kalyan Singh (Public Affairs, Posthumous) and Radhyashyam Khemka (Literature & Education, Posthumous).

In the first operation, the Special Cell on January 21 announced arrest of a wanted arms dealer who supplied weapons to conspirators, who plotted to kill a Delhi-based Kashmiri Pandit. The accused, identified as Haji Shamim alias Shamim Pistol, was a notorious illegal arms supplier and had been supplying illegal arms for more than 15 years. First arrested in an illegal arms case in 2007, he deals in sophisticated arms including foreign-made arms.

Welcoming Singh in party, Pradhan said, "Election process is on in Uttar Pradesh and BJP has been continuously winning the confidence of Uttar Pradesh for the last eight years. Once again we are goinig with the issues of development, better law and order, welfare schemes to seek people's support. Singh has joined to make Uttar Pradesh number one state. Many times I told Singh that he is the right man in the wrong party. Today, I welcome him in BJP."

The Delhi Police have also reportedly got a few calls in this connection and they are taking the input seriously. Recently a case of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was lodged by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Jaswinder Singh Multani, a German-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) member. Delhi Police have released posters of the Khalistani terrorists from different organisations, and have urged the people to inform them immediately if they come across anything suspicious.

Congratulating the people of India on National Voters' Day, Prime Minister Modi said, "Today is the National Voters' Day. I especially congratulate the millennials on this day. India's Election Commission is a benchmark for the entire world today. Our efforts must be to encourage people to vote."

The Congress, on the verge of Assembly elections in UP, is losing in a battle of perception and is slowly being relegated to a non-player in the state politics.