Reporters Without Borders puts the number at 108. In the first 50 days of the conflict, journalists were being killed at a rate of roughly one per day, making Gaza the most dangerous conflict for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists began keeping records in 1992
Editorial, EOI, 4 May 2024 : Journalism is under attack on an international scale, both from outside and from inside, as recent developments have revealed. The most glaring evidence of attack from outside is from war-torn Gaza, where a total of 97 journalists are estimated to have been killed since October last.
Reporters Without Borders puts the number at 108. In the first 50 days of the conflict, journalists were being killed at a rate of roughly one per day, making Gaza the most dangerous conflict for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists began keeping records in 1992.Some of those were the inevitable ‘collateral damage’ of the conflict, caught in crossfire because they were working close to active fighting.
But Israeli troops have also been accused of targeting many of the journalists because of their work. Many of them were reporting in the field and were clearly identifiable as journalists.
Others were killed by strikes that specifically targeted their homes. Of course, the life of a journalist is no more precious than that of anybody else, but the issue at stake is not the safety of journalists but the right to know.
The trouble is, if journalism is criminalized, dismissed or sidelined as it tells inconvenient truths, capacity for sensible public debate will be lost in society. Thanks to social media, there is enough information available, but often full of rumour, conjecture and opinion.
In the absence of professional journalists, what will be missing is information underpinned by the necessary journalistic rigor, without which it becomes impossible to filter out reliable fact from conjecture, rumour and pure fiction.
Not only Gaza, journalism is under unprecedented assault all over the world. The Committee to Protect Journalists has estimated that on December 1 last year there were 320 journalists in prison in the world. In an analysis of the charges the journalists are facing, the CPJ has found that almost two-thirds of them are being held on broadly described “anti-state charges,” like terrorism, sedition, and treason.
The troubling conclusion is that governments have taken to treating journalism not as something that supports the state by upholding democratic values such as transparency, accountability and vibrant public debate; but as an existential threat.
The threat from within comes from social media which is now cornering an increasing share of advertising revenue.
News outlets have relied for so long on advertising to sustain them. They will find it difficult to recover once the advertisement revenue goes elsewhere.
Social media isn’t trying to kill journalism; because social media has never really cared about journalism. Social media is resolutely in the attention business.
The business of most news outlets has been primarily about attracting attention, not delivering the best or highest quality news. Data on the shifting share of advertising, in Australia and elsewhere, makes clear the profound change of the last two decades.
Money previously spent on print advertising and direct mail has migrated to search, social media, and online classifieds.
Money spent on television advertising has moved as well, though more slowly and mostly just in the last decade.
The development of more effective and efficient advertising tools is what killed traditional newspaper operations, not the circulation of news on social media. The commercial failure of news organisations is not due to their journalism product but because they are no longer nearly so strong a tool for attracting attention for advertisers
The bench asked Singhvi when are the elections scheduled in Delhi to which he replied that on May 23 the campaigning will come to an end in the national capital and on May 25 the polling will be held
PTI, New Delhi, 03.05.24 : In a ray of hope to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after 43 days of his arrest in the excise policy-linked money laundering case, the Supreme Court on Friday told the Enforcement Directorate to be ready with the case as it may consider hearing arguments on his interim bail on May 7 on account of Lok Sabha polls in Delhi.
Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 and is currently lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), that the hearing on Kejriwal’s plea against arrest is likely to take time and therefore, the court was considering hearing the probe agency on interim bail to him.
“It appears we can’t complete today. We will post it on Tuesday morning itself. Mr Raju, one more thing. If it is going to take time and it does appear to us that it may take some time, we will then consider the question of interim bail because of the elections,” the bench told Raju, who was wrapping up his argument for the day.
Raju submitted that he will oppose the bail to Kejriwal and pointed out that to the statements made by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh after getting bail last month in the case.
“Just, look at the kind of statements he is making,” he said.
The bench said it is putting the agency on notice about the court’s intention, so that it is not taken by surprise on May 7, when the interim bail issue will be dealt.
“We are not commenting on it either way. We are just saying we will hear on interim bail and not saying we will grant interim bail. We may or may not grant interim bail,” the bench said.
It also told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal,
“Just one thing more. Please also take instructions. Because of the position he holds, whether he should be signing official files?” During the hearing, Singhvi informed the bench that on March 16 the elections were announced and on March 21, Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on the basis of statements and materials which were available with the agency since last July.
The bench asked Singhvi when are the elections scheduled in Delhi to which he replied that on May 23 the campaigning will come to an end in the national capital and on May 25 the polling will be held.
The top court was also critical of Singhvi’s arguments that AAP being a political party will not be covered under section 70 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which deals with offences by companies.
“Anything done by a political party cannot be attributed to its President, Convenor or General Secretary, else it will be a case of vicarious liability. A political party is out of the section 70 of the PMLA,” he submitted, adding that the provision only deals with companies.
The senior lawyer further said that a political party is not a partnership, private corporate firm or a society but an entity which is registered under the Representation of the People Act.
The bench said, “It is difficult to accept your arguments.
AAP is a juristic person and cannot be arrested. It can be impleaded as accused. Person in-charge can be prosecuted along with the juristic person under section 70 of the PMLA. Will the society not be covered under section 70.
Anyways, we have noted your arguments and will deal with it.” Singhvi said that there is no direct evidence of Kejriwal receiving kickback and if at all he has, then the case will fall under the Prevention of Corruption Act and not the PMLA.
He added that all the materials the ED has, were covered in the bail case of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and the court has said that no case is made out based on them.
The top court also posed several queries to ED including on why nine exculpatory statements of witnesses were not mentioned in the ground of arrest of Kejriwal and why only inculpatory statements were mentioned.
Raju replied that the investigating officer, though having considered all the materials before him, is required to only mention the relevant material which make him believe that the accused has committed the offence.
“I have considered all the materials but I need to mention only the relevant material and not irrelevant materials. The statements which are exculpatory are irrelevant material and if the investigation officer is to record all the materials before it, then the record will be voluminous and he will not be able to file the chargesheet in 60 days,” Raju submitted.
However, the bench did not agree with the submissions and said that the scheme of the law and the 2022 verdict in Vijay Madanlal Choudhury has kept section 19 at higher pedestal and therefore, entire material should be before the court at the time of his arrest.
Section 19 of the PMLA empowers the ED to arrest persons based on the material in its possession, providing a reasonable basis to suspect that an individual has committed an offence punishable under the law.
The top court issued the ED a notice on April 15 and sought its response to Kejriwal’s plea.
On April 9, the high court upheld Kejriwal’s arrest, saying there was no illegality and the ED was left with “little option” after he skipped repeated summonses and refused to join the investigation.
The matter pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
The petition highlighted the alarming rise in temperatures, which are expected to go beyond 40 degree Celsius, and also stated that the number of voters over the age of 40 is high and that they are vulnerable to the heatwave
PTI, Bengaluru, 03.05.24 : Citing the ongoing heatwave in the state, Karnataka BJP on Friday petitioned the Election Commission with a request to modify the polling hours to the 6am-7pm period in the 14 parliamentary constituencies in the state that goes to polls on May 7.
Polling is currently scheduled to be held in the second phase in the state in 14 segments in the northern districts between 7am to 6pm on May 7.
“It has become hard to come out and vote between hours 10.00 to 17.00 due to uncontrollable heat. The average heat in those parts (north Karnataka) covering 14 parliamentary constituencies are between 37 and 42 degree (Celsius). The mercury is rising at an alarming level and it would become hard for the electors to come out and vote,” BJP’s petition said.
The petition highlighted the alarming rise in temperatures, which are expected to go beyond 40 degree Celsius, and also stated that the number of voters over the age of 40 is high and that they are vulnerable to the heatwave.
“To keep up the good spirit of voting, necessary action should be taken,” the BJP petition urged the Election Commission, saying, “In this background, it is requested to modify the time of voting in the 14 parliamentary constituencies from 06.00 to 19.00 hours on May 7”.
Polling was held between 7 am and 6 pm during Karnataka’s first phase of the Lok Sabha polls in 14 constituencies on April 26.
Modi slammed the Opposition bloc INDIA and the Congress for ‘supporting’ the ‘vote jihad’ comments made by a candidate of the Samajwadi Party (SP), an ally of the grand old party in Uttar Pradesh
PTI, Bardhaman, 03.05.24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that Congress’ tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an “all-time low”, as the grand old party would struggle to cross even the “half-century” mark in the hustings.
Modi also mocked Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli seat, and said the Congress leader did so after “sensing defeat” in Kerala’s Wayanad, where he is a sitting MP.
Addressing back-to-back rallies in the Bardhaman-Durgapur, Krishnanagar and Bolpur Lok Sabha constituencies, the PM said if Congress is voted to power, it would “snatch” quotas meant for the Scheduled Caste, Dalits and OBCs and give those to its “jihadi vote bank” to pursue the party’s “appeasement politics”.
Modi slammed the Opposition bloc INDIA and the Congress for “supporting” the “vote jihad” comments made by a candidate of the Samajwadi Party (SP), an ally of the grand old party in Uttar Pradesh.
“There is no need for opinion polls or exit polls, as I had talked about their (Congress) defeat long back in Parliament. When their senior leader quit her Lok Sabha seat and entered Parliament through Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, it was evident they sensed defeat,” he said, in an apparent dig at Sonia Gandhi.
“Now, the ‘shehzada’ of Congress, who went to Wayanad after losing the Amethi seat, is also contesting from Rae Bareli. He knows he will lose Wayanad this time,” Modi said.
He said Rahul Gandhi should not be afraid and “keep running away”.
“I had said earlier that the ‘prince’, after the polling in Wayanad, would look for another seat, due to fear of defeat in that constituency. Now, he had to run away from Amethi and choose Rae Bareli. They go around and ask people not to feel afraid. I would tell them the same thing – don’t be afraid and don’t run away,” the prime minister said.
The Congress on Friday ended the suspense over Amethi and Rae Bareli, announcing his candidature from the seat held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for the last two decades.
Rahul Gandhi had lost from the adjoining Amethi constituency in 2019 but won from Wayanad – a seat he is contesting this time as well.
“The Congress’ tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an all-time low. Let the Congress try as much as it wants, but the party won’t be able to cross the half-century mark this time. They would struggle to get even 50 seats,” Modi asserted.
The grand old party’s lowest tally in the Lok Sabha polls was in 2014 when it bagged just 44 seats. In 2019, it managed 52 seats.
“Can the TMC by winning 15 seats across the country, the Congress by getting less than 50 seats or the Left Front, which has lost its support base, win the elections and form a stable government? The answer is no. Only the BJP-led NDA can win the polls and form a stable government,” he said.
The prime minister also challenged the Congress to give in writing that it would not amend the constitution to provide reservations based on religion.
“Our constitution explicitly states that the government of India must not provide reservations based on religion. The Congress wants to do the same as they are angry with the OBCs, Dalits and the tribals because they supported Modi,” he said.
Modi said he has been challenging the Congress on three points for the last 10 days, but it has remained silent.
“My first challenge is – Congress and the INDI alliance should give assurance to the country in writing that they will not make any changes in the Constitution or give reservations based on religion. My second challenge is – they should promise the country in writing that they will not snatch the reservations of SC/ST and OBCs and divide those based on religion.
“My third challenge is they should give in writing that wherever their state governments are in power, reservations will not be given to Muslims based on religion by slashing the OBC quota,” he said.
Modi also said the “game of vote jihad” has been silently continuing in the country for decades.
“The royal family of the Congress, the TMC and the Left are silent on this appeal of ‘vote jihad’ against me. This means that every single member of the opposition alliance agrees with it,” he said.
Hitting out at the coalition, the PM said the INDIA bloc of Congress, TMC and the Left parties “has only one policy – appeasement”.
“First, they divided the country based on religion, and the brunt was borne by communities like the Sikhs, Christians and Parsis, who were left stranded on the other side. To take care of such communities, our government decided to bring the CAA, but these parties, including the TMC, are fighting tooth and nail against it to not upset their vote bank,” he said.
Reaching out to the Matua community of West Bengal, Modi said: “We had hoped that the TMC would support the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, as the Matuas would benefit from it. But, the state’s ruling party is opposing it for their vote bank politics.” On Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks over wealth redistribution, the PM said, the Congress and the INDIA bloc are planning to “take the wealth that you have accumulated by working hard and enduring hardships, and distribute it among their vote bank”.
He was addressing a poll gathering at Surendranagar in Gujarat in support of BJP candidates for Surendranagar and Bhavnagar Lok Sabha seats
PTI, Surendranagar, May 02 2024 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Congress over party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s recent remark on Lord Ram and Lord Shiva, accusing the opposition party of trying to create divisions among Hindus due to its appeasement politics.
He was addressing a poll gathering at Surendranagar in Gujarat in support of BJP candidates for Surendranagar and Bhavnagar Lok Sabha seats. “Now, Congress is trying to create divisions among Hindus. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has made a very dangerous statement about Lord Ram and Lord Shiva.
This statement has been made with malafide intentions.
They are playing a game to divide the Hindu community,” he said. “They are creating differences among the devotees of Lord Ram and Lord Shiva so that they fight with each other. Even Mughals could not break our thousands of years of traditions.
And now Congress wants to break it? How low will Congress stoop for appeasement?” Modi added. The PM also alleged that Congress, in its manifesto, has proposed a separate quota for minorities in the allocation of all government tenders.
Addressing a rally in Jamnagarin Gujarat, the PM said the Congress government in Karnataka issued a “fatwa” overnight to include Muslims in the Other Backward Classes
segment to give them quota benefits. “The Congress is contesting elections on two strategies. The first is to divide society in the name of caste and the second is unite its vote bank through appeasement,” Modi said.
He further said the Congress planned to change the Constitution to give reservation on the basis of religion. This is why the Congress party spread an “absolute rumour” regarding (curtailing of) reservations to Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs and tried to make it an election agenda, the PM said. The Congress is trying to take away reservations of SCs, STs and OBCs
and give these benefits to Constituent Assembly did not have Muslims.
In Karnataka, 27 per cent OBC quota was “looted overnight” by the Congress to appease its vote bank, whereas those who drafted the Constitution were clear that religion-based quota could not be provided, the PM said.
“The leaders from BJP, RSS. Scholars
like Babasaheb Ambedkar were
present and after detailed
discussions they decided that
reservation cannot be given in the
name of religion as it would create
a grave danger for the country,” he
said.
“The poison sprayed by
Congress has gone very high and I
don’t know to what places it will
spread by end of this election,” the
PM said, adding the opposition
party’s leaders were at the
forefront of supporting “terrorists”
and were now calling for “vote
jihad”. The then prime minster
served as the guest of Kashmiri
separatists and Congress leaders
came forward to save Ajmal Kasab,
the lone gunman arrested after the
26/11 terror attack on Mumbai,
Modi said.
“Books were written to
save jihadis of the Mumbai terror
attack and a Congress leader
released (one such) book. In Delhi,
when terrorists were killed at Batla
House, the ‘madam’ of the Congress
could not stop tears. When Afzal
Guru was sentenced to hang, people
from this ecosystem reached the
Supreme Court and the President,”
the PM said.
These people are now
calling for “vote jihad” (religion
based voting to stop the BJP), he
pointed out. Slamming the
Congress’ manifesto, Modi said it as a sign of danger for the country.
“INDI alliance leaders are asking
Muslim voters to go for vote jihad.
It is not something being uttered by
a child studying in a madrassa but
by Congress leaders who come
from highly educated families,” the
PM said. “
“The kind of language
that the Muslim League used, the
narrative on which the country was
divided are unfortunately the same
on the basis of which they are
seeking votes,” he said.
The
Congress leaves no opportunity to
mock “our faith” but would it dare
to make fun of anything related to
other religions, the PM asked.
“They boycott the Ram Temple,
they call Dwarka a lie. They say we
will make Lord Shiva and Lord
Ram fight and ensure Ram’s defeat.
The ‘shehzada’ of the Congress even
ridiculed my offering prayers in
submerged Dwarka. Therefore, I
say we should be careful of the
Congress,” the PM said.
The
Congress’ politics started with false
propaganda and has now fallen into
despair, Modi said.
“The Congress
has the same frustration and hatred
towards the country’s development
that it once had for Gujarat. While
India’s stature is rising across the
world, the shehzada of the Congress
and his ecosystem go abroad and
defame our country with long
lectures,” the PM said in a swipe at
Rahul Gandhi.
When the Congress-
led UPA was unseated in 2014, the
country’s economy was the 11th
largest in the world, whereas India
was ranked 6th when it gained
Independence, the PM pointed out.
“They were intellectuals. However,
then came a chaiwala who had
Gujarati blood and the economy
rose to 5th rank,” the PM said,
adding he did not seek people’s
blessings for power, prestige and
position but to fulfil the pledge of
making India the third largest
economy.
“You can imagine how
much the world’s attitude will
change towards India when we
achieve third rank. India will be
self-reliant and will not have to
spread its hand before the world for
anything. I need blessings to make
such an India,” Modi asserted.
Slamming the Congress’ “scholars”
for claiming that the country’s
economy would achieve third rank
by itself and for stating that
poverty can be removed in an
instant, Modi said these persons
had never thought about facing and
overcoming challenges and solving
problems. “When the intentions are
clean, the results are grand,” the PM
emphasised.
Modi said he has three
challenges for the Congress, and
these are, firstly, giving in writing
whether it would provide religion-
based quota to Muslims by
changing the Constitution,
secondly, not taking away
reservation benefits of Dalits,
tribals and OBCs, and thirdly, that
its state governments will not run a
hidden agenda of including
Muslims in the OBC segment.
“Will
Modi stay silent when the country
is facing such dangers? Will he
ever allow the country to be
divided? As long as Modi is alive,
he will not allow the country to be
divided again in the name of
religion,” he asserted. The
Congress’ leaders, instead of
responding (to such challenges) are
misleading the public, he added.
Voting on 25 of Gujarat’s 26 Lok
Sabha seats will take place on May
7. The BJP has won the Surat seat
unopposed.
Agencies, 1 May 2024 : An amazing video has come from Pilibhit TR, where the confidence of a sloth bear wins him the day from a stalking tigress. The aggressive charge by sloth bear caught her unaware. VC – Siddhartha Singh.
But tigers only forfeit because they do not want injury, but if a tiger is hungry, dedicated to win, and experienced, they are known to hunt and eat bears.
Shared by IAS Sanjay Kumar on X, the video captures the heart-pounding exchange between the animals at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Uttar Pradesh.
The video begins with the tigress swiftly walking through the sides of the way towards the tall grass when it notices a sloth bear approaching. The tigress then takes a moment and sits at a distance, waiting for the sloth bear to cross the road.
As the video progresses, the tigress crosses the road to make sure the sloth bear is gone. However, in the blink of an eye, the sloth bear reappears and aggressively charges at the tigress. The encounter ends with the sloth bear disappearing into the tall grass.
Sharing the video, IAS Kumar wrote, “An amazing video has come from Pilibhit TR, where the confidence of a sloth bear wins him the day from a stalking tigress. The aggressive charge by sloth bear caught her unaware.”
The video garnered many reactions with one saying, “When physical strength matches the aggressive stance, the challenger derives an advantage.” Another user wrote, “Wonderful interactions!”
Last month, a video of a tiger shrewdly using its sense of smell and hunting down a fawn took over the internet. Shared by IAS officer Sanjay Kumar on X, the video also shows how the food chain works in wildlife. The video was from the Jim Corbett Resort in Uttarakhand’s Jim Corbett National Park.
The risks which are now causing paranoia have been known since 2021 – and experts believe they do not outweigh the benefits the vaccine brought at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the adverse effects show up a few months after vaccine delivery, at the latest.
A vial of the Covishield vaccine candidate. Photo: Covid-19 vaccination/Flickr, CC BY NC 2.0
Banjot Kaur, The Wire, 01 May 2024 : New Delhi: The Telegraph‘s report that the maker of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was sold in India as Covishield, has “admitted” to an adverse event called ‘Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome’ or TTS in “very rare cases” has led to deluge of social media posts and a growing sense of paranoia among people.
TTS is a spectrum that involves blot clots along with a low platelet count in the body, which at times can cause serious injury or even death.
While there had been reported cases of deaths and serious adverse effects following the administration of the vaccine, all drug regulators and scientific bodies have categorised them as extremely rare occurrences. All of them have said there are risks, but the benefits of the vaccine, including saving lives, have outweighed the risks.
The Wire breaks down the risk v/s benefits scenario for those who took Covishield in India.
How rare is rare?
One of the keywords that was reported to have been used by AstraZeneca, in terms of adverse events occurring, was ‘rare’ – something that most of the commentary is now missing.
But how rare is it? By looking at the data from the UK and the European Union, the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety assessed that the risk was low. The committee consists of independent vaccine and other domain experts. It advises the World Health Organisation on vaccine safety.
“[The] data from the UK suggest the risk is approximately 4 cases per million adults who receive the vaccine, while the rate is estimated to be approximately 1 per 100, 000 in the European Union (EU),” it said back in 2021. It was in late 2020 and early 2021 that the Covid-19 vaccination drive picked up globally.
There are several other studies that looked into the rate of TTS caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine. One such study looked at the AstraZeneca Global Safety Database in 2022. They found the rate of this adverse event to be 7.5 per million vaccinated persons, while yet another meta-analysis, which studied two mRNA vaccines and the AstraZeneca vaccine, found the rate of severe adverse reactions with the latter as two per million vaccinated in 2020.
For how long does one run the risk of developing clots?
An Australian assessment says the serious adverse events may develop within four to 42 days of administration of the vaccine. The TTS can develop within a short stretch of duration, and not years after the vaccination. Hence any TTS event, or clotting, can’t occur with Covishield/Astrazeneca vaccine unless one has taken it in the immediate past.
“This time period may also stretch to 3-6 months,” Jacob John, an infectious diseases expert with Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore, told The Wire.
“The vaccine can’t cause an epigenetic effect. It is not something that it has altered your genes,” he explained, and so can’t lead to the development of clots years down the line.
Is this new information?
Another claim that is doing the rounds is that this is the ‘first time’ we have come to know that TTS could take place in rare instances due to the vaccine. While it may be the first time the information has reached such a wide audience, scientific papers had spoken of the issue back in 2021.
Moreover, the company too had put in the public domain something called a ‘package insert’ while rolling out the vaccine for use. That package insert, shared on the AstraZeneca website, mentions the occurrence of clotting as a rare event.
However, what did not happen was adequate publicising of this information. Neither governments around the world, including India’s, nor the company itself, made meaningful efforts to let the risks be known on a large scale. Therefore, people are now raising questions regarding the transparency of governments and vaccine companies – even if such adverse events were rare.
How does the rare clotting happen?
The British Heart Foundation says the exact pathway is still being studied.
Satyajit Rath, a noted immunologist who has also been associated with Institute of Immunology in India, says it may be due to an inadvertent event. Apart from making the antibodies against the Covid-19 virus, the autoantibodies against a protein found in blood called platelet-4 also got developed in some rare cases, he explained.
“This, in turn, seems to be contributing to triggering a cascade of platelet clumping, and, therefore, the clots,” Rath said.
He added that why it happens in the case of some people – even though rare – and not in others, is yet to be understood clearly.
Heart attack because of Covid-19
There are ample studies, like this long-term research, now, on Long Covid – a spectrum of diseases that many have developed even after patients have recovered from the initial infection. Heart attacks are the most common among them. The British Heart Foundation says the clots were far more common after a Covid-19 infection than after the vaccine.
This large-scale study looked into the records of 10.17 million vaccinated and 10.39 million unvaccinated people in the UK, Spain and Estonia. The researched concluded:
“[The] COVID-19 vaccination reduced the risk of post-COVID-19 cardiac and thromboembolic outcomes. These effects were more pronounced for acute COVID-19 outcomes, consistent with known reductions in disease severity; following breakthrough [or reinfection] versus unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2 [virus causing Covid-19] infection.”
Another study by a group of scientists from Oxford University published in 2021 compared the possibility of thrombocytopenia after Covid-19 infection, and after the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
They concluded that there was an ‘increased’ risk of thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) and venous thromboembolism (clotting in veins) in short time intervals after the administration of the first dose of the vaccine.
But they also wrote that these risks were much higher if one got the Covid-19 disease, as compared to the vaccine.
“Importantly, the risks of these outcomes after vaccination were much lower than those associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the same population,” they wrote.
Countries suspended/stopped use of AstraZeneca vaccine for young populations
More than a dozen countries, especially in Europe, suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for an interim period after reports of clotting surfaced in 2021. However, many of them resumed using it a month or so later.
The governments in the UK and Australia have maintained that younger people, especially those below 50, should not take the AstraZeneca vaccine. They recommended alternative vaccines for this age group; Australia recommended Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine for the younger cohort.
Should India have altered its strategy too? The answer heavily rested on the fact that the Indian government did not allow the import of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Therefore, it had limited the options for itself, should a change in strategy have been required.
Moreover, the Indian government had hardly initiated any study, like the other governments, to understand the adverse effects of the vaccine on the younger population after its rollout.
“In order to make a good determination of Covid risk versus vaccine risk to an individual, it would be necessary to have really robust evidence for local transmission situations and clinical risk profiles,” Rath said.
Even though the Astrazeneca vaccine-associated adverse effects were rare, Rath questioned whether India had collected reliable background information as the basis for any potential decision to halt vaccine use in a specific set of the population.
Lack of adverse events monitoring system in India
One of the reasons that a paranoia of sorts has taken over people after the reports of AstraZeneca’s admission is the lack of a proper monitoring mechanism for the side effects of Covid-19 vaccines, or Adverse Effects Following Immunisation (AEFI), in India.
Till date, there is no public platform that the Indian government has built where one can easily look into the data regarding this. As against this, many governments around the world have been transparent.
A case in point is this website of the UK’s drug regulator, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
On this website one can look for the number of adverse reactions caused by each of the three available vaccines in the country – two mRNA vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna, and Novovax. Not only have they put in the public domain how many adverse events occurred, they have also put a summary of how many events were reported and studied to be finally characterised as adverse events.
The US’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) gives anyone the opportunity to download data for the vaccine’s side effects.
The public availability of this information is one point. Another worrisome point in India, as far as Covid-19 vaccines are concerned, is how one should report if an adverse event has occurred.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India created a toll free number for this. But there were no efforts made to widely circulate that number – definitely much less than the efforts taken to convince people to take vaccines.
There have been reports how registering an AEFI event caused due to Covid-19 vaccination has been an uphill task in India. On the other hand, the MHRA has an easy-to-use ‘yellow card reporting’ website for this.
There have been 180 reported deaths in India following Covid-19 vaccination, but experts don’t rule out some sort of an undercounting here
“Our regulator really needs to learn regarding creating an efficient AEFI reporting system,” CMC’s John said. There have been no post-approval real-life long-term studies in India done by the government to understand how the vaccines performed.
“If such a system [of monitoring] isn’t created, then it is bound to hit the trust of the people in Science. Worse, should an epidemic occur again, how are people going to trust [the vaccines],” John asked.
Other vaccines causing side effects
A panic has now set in among common people. They are questioning why this ‘unsafe vaccine’ was rolled out in India. However, there has been no vaccine against any virus in history which was shown to have 100% safety. Rare side effects have been associated even with those jabs which have been in use for decades now.
“The oral polio vaccine can, in rare instances, lead to vaccine-induced poliomyelitis disease,” Rath explained. He cited another example of the BCG vaccine which, in rare instances, can cause severe inflammation and abscess formation.
It is then not entirely unsurprising – and perhaps not a cause for widespread panic – that the Covid-19 vaccine too can lead to rare adverse events.
Justice Subramonium Prasad issued a notice on a petition filed by B R Aravindakshan and asked the Centre to file its response within four weeks
PTI, New Delhi, 02.05.24 :
The Delhi High Court has sought the Centre’s stand on a plea alleging disappearance of 70,772.48 kg of heroin from seizure records between 2018 and 2020.
Justice Subramonium Prasad issued a notice on a petition filed by B R Aravindakshan and asked the Centre to file its response within four weeks.
The petitioner, a journalist, has claimed that there is a huge discrepancy between the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report and the data released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) regarding seizure of drugs in the country from 2018 to 2020.
“He (petitioner) states that cumulatively, 70,772.48 kg of heroin has disappeared from seizure records between 2018 and 2020. Issue notice. Let replies be filed within four weeks,” the court said in its order passed on Wednesday.
The petitioner has said “the alarming disappearance” of more than 70,000 kg of heroin, valued at approximately Rs 5 lakh crore in the international market, raises concerns of national security, social stability and economic repercussions.
The plea says the magnitude of the “discrepancy” is so large that if not sorted promptly, it may result in chaos in the society, but no action has been taken on the issue.
“On 12.09.2022, the petitioner filed a complaint before the MHA representing the data relating to the mismatch of data provided by NCRB and the data provided by Hon’ble Nityanand Rai, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs, concerning seizure of heroin during the year 2018 and 2020.
“The petitioner insisted that 70,772.54 kg heroin worth Rs 5 lakh crore seized in India has been missing, thus insisting the ministry that an immediate investigation should be ordered for the safety and welfare of the country,” the petition says.
The petitioner has sought several directions with respect to the alleged mismatch, including a direction to the MHA to order an investigation in a stipulated time period.
The victim’s father, Rodulal has alleged that two of his son’s friends, Ajay Salvi and a boy conspired to kill Yashwant Nagar under the pretext of shooting a video
PTI, Kota, 02.05.24 : A day after a 22-year-old man died while making a reel with a country-made pistol, two accused have been detained for questioning, police said on Thursday.
The victim’s father, Rodulal has alleged that two of his son’s friends, Ajay Salvi and a boy conspired to kill Yashwant Nagar under the pretext of shooting a video, police said.
The matter came to light on Wednesday when Yashwant Nagar suffered a bullet injury in the chest while shooting a video with a country-made pistol at a tea shop near Maharishi Gautam Bhawan in Mahaveer Nagar Extension. He was immediately rushed to New Medical College Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.
While talking to the reporters, Rodulal said that as per the video that he had seen of his son, a boy was loading the gun and shot Nagar in the chest while Ajay was standing nearby.
He further said that Ajay brought Nagar from Kota to Jhalawar a few days ago and conspired to kill him. Based on Rodulal’s complaint, a case has been registered under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code against Ajay Salvi and a boy, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Manish Sharma said.
The police handed over the body to the family after conducting a post-mortem. The two accused were brought in for questioning and further investigation is underway, SHO Mahendra Maru said.
Premoday Khakha has been accused of allegedly raping a minor girl several times between November 2020 and January 2021 and is currently in judicial custody after being arrested in August
PTI, New Delhi, 02.05.24: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant bail to the wife of suspended Delhi government officer Premoday Khakha, who allegedly raped a minor girl several times and impregnated her.
A bench of justices C T Ravikumar and S V N Bhatti dismissed the plea of the official’s wife Seema Rani and said it was not inclined to interfere with the Delhi High Court order which had dismissed her plea.
Khakha has been accused of allegedly raping a minor girl several times between November 2020 and January 2021 and is currently in judicial custody after being arrested in August.
The minor was the daughter of a person known to the accused, according to police.
Rani is also an accused in the case. She allegedly gave the girl medicines to terminate her pregnancy. The woman is in judicial custody.
The couple was arrested after the survivor recorded her statement before a magistrate at a hospital.
The case was registered under the provisions of the POCSO Act and Indian Penal Code sections 376(2)(f) (being a relative, guardian or teacher of, or a person in a position of trust or authority towards the woman, commits rape on such woman) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to outrage the modesty of a woman).
IPC sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 313 (causing miscarriage without woman’s consent) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) have also been invoked in the case, police said.
BJP sources said that Modi is scheduled to address election rallies in support of party candidates in Krishnanagar, Bardhaman Purba and Bolpur Lok Sabha constituencies on Friday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.: File picture.
PTI, Calcutta, 02.05.24 :
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to West Bengal from Thursday, during which he is scheduled to address several election rallies, a senior official said.
The PM is scheduled to arrive in Calcutta on Thursday evening and spend the night at Raj Bhavan, he said.
BJP sources said that Modi is scheduled to address election rallies in support of party candidates in Krishnanagar, Bardhaman Purba and Bolpur Lok Sabha constituencies on Friday.
“Tight security arrangements have put in place in the city for the prime minister’s visit. He will spend the night at Raj Bhavan,” the official told PTI.
Owing to the PM’s visit, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose cut short his personal visit to his home state Kerala to return to the city, he said.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Traffic Police has decided to regulate vehicular movement on certain stretches in the city in view of the PM’s visit.
The parcel was delivered by an unidentified man. As soon as the electronic item was plugged in, there was a blast
PTI, Sabarkantha, 02.05.24 : A father-daughter duo were killed and two children sustained serious injuries on Thursday after an electronic item delivered by an unidentified person exploded in Gujarat’s Sabarkantha district, police said.
The incident took place at Veda village, said sub-inspector Jitendra Rabari of Vadali police station.
“The parcel was delivered by an unidentified man. As soon as the electronic item was plugged in, there was a blast,” he said.
While Jitu Vanzara (33) died on the spot, three injured girls were rushed to the Vadali community health centre and from there to the Himatnagar civil hospital.
Vanzara’s 11-year-old daughter died at the hospital, while her sister and cousin were undergoing treatment, the police official said.
One of the injured girls was in a serious condition and put on a ventilator, said assistant resident medical officer Vipul Jani.
A relative of the victims said the parcel was delivered in an autorickshaw. Police were investigating if the family had ordered the item, Rabari said.
Agencies: A father and his daughter were killed after an electronic item delivered by an unidentified person exploded in their home in Gujarat’s Vadali on Wednesday.
The victims have been identified as Jitendra Heerabhai Vanjara and his daughter, Bhumika Vanjara.
The deadly parcel, which was ordered online, also caused injuries to two other family members, young girls aged nine and 10.
Parcel was delivered by an unidentified man
The incident took place in Veda village, according to sub-inspector Jitendra Rabari of Vadali Police Station.
“The parcel was delivered by an unidentified man. As soon as the electronic item was plugged in, there was a blast,” he said.
One of the injured girls was placed on a ventilator due to her critical condition.
A relative of the victims said the package was delivered to them in an autorickshaw
Injured survivors rushed to hospital, police investigation initiated
Following the explosion, the two injured girls were immediately taken to Himmantnagar Civil Hospital for treatment.
During their medical examination, doctors discovered wires embedded with iron fragments in their bodies.
This alarming discovery prompted an immediate police response.
Officers were dispatched to the Vanjara residence to begin an investigation into the origin and cause of the deadly parcel explosion.
If a mother gets to see her children maybe once a month, there is a father who hasn’t seen his daughter since she was born
Kuki woman meets her children once a month in Mizoram as Meiti husband lives with children in Imphal: PTI
PTI, Imphal, Churachandpur, 02.05.24 : Monthly dates in Mizoram or maybe Assam if at all, single parenting and the constant fear of abandonment. For Manipur’s Meitei-Kuki couples forced to live apart in ‘community’ enclaves, this is how life has been since ethnic clashes broke out in the state last May.
As crisis continues in the polarised state, where the Meitis are concentrated in Imphal Valley and the Kukis have moved to the hills around, inter-tribe couples are facing the cruel brunt of a conflict that has claimed more than 200 lives and displaced many thousands since May 3, 2023.
If a mother gets to see her children maybe once a month, there is a father who hasn’t seen his daughter since she was born. And then there is the constant fear of family bonds being strained perhaps to breaking point with a wife wondering if her husband will abandon her and a couple contemplating what lies ahead for them as a unit. The future stretches uncertain.
Irene Haokip, for instance, is a Kuki who moved to Imphal after she got married. One year on, the 42-year-old has moved to Churachandpur, a Kuki dominated area, to be with her family while her husband and their children, a five-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter, stay on in Imphal.
“My husband used to work as a construction contractor. I met him when a neighbour’s house in Bishnupur was getting constructed. We fell in love and he would come to the area to meet me often. We got married in 2018 and have two children,” Haokip told PTI.
Bishnupur is between Meitei dominated Imphal and Kuki dominated Churachandpur. It earlier housed people from both communities and is now considered a buffer zone.
“My husband sent me to my parents’ home last year fearing for my safety in the valley when clashes broke out. There has been no going back since. The children are with him because we fear that they might not be safe in Churachandpur since they are Meitei children,” Haokip added.
She meets her family once a month in neighbouring Mizoram, travelling 15 hours each way.
“He brings the children there too. Many other couples also do that. We meet once a month and come back to our respective houses. My children miss me but it feels like a choice between being alive and mothers’ love.” As Manipuris count their losses, many say that this was not always so. Meitei-Kuki marriages were not uncommon and never a source of societal trouble with the two communities mingling easily. It changed on May 3 when trouble broke out after after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
A month later, Laishram Singh, a Kuki, became a father.
He wanted to be the best father when he got to know about his wife’s pregnancy in 2022. They were expecting their first child in June and were shopping for clothes and toys.
But destiny had other plans.
Singh moved to the hills where Kukis live and his wife Achanba, a Meitei, stayed back. She had lost her parents five years ago and had to move to a relief camp in Imphal Valley in May last year where she gave birth to a girl in June.
Eleven months later, Singh hasn’t yet met his daughter.
Achanba worries the distance might just end her marriage.
“I have a husband but I am still forced to live life as a single mother… he calls me sometimes and I send him pictures but the communication is gradually dropping. I fear that if this goes on for long, his family might pressure him into marrying a Kuki girl and he will abandon me. This also causes us to fight.” “I am not a widow, I am not a divorcee…I don’t know what kind of separation is this,” Achanba added helplessly.
Nirmala, a Kuki, who ran a shop in all women market Ima Keithel till last year, now lives in the hills and has no stable means of livelihood. She also fears being abandoned.
Her husband, a Meitei, who lives with their son and his parents in Sugnu area in Meitei dominated Imphal, initially used to send her money but has stopped.
“We have been married for 15 years. My shop was a good contributor to our household income that has stopped now. Here I live with my brother and sister-in-law and take up odd jobs but there is no stable income. I feel like I am a burden on them..if this continues I will have to move to a relief camp,” 45-year-old Nirmala told PTI.
Others such as Pema Dimpu and her Kuki husband say they are constantly discussing whether they should move to another state. Dimpu, a Meitei, stays in Imphal Valley while her husband has gone to the hills.
“That seems to be the only way out now that we move somewhere else and start a new life. It has been a year and there is no peace in sight… no idea when we can coexist like before without the threat of life constantly looming over us,” Dimpu said.
The hill state has witnessed sporadic, sometime intense, ethnic clashes since May 3 last year between the majority Meitei community and the Kukis.
Polling for all 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held on May 13 in the fourth round of the seven-phase elections
PTI, Hyderabad, 02.05.24 : The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday increased the polling time for the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana by an hour in view of heat wave conditions prevailing in the state.
The new timing would be 7 am to 6 pm against the earlier 7 am to 5 pm.
Polling for all 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held on May 13 in the fourth round of the seven-phase elections.
While the extended time for voting will be applicable in all assembly segments of 12 Lok Sabha constituencies, in the remaining five parliamentary seats, the timing will apply in certain assembly segments, according to a notification issued by the commission. The hours of polling will be 7 am to 6 pm in the Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Zahirabad, Medak, Malkajgiri, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Chevella, Mahabubnagar, Nagarkurnool (SC), Nalgonda and the Bhongir Lok Sabha seat, it said.
The new timing will also be applicable in five assembly segments of the Adilabad Lok Sabha seat, three of Peddapalle seat, six of Warangal (SC) seat, three of Mahabubabad (ST) seat and five of the Khammam Lok Sabha seat, the Election Commission said in its notification.
The decision — to change the timing — was taken following a request from the Telangana chief electoral officer in view of representations received from various political parties and contesting candidates on the prevailing situation of heat wave in the state and its effect on voter turnout, according to the notification.
Kargil unit of INDIA bloc allies Congress and NC jointly fielded Haji Mohammad Hanifa Jan, NC’s district president, as consensus candidate for seat
Hanifa Jan’s profile picture on his social media account
Muzaffar Raina, TT, Srinagar, 02.05.24 : The Congress in Kargil on Wednesday “gifted” the nomination of the Ladakh parliamentary seat to ally National Conference (NC) to “prevent division of Muslim votes”.
The Kargil unit of INDIA bloc allies Congress and NC jointly fielded Haji Mohammad Hanifa Jan, the NC’s district president, as a consensus candidate for the seat.
It is unclear whether the decision enjoys the support of the Congress high command as the Ladakh seat had gone to the Congress under the seat-sharing deal with the NC.
The Congress seniors have so far not endorsed the decision.
“We have finalised the name of Haji Hanifa Jan for the Ladakh seat, and he will be the joint candidate of the two parties (Congress and NC),” Qamar Ali Akhoon, former minister and senior leader of the NC, told reporters in Kargil. Local Congress leaders accompanied Akhoon at the meet with the media.
Congress leader Feroz Kachroo said the decision had been taken keeping in mind the interests of Leh and Kargil and aims for the higher goal of defeating the BJP.
“Our leaders are in Delhi now for a meeting with the AICC (All India Congress Committee). We hope the mandate will be given to Jan as our candidate,” he said.
Kachroo said they would continue to support Jan, regardless of the “unfortunate circumstances” that might arise, necessitating a change.
Ladakh Congress president Nawang Ringzin Jora, however, said the decision was taken “locally” by the Kargil Congress and NC.
“They have not taken the approval of the party high command,” Jora told The Telegraph.
According to the agreement, the NC was supposed to field candidates in three Valley constituencies and the Congress in the two Jammu seats and one Ladakh seat of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state.
Congress sources said the consensus about the candidate had eluded the Leh and Kargil units of the party, with the Leh unit backing a Buddhist from the region while the Kargil Congress favouring a Muslim candidate.
“This was the only way to prevent a split in anti-BJP votes. We hope Buddhists in Leh will realise that we have taken the decision in the interest of Ladakh. Our effort is to prevent the BJP from winning,” he said.
Muslims enjoy a majority in Ladakh but the split in their votes would often help Buddhists win the seat. Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, a Buddhist, is Ladakh’s sitting MP.
“Nothing objectionable” was found during searches by authorities which later declared it a hoax. Officials said the initial probe suspected a “deeper conspiracy” by a terror group during the Lok Sabha elections, adding that there is suspicion that the threat mail was sent by an ISIS module.
MP, 2 May 2024 : In a bomb scare of unprecedented scale, over 150 schools in Delhi-NCR received an identical threat e-mail on Wednesday claiming that explosives had been planted on their premises, triggering massive evacuations and searches as panic-stricken parents rushed to pick up their children.
“Nothing objectionable” was found during searches by authorities which later declared it a hoax. Officials said the initial probe suspected a “deeper conspiracy” by a terror group during the Lok Sabha elections, adding that there is suspicion that the threat mail was sent by an ISIS module.
The Delhi Police’s anti-terror unit special cell has traced the domain of e-mails to Russia and it is suspected to have been formed with the help of the dark web — an encrypted online content that allows individuals to hide their identity and location from others.
The National Investigation Agency may also take up the probe since the role of a terror group is suspected and the “conspiracy” angle may lead to a pan-India investigation, an official said.
Law enforcement authorities went into a tizzy as police and fire services started receiving a flurry of calls from schools at 6 am on Wednesday. Delhi Public School (Mathura Road), DPS (Saket), Sanskriti School, Amity School (Saket), DAV (Model Town), DPS (Dwarka) and St. Mary School (Mayur Vihar) were among the education institutions that received the threat email on Wednesday.
A senior Noida Police official told that the e-mail threat was received in seven schools in the satellite city. It was only an hour or so since parents had dropped off their children when they received messages from the school authorities informing them about an e-mail threatening the safety and security of the students.
Parents rushed to pick up their children and school authorities scampered to bring the students to safety, moving them outside the buildings, while police personnel with sniffer dogs sanitised the premises.
With over 150 schools receiving the bomb threat via e-mail, Delhi Police faced a daunting task as it rushed its dog and bomb squads from one school to another and there was no time to be wasted. The city police went into an overdrive and the situation lasted till evening.
Police said the number of schools that received the threat may go up as they were compiling the list. According to a police officer, the e-mail ID from which the threat was sent is ‘sawariim@mail.ru’.
Sawarim is an Arabic word extensively used by the terror outfit Islamic State (IS) in their propaganda videos over the past several years, the official said. “Kill them wherever you meet and drive them out of the places from which they drove you. There are many explosive devices in the school…,” reads the identical email sent to all schools.
HC The officer said that the e-mail also contained “aayate (verses) of the holy Quran”. “The main agenda of sending such threat e-mails in bulk is to create panic and wage a cyber war by some terror group,” an officer, who did not wish to be named, said.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of law for offences like conspiracy and threat by the Special Cell and a dedicated team formed to conduct the investigation, an official said. Security has been stepped up at all metro and railway stations, bus stands and markets in the national capital. Noida resident Monika Arora, whose son studies in Class 12 in DPS-Noida, said, “My son had left for his extra classes at 6.30 am.
Around 8 am, we received a message about a threat e-mail. “The school authorities asked the parents whose children travel by private taxis to get them picked while those who come in school buses were being sent back.”
Rukesh Kumar, whose daughters study in two different schools in east Delhi, said students were evacuated by teachers. “Some students climbed up trees saying they would be saved if there was an explosion. Some tried to hide in safe places,” Kumar said.
Several schools said they were able to carry out a swift evacuation of the students and staff, but dealing with the parents was a challenge. Some schools also said they plan to issue a circular for parents, outlining the standard operating procedure to guide them on how to react in adverse situations like these.
“We hold frequent evacuation drills to prepare students for situations like an earthquake or other natural calamities. So handling the students was not a problem as our children are trained on how to react during such situations. It was the parents who panicked and were difficult to manage,” Sudha Acharya, principal, ITL Public School, said.
The Gurugram police also remained alert and police and bomb disposal teams visited various schools, including DPS schools in sectors 102 and 103, and conducted searches.
No suspicious object was found anywhere, the police said. Several schools kept sending updates to the parents through messages on WhatsApp groups.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government issued an advisory for schools, asking them to ensure that the e-mails received at their official e-mail addresses are checked timely.
“In view of the current situation wherein bomb threats were received by a few schools of Delhi in the early hours of the morning of 01.05.2024, it is advised that School Administrators/ Managers / Heads of Government/Government Aided and Unaided Recognised Schools under the Directorate of Education, GNCT Delhi should ensure that emails/ messages received on official email id of the school at any time of the day (before, during or after school hours) are checked timely,” read the advisory issued by the Directorate of Education.
Lt Governor VK Saxena said that Delhi Police has traced the origin of the threat emails. He assured that the culprits would be given strict punishment.
The poll authority said all state chief electoral officers have been directed to create necessary infrastructure and provisions to implement the new protocols for handling and storage of the symbol loading units
MP, 1 May 2024 : The Election Commission has come out with a new protocol for handling and storage of symbol loading units following the directions of the Supreme Court which had ordered that the machines should be sealed and secured in a container and stored in a strongroom along with the EVMs at least for 45 days post the declaration of results.
In a statement on Wednesday, the poll authority said all state chief electoral officers have been directed to create necessary infrastructure and provisions to implement the new protocols for handling and storage of the symbol loading units (SLUs).
“As mandated by the Supreme Court, the revised protocols are applicable in all cases of completion of the symbol loading process in the VVPATs undertaken on or after May 1, 2024,” the Commission said.
The top court had on Friday last issued directions to seal and store symbol loading units and also paved the way for verification of micro-controllers embedded in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) on the request of the candidates who stand second and third in the elections.
The SLU uploads the name and symbol of the candidates contesting on a particular seat on VVPAT or paper trail machines. So far, the EVMs and VVPAT slips were stored for 45 days post results.
In these 45 days following the declaration of an election result, people can file an election petition in the concerned high court challenging the election.
The EVM and VVPAT slips can be called by the court while hearing the plea. Before the Supreme Court order, the SLUs were handed over to local poll officials by the engineers of BEL or ECIL.
A day after the poll, the SLUs were returned to the engineers of the two public sector units who manufacture the ballot unit, the control unit and the VVPAT along with SLUs.
A few years ago, a feature was added which helped the candidates or their representatives see the symbol loading process on a TV monitor.
