A look at the biggest headlines right now:

  1. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee blocks Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Twitter: She said he treats her elected government like ‘bonded labour’.
  2. Economic Survey projects 8%-8.5% growth for Indian economy in fiscal year 2022-’23:The survey pegged GDP growth in 2021-’22 at 9.2%. This is in line with the first advanced estimate released by the government earlier this month.
  3. Election Commission extends ban on rallies till February 11: However, the panel has allowed physical rallies with up to 1,000 people, and indoor meetings with up to 500 people.
  4. Centre suspends telecast of Malayalam news channel MediaOne due to ‘security reasons’:In 2020, MediaOneTV along with another Malayalam channel Asianet News had been barred for 48 hours for their coverage of the communal riots in North East Delhi.
  5. CPI leader submits notice to move privilege motion against IT minister in Pegasus case:CPI leader and Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam said that the minister had told Parliament that illegal surveillance was impossible in India.
  6. SC agrees to urgently list plea by on contempt action against Haryana officials for allegedly not acting against blocking of namaz in Gurugram: The petition, filed by former Rajya Sabha MP Mohammad Adeeb, submitted that several complaints addressed to the police in the case have gone unanswered.
  7. About 70 families evicted in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, locals stage protest: The police used batons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, but said no civilian was injured.
  8. Number of prisoners on death row in India highest in 17 years, says report: As of December 31, 2020, a total of 404 prisoners were on death row, an increase of nearly 21% from 2020.
  9. Hindutva supremacists seek release of accused in Haridwar hate speech case: They made the demand at a ‘sant sammelan’ or a ‘saints’ conclave’ in Uttar Pradesh.
  10. ‘Criminal cases coming up before polls,’ says SC while protecting Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia from arrest: The leader was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. He has been asked to surrender on February 23.