New Delhi: AAP leader Atishi has sought a meeting of AAP MLAs with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to discuss the Rs 2,500 monthly aid to women promised by the ruling BJP earlier during the assembly poll campaign.

In a letter to Gupta on Saturday, Atishi questioned why a scheme on the financial aid to women was not approved in the new government’s first cabinet meeting when the prime minister had promised it in an election rally.

Gupta and her council of ministers were took oath of office on Thursday, following a victory over the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the assembly polls held earlier in the month.

AAP won 22 seats in the polls, Atishi’s Kalkaji constituency being one of them. The BJP was well clear of the majority mark in the 70-seat assembly with 48 seats.

Atishi, the chief minister in the previous AAP government, sought an appointment to meet the CM on February 23, along with her party MLAs.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an election rally in Dwarka on January 31 promised Delhi’s mothers and sisters that the scheme for Rs 2,500 monthly payment would be passed in the first cabinet meeting after the BJP formed the government.”

The first cabinet meeting of the BJP government was held on February 20 but the scheme was not passed, she said, adding that the women of Delhi who believed “Modi’s guarantee” are feeling “betrayed”.

BJP leaders, including the CM Gupta, have asserted that the scheme will be implemented from March as was promised by the party.

Jaipur, Feb 21: The political deadlock in Rajasthan has intensified following the suspension of six Congress MLAs, who in protest, spent the night inside the Assembly, continuing their demonstration. Now, the Rajasthan Congress has announced statewide protests on Saturday over the MLAs’ suspension and over the snide remark on late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the House.

During the agitation, they recited Ramdhuni in the House.

The suspension was imposed on Friday after the MLAs moved toward the Speaker’s dais in protest against Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Avinash Gehlot’s remarks about late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Despite late-night discussions between government representatives and senior Congress leaders, no resolution was reached.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel, Food Minister Sumit Godara, and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham met with senior Congress MLAs in the Leader of Opposition’s chamber, but negotiations ended in a stalemate.

In view of the deadlock, the Rajasthan Congress has announced statewide protests on Saturday.

As part of the agitation, party workers will burn effigies of the minister in all districts to express their opposition to his remarks and the suspension of their legislators.

Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully, after the failed discussions, reiterated the Congress’ stance, saying, “Our position is clear. The talks were conducted in a positive atmosphere, but the government remains stubborn. This is like a thief scolding a police officer. We stand firm on our demand.”

With no resolution in sight, Congress MLAs have set up sleeping arrangements inside the Assembly. Since the House is in recess over the weekend, the protest is expected to continue until Monday when proceedings resume.

The controversy erupted on Friday during the Question Hour when Minister Avinash Gehlot referred to Indira Gandhi as “your grandmother” while discussing a government scheme.

Congress MLAs stormed the Well of the House in protest, leading to a heated exchange. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel defended the term, stating that “grandmother is a word of respect.” However, tensions escalated, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the session multiple times.

Speaking outside the Assembly, Minister Patel remarked, “Our ministers were answering effectively with factual responses. But MLA Rafiq Khan dismissed them as baseless, which led to objections from our side.”

With no compromise in sight, the political standoff is expected to continue, keeping the Assembly in turmoil in the days ahead.

New York: Vishvaa Rajakumar, a 20-year-old Indian student, has won the Memory League World Championship 2025 by memorising the order of 80 random numbers in 13.50 seconds and 30 images in 8.40 seconds.

Memory League World Championship is an intense online competition.

According to the Memory League website, Rajakumar is ranked No 1 with a score of 5,000.

Rajakumar memorised 80 numbers in 13.50 seconds and 30 images in 8.40 seconds during the championship held recently.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Rajakumar is a student of Puducherry-based ManakulaVinayagar Institute of Technology.

Speaking to The New York Times on his technique and strategies of memorisation, Rajakumar said,”Hydration is very important because it helps your brain. When you memorise things, you usually subvocalise, and it helps to have a clear throat.”

“Let’s say you’re reading a book. You’re not reading it out loud, but you are vocalising within yourself. If you don’t drink a lot of water, your speed will be a bit low. If you drink a lot of water, it will be more and more clear and you can read it faster,” he said.

Rajakumar said he was crying when he achieved the feat.

“They give you 80 random numbers that they display on a screen. You have to memorize all of those numbers as fast as possible, then click a button and a recall sheet appears. I wrote down all of the 80 digits — and I got them all right. My fastest time to memorize 80 random digits in this World Championship was 13.5 seconds, so almost six digits per second,” he to the newspaper.

He said after the completion of college, he would try to be a memory trainer and create a memory institution in India to teach other people these techniques.

“My goal is to make it big,” he said.