Rekha Gupta, a first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh, has been chosen to be Delhi’s next Chief Minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party announced her name after a meeting at its national headquarters on Wednesday evening. Ms. Gupta, 50, will be the fourth woman to head the government in the State.
A grassroots leader with an RSS-ABVP background, Ms. Gupta began her political journey while studying at Delhi University’s Daulat Ram College. She joined the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1992 and has a 30-year career in politics under her belt.
Meanwhile, other news includes:
* The National Green Tribunal pulled up the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board for not submitting adequate information on faecal coliform bacteria levels.
* At least four women Maoist operatives were gunned down by Madhya Pradesh Police during an encounter in Balaghat district.
* The US Securities and Exchange Commission asked India’s Law Ministry to serve a complaint against Gautam Adani, alleging securities fraud and a $265 million bribery scheme.
* Apple launched the new iPhone 16e with a 48MP camera and A18 processor.
In international news:
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised US President Donald Trump for saying that previous US support of Ukraine’s bid to join NATO was a major cause of the war in Ukraine.
* Relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump deteriorated rapidly, with Zelenskyy calling Trump “a dictator without elections”.
* Pakistan shot seven bus passengers dead after identifying them as being from another region.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/the-hindu-morning-digest-february-20-2025/article69240300.ece