The Evening Wrap: BJP promises free COVID-19 vaccine

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the biggest news stories of the day [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Thursday 22, October 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the biggest news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. BJP promises free Covid-19 vaccine in its Bihar poll manifesto The BJP on Thursday released its manifesto for the Assembly polls in Bihar with the first promise in it being [free distribution of vaccine against Covid-19](, once it is approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who released the manifesto in Patna, said, “As soon as Covid-19 vaccine is available for production on a mass scale, every person in Bihar will get free vaccination. This is the first promise mentioned in our poll manifesto.” The announcement led to a storm of criticism by Opposition leaders, who felt that offering free vaccines as an election promise during a pandemic was morally unacceptable. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted sarcastically, “GOI just announced India’s Covid access strategy. Kindly refer to the state-wise election schedule to know when will you get it, along with a hoard of false promises.” “Shouldn’t the Covid-19 vaccine be a part of Universal Immunisation Programme? Will vaccines be decided basis of election going states, BJP, non BJP governed states? To make this an election related issue over a humanitarian crisis is highly immoral and unethical,” said Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted a video of Sitharaman making the promise, with the comment, “‘You give me vote, I give you vaccine’…what appalling cynicism! Will the Election Commission rap her & her shameless Govt on the knuckles?” Responding to Tharoor, senior BJP Bhupendra leader Yadav tweeted: “Your attempt to twist Smt Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement reeks of desperation. All parties issue manifestos. Vaccines will be made available to all Indians at nominal costs. States can make it free. In Bihar, we will”. BJP’s Information Technology Cell chief Amit Malviya offered more clarifications. “Like all programmes, Centre will provide vaccines to states at a nominal rate. It is for state Governments to decide if they want to give it free or otherwise. Health being a state subject, Bihar BJP has decided to give it free,” he said. Amid the criticism, [Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami jumped in]( to say that a potential vaccine would also be free in Tamil Nadu, which goes to polls next year. “Once Covid-19 vaccine is ready, it will be provided to all people of the state free of cost,” announced the Tamil Nadu CM. Govt. issues warning to Twitter over misrepresentation of Indian map The government has shot off a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, conveying its strong [disapproval over misrepresentation of the Indian map](, and asserting that any attempt by the micro-blogging platform to disrespect the country’s sovereignty is unacceptable. In a strongly-worded letter, Information Technology (IT) Secretary Ajay Sawhney has warned the platform that such attempts not only bring disrepute to Twitter but also raise questions about its neutrality and fairness as an intermediary. IT Ministry sources told PTI that Sawhney sent the letter to Dorsey after Twitter showed the geo-location of Leh in Jammu and Kashmir, People’s Republic of China. The IT secretary, in his letter, reminded Twitter that Leh is the headquarter of the Union Territory of Ladakh, and both Ladakh as well as Jammu and Kashmir are integral parts of India. U.S. proposes not to issue business visa for H-1B specialty occupations The U.S. State Department has proposed [not to issue temporary business visas for H-1B specialty occupations](. These visas allow companies to send their technology professionals for a short stay to complete jobs on-site in the U.S. This move could, therefore, affect hundreds of Indians. The proposal, made public on Wednesday, less than two weeks ahead of the November 3 presidential election, is likely to impact several Indian companies which send their technology professionals on B-1 visas for a short stay to complete jobs on site in the U.S. [ ] On December 17, 2019, the Attorney General of California announced a $800,000 settlement against Infosys Limited to resolve allegations that approximately 500 Infosys employees worked in the state on Infosys-sponsored B-1 visas rather than H-1B visas, the State Department said. “The proposed changes and the resulting transparency would reduce the impact of foreign labour on the U.S. workforce of aliens performing activities in a specialty occupation without the procedural protections attendant to the H-1B classification,” it said. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories shuts units after cyber attack One of India’s leading pharmaceutical companies, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, has [temporarily shut down some of its production facilities]( in the wake of a cyber-attack in the early hours of Thursday. While a statement from the drugmaker said it had isolated all data centre services to take required preventive actions, sources said that as a precautionary measure the company had also temporarily shut down some of the production facilities. Details of the units were not immediately available. In a intimation to the stock exchange, the company said, “In the wake of a detected cyber-attack, we have isolated all data centre services to take required preventive actions.” CIO Mukesh Rathi said, “We are anticipating all services to be up within 24 hours and we do not foresee any major impact on our operations due to this incident.” Editors Guild: ‘Kashmir Times’ office sealing reprehensible The Editors Guild of India on Thursday said the [sealing of the Srinagar offices of Kashmir Times was “reprehensible”]( and had disturbing implications for the media in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. On Monday, the J&KUnion Territory administration sealed the newspaper’s Srinagar offices. In a statement, the Guild said that newspapers and magazines in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which became the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh last year, were “already ravaged by conflict”. [ A view of the ‘The Kashmir Times’ office in Sringar. ] A view of the ‘The Kashmir Times’ office in Sringar. “Publications have steadily lost advertising over the last decade. Jammu and Kashmir’s communication shutdowns, followed by the pandemic lockdown, have totally stopped the trickle of revenue... Instead of assisting the media, which was most needed in these dark times, the administration without any notice took control of the office of Kashmir Times, putting its lock on the door. The newspaper editor, Ms. Anuradha Bhasin, and the staff have been denied access to records, computers, furniture and equipment in the office,” it stated. Describing the act as vindictive, the Guild called on the government to restore status quo. The Press Club of India also issued a statement seeking the restoration of status quo. Delhi riots: Umar Khalid tells court he’s in ‘sort of’ solitary confinement Former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the north-east Delhi riots in February, told a court here on Thursday that [he was not allowed to step out of his cell and it was sort of a “solitary confinement”](. Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat directed Tihar Jail Superintendent to be present before the court on Friday to hear the matter. Khalid made his submissions directly to the court through video-conferencing when he was produced before it on expiry of his judicial custody in the case. [Umar Khalid. File]Umar Khalid. File “I have not been allowed to step outside at all. I am alone in my cell. No one is allowed to meet me. It is practically sort of a solitary confinement. I am not well for the last three days. I am feeling discomfort. This is like a punishment. Why am I given this punishment? I reiterate that I need security but it cannot be that I have to be in my cell all day,” he claimed. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported [coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 77,50,175 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,17,212. In Brief: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday [further relaxed visa restrictions](, enabling foreigners to come to India for purposes such as business, conference, employment, education, research, and medical treatment. Except for electronic tourist visa on arrival, which includes short-term medical visa, all visa restrictions have been lifted. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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