Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign to commemorate the World Environment Day.

PM Modi planted a peepal tree sapling at Buddha Jayanti Park in Delhi. He was accompanied by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.

World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5, commemorates the inaugural day of the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience,” focusing on the urgent need to restore and conserve our land resources.

Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet has recommended the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha, a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA alliance won a rare third term in general elections. The NDA leaders will meet at Prime Minister Modi’s residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg. The meeting is scheduled to take place at around 3:30 pm. 

Key leaders like Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and former Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu are expected to attend the NDA meeting.

The Opposition INDIA bloc is also set to meet on Wednesday to chalk out strategies for future course of political action. 

The counting of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was held on Tuesday. According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats. The INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term, but the BJP will need to rely on the support of other parties in his coalition – JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar and TDP’s chief Chandrababu Naidu.

BJP fell 32 seats short of the 272 majority mark after votes polled in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were counted. For the first time, since the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own.

(ANI)