Periscope: Drive against red beacons on cars begins today

In other news, BJP's Amit Shah will visit Shimla on Wednesday and Thursday

The government’s decision to ban red beacons on all vehicles except cars carrying the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and Lok Sabha Speaker, will come into force from Monday. Although the PM has been exempted, he has announced he will not use the beacon. Roads and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari was the first to remove the beacon from his car, well before the deadline. New Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has also abolished the use of red beacons in the state, as part of a campaign promise. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced, a day after being sworn in, that no minister in the state will be allowed to use red beacons atop vehicles. 

Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi will address a rally in Dediapada town of the tribal-dominated Narmada district in Gujarat on Monday. The rally is part of the party's ongoing ‘Adivasi Adhikar Abhiyan’. May 1 is the foundation day of Gujarat. State Congress leaders have been holding meetings to formulate a strategy to strengthen the party at the booth level, ahead of the Assembly polls due later this year. At a recent meeting, it was decided the party would raise issues concerning fishermen through a campaign called ‘Kinara Bachao (Save the Coastline)’. This campaign, to be led by Arjun Modhwadia, would begin from the coastal town of Mandvi in Kutch district on Wednesday.

Shimla: Shah’s next stop

Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah will visit Shimla on Wednesday and Thursday, to take stock of the political situation in Himachal Pradesh, where Assembly elections are scheduled later this year.

Shah will interact with members of Parliament (MPs), the legislative Assembly and party office-bearers, and give suggestions for strengthening the party ahead of Assembly polls in November, and also the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) elections in May, sources said. Shah will hold meetings with workers to draw a broad strategy, state chief Satpal Singh Satti said. The BJP is making all-out efforts to wrest the civic body, ahead of the Assembly polls.