bajti hai legal guarantee for the MSP · 2021. 1. 4. · bajti hai legal guarantee for the MSP The...

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T he seventh round of talks between protesting farmers’ unions and the Government failed to end the impasse on Monday as the Government ruled out rollback of the three agricultural laws and the farmer leaders refused to call off their agitation till that hap- pens. The next round of talks will be held on January 8. According to farmers’ leader Sarwan Singh Pandher of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, the Union Ministers have clearly said that the laws will not be repealed. “The Ministers even told us to approach the Supreme Court for repeal of the laws,” he said. The farmer lead- ers said they will continue with their agitation till the laws are repealed. The Government, repre- sented by Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal and Som Prakash, told the delegation of 41 partici- pating union leaders that it would review any clause the protesters have a problem with. The Ministers also asked the farmer leaders to point out what they considered objec- tionable in the legislations. The Government has main- tained that these apprehen- sions are misplaced and has ruled out repealing the laws. Sources said the Government has offered a joint committee on minimum sup- port price for crops to discuss the farmers’ demand for legal- ising it, but the union leaders remained adamant on dis- cussing the repeal of the farm laws. During the meeting, the Government listed various benefits from the three laws, enacted a few months ago, but farmers kept insisting that the legislation must be withdrawn to address their apprehensions that the new Acts would weak- en the MSP and mandi system and leave them at the mercy of big corporates. After the meeting, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the Government is sensitive about farmers’ issues and offered clause-wise discussion on the three Acts but they could not reach a conclusion. “We are hopeful that we can find a solution in the next meeting on January 8,” Tomar said but asserted that efforts need to be made from both sides for a solution to be reached (taali dono haathon se bajti hai). “The meeting was held in good atmosphere but farmers were adamant on their demands and we could not arrive at any conclusion. The Government wanted a clause- wise discussion on the legisla- tions to take forward the talks,” he said. “Several rounds of talks are held during such important issues. The Government has to decide keeping in mind farm- ers of the entire country. Both sides want to resolve the issue. The laws have been made keep- ing in mind the best interest of farmers,” Tomar added. The first two hours of talks focussed only on the three laws and the other key demand of farmers for a legal guaran- tee to the MSP procurement system did not come up for dis- cussions. Sources said before the meeting at Vigyan Bhavan began, both parties observed a two-minute silence as a mark of tribute to the 50 protesting farmers who died during the agitation. Farmer leaders, however, alleged that it was the Government’s “ego problem” that was coming in the way of resolving the issues and they insisted they would not relent on their key demands for the repeal of the three laws and a legal guarantee for the MSP (minimum support price) sys- tem for procurement of their crops. The Government is not interested in resolving the issue, claimed farmer leaders. From the very beginning of the meeting, union leaders kept on insisting on the repeal of the three contentious farm laws and the two sides took a long break after just about one hour of discussions. Farmer leaders said the Government informed them that it needs to consult internally and there- after it would come back to the unions. During the meeting, farm- ers categorically told the Ministers that they don’t want clause by clause discussions on three farm laws. “We have already rejected any alternative to repeal. We want quick withdrawal of these laws and it can be done through Ordinance when Parliament is not in session,” the union leaders said. Farmers’ leader of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Rakesh Tikait said that ‘Kanun wapsi nahi, to ghar wapsi nahi’ (We will not go home until the laws are withdrawn). The union leaders will also have their own meeting on Tuesday to decide their next course of action. A total of 38 people have test- ed positive for the new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in India so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. These include the 29 cases which were announced till Friday. All these people have been kept in single-room iso- lation in designated health- care facilities by respective State Governments and their close contacts have also been put under quarantine, the Ministry said. Of the 38, the mutated UK strain was detected in eight samples at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, 11 in the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi, one in the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani (near Kolkata). The other five samples were detected in the National Institute of Virology in Pune, three in Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad and 10 were sequenced at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences Hospital (NIMHANS), Bengaluru. The NCBS, InSTEM in Bengaluru, CDFD in Hyderabad, ILS in Bhubaneswar and NCCS in Pune have so far found no UK mutant virus, the Ministry said. “A total of 38 samples have been found to be positive with the new UK variant genome,” the Ministry said. It said comprehensive con- tact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family con- tacts and others. Genome sequencing on other speci- mens is going on, it added. “The situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the States for enhanced surveil- lance, containment, testing and dispatch of samples to INSACOG labs,” the Ministry stated. The presence of the new UK variant has already been reported by Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore. L auding scientists and techni- cians for coming out with India’ indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Modi on Monday said world’s biggest vaccination drive against coronavirus is set to begin in the country. “World’s biggest Covid-19 vaccination programme set to begin in India. For this, the coun- try is proud of the contributions of its scientists and technicians,” Modi said. He was addressing scientists at the National Metrology Conclave. Asserting that “Made in India” products should not only have a global demand but also global acceptance, the PM said, adding, “Quality is as much important as quantity, our standards should rise with our scale in our quest for Aatmanirbhar Bharat.” Modi said in any progressive society, research is key and effective and its effects are commercial and social. They also help widen approach and thinking. “We do not want to fill the world with Indian products, but we must win the hearts of every customer of Indian products in every corner of the world,” he said. Quality of services in our country and products, both pub- lic or private sector will deter- mine India’s strength in the world, he reiterated. The Prime Minister point- ed out that historically any coun- try has progressed in direct cor- relation to its effort to promote science. He termed this “value creation cycle” of science, tech- nology and industry. He said sci- entific invention creates tech- nology and this leads to indus- try development. Industry, in turn, invests further in science for new research. “This value creation cycle of science to mass creation has become all the more important in today’s world when the coun- try is moving forward with the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar’ India. CSIR will have to play its role in this,” he said. Modi also dedicated the National Atomic Timescale and Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravya Pranali to the nation and laid the foundation stone of the National Environmental Standards Laboratory through video con- ference. The conclave was organ- ised by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR- NPL), New Delhi, on its 75th year of inception. The NPL is one of the oldest laboratories in the country. Modi said metrology also sets the foundation for any sci- entific achievement and no research can proceed without measurements. “Even our achievement has to be measured on some scale. The credibility of the country in the world will be dependent on the reliability of its metrology. Metrology is like a mirror show- ing us our standing in the world, the scope for improvement,” said the PM. T he Government will have to shell out between 219 to 292 per shot of Covishield vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and sold and man- ufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) in the country. The SII has a licence to produce the shot and has already manufactured close to 50 million doses. The Government has plans to roll out the vaccination drive at the earliest with at least 3 crore health workers and corona warriors to be given the jab in the first phase. However, the Covishield vaccine is likely to cost 1,000 per dose when it is available in the open market and for private use. As of now, the SII cannot export or sell in the open mar- ket its Covid-19 vaccine. Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer of the SII, has said that the vaccine manufac- turer is likely to charge a spe- cial price of 200 per dose for the first 100 million jabs, which it will supply to the Government. Indian drug regulator on Sunday approved Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for restricted emergency use in the country. “We want the vac- cine to be affordable and acces- sible to all. The Government of India will receive it at a far more affordable price of $3-4, since they will be buying in a larger volume,” he said. Poonawalla, said the pri- ority supplies will go to India and the GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) nations. Only after meeting their requirements, “the private mar- ket will open up where the pric- ing would be $6-8 per dose,” he said. Serum will have 100 mil- lion doses in a month, and will possibly double it by April. The Government has indi- cated that it may need 300 million doses before July 2021, with frontline health workers and the elderly given priority. A day after the DCGI’s deci- sion to approve Covaxin kicked up a major row with a string of experts pointing to the lack of its efficacy data, its developer Bharat Biotech hit out on Monday at critics assert- ing that the company was in “no way” inferior to Pfizer, a US pharma MNC, in terms of coronavirus vaccine. Bharat Biotech managing director Dr Krishna Ella clar- ified the phase 3 trial in India will be over in the next two- three days and the data should be available by February or March. While claiming that Bharat Biotech is the only firm to have published five articles on the Covid-19 vaccine process, Dr Ella at a virtual Press confer- ence also questioned Serum Institute of India’s Covishield authorisation in the absence of phase 3 data from Indian trials. “They don’t have any immunogenicity data — why were they given the licence? They have been given licences based on the UK data. Where is their Indian data?” Dr Ella asked without naming SII. Dr Ella also took an oppor- tunity to slam AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria for his comment regarding the use of Covaxin as a “backup”. “I don’t understand what is ‘backup’. On TV, everyone can sling mud at each other. We are all now cleaning our coats. There is no backup for humans. No backup for virus,” Dr Ella said. “I have not got any Gates Foundation money. Still, we have taken the risk and man- ufactured 20 million doses. We are an Indian company struggling alone,” he said. On Sunday the DCGI granted “restricted use in an emergency situation in public interest” to Covaxin and AstraZeneca-Oxford University’s Covishield, which will be produced by Pune- based SII. A s many as 160 new Covid- 19 cases were reported in Jharkhand on Monday, figures compiled by the State health department revealed. The number of people declared recovered and discharged from health institutions stood at 232 on the day. Ranchi district reported at least 81 cases against 141 recov- eries, while Dhanbad district on Monday reported 16 cases against 12 recoveries. The num- ber of Covid-19 patients was 730 in Ranchi and 1528 in Jharkhand after Monday’s findings. However, only one death was reported due to Covid-19 on Monday in the State –the death was reported from State Capital Ranchi, taking the total death toll in the State to 1036. Apart from Ranchi (81) and East Singhbhum (14), 12 from Bokaro, 3 from Deoghar, 16 from Dhanbad, 1 from Dumka, 5 from Garhwa, 2 from Giridih, 1 from Gumla, 2 from Hazaribagh, 2 from Koderma, 3 from Latehar, 8 from Palamu, 3 from Ramgarh, 1 Sahebganj, 2 from Saraikela and 2 persons from Simdega were found positive on the day. The Government tested swab samples of 11,268 people on the day and more than one per cent of them were found infected. So far, the government has collected swab samples of 48.58 lakh people and tested 48.51 lakh of them. Health work- ers on Saturday collected swab samples of only 7,809 people. As per government data, the Covid recovery rate in the State was 97.78 per cent against the national average of 96.20 per cent. The growth rate of the virus in Jharkhand was 0.13 per cent against the national growth rate of 0.16 per cent. As per figures with the NHM, it would take 437.82 days for the cases to double in Jharkhand. The doubling rate in India was 428.28 days. A n angry mob protesting against the atrocities against women, especially the rising cases of rape and murder in the State, today blocked the Birsa Rajpath (Harmu Road) near Kishoreganj Chowk when Chief Minister Hemant Soren was coming back to his resi- dence from State Secretariat. The mob not only stopped the CM’s cavalcade, but also turned violent and started pelt- ing stones on the vehicles. Sensing the danger, policemen present at the site and those in the CM’s security immediate- ly changed the route of CM and took him out safely to his offi- cial residence. Additional police forces immediately rushed to the site and controlled the situation using mild force. The protesters, after wreaking havoc on the road, finally, dispersed towards Ranchi Lake and other areas of the city. However, some police- men including an inspector rank officer of Ranchi Traffic police got injured in the incident. The injured Traffic Inspector Naval Kishore Prasad was immediately shifted to Medica Superspecialty hospital for treatment. Senior police officers including Inspector General Akhilesh Jha, Senior SP, Ranchi Surendra Kumar Jha, Traffic SP, Ajit Peter Dungdung alongwith several others reached the spot immediately after the incident and took stock of the situation there. The officers said that the accused persons were being identified and action will be taken against each one who was involved in the violent activi- ties. In the incident the Road Opening Party (ROP) vehicle of CM’s cavalcade was dam- aged, they said. Ranchi SSP SK Jha said, “Anti-social elements tried to create ruckus near Kishoreganj Chowk, but due to police’s alertness the situation was con- trolled quickly. An inspector was injured and was admitted to hospital. It was an event, planned very secretly. Police are conducting a probe profes- sionally to book the culprits.” Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress party termed the incident a well-planned one by right wing activists in the State. JMM General Secretary cum Spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said that it was not a normal incident as people were trying to take law and order in their hands. He said that it was a well thought about incident. “Senior police officials are there to find out who all are responsible for the incident. People who are against the government are trying to cre- ate chaos in the society. Their conspiracy will soon be unveiled. Law will take its own course and those responsible will be booked,” he said. State Congress leaders also condemned the incident and said that in democracy, every- one is allowed to protest, but in the guise of protest, the unruly elements cannot be allowed to spread unrest. “Attacking the Chief Minister’s convoy is not a protest, but a crime, in which police officers have also been injured. The way a sudden attempt was made to attack the Chief Minister’s convoy under a well-planned conspiracy that if his security personnel do not take caution and divert the route and take them safely then there could have been a big accident today. Whatever kind of conspiracy or political conspiracy was behind this incident it should be disclosed immediately and the miscre- ants should not be spared at any c o s t ,” said JPCC Spokesperson Alok Dubey. Notably, the agitators were mainly protesting against a suspected rape and murder incident of a girl, whose naked body without head was found in Ormanjhi near the Capital city. Despite continuous hunt for the head of the girl police have not been able to recover the same till the time of filing of this report. Beijing/New Delhi: Tech bil- lionaire and Alibaba founder Jack Ma has “disappeared” from public life and has not been spotted for at least two months amid the conflict with the Chinese regulators. The Financial Times reported that Ma was recently replaced as a judge in the final of TV show “Africa’s Business Heroes”. “His photograph was removed from the judging webpage,” the report claimed.

Transcript of bajti hai legal guarantee for the MSP · 2021. 1. 4. · bajti hai legal guarantee for the MSP The...

  • ������������ ��������

    The seventh round of talksbetween protesting farmers’unions and the Governmentfailed to end the impasse onMonday as the Governmentruled out rollback of the threeagricultural laws and thefarmer leaders refused to calloff their agitation till that hap-pens. The next round of talkswill be held on January 8.

    According to farmers’leader Sarwan Singh Pandherof the Kisan MazdoorSangharsh Committee, theUnion Ministers have clearlysaid that the laws will not berepealed. “The Ministers eventold us to approach theSupreme Court for repeal of thelaws,” he said. The farmer lead-ers said they will continuewith their agitation till thelaws are repealed.

    The Government, repre-sented by Union MinistersNarendra Singh Tomar, PiyushGoyal and Som Prakash, toldthe delegation of 41 partici-pating union leaders that itwould review any clause theprotesters have a problem with.The Ministers also asked thefarmer leaders to point outwhat they considered objec-tionable in the legislations.The Government has main-tained that these apprehen-

    sions are misplaced and hasruled out repealing the laws.

    Sources said theGovernment has offered a jointcommittee on minimum sup-port price for crops to discussthe farmers’ demand for legal-ising it, but the union leadersremained adamant on dis-cussing the repeal of the farmlaws. During the meeting, theGovernment listed various

    benefits from the three laws,enacted a few months ago, butfarmers kept insisting that thelegislation must be withdrawnto address their apprehensionsthat the new Acts would weak-en the MSP and mandi systemand leave them at the mercy ofbig corporates.

    After the meeting, UnionAgriculture Minister NarendraSingh Tomar said the

    Government is sensitive aboutfarmers’ issues and offeredclause-wise discussion on thethree Acts but they could notreach a conclusion.

    “We are hopeful that wecan find a solution in the nextmeeting on January 8,” Tomarsaid but asserted that effortsneed to be made from bothsides for a solution to bereached (taali dono haathon se

    bajti hai). “The meeting washeld in good atmosphere butfarmers were adamant on theirdemands and we could notarrive at any conclusion. TheGovernment wanted a clause-wise discussion on the legisla-tions to take forward the talks,”he said.

    “Several rounds of talks areheld during such importantissues. The Government has todecide keeping in mind farm-ers of the entire country. Bothsides want to resolve the issue.The laws have been made keep-ing in mind the best interest offarmers,” Tomar added.

    The first two hours of talksfocussed only on the threelaws and the other key demandof farmers for a legal guaran-tee to the MSP procurementsystem did not come up for dis-cussions.

    Sources said before themeeting at Vigyan Bhavanbegan, both parties observed atwo-minute silence as a markof tribute to the 50 protestingfarmers who died during theagitation.

    Farmer leaders, however,alleged that it was theGovernment’s “ego problem”that was coming in the way ofresolving the issues and theyinsisted they would not relenton their key demands for therepeal of the three laws and a

    legal guarantee for the MSP(minimum support price) sys-tem for procurement of theircrops. The Government is notinterested in resolving the issue,claimed farmer leaders.

    From the very beginning ofthe meeting, union leaderskept on insisting on the repealof the three contentious farmlaws and the two sides took along break after just about onehour of discussions. Farmerleaders said the Governmentinformed them that it needs toconsult internally and there-after it would come back to theunions.

    During the meeting, farm-ers categorically told theMinisters that they don’t wantclause by clause discussions onthree farm laws.

    “We have already rejectedany alternative to repeal. Wewant quick withdrawal of theselaws and it can be donethrough Ordinance whenParliament is not in session,”the union leaders said.

    Farmers’ leader ofBharatiya Kisan Union (BKU),Rakesh Tikait said that ‘Kanunwapsi nahi, to ghar wapsi nahi’(We will not go home until thelaws are withdrawn).

    The union leaders will alsohave their own meeting onTuesday to decide their nextcourse of action.

    ���� ��������

    Atotal of 38 people have test-ed positive for the new UKvariant of SARS-CoV-2 inIndia so far, the Union HealthMinistry said on Monday.

    These include the 29 caseswhich were announced tillFriday. All these people havebeen kept in single-room iso-lation in designated health-care facilities by respectiveState Governments and theirclose contacts have also beenput under quarantine, theMinistry said.

    Of the 38, the mutatedUK strain was detected in eight

    samples at the National Centrefor Disease Control (NCDC),New Delhi, 11 in the Instituteof Genomics and IntegrativeBiology (IGIB), Delhi, one inthe National Institute ofBiomedical Genomics, Kalyani(near Kolkata).

    The other five sampleswere detected in the NationalInstitute of Virology in Pune,three in Centre for Cellular andMolecular Biology (CCMB) inHyderabad and 10 weresequenced at the NationalInstitute of Mental Health andNeuro Sciences Hospital(NIMHANS), Bengaluru.

    The NCBS, InSTEM inBengaluru, CDFD inHyderabad, ILS inBhubaneswar and NCCS inPune have so far found no UKmutant virus, the Ministrysaid.

    “A total of 38 samples havebeen found to be positive withthe new UK variant genome,”the Ministry said.

    It said comprehensive con-tact tracing has been initiatedfor co-travellers, family con-tacts and others. Genomesequencing on other speci-mens is going on, it added.

    “The situation is undercareful watch and regularadvice is being provided to theStates for enhanced surveil-lance, containment, testing anddispatch of samples toINSACOG labs,” the Ministrystated.

    The presence of the newUK variant has already beenreported by Denmark,Netherlands, Australia, Italy,Sweden, France, Spain,Switzerland, Germany, Canada,Japan, Lebanon and Singapore.

    ���� ���������

    Lauding scientists and techni-cians for coming out withIndia’ indigenously developedCovid-19 vaccine, PrimeMinister Modi on Monday saidworld’s biggest vaccination driveagainst coronavirus is set tobegin in the country.

    “World’s biggest Covid-19vaccination programme set tobegin in India. For this, the coun-try is proud of the contributionsof its scientists and technicians,”Modi said. He was addressingscientists at the NationalMetrology Conclave.

    Asserting that “Made inIndia” products should notonly have a global demand butalso global acceptance, the PMsaid, adding, “Quality is asmuch important as quantity,our standards should rise withour scale in our quest forAatmanirbhar Bharat.” Modisaid in any progressive society,research is key and effectiveand its effects are commercialand social. They also helpwiden approach and thinking.

    “We do not want to fill theworld with Indian products, butwe must win the hearts of everycustomer of Indian products inevery corner of the world,” he

    said. Quality of services in ourcountry and products, both pub-lic or private sector will deter-mine India’s strength in theworld, he reiterated.

    The Prime Minister point-ed out that historically any coun-try has progressed in direct cor-relation to its effort to promotescience. He termed this “valuecreation cycle” of science, tech-nology and industry. He said sci-entific invention creates tech-nology and this leads to indus-try development. Industry, inturn, invests further in sciencefor new research.

    “This value creation cycle ofscience to mass creation hasbecome all the more importantin today’s world when the coun-try is moving forward with thegoal of ‘Aatmanirbhar’ India.CSIR will have to play its role inthis,” he said.

    Modi also dedicated theNational Atomic Timescale and

    Bhartiya Nirdeshak DravyaPranali to the nation and laid thefoundation stone of the NationalEnvironmental StandardsLaboratory through video con-ference. The conclave was organ-ised by the Council of Scientificand Industrial Research-NationalPhysical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), New Delhi, on its 75thyear of inception. The NPL is oneof the oldest laboratories in thecountry.

    Modi said metrology alsosets the foundation for any sci-entific achievement and noresearch can proceed withoutmeasurements.

    “Even our achievement hasto be measured on some scale.The credibility of the country inthe world will be dependent onthe reliability of its metrology.Metrology is like a mirror show-ing us our standing in the world,the scope for improvement,”said the PM.

    ���� ��������

    The Government will have toshell out between �219 to�292 per shot of Covishieldvaccine developed byAstraZeneca and the Universityof Oxford and sold and man-ufactured by Pune-basedSerum Institute of India (SII) inthe country. The SII has alicence to produce the shot andhas already manufactured closeto 50 million doses.

    The Government has plansto roll out the vaccinationdrive at the earliest with at least3 crore health workers andcorona warriors to be given thejab in the first phase.

    However, the Covishieldvaccine is likely to cost �1,000per dose when it is available inthe open market and for privateuse. As of now, the SII cannotexport or sell in the open mar-ket its Covid-19 vaccine.

    Adar Poonawalla, chief

    executive officer of the SII, hassaid that the vaccine manufac-turer is likely to charge a spe-cial price of �200 per dose forthe first 100 million jabs, whichit will supply to theGovernment.

    Indian drug regulator onSunday approved Covishieldand Bharat Biotech’s Covaxinfor restricted emergency use inthe country. “We want the vac-cine to be affordable and acces-sible to all. The Government ofIndia will receive it at a farmore affordable price of $3-4,since they will be buying in alarger volume,” he said.

    Poonawalla, said the pri-ority supplies will go to Indiaand the GAVI (Global Alliancefor Vaccines andImmunization) nations.

    Only after meeting theirrequirements, “the private mar-ket will open up where the pric-ing would be $6-8 per dose,” hesaid. Serum will have 100 mil-lion doses in a month, and willpossibly double it by April.

    The Government has indi-cated that it may need 300 million doses before July2021, with frontline healthworkers and the elderly givenpriority.

    �������������� ��������

    Aday after the DCGI’s deci-sion to approve Covaxinkicked up a major row with astring of experts pointing to thelack of its efficacy data, itsdeveloper Bharat Biotech hitout on Monday at critics assert-ing that the company was in“no way” inferior to Pfizer, a USpharma MNC, in terms ofcoronavirus vaccine.

    Bharat Biotech managingdirector Dr Krishna Ella clar-ified the phase 3 trial in Indiawill be over in the next two-three days and the data shouldbe available by February orMarch.

    While claiming that BharatBiotech is the only firm to havepublished five articles on theCovid-19 vaccine process, DrElla at a virtual Press confer-ence also questioned SerumInstitute of India’s Covishieldauthorisation in the absence ofphase 3 data from Indian trials.

    “They don’t have anyimmunogenicity data — whywere they given the licence?They have been given licencesbased on the UK data. Where

    is their Indian data?” Dr Ellaasked without naming SII.

    Dr Ella also took an oppor-tunity to slam AIIMS directorDr Randeep Guleria for hiscomment regarding the use ofCovaxin as a “backup”.

    “I don’t understand what is‘backup’. On TV, everyone cansling mud at each other. We areall now cleaning our coats.There is no backup for humans.No backup for virus,” Dr Ellasaid.

    “I have not got any GatesFoundation money. Still, wehave taken the risk and man-ufactured 20 million doses.We are an Indian companystruggling alone,” he said.

    On Sunday the DCGIgranted “restricted use in anemergency situation in public interest” to Covaxinand AstraZeneca-OxfordUniversity’s Covishield, whichwill be produced by Pune-based SII.

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    As many as 160 new Covid-19 cases were reported inJharkhand on Monday, figurescompiled by the State healthdepartment revealed. Thenumber of people declaredrecovered and discharged fromhealth institutions stood at 232on the day.

    Ranchi district reported atleast 81 cases against 141 recov-eries, while Dhanbad district onMonday reported 16 casesagainst 12 recoveries. The num-ber of Covid-19 patients was 730in Ranchi and 1528 in Jharkhandafter Monday’s findings.

    However, only one deathwas reported due to Covid-19on Monday in the State –thedeath was reported from StateCapital Ranchi, taking the totaldeath toll in the State to 1036.

    Apart from Ranchi (81)and East Singhbhum (14), 12from Bokaro, 3 from Deoghar,16 from Dhanbad, 1 fromDumka, 5 from Garhwa, 2

    from Giridih, 1 from Gumla, 2from Hazaribagh, 2 fromKoderma, 3 from Latehar, 8from Palamu, 3 from Ramgarh,1 Sahebganj, 2 from Saraikelaand 2 persons from Simdegawere found positive on the day.

    The Government testedswab samples of 11,268 peopleon the day and more than oneper cent of them were foundinfected. So far, the governmenthas collected swab samples of48.58 lakh people and tested48.51 lakh of them. Health work-ers on Saturday collected swabsamples of only 7,809 people.

    As per government data,the Covid recovery rate in theState was 97.78 per cent againstthe national average of 96.20per cent. The growth rate of thevirus in Jharkhand was 0.13 percent against the nationalgrowth rate of 0.16 per cent. Asper figures with the NHM, itwould take 437.82 days for thecases to double in Jharkhand.The doubling rate in India was428.28 days.

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    An angry mob protestingagainst the atrocitiesagainst women, especially therising cases of rape and murderin the State, today blocked theBirsa Rajpath (Harmu Road)near Kishoreganj Chowk whenChief Minister Hemant Sorenwas coming back to his resi-dence from State Secretariat.

    The mob not only stoppedthe CM’s cavalcade, but alsoturned violent and started pelt-ing stones on the vehicles.Sensing the danger, policemenpresent at the site and those inthe CM’s security immediate-ly changed the route of CM andtook him out safely to his offi-cial residence.

    Additional police forcesimmediately rushed to the siteand controlled the situationusing mild force. The protesters,after wreaking havoc on theroad, finally, dispersed towardsRanchi Lake and other areas ofthe city. However, some police-men including an inspectorrank officer of Ranchi Trafficpolice got injured in the incident.

    The injured TrafficInspector Naval Kishore Prasadwas immediately shifted toMedica Superspecialty hospitalfor treatment. Senior policeofficers including InspectorGeneral Akhilesh Jha, Senior SP,Ranchi Surendra Kumar Jha,Traffic SP, Ajit Peter Dungdungalongwith several othersreached the spot immediatelyafter the incident and tookstock of the situation there.

    The officers said that theaccused persons were beingidentified and action will betaken against each one who was

    involved in the violent activi-ties. In the incident the RoadOpening Party (ROP) vehicleof CM’s cavalcade was dam-aged, they said.

    Ranchi SSP SK Jha said,“Anti-social elements tried tocreate ruckus near KishoreganjChowk, but due to police’salertness the situation was con-

    trolled quickly. An inspectorwas injured and was admittedto hospital. It was an event,planned very secretly. Police areconducting a probe profes-sionally to book the culprits.”

    Meanwhile, the JharkhandMukti Morcha and Congressparty termed the incident awell-planned one by right wing

    activists in the State. JMMGeneral Secretary cumSpokesperson SupriyoBhattacharya said that it was nota normal incident as people weretrying to take law and order intheir hands. He said that it wasa well thought about incident.

    “Senior police officials arethere to find out who all areresponsible for the incident.People who are against thegovernment are trying to cre-ate chaos in the society. Theirconspiracy will soon beunveiled. Law will take its owncourse and those responsiblewill be booked,” he said.

    State Congress leaders alsocondemned the incident andsaid that in democracy, every-one is allowed to protest, but inthe guise of protest, the unrulyelements cannot be allowed tospread unrest.

    “Attacking the ChiefMinister’s convoy is not aprotest, but a crime, in which

    police officers have also beeninjured. The way a suddenattempt was made to attack theChief Minister’s convoy undera well-planned conspiracy thatif his security personnel do nottake caution and divert theroute and take them safelythen there could have been abig accident today. Whateverkind of conspiracy or politicalconspiracy was behind thisincident it should be disclosedimmediately and the miscre-ants should not be spared atany cost,” said JPCCSpokesperson Alok Dubey.

    Notably, the agitators weremainly protesting against asuspected rape and murderincident of a girl, whose nakedbody without head was foundin Ormanjhi near the Capitalcity. Despite continuous huntfor the head of the girl policehave not been able to recoverthe same till the time of filingof this report.

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    Beijing/New Delhi: Tech bil-lionaire and Alibaba founderJack Ma has “disappeared”from public life and has notbeen spotted for at least twomonths amid the conflict withthe Chinese regulators. TheFinancial Times reported thatMa was recently replaced as ajudge in the final of TV show“Africa’s Business Heroes”. “Hisphotograph was removed fromthe judging webpage,” thereport claimed.

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    NTPC Coal MiningHeadquarters, Ranchirecently organised a trainingprogramme on “GenderSensitivity” through MS Teamonline mode.

    The training was inaugu-rated by Malancha Mathew,GM (HR), CMHQs.Addressing the participants,she spoke of empowerment ofwomen that can be achievedthrough independence.Gender equality is the need ofthe hour and one should

    refrain from distinguishingbetween male and female, saidMathew.

    Amit Kumar Dubey, Headof Mines Safety, CMHQs onthe occasion brief interactionfocused on the safety ofwomen workforce in coal min-ing sites and he added that anysuggestion in making theworking environment safe isalways welcome.

    The faculty of the pro-gram was Arunima Patra,Tanvi Consultancy ServicesPvt Ltd. The course modulecovered Gender Awareness,

    Gender Equality, Vishakhaguidelines 1997, POSH Act2013, Case studies andQuestions answer session. Theunique feature of today’s train-ing was enthusiastic partici-pation of all female dumperoperators deployed in PakriBar wadih Coal MiningProject , Hazaribag.Participants from PakriBarwadih , Talaipalli and CoalMining Headquarter partici-pated in the training.Participants were found inter-active and the training wasappreciated by all.

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    Sandhya Nayyar

    In the perennial wisdom tra-dition of India, Guru holds asacred place unmatched evenby God Himself. For the onewho forges the path is to berevered more than the desti-nation itself!

    If all the gods are wroth,and yet thou are satisfied withme, I am safe in the fortress ofthy pleasure.

    And if all the gods protectme by the parapets of their bless-ings, and yet I receive not thybenediction, I am an orphan,left to pine spiritually in theruins of thy displeasure.

    These soulful wordsemanated from ParamahansaYogananda for his guru, SwamiSri Yukteswar Giri.

    Paramahansa Yogananda,who belongs to the pantheon ofGod-realized souls that MotherIndia keeps begetting in everyera, was born in Gorakhpur onJanuary 5, 1893. Known theworld over as the author of thebest-selling spiritual classic,“Autobiography of a Yogi”, he isalso revered as the “father ofYoga in the West” for his pio-neering work in spreadingIndia’s ancient wisdom in thewestern world.

    We are all familiar with thecouplet attributed to Sant Kabirwherein he says if his guru andGod were standing in front ofhim, he would first bow downto his spiritual Master for:

    It is only by the Guru’sgrace, that I have been able tomeet my Divine Beloved.

    The protective grace of arealized Master is not confinedto one lifetime, but continuesthrough incarnations until thedisciple reaches emancipation.This deathless love is sublime-ly expressed by the ever-livingMaster, Mahavatar Babaji whenhe meets his disciple LahriMahasaya in the Himalayanwilderness. Yoganandji elo-quently translates his words inAutobiography of a Yogi:

    You slipped away and dis-appeared into the tumultuouswaves of the life beyonddeath…Though you lost sight ofme, never did I lose sight ofyou…Through gloom, storm,upheaval, and light I followedyou like a mother bird guardingher young…

    The guru who takes on thistremendous responsibility oftraining a disciple does nottemper it with leniency. A cod-dled and cosseted disciple willnever ever be free of his manypsychological kinks acquired asthe soul journeysover manyincarnations. But such disci-pline is hard to take. It is a firerite in which the crude ore ofthe disciple’s worldly con-sciousness is mercilessly puri-fied of all dross, until the soul-gold blazes forth with the lightof God’s wisdom. AsYoganandaji confesses: As he(my guru) laboured at thistitanic transformation, I shookmany times under the weight ofhis disciplinary hammer.

    Through the guru’sunselfish motives the gratefuldisciple gets a glimpse of divinelove; unconditional, limitless,eternal, even if at times seem-ingly harsh. The disciple even-tually understands that the guruwas metaphorically discoveringand uprooting every diseasedtooth in his jaw, to make him an

    unobstructed channel for theDivine. The Guru sees the beau-tiful angel-soul hidden in thecrude block of ego-stone of thedisciple, and deems it his dutyto chisel the stone until the angelcomes forth.

    The Guru-disciple rela-tionship is a friendship purifiedin the fires of unswerving loy-alty, faith, and surrender. It isa friendship that remainsunfazed by errors on the partof the disciple, for it is then thatthe guru’s help is most needed.Adi Shankaracharya declaresthe guru as peerless, nay tran-scendental, for even a philoso-phers’ stone could only turniron into gold, not into anoth-er philosopher’s stone. Thevenerated teacher, on the otherhand, creates equality with him-self in the disciple who takesrefuge at his feet.

    The guru holds nothingback in this colossal meta-morphosis, until the disciplerealizes that it was God Himselfwho manifested as the Guru tolead him to salvation.Yoganandaji concludes his odeto his Guru with these words:

    O Guru, thou didst lift meout of the land of bewildermentinto the paradise of peace.Myslumber of sorrow is ended,and I am awake in joy.

    Dissolving forever our fini-tude, together we shall merge inthe Infinite Life.

    O Immortal Teacher, I bowto thee as the speaking voice ofsilent God. I bow to thee as thedivine door leading to the tem-ple of salvation.

    The love and reverence hehad for his Guru, transformedYogananda into a Jagadguru,with countless followers all overthe world who feel the presenceof a living manifestation ofGod in him. The weight of hisdivinity automatically bowstheir heads before him. Todayis the 128th Birth Anniversaryof Paramahansa Yogananda.

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    Amid reports of reduction ofpower supply to seven dis-tricts in the State by DamodarValley Corporation (DVC)with effect from January 4over non-payment of powerdues, the Jharkhand BijliVitaran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL)said that steps have been initi-ated for early release of fundsto the power major.

    The DVC from last month(December) had already madepower cuts in the seven dis-tricts — Dhanbad, Ramgarh,Hazaribagh, Koderma, Bokaro,Giridih and Chatra — by asmuch as 30 per cent afterJBVNL faulted on payment ofmonthly power bills. The DVCwith non-payment of powerdues had already written a let-ter to JBVNL to make 50 percent power cuts if the dues arenot cleared.

    Jharkhand Urja VikasNigam Limited (JUVNL) DGMPR, MP Yadav said, “For themonth of September the powerdues of JBVNL to DVC was Rs150 crore, out of which theJBVNL had already paid Rs 50crore and we have written a let-ter to DVC to clear all the duessoon. We have urged the DVCnot to make power cuts as wehave already expressed ourproblems in revenue generationdue to Covid 19 pandemic.”

    Yadav claimed that due toCovid 19 pandemic JBVNLrevenue generation fell as bothCentre and State have agreed

    not to collect power dues force-fully. Yadav said, “Despite fallin revenue collection due toCovid 19 pandemic, it wastough time for JBVNL in meet-ing salary expenses of staff andofficials along with other mea-sures for strengthening powerscenario.” Yadav said, “Now ourrevenue collection is increasingwe will ensure that we clear thedues of DVC.”

    As per DVC power cuts fix-ture DVC will provide 300 MWof power in seven districts asagainst 600 MW earlier. AsJBVNL owes Rs 5000 crore toDVC, the power major on ear-lier occasion had written a let-ter to JBVNL to clear the dues.There was also a meetingregarding the arrears in whichthe Union Energy Secretarywas also involved. But, when thepayment was not made, the cen-tral government had deductedRs 1400 crore from the Stategovernment’s funds with theRBI.

    In October last year, theCentral government directedthe RBI to auto deduct Rs1417.50 crore from the account

    of Jharkhand governmentmaintained by the top bank, asthe first instalment against itspower discoms outstandingdues to Damodar ValleyCorporation (DVC), a Centralpublic sector power generator.

    Chief Minister HemantSoren had reacted strongly andexpressed “deep anguish anddisappointment at the blatantand continuous attempt by theCentre to impose fiscal penal-ties on Jharkhand”.

    Sources said that the DVC’sdecision to make power cuts isonce to worsen the relation ofCentre and State as the StateGovernment is sure to opposethe power cuts.

    In the power tusslebetween JBVNL and DVC it isthe common man who is thebiggest sufferer. Sanjay KumarSingh, a resident of Gomia inBokaro district said, “There arealready severe power cuts inour area. The DVC decision tomake further power cuts isgoing to create more trouble forus. Especially for students astheir studies are going to beaffected.”

    ���������

    Rajrappa area of CentralCoalfields Limited (CCL)was selected as the best per-forming unit by the Ministry ofCoal amongst its variousundertakings for the variousactivities it performed duringthe Swachchta Month. CCL,Chairman cum ManagingDirector (CMD), PM Prasadpresented the award on behalfof the Ministry to GMRajrappa, Alok Kumar in afelicitation ceremony organizedat CCL Headquarters in theState Capital on Monday.

    The ceremony was attend-ed by Director Tech (P and P),Bhola Singh, Director(Personnel), Vinay Ranjan,CVO, SK Sinha, GeneralManagers and Heads of differ-ent departments. The nodalofficers from various opera-tional areas of CCL who playedan active part in the month’sobservance were felicitated onthe occasion.

    Swachata Month wasobserved throughout theCountry as a tribute toMahatma Gandhi on his birthanniversary. CCL left no stoneunturned in observing thisoccasion with zest and vigor.

    CCL Rajrappa area orga-nized a plethora of activitiesduring this period to show itscommitment towards theGandhian dream of SwachhBharat. The activities rangedfrom plantation, cleaning ofresidential premises, offices,hospitals to cleaning of wellsand drains, cleaning of theChinnamastika temple to gen-erate awareness amongst thecommunity. Innovative pro-grams like wall paintings anddisplay of swachata Banners inPuja Pandals, hospitals and

    others were also undertaken asa testimony of the enthusiasmof the employees.

    To engage different stake-holders’ distribution of masks,face shields, sanitizers andswachata kits was conducted inschools and to media persons,taxi and auto drivers. Theypasted motivational and infor-mational posters about clean-liness on the public transportvehicles to widen the propaga-tion of the message. To spreadthe message of cleanlinessamong the different strata ofsociety jute bags, paper cups,paper straws and others weredistributed to fruit sellers, veg-etable sellers, tea shop ownersand others.

    Prasad expressed happi-ness on this achievement ofRajrappa area. He said that it isa matter of pride for CCL thatamongst all the coal producingunits of the Country, Rajrappaarea was selected for its out-standing work. He congratu-lated GM Rajrappa AlokKumar and his team for their

    success. He said that achieve-ments like these are anotherfeather in the company’s cap.

    Singh said that cleanlinessshould be observed throughoutthe year and should become apart of our daily lives. Sinhaexpressed happiness at thisachievement. Vinay Ranjanalso congratulated the team ofRajrappa area and expressedhope that in the future theother operational areas willfollow their lead and bring lau-rels to the company.

    Alok Kumar said that thisaward is a testament of the hardwork and sheer commitment ofthe employees of Rajrappa area.

    GM (CSR), AK Singhdelivered the welcome address,while vote of thanks was pro-posed by Chief Manager(Civil), SS Lal. The programmewas compeered by ChiefManager, Sanjay. All the safe-ty protocols related to Covidpandemic were adhered to.Everybody wore masks and fol-lowed social distancing whileattending the programme.

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    Jharkhand School Educationand Literacy MinisterJagarnath Mahto who under-went a lung transplant inChennai after he was diagnosedwith Covid-19 may returnhome next month, doctorsfrom the Mahatma GandhiMemorial (MGM) Healthcarein Tamil Nadu said on Monday.

    “He is looking good now.We have removed the tra-cheostomy and he is nowbreathing through the nose. Hislungs are also doing well. Hecan be discharged anytime butas a precautionary measurewe are just waiting. Even if doesget discharged from the hospi-tal, we would like for him tostay in Chennai for about amonth before he returnshome,” said the Co- director ofInstitute of Heart and LungTransplantation & MechanicalCirculatory Assist Device atMGM, Dr Suresh Rao.

    “He is speaking and walk-ing with little support. Toimprove his muscle strength heis presently undergoing phys-iotherapy on a regular basis. Heis also eating well,” added Rao.

    On January 4, the Ministerwas seen in a video messagetalking about his health con-dition. “I would like to extendNew Year greetings to Chief

    Minister Hemant Soren and thepeople of Jharkhand. I thankthe Chief Minister for his sup-port in my treatment and alsothe team of doctors at MGMHospital,” said Mahto in hisvideo message.

    Mahto had undergone alung transplant at the Chennaibased facility on November10 after being kept on a life sup-port system for 22 days.

    The 54- year old Ministerhad tested positive for Covid-19 on September 28 and wasadmitted to Rajendra Instituteof Medical Sciences (RIMS),Ranchi. He was later shifted toBhagwan Mahavir MedicaSuperspeciality Hospital onOctober 1 where he was kept inthe ICU and put on non- inva-sive ventilation. He was laterflown to Chennai on October19 after his lungs showed nosigns of improvement and wasput on life support.

    ���������

    Ranchi DeputyCommissioner (DC),Chavi Ranjan on Mondaydirected officials to identifybuildings as per requirementfor vaccination center in eachblock. He also said that all in-charge medical officers shouldmeet with the block develop-ment officer and mark thebuildings.

    A meeting was held underthe chairmanship of the DCregarding the preparation ofCovid-19 vaccination. CivilSurgeon Ranchi, DeputySuperintendent Sadar HospitalRanchi, District TransportOfficer, District Social WelfareOfficer, District EducationOfficer, District EducationSuperintendent, DistrictPanchayati Raj Officer, DistrictInformation and PublicRelations Officer, DistrictInformation Officer, MedicalOfficer in charge of allCommunity Health Centers ofRanchi District and other con-cerned officials were present.

    Discussion was made inthe meeting to set up differentvaccination centers in differentblocks of the district. Officialsdeliberated on where the vac-cination site would be, what thearrangement would be made atthe vaccination center.

    During the meeting Ranjandirected to dedicate the reportalong with a map of the build-ings.

    In the meeting, the DC saidthat there should be three plusone arrangement in the vacci-nation center, along with water,electricity internet connectiv-ity and toilet arrangementsshould also be ensured in thevaccination center.

    Ranjan said that as per theguidelines issued, the vaccina-tion center should have a HelpDesk Area, Waiting Area,Vaccination Room andObservation Room. He direct-ed the concerned officer toappear in the next meetingalong with the report on theneed for manpower in eachcenter for vaccination.

    During the meeting, DrAnoop of WHO gave infor-mation about the arrangementof vaccination centers throughPPT. He said that a vaccinationcenter would have four vacci-nation officers and a vaccina-

    tor. After verification of thebeneficiaries visiting the center,their records will be entered onthe Co WIN application. Thebeneficiaries visiting the centeron vaccination are to be iden-tified through a photo-identi-fication card.

    In the first phase, three pri-ority groups have been formedduring the Kovid-19 vaccina-tion. Priority group one hashealth care workers, prioritygroup two has frontline work-ers and Priority Group Threehas people 50 and older.

    Meanwhile, a meeting ofthe district task force was heldfor the successful organiza-tion of National ImmunizationDay 2021 headed by Ranchi,DC.

    During the meeting prepa-rations for NationalImmunization Day 2021 werediscussed. Necessary guide-lines were given by the DeputyCommissioner to the con-cerned officials regardingNational Immunization Day tobe held from 17 January 2021to 19 January 2021.

    During the meeting WHODr Anoop gave informationabout polio through PPT. Hesaid that at present there is nocase of polio in India but casesrelated to polio have beenfound in Afghanistan andPakistan. Polio cases werereported in Jharkhand in2010, 19 cases were identifiedin a single block of Pakur dis-trict.

    ���������

    Former Health Minister andBJP MLA from Bishrampur,Ramchandra Chandravanshion Monday highlightedGovernment failure in health-care facilities in the State.Chandravanshi was talking tomedia persons at the partyoffice, hitting out at the Stategovernment on completion ofone year.

    Chandravanshi said, “TheBJP government under theleadership of Raghubar Dashad initiated several develop-mental schemes in the healthsector in the last five years.During the tenure of RaghubarDas government necessary

    infrastructure was provided tothree medical colleges whichare running smoothly. But thepresent government has failedin upgrading infrastructure inthese medical colleges, but isonly concerned in changing thenames of buildings (medicalcolleges).”

    The former health minis-ter claimed that the presentgovernment has not done anysingle work in the health sec-tor. According to health min-ister, the biggest setback inhealth sector is that due to stategovernment lackadaisicalapproach, due to non-compli-ance of instructions of NationalMedical Council in time, therewas no enrolment of studentsin three medical colleges atDumka, Hazaribagh, Palamu inthe session 2020-21.

    He said no action has beentaken on the proposed amend-ment in 2019-20 for inter-statemedical reimbursement forstate employees. This hascaused a lot of problems in

    medical reimbursement to thestate personnel.

    Highlighting government’sfailure in proper utilization ofCentre’s fund in talking aboutcorona pandemic, the formerhealth minister said that theCentre had provided Rs 2000crore to State for handlingpandemic, but the state gov-ernment failed in utilizing thefunds.

    Chandravanshi also raised

    the issue of delay of appoint-ment of full term director atRINPAS. He said the interviewprocess for appointment ofdirector at RINPAS was com-pleted but the government isyet to make an appointment.The BJP press conference wasattended by state spokespersonPradeep Sinha, state media in-charge Shivpujan Pathakamong others.

    Meanwhile, Jharkhand

    Pradesh Congress Committeespokespersons Alok KumarDubey, Lal KishorenathShahdeo and Rajesh GuptaChhotu retaliated on the state-ment of BJP MLA cum formerHealth Minister RamchandraChandravanshi, saying thatformer health minister failed inimproving health sector instate, but many educationalinstitutions, engineering col-leges and medical colleges andother business establishmentshave been established in his

    name. The Congress leadersclaimed despite Chandravanshirepresenting the area fordecades no development workwas initiated in his Assemblyarea.

    Congress spokespersonDubey said that during thetenure of former health minis-ter Chandravanshi, there wasneither proper screening facil-ity nor ventilator available inthe state government hospitals,while the present governmenthas provided ventilators andother health facilities. StateCongress Committeespokesperson Lal KishorenathShahdeo said that during thetenure of RamchandraChandravanshi, larvae ofmalaria and dengue mosquitowere found in the premises ofRIMS and other governmenthospitals including SadarHospital. The situation was sobad that dozens of childrendied due to malnutrition in thegovernment medical collegein Jamshedpur.

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    ABangladesh tri-service con-tingent will participate inthe forthcoming Republic Dayparade this year, coincidingwith the 50th anniversary ofthe India-Pakistan war andliberation of Bangladesh.

    Britain’s Prime MinisterBoris Johnson is the chief guestfor the Republic Day celebra-tions at the Rajpath.

    Given the raging coronapandemic, this year’s paradewill commence from its tradi-tional spot Vijay Chowk andend at the National Stadiuminstead of Red Fort. It meansthe parade will cover a distanceof about three kms instead ofnine kms in earlier years.

    Moreover, not more than25,000 spectators will beallowed to witness the paradeas against one lakh earlier.Also, children will not beallowed to see the parade at thevenue as a safety measureagainst pandemic, sources saidhere on Monday.

    The fly past will take place,they said adding the numberof soldiers in the marchingcontingents have also beenreduced as a precaution. Asagainst the 115 marchers inthe previous years, only 96 willmarch down the Rajpath thistime.

    As regards the Bangladeshcontingent, they said it willarrive in Delhi on January 12and will depart on January 30.Upon arrival, the contingentwill be quarantined till January

    19. The contingent includes amarching contingent and amilitary band.

    Indian Air Force (IAF)planes will ferry the contingentto and from Bangladesh. Thecontingent will be carryingtheir own ceremonial riflesand the personnel will be intheir combat dress during themarch past. It will also visitplaces of historical signifi-cance in Agra and Ajmer onJanuary 28 and 29 before theirdeparture.

    Sources said the Ministryof External Affairs (MEA) hasrequested the Bangladesh sideto include personnel from theArmy Units which took part inthe Liberation War in the vis-iting contingent. India andBangladesh have planned aseries of events through theyear to mark the 50th anniver-sary. In 2018, French Armybecame the first foreign con-tingent to take part in the

    Republic Day parade onRajpath.

    Incidentally, more than150 Army jawans tested pos-itive last month. They werepart of the marching contin-gents for the Republic Day andthe Army Day on January 15.Adequate steps were taken toquarantine them.

    Giving details of the coro-na test, sources said, “Thesoldiers who came in fromoutside to participate in vari-ous parades were tested beforeputting them into a safe bub-ble. Some of them tested pos-itive. Almost all except sevenare asymptomatic.”

    These were among thefew thousand soldiers whohave been tested, the sourcestated. Officials said the sol-diers who tested positive werequarantined at the DelhiCantonment where Covid-19facilities have been set upsince April.

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    The Congress on Mondayconstituted a four-mem-ber committee under the chair-manship of West BengalCongress chief Adhir RanjanChowdhury to hold talks withthe Left parties regarding seat-sharing and joint programmesfor the upcoming West BengalAssembly elections. The mem-bers are Abdul Mannan, PradipBhattacharya and NepalMahato.

    Both the parties haveengaged in talks for long to takeon the ruling TrinamoolCongress and an aggressiveBJP, which made inroads inBengal during the 2019 LokSabha elections. The commit-tee has been chosen to metic-ulously work on the data andanalysis and decide on theseats based on the groundreports from the workers of thealliances team.

    West Bengal Congress in-charge Jitin Prasada said talkson seat sharing will begin soonand the party will fight with fullforce to restore the pride ofBengal which is being“destroyed by the BJP andTMC”.

    Chowdhur y hadannounced last month that theCongress high command hadgiven its approval to tie upwith the Left in West Bengal.The Congress had also con-tested the last assembly elec-tion in alliance with the Left.In the last election, the CPI-

    M had contested 148 seats andwon 26. Congress had con-tested 92 but won 44, regis-tering a better strike rate thanits partner in the State. TheTMC had swept the electionby winning 211 of 295 seats.

    The West Bengal assemblyelections is expected to be adifficult terrain for the rulingTMC this year as the BJP hasmade massive inroads inBengal with high pitched cam-paigns led by its top leadersincluding Home MinisterAmit Shah. In the Lok Sabhaelections 2019 BJP won 18Lok Sabha seats with close to41 per cent vote share whichis just two per cent less thanwhat TMC got.

    BJP has sharpened itsattack on Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee in the recentpast.

    In one of the recent publicrallies, Home Minister AmitShah said that his party willform the next government bywinning over 200 seats. AIMIMchief Asaduddin Owaisi hasalso announced that his partywill contest the next Assemblypolls in Bengal.

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    The CBI has registered acase on a complaint fromPunjab National Bank againsta Delhi-based private com-pany Sonear Industries Ltdand others including its direc-tors/guarantors and unknownpublic ser vants/private persons for causing a loss of�168.73 crore to the publicsector lender.

    The CBI on Monday conducted searches at five locations in Delhi at the officeand residential premises ofthe accused firm and indi-viduals in the case.

    “It was alleged that thesaid accused had cheated thePunjab National Bank by wayof diversion of bank funds,fraudulent transactions, crim-inal misappropriation etc.,”the CBI said in a statement.

    Besides the firm, its pro-moter Jitendra Kejriwal,directors Roop Kishore Tuliand Mohan Kumar Jha havealso been named as accusedin the case.

    Earl ier, the SonearIndustries Ltd. Was incorpo-rated as Donear Décor PvtLtd. In May, 2004.

    The company is engagedin the business of manufacturing decorative ply-wood, veneers and laminatessold under the brand namesDonear/Sonear.

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    The CBI has booked aDefence Avionics ResearchEstablishment (DARE) scientistand a US-based firm for allegedirregularities in the import ofradar components worth aboutUSD one million in 2009, offi-cials said.

    The agency registered thecase after getting clearance tolodge FIR against Priya Suresh,a scientist then posted atDARE, Bengaluru, they said.

    Besides her, the CBI hasnamed AKON Inc based inCalifornia in the US in its FIRfor allegedly sending incom-plete equipment even afterreceiving payments for 35VCO-based RF Generator usedin radar-based electronic war-fare for USD one million (Rs7.3 crore as per presentexchange rates), they said.

    It is alleged that the com-pany was selected for supplyingthe equipment through a glob-al tender and 90 per cent of thepayment was made in threetranches in February, 2009,they said.

    The CBI has alleged thatshe had accepted these 35 unitseven after having knowledgefrom AKON representativesthrough emails that these unitswere in developmental stage,they said.

    The agency, which did apreliminary enquiry into thematter before filing the FIR,found that 24 units were sentback for “upgrade” withoutstating the nature of upgrade,11 remained in DARE store till

    2011 unused and untested,they alleged.

    She allegedly allowed bal-ance payment to be made toAKON certifying that unitswere working satisfactorilyknowing that 24 units are stillwith the USA-based vendor,they said.

    In 2011, after ensuringpayment to the vendor, the sci-entist recommended that 11units held in store are notworking at all and should besent back to the vendor forrepair, they said.

    The CBI has alleged thateven now only 13 units are heldby DARE and the remainingare with AKON, it said.

    The units supplied by thevendor did not meet the spec-ifications of the order and theirweight were approximatelythree times more than thedummy provided by it, theysaid.

    Testing of VCO-basedradar threat simulator couldnot be completed by aBengaluru-based vendor evenafter full payment of �9.5 lakhbecause of non-supply of thecomponent by AKON, it said.

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    The Income Tax departmenton Monday visited thepremises of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress presidentSonia Gandhi, to record hisstatement in connection withits probe against him under thebenami assets law, officialsources said

    They said Vadra was askedto join the investigation at the taxauthority’s office but as he citedCovid-19 restrictions, a team ofofficials visited his premises inDelhi’s Sukhdev Vihar area.

    A department team hasgone to record Vadra’s statementunder the provisions of theProhibition of Benami PropertyTransactions Act, they said.

    The department has beenprobing Vadra, the husband ofCongress leader PriyankaGandhi Vadra, on charges ofalleged possession of someundisclosed assets in the UK.

    The EnforcementDirectorate too is investigatingthese charges, under the anti-money laundering law, againstthe businessman.

    Vadra had denied anywrongdoing in the past even asthe Congress party had calledthe action political vendetta.

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    The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) onMonday said that the averagemean land surface temperaturewas 0.29 degree Celsius abovenormal over the country in2020 and it was the eighthwarmest year on record sincenation-wide records com-menced in 1901.

    According to the IMD,extreme weather events likeextremely heavy rainfall, floods,landslides, thunderstorm, light-ning and cold waves hadclaimed over 1900 lives in2020.

    The IMD said that theaveraged seasonal mean tem-peratures were also above theaverage during all the seasonsexcept pre-monsoon seasonwhile averaged mean monthlytemperatures were warmerthan the normal during all themonths of the year exceptMarch and June in the country.

    “The monsoon and post-monsoon seasons with meantemperature anomalies (Actualtemperature-Normal tempera-ture) of +0.43 degree Celsiusand +0.53 degree Celsiusrespectively mainly contributedto this warming. Mean tem-perature during the winter wasalso above normal with anom-aly of +0.14 degree Celsius.However, during the pre-mon-soon season temperature was

    below normal (-0.03 degreeCelsius),” the IMD said in astatement on Climate of Indiaduring 2020.

    The five warmest years onrecord in order were: 2016(+0.71 degree Celsius), 2009(+0.55 degree Celsius), 2017(+0.541 degree Celsius), 2010(+0.539 degree C), and 2015(+0.42 degree Celsius). It maybe mentioned that 12 out of 15warmest years were during therecent 15 years (2006-2020).Past decade (2001-2010/2011-2020) was also thewarmest decade on record withanomalies of 0.23 degreeCelsius /0.34 degree Celsius.

    The country averagedannual mean temperature dur-ing 1901-2020 showed anincreasing trend of 0.62 degreeCelsius /100 years with signif-icant increasing trend in max-imum temperature (0.99 degree

    Celsius/100 years) and rela-tively lower increasing trend(0.24 degree Celsius/100 years)in minimum temperature.

    The Global mean surfacetemperature anomaly during2020 (January to October asper WMO state of the globalclimate) is +1.2 degree Celsius.

    The IMD said that thecountry also experienced otherhigh impact weather eventslike, extremely heavy rainfall,floods, landslide, thunder-storm, lightning and coldwaves. Bihar and Uttar Pradeshwere the most adversely affect-ed states during the year whichreportedly claimed more than350 deaths from each statemainly due to thunderstorm,lightning & cold wave events.

    Heavy rainfall and floodrelated incidents reportedlyclaimed over 600 lives from dif-ferent parts of the country

    during pre-monsoon, mon-soon & post-monsoon sea-sons. Of these, 129 lives werereportedly claimed fromAssam, 72 from Kerala[Specifically, 65 persons report-edly claimed dead in a singleday from Pettimudi in Munnar,Idukki district of Kerala on 7thAugust due to landslide.], 61from Telangana (while, 59 livesreportedly claimed only duringthe period 1st to 20th October),54 lives from Bihar, 50 fromMaharashtra, 48 Uttar Pradesh,& 38 from Himachal Pradesh.

    Thunderstorms and light-ning reportedly have claimed815 lives from different parts ofthe country. Among these, 280from Bihar, 220 from UttarPradesh, 122 from Jharkhand,72 from Madhya Pradesh, 23from Maharashtra and 20 fromAndhra Pradesh were signifi-cant.

    “Cold wave conditionsmainly prevailed over centralparts the country especially inthe month of January. It causeddeaths of about 150 people. Ofthese deaths, 88 deaths werereported from Uttar Pradeshalone, 45 from Bihar only onsingle day on 1st January & 16from Jharkhand,” the IMDsaid.

    “The annual rainfall overthe country was 109 % of longperiod average (LPA) of 117.7cms. During 2020, 5 cyclonesformed over the North IndianOcean,” it added.

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    Aday after the DrugsController General of India(DCGI) gave its nod for theemergency use approval fortwo indigenous vaccinesagainst Covid-19 on Sunday,Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu on Monday termed it asIndia’s leap of science andmanifestation of the spirit ofAtmanirbhar Bharat.

    Naidu stressed that thisdevelopment can benefit notonly Indians but the largerhumanity. He also appealed tothe people to express the samespirit in taking the vaccine asthey did while perseveringthrough the coronavirus pan-demic in 2020.

    “India is in the forefront of

    shielding humanity from thedeadly disease by demonstrat-ing its ability to mass producethe much-needed vaccine andoffer its own version as well.India’s indigenous vaccine(Covaxin) has certain uniquefeatures based on the wholevirus approach. This is a com-mendable achievement and allconcerned deserve kudos forthe foresight and perseveranceand fruition of spirited efforts,”Naidu was quoted in a Pressrelease from Vice President’s

    Secretariat.Referring to the devastat-

    ing effects of Covid-19 last year, Naidu hailed the spirited sci-entific efforts to come out withvaccines. He further said,“While the celebrations canwait till every needy person getsthe vaccine shot, it’s not out ofcontext to say cheers to thisoptimistic moment.”

    He noted that India’s spir-ited efforts towards makingvaccines available offers hopeto people across the globe con-ferring on India the leadershiprole in the collective fightagainst the most dreaded healthchallenge of the last 100 yearssince the outbreak of SpanishFlu.

    Noting that developmentand administration of vaccineare guided by a stringentregime of protocols and strictmonitoring of attendant datawithout any compromise, theVice President referred to theregulator’s assurance to thenation of due diligence beforegiving nod to the two vaccines,Covishield and Covaxin onSunday.

    “India’s leap of science withthe vaccine announcement is aclear manifestation of the spir-it of Atmanirbhar Bharat,”Naidu stated.

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    Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan on Monday said hewill not get the vaccineadministered, saying thosewho fall under the prioritygroups should get the preference. It is, however, notclear whether the top rungGovernment leaders, including the Prime Minister,will be administered the anti-Coronavirus vaccine in thefirst phase or not.

    Heads of many countrieshave been the first to takeCoronavirus vaccines to instilconfidence in the public oftheir respective countries. “Ihave decided that I will not getvaccinated for now. First itshould be administered toothers. My turn should comeafterwards. We have to workto ensure that priority groupsare administered with the vaccine,” Chouhan said.

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    The Supreme Court Mondayasked the Centre to eitherwithdraw or amend rules noti-fied in 2017 for confiscatinganimals of traders and trans-porters during the pendency oftrial in cases under thePrevention of Cruelty toAnimals Act, saying they arecontrary to the law.

    The top court said therules will be stayed if not with-drawn or amended by theCentre as the law providesthat animals can be confiscat-

    ed only if a person is convict-ed under the Act.

    The Supreme CourtMonday asked the Centre toeither withdraw or amend rulesnotified in 2017 for confiscat-ing animals of traders andtransporters during the pen-dency of trial in cases under thePrevention of Cruelty toAnimals Act, saying they arecontrary to the law.confiscatedonly if a person is convictedunder the Act.

    A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices A SBopanna and V

    Ramasubramanian said thatanimals are a source of liveli-hood for the people concerned.

    The bench told AdditionalSolicitor General Jayant K Sud,appearing for the Centre, thatthe government cannot con-fiscate the cattle and keep itbefore a person is convicted.

    At the outset, Sudinformed the bench that the2017 rules have been notified.

    The bench said that ani-mals are a source of livelihood.We are not talking about petdogs and cats. People live onthe basis of their animals.

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    Thirty-five students ofPanjab University havewritten to Chief Justice of India(CJI) SA Bobde and otherjudges of the Supreme Courtseeking an enquiry into allegedpolice atrocities on the farmersprotesting at Delhi bordersagainst the three farm laws.

    Aanchal Sawa, one of thesignatories of the letter, toldPTI that the apex court reg-istry has provided the diarynumber to the letter whichmay be registered and heard asa PIL.

    In the open letter, the stu-dents of the Centre for HumanRights and Duties of the uni-versity have alleged that therehas been “illegitimate use ofwater cannons, tear gasesshells and lathis on peacefulprotesting farmers” by policeauthorities which needs to beprobed.

    Seeking inquiry into policeexcesses and illegal detentionof some protesters, the letterhas also sought a direction toauthorities “to withdraw all thecases against innocent farmerswhich were registered underpolitical vendetta”.

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    Thiruvvananthapuram: At atime when Women's safety isa huge concern, a state-runagency is offering a platformfor them to get training in mar-tial arts for free of cost inKerala.

    The State YouthCommission, aimed at empow-ering youth and protectingtheir rights, is getting ready togive free self-defence trainingfor young women.

    The objective of the pro-gramme was to prepare everywoman in the southern statefor self-defence against physi-cal assault, Commission offi-cials here said.

    Those women, agedbetween18 and 40 years whohave registered with theCommunity Volunteer Force ofthe state government, can applyfor the free martial arts train-ing, the officials said.

    Chintha Jerome,Chairperson of the YouthCommission, said the trainingprogramme would begin inThiruvananthapuram districtin the initial phase. PTI

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    Thiruvananthapuram: Afterschools, Colleges and univer-sity campuses opened partiallyin Kerala on Monday, afterremaining closed for over 290days due to restrictions andlockdown imposed in the wakeof COVID-19 pandemic.

    Over 1,350 higher educa-tion institutions including artsand science and engineeringcolleges, state universities andthe lone central university in thestate located in Kasaragod wel-comed a limited number of stu-dents in compliance with strictCOVID protocols.

    Classes restarted for thefinal year undergraduate andpostgraduate students.

    Thermal screening, manda-tory usage of face masks, socialdistancing and frequent saniti-sation of campuses greeted stu-dents in each institution.

    As per the governmentinstructions, only 50 per cent of

    students were allowed in eachclass and shift system was intro-duced in many institutionsbased on the strength of stu-dents.

    The respective institutionscan arrange the classes in theircampus in two shifts between8.30 AM to 5 PM on all daysexcept Sundays, it said.The decision to increase theworking hours and to conductclasses on Saturday has irked asection of the academic frater-nity especially those belongingto teachers' unions affiliated toopposition parties.

    Schools in the southernstate, remained closed sincethe coronavirus-induced lock-down in March, had openedpartially on January 1 in adher-ence to COVID guidelines.Classes began for 10th and12th standard students in theschools in government and pri-vate sectors. PTI

    Puducherry: All schools here and inKaraikal re-opened on Monday with adher-ence to Covid-19 safety norms. Theschools remained shut for nine months dueto the pandemic-induced lockdown.

    Today, the institutions re-opened forhalf-a-day from 10 AM to 1 PM. Studentswere subjected to thermal scanning toassess their body temperature, a source said.

    The premises of schools were disinfectedas per the standard operating proceduresbefore being re-opened.

    Attendance was not insisted upon andletters of consent from parents were madenecessary.

    Already, students in standards X, XI andXII have been attending classes fromDecember 17in view of the public exams inthe next few months. Full-day classeswould be held from January 18.Attendance ranged between 80 to cent percent, the source said. PTI

    Patna: All educational institutions inBihar, including schools, colleges andcoaching centres, reopened onMonday after a gap of over ninemonths.

    Physical classes were held for stu-dents of standards 9-12 in schools andfinal year students in colleges. Theinstitutions were closed since March14 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

    Wearing of masks, use of handsanitiser and maintenance of physi-cal distancing have been mademandatory at the educational insti-tutions. Schools have been asked tooperate at half the strength to ensuresocial distancing in classes.

    Attendance, however, remainedthin as many parents were appre-hensive of sending their wards to theeducational institutions till they werevaccinated. Many students, on theother hand, were enthusiastic aboutthe development. “I am happy thatschools have reopened as studentswere getting badly affected. Most of

    the children studying in governmentschools do not have laptops to carryout online studies. Our syllabus is lag-ging and we will work hard to coverit,” a class 9 student of Patna's MillerHigh School said.

    Another class 11 student said thatthough COVID-19 fears loom large,studies are equally important and can-not be missed, while assuring thatsafety protocols will be maintained.

    Teachers too seemed happy to beable to take physical classes again.

    “It is good that we are getting anopportunity to teach students inphysical classrooms. All these monthswe used to come to schools but didnot have teaching work,” an educatorof Miller High School said.

    The attendance of class 11 and 12students is lesser than that of class 9and 10 pupils, he said.

    Students have to bring consentletters from their guardians to be ableto attend the classes, another teachersaid. PTI

    Jaipur: Rajasthan Health MinisterRaghu Sharma on Monday said thestate government, after bringing downthe daily case count of COVID-19, isnow focusing on reducing the post-COVID-19 effect.

    Post-COVID-19 care treatment isnow the top priority of the state gov-ernment, he said.

    Sharma requested the people, whohave recovered from COVID-19 buthave post-COVID effects, to consultand take treatment at 'post-COVIDcare clinics' and 'day care centres' runby the medical and health department.

    He said the people who haverecovered from COVID-19 should bein constant touch with the doctors ifthey have any kind of post-COVIDsymptoms such as physical weakness,weakness in lungs, pain in hands andlegs so that it can be cured.

    The health minister said manysymptoms are appearing as post-COVID effects and in the view of it,post-COVID centres have been set upat the government medical institutionsin the state. PTI

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    Controversial farm laws and cel-ebration of Netaji SubhasChandra Bose’s birth anniversaryhave suddenly become the two cen-tral topics ahead of Bengal Assemblyelections.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjeeon Monday renewed her demandsfor declaring January 23 the birthanniversary of Netaji as a nationalholiday.

    “I personally feel we haven'tdone anything important for NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose after inde-pendence. I've written a letter toCenter to declare 23rd January, birthanniversary of Netaji SubhasChandra Bose, as a national holiday.It is my demand,” the Chief Ministersaid unraveling grand programmesincluding an apolitical rally to cele-brate the national icon’s birth daywhich would be observed as “Desh

    Nayak Diwas.”In what experts called a ploy to

    evaluate her support base, Banerjeesaid, “the people of the State wouldbe encouraged to blow conch shellsand give azaans at the time ofNetaji’s birth.”

    The Chief Minister said she hadearlier written to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi requesting him toconsider declaring Netaji’s anniver-sary as a national holiday. TheGovernment schools would be askedto prepare Jai Hind and Azad Hindbrigades to promote nationalism,Banerjee who held video conferenceswith civil society members said.

    Banerjee also said that she wasagainst playing politics with farmersadding her Government would bringa motion in the State Assemblydenouncing the farm laws.

    “There should not be any poli-tics over the farmers … they are ourfood providers … We are thinking

    to bring a motion in the StateAssembly against the farm law forwhich the House will be opened fora couple of days,” Banerjee said.

    Threatening a nationwide stirshe had earlier said that the “the cen-tral government must withdraw thisanti-people law.”

    With an apparent eye on theelections the Chief Minister alsoannounced a slew of welfare projectsparticularly free eye care.

    The Government would freeeye treatment to the people of theState and would “provide free spec-tacles to 8.25 lakh people,” Banerjeesaid adding 20 lakh cataract opera-tions would also be conducted freeof cost.

    The students would be given freeeye care in the Government schools,she said adding the eye treatmentwould be provided in about 1,200gram panchayats and primary healthcare centres.

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    Defending the anti-conversionlaw enacted by the YogiAdityanath government in UttarPradesh, a group of former judges,civil servants and veterans onMonday hit out at its critics, sayingthey seem to have “usurped” theconstitutional power of judicialreview to put every law of the landto the “test of their own whims”.

    In a statement signed by 224persons, including those from acad-emia, they claimed that the UttarPradesh Prohibition of UnlawfulConversion of Religion Ordinance,referred as 'love jihad' law byHindutva groups, applies to every-one and safeguards the dignity ofwomen.

    Slamming the law's critics forterming it illegal and anti-Muslim,the statement alleged that it is a“shocking obsession of this biasedgroup to stoke communal fire byinstigating the religious minori-ties”. Former UP chief secretary

    Yogendra Narain, former Punjabchief secretary Sarvesh Kaushal,former Haryana chief secretaryDharam Vir, former Delhi HighCourt chief justice Rajendra Menon,former ambassador Lakshmi Puriand former Maharashtra DGPPraveen Dixit are among the signa-tories to the statement.

    Their support to the law camedays after 104 retired civil servantsalleged that Uttar Pradesh hasbecome the “epicentre of politics ofhate, division and bigotry” and theinstitutions of governance are“steeped in communal poison”. Theyhad sought repeal of the law, sayingit is being used to particularly vic-timise Muslim men.

    Countering them, the state-ment said 'Ganga-Jamuni' culture, acolloquial term for peaceful inter-faith existence, does not stand forunlawful conversions with criminalintent, leading to murders, mutila-tion, torture and betrayal of womenin particular. “We strongly believe ina secular India with harmoniouscoexistence of people of all faiths,

    and consider unlawful conversionswith wrongful intent and question-able means a threat to communalharmony.... We urge all state gov-ernments to discharge their func-tions in the best public interest inmaintaining law and order, socialharmony and dignity of womenwithout succumbing to any pres-sures,” it said.

    The signatories said the formercivil servants, who had issued a state-ment slamming the law, shouldhave kept in mind that even prior toIndia's independence, princely states,including Kota, Patna, Surguja,Udaipur, and Kalahandi, had passedlaws regarding religious conver-sions.

    After independence, Orissa,Madhya Pradesh, ArunachalPradesh, Himachal Pradesh andUttarakhand among others had leg-islated on matters relating to unlaw-ful conversions, they noted, addingthat new laws reflect the evolvingneeds of a dynamic society.

    They said it is a hasty general-isation based on a solitary incident

    of alleged lapse in Moradabad thatthe law itself has been dubbed as ille-gal and, in particular, anti-Muslim.The critics lost sight of a large num-ber of incidents where hapless vic-tim women have been “brutallymurdered” in a ghastly manner inthe course of inter-faith marriagesand conversions, they said, citingseveral cases.

    The group of 104 former civilservants is “visibly biased”, theyalleged, accusing them of workingwith an anti-establishment attitudeand availing of every opportunity to“put the Indian democracy, its insti-tutions, and persons legitimatelyholding high offices in poor lightbefore the whole world by makingill-considered public statements”.

    Those defending the law saidthis “politically motivated pressure-group” does not represent thousandsof former civil servants, judges,veterans and other “nationalist intel-lectuals” who believe in India emerg-ing as the greatest democracy of theworld, and “a global icon” bringingpride to every Indian.

    Lucknow: Two days after Akhilesh Yadav saidhe will not get himself injected with a “BJP vac-cine” against coronavirus, the Samajwadi Partychief asserted Monday that he had never insult-ed the scientists who developed it.

    Yadav's comment on Saturday that hecould not trust a vaccine which would be usedby a BJP government had triggered sharp reac-tions from the ruling party as well as leaders likeOmar Abdullah of the National Conference.

    The SP chief had tried to make amends onTwitter the same day, saying he was not refer-ring to the scientists.

    Questioned again by reporters on hisremarks, the SP asked the Centre to tell whenthe poor people in the state will get the anti-COVID shot and if it will be available free.

    “I have never raised any questions on anyscientist developing the vaccine or any personhelping in making the vaccine. I only raised ques-tions on the BJP as people do not have faith inthe party because of the decisions taken by it,”he said. But he appeared to raise doubts againagainst the vaccines set to be rolled out in thecountry in the coming days, asking what hap-

    pened with the Haryana minister who had gothimself vaccinated.

    “The government hospital could not treathim, so he went to a private hospital to save hislife,” Yadav said.

    The apparent reference was to Haryana'sAnil Vij who had tested positive for coronavirusdays after taking part in a trial for BharatBiotech's Covaxin. It was however clarified thenthat not all participants in the trial were inject-ed with the vaccine – a proportion of them wereadministered placebos. In any case, it needed twoshots days apart for the immunity to kick in.

    Akhilesh Yadav said after the “debate” on thevaccines, the government should come forwardand remove all doubts. “We want to know fromthe government when the poor people in thestate will get vaccinated, and whether it will befree of cost or not,” he said.

    “The government should tell its plan. Firstof all the people of the press should get vacci-nated. I am saying this with full seriousness thatyou people risked your lives during the COVID-19 coverage, and some of your people lost theirlives,” Yadav added. PTI

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    Gujarat Chief Minister VijayRupani on Monday saidthe state is fully equipped forthe COVID-19 vaccinationdrive and will begin the processas soon as the central govern-ment announces the plan.

    Preparations related to coldchain infrastructure, surveyand training of vaccinatorshave been completed, Rupanisaid addressing an event atAhwa in Dang district.

    India's drugs regulator onSunday approved OxfordCOVID-19 vaccine Covishield,manufacture


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