Morning Digest | Mock drills across States check COVID-readiness; 18 States yet to receive ₹4,700 crore in MGNREGS wages from Centre, and more

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Mock drills across States check COVID-readiness

Following a directive from the Union Health Ministry to ascertain preparedness in case of a resurgence in coronavirus cases, several States reported success with their mock drills on Tuesday. India, in keeping with trends from last two weeks, reported less than 200 coronavirus positive cases on Tuesday, with no confirmed reports of novel infectious variants.

18 States yet to receive ₹4,700 crore in MGNREGS wages from Union government

It has been a year since funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) were withheld for West Bengal, owing to the alleged widespread violations by the State government in the implementation of the scheme. The latest figures however, show that the Centre’s dues to many other States are also significantly high, with just three months to go for the financial year to end. The Centre, as on December 14 owes ₹4,700 crore of wages to 18 states and ₹5,450 crore worth material costs to 19 States.

BJP and Congress trade barbs over the Rajasthan High Court’s rejection of Robert Vadra’s plea to quash a money-laundering probe against him

The BJP and the Congress party on Tuesday engaged in a sharp exchange of words over the Rajasthan High Court’s rejection of Robert Vadra’s plea to quash a money laundering probe against him. Citing the court order, the BJP called the Gandhi family a “  kattar paapi parivaar (extremely immoral family)“ and the “most corrupt family” in Indian politics. The Congress hit back saying that the BJP was rattled by the popularity of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and that’s why it was peddling “lies” to victimise Mr. Vadra. The Congress accused the BJP of “losing its balance”.

J&K regional leaders laud Bharat Jodo Yatra in unison, express wish to join