Evening briefing: Hemant Soren to take part in Jharkhand floor test, Cong attacks Mamata on ‘40 seats’ jibe; and more

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As a special court in Ranchi on Saturday allowed former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren to take part in the floor test on February 5, advocate general Rajiv Ranjan said the ED vehemently objected to the petition as the actual intention was to bring down the government. "Now the cat is out of the bag. The purpose of arresting Hemant Soren was to bring down the government by not allowing one MLA to participate in the floor test voting. The entire exercise is malafide which has been our stand from the very beginning," the advocate general said. The floor test will begin at 11am on February 5 and Hemant Soren will participate in the process as long as the voting continues. Dig Deeper

Former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday lashed out at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee over her remark doubting that the grand old party will win 40 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. "Neither BJP nor Mamata Banerjee wants good results for Congress. It is unfortunate if a leader of the INDIA bloc says this. She (Mamata Banerjee) herself joined the INDIA alliance. She is afraid of BJP and that's why she is changing her stance," Chowdhury, who is also the Bengal Congress unit chief, was quoted by PTI as saying at a briefing in Murshidabad. “BJP says that Congress is over, Congress has nothing. Echoing BJP, Mamata Banerjee says that even if Congress gets 40 seats, it is enough. BJP and PM Modi say that Congress does appeasement politics, Mamata Banerjee also says the same thing”, he was quoted by ANI as saying. Dig Deeper

The Latest News

Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit resigns over personal reasons. Dig Deeper

65000 ‘ghost patients’ underwent tests at Delhi mohalla clinics last year, says ACB. Dig Deeper

India News

PM Modi in Assam to launch projects worth ₹11,600 cr during two-day visit. Dig Deeper

Navy adding capability to reinforce India as superpower in Indo-Pacific: Rajnath. Dig Deeper

After 4 over years, Odisha police inspector booked for sexual assault of woman SI. Dig Deeper

Global Matters

Who is Justin McCauley? Tesla employee arrested for threatening to kill Joe Biden and Elon Musk. Dig Deeper

US vows to continue action against Iran-backed militia groups. Dig Deeper

Pakistan's ex-PM Imran Khan, wife get 7 years in prison for unlawful marriage. Dig Deeper

Entertainment Focus

Pooja Bhatt has reacted to the fake news of Poonam Pandey's death by deleting her earlier tweet about the model-actor, who is under fire for faking her own death to allegedly raise awareness about cervical cancer. Pooja had previously extended her condolences in a now-deleted tweet. In a new tweet, the Bigg Boss OTT 2 contestant called the entire stint ‘disgrace.’ Pooja explained why she chose to delete her tweet about Poonam Pandey and wrote, “I never delete tweets but did so in the case where I expressed my shock at news of Poonam Pandey’s demise due to cervical cancer. Why? Turns out the news was engineered by a digital/PR team. Absolute disgrace & disservice to those battling the same-her included.” Dig Deeper

Sports Goings

He will leave you both powerless, defenceless and, at the same time utterly bewildered at what and how it actually happened. And that precisely summed up Ben Stokes' dismissal by Jasprit Bumrah in the final session on Day 2 of the second Test between India and England in Visakhapatnam. It was another ripper that Bumrah dished out to get rid of the England captain, who was on the verge of a half-century, which made him the fastest Indian bowler to amass 150 Test wickets. With Bumrah out of the attack for a while, England looked to counterattack against the spinners, as Stokes led the charge, scoring 47 runs off 52 before India captain Rohit Sharma brought back the fast bowlers. After an over from Mukesh Kumar, Bumrah returned and dismissed Stokes in the second delivery of the 50th over of England's first innings. Dig Deeper

Lifestyle and Health

A warm bowl of soup is enough to comfort and cheer one up on a gloomy day. An array of ingredients be it herbs and spices, finely chopped vegetables, chicken, onion, garlic, chilli, tomatoes, sauces come together to make a flavoursome one-pot treat. Soups can be made fancy or simple depending on the mood and the occasion. Whether you are recovering from an illness and sipping a few-ingredient soup or starting your meal with a rich soup, the versatile dish has endless scope for experimentation. Lemon-coriander, sweet and sour, chicken noodle soup, lentil soup, tomato soup are some of the common variations that appeal to soup lovers from across the globe. No wonder, a day has been dedicated to celebrate this amazing dish. National Homemade Soup Day is observed every year on February 4 to pay an ode to this simple and wonderful meal. Dig Deeper