Guwahati Mar 23 PTI Elections to the 60 wards of Guwahati Municipal Corporation GMC will be held on April 19 Assam State Election Commissioner Alok Kumar said here on Wednesday The last date for filing of nominations is March 30 while scrutiny of the documents will be conducted on April 1 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 4 The counting of votes will take place on April 21 he told reporters A total of 796829 people including 396891 men 399911 women and 27 of the third gender are eligible to exercise their franchise in 789 polling stations spread across the 60 wards Electronic Voting Machines EVMs will be used in all the polling stations All steps will be taken to ensure smooth conduct of the polls he said Two wards each are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Castes Women one ward for Scheduled Tribes and two for Scheduled Tribes Women while 26 wards are reserved for general women and the remaining are open for all A candidate can spend a maximum of Rs 25 lakh on campaigning he said The number of star campaigners has been fixed at 30 for recognised national parties 25 for recognised state political parties and 15 for registered unrecognised parties Contesting candidates and their political parties must publish the details of criminal cases against the nominees in one vernacular newspaper once by the candidate and again by the party between the last date of withdrawal of nominations and up to two days before the poll the commissioner said COVID appropriate behaviour must be followed during the conduct of poll including wearing of masks using sanitiser and maintaining social distancing The Model Code of Conduct comes into force with immediate effect in the areas under the GMC and there shall be no campaigning between 9 PM and 6 AM Kumar added PTI DG ACD ACD

New Delhi Mar 23 PTI Elections every month are the best way to check rising prices of petrol diesel and cooking gas NCP member Supriya Sule said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday in a swipe at the Centre over the hike in fuel cost after the recent assembly polls Raising the issue of hardships being faced by women due to the increase in the price of cooking gas she said during the Zero Hour that the BJP won the assembly polls in four out of five states where people stood in queues to vote for it But soon after the polls concluded the prices went up she said Only elections can keep prices of fuel under control Sule said and sarcastically requested the central government to hold polls every month While polls will keep the ruling party busy it will ensure prices of fuel items remain under control she said Hitting out at the government she said it patted its own back when Ujjwala Yojna was launched to provide free gas cylinders to women But now the same women are facing problems due to sky-rocketing prices of cooking gas the NCP leader said Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also demanded that the government roll back prices of petrol diesel and LPG He claimed that in the name of the rise in international crude prices the government has hiked excise duty to earn revenue Raising the issue during Zero Hour he also claimed that the UPA government had ensured that the common man is not hurt due to rise in prices of crude Earlier in the day Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for around 20 minutes as opposition members protested in the House against the rise in fuel prices Petrol and diesel prices on Wednesday were hiked by 80 paise a litre each for the second day in a row LPG price on Tuesday was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder PTI NAB NAB RT RT

New Delhi Jan 31 PTI Elections keep happening but Parliaments Budget session is very important as it draws a blueprint for the entire year Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday and urged all MPs to make it fruitful by holding discussions with an open mindAddressing the media ahead of the start of the session Modi said it is true that because of frequent elections sessions and discussions get affected but elections have their own place and will keep happening and hoped that there are discussions that are free thoughtful full of human sensitivities and with good intentThere are many opportunities for India in todays global situation and asserted that the countrys economic progress vaccination program against COVID-19 and India-made vaccines have built trust for it across the globe he saidIn this budget session also the open-minded discussions of parliamentarians can become an important opportunity for making a global impact the Prime Minister saidI hope that all MPs and all political parties will definitely help in taking the country on the path of progress and in accelerating it by having quality discussions with an open mind he saidModi further saidI urge all members of Parliament that elections have their own place and will keep happening this budget session in a way draws a blueprint for an entire year and therefore it is very important The more fruitful we make this session with full commitment there will be a big opportunity in the coming year to take the country to new economic heights he saidThe session comes ahead of assembly polls from February 10 to March 7 in five states -- Uttar Pradesh Punjab Manipur Uttarakhand and Goa The counting of votes would take place on March 10 PTI JTRASK PYK PYK