Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang  Punia on Wednesday met Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi amid speculation over entering election fray from Haryana on Congress tickets.

The 30-year-old Phogat is expected to contest the Julana seat currently held by the Jannayak Janta Party’s Amarjeet Dhanda. Punia, who is also 30, will defend the Congress’ Badli seat.

The two wrestlers also met Congress general secretary in charge of organisation KC Venugopal today. However, after meeting the wrestlers, Congress leader Venugopal refused to speak on speculation of the two joining Congress and contesting the upcoming Haryana Assembly election on Congress tickets scheduled for October 5 this year.

Senior Congress leader Venugopal told reporters, “This meeting was not regarding contesting any election.”

Phogat and Punia made headlines last year after leading protests against former wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Singh, who faces charges of sexual assault and intimidation.

AICC in-charge for Haryana Deepak Babaria, after the Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting on Monday in Delhi, said that it would soon become clear whether Phogat is contesting the Haryana Assembly elections.

According to Congress, the party has engaged in discussions regarding the potential of the two individuals contesting in the upcoming elections, and these deliberations are ongoing.

A Congress leader mentioned on Wednesday, “Certain aspects require clarification. Conversations are underway, and the public will soon be apprised of whether the two candidates will indeed participate in the elections.”

On August 31, the Election Commission of India postponed the polling day for Haryana from October 1 to October 5, 2024, and accordingly counting day for Jammu and Kashmir, and Haryana Assembly elections from October 4 to October 8, 2024.

The ECI said that the decision was taken to honour both the voting rights and the traditions of the Bishnoi community, which has upheld a centuries-old practice of participating in the Asoj Amavasya festival celebration in remembrance of their Guru Jambheshwar.

In an unfortunate incident, two women pilgrims died while a girl sustained severe injuries in a landslide on Vaishno Devi yatra route in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district on Monday. 

Officials asserted that the landslide struck near Panchi, around 3km from Bhawan at around 2.35 pm, and a portion of an overhead iron structure was also damaged in the incident. The victims were en route to the shrine when they were trapped beneath the iron structure as a result of the landslide, the officials added.

Vishesh Paul Mahajan, Deputy commissioner cited preliminary reports, and confirmed that two women had died, and a girl was critically injured in the incident. He added that senior police and civil administration officers quickly rushed to the scene, and further details are awaited.

After the landslide, a rescue operation was launched immediately, and the movement of pilgrims on the track was suspended. This incident follows nearly a year after a tragic stampede at the shrine on New Year’s Day in 2022, which left 12 pilgrims dead and 16 others injured.

In view of the landslide, movement on the route has been temporarily suspended, and the concerned officials have been directed to clear the route. Furthermore, the administration has urged pilgrims to practice caution during the yatra and proceed while considering the condition of the route.

Every year, millions of devotees visit the Vaishno Devi Temple. Earlier in 2023, the temple witnessed a record number of visitors. Notably, 2023 saw the highest number of devotees, with 9.35 million visiting the temple.

As per official data, 9.35 million people visited the Vaishno Devi Temple located on the Trikuta Hills in the Reasi district of Jammu. The previous record was in 2013, with 9.324 million devotees. The Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Anshul Garg, mentioned that this was the highest number of pilgrims in the last ten years, with 9.35 million visiting the temple.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday announced that the Centre has approved the digital agriculture mission worth Rs 2,817 crore. The Union Minister further added that seven major decisions have been taken in the cabinet meeting for improving the lives of farmers and increasing their income. 

He mentioned that the Digital Agriculture Mission is being developed on the lines of the structure of Digital Public Infrastructure for agriculture. He further said that a few good pilot projects have been taken up and that they have achieved success. Considering this, with a total investment of Rs 2,817 Crores, Digital Agriculture Mission will be set up.

The Union Minister also made other crucial announcements after the briefing. He said that the second decision is related to food and nutritional security, in which scientific inputs were received on how to make farmers ready by 2047 considering climate resilient crop sciences, and food security and nutritional security. Six pillars have been kept in this programme worth Rs 3,979 crore, he added.

Additionally, a major scheme worth Rs 860 crore was cleared by the Cabinet for sustainable development for horticulture. Some other decisions taken by the Cabinet pertain to strengthening Krish Vigyan Kendra worth Rs 1,202 crore, and Natural Resource Management worth Rs 1,115 crore. Reportedly, the government also cleared a Rs 1,702-cr scheme for sustainable livestock health, and production.

Furthermore, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs also approved a new rail line project with a total cost of Rs 18,036 crore. Issuing a statement, the government said that the proposed new line between Indore and Manmad will provide direct connectivity and improve mobility, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways.

The aforesaid project covers six Districts in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 309 kilometres.