Rahul Gandhi today said he "hoped" that he would be allowed to speak in parliament over BJP's allegation that he insulted the country abroad by questioning the state of democracy. "I don't think they will let me speak," the Congress leader told reporters, hours after his brief appearance in parliament. The Centre has written to six states over rising COVID-19 cases, asking them to focus on controlling the sudden increase in infections. The Union Health Secretary on Wednesday wrote to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka asking them to stress on testing, treating, tracking, and vaccination.