The Evening Wrap: SC panel to meet State govts, farm unions from Jan 21

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the biggest news stories of the day [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Tuesday 19, January 2021 [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. SC panel to meet State govts, farm unions from Jan 21; Delhi Police asks farmers stay out of national capital on Republic Day [ A view of Supreme Court. File Photo. ] A view of Supreme Court. File Photo. The Supreme Court-appointed committee on farmers’ issues has decided to meet with State governments and State Agricultural Marketing Boards, along with farm unions and cooperatives, to seek their views on the farm reform laws, starting January 21. The panel has laid out a two-month roadmap for consultations after their first meeting on Tuesday. Meanwhile, at the Singhu border, leaders of protesting farm unions again met with senior Delhi Police officials, who asked them to hold their Republic Day tractor parade on the Peripheral Expressways outside Delhi rather than enter the city. The Supreme Court will hear the issue again on Wednesday, just hours before union leaders and Central Ministers meet for the tenth round of talks. The talks were originally supposed to be held on Tuesday, but were postponed to Wednesday afternoon. The SC-appointed panel began work on Tuesday, chalking out a plan to hold wide-ranging consultations on the contentious farm laws, including a proposal to set up a portal to accept online feedback. The protesting unions have made it clear they are not interested in engaging with the panel, but are intent on continuing with the direct dialogue process with the Centre. Several union leaders privately expressed concerns about the one-day postponement of the tenth round of talks, worrying whether the Centre was relying on developments in the Court in the morning to influence the afternoon’s talks. “We are going in with the same message, we want repeal of the laws,” said Krantikari Kisan Union president Darshan Pal, on the eve of the talks. He added that the farmers were still intent on holding a tractor parade on Outer Ring Road in the capital on January 26, after the official parade. “The Delhi Police officials today said that Outer Ring Road was too congested. They suggested we stay on the KMP [that is, the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal, or Peripheral Expressways outside the city]. But we persisted,” he said, adding that further discussions with police officials were expected later this week. Repeal of farm laws only solution to break deadlock: Rahul Gandhi [Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi, flanked by Randeep Singh Surjewala and K C Venugopal, addressing the media on the farmers agitation issue at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. ]Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi, flanked by Randeep Singh Surjewala and K C Venugopal, addressing the media on the farmers agitation issue at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. Addressing a [press conference ahead of the 10th round of talks between the protesting farmers and the Union government](, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi today said that the new farm laws were “designed to destroy” farming and create monopolies for three-four capitalists. Releasing a booklet on the farm laws titled ‘Kheti ka Khoon’ (Murder of Farming) to highlight the plight of farmers, he said repealing the laws was the only solution to break the deadlock. The farm laws would destroy the mandi system; farmers won’t get the price they deserved and the middle class would be paying a price for food that they had never imagined, he said. “The biggest business in this country is agriculture… Now we are seeing the last bastion which was protected from monopoly being overrun by these new laws. They are designed to destroy Indian agriculture by destroying the mandi, the Essential Commodities Act, and by making sure that no farmer can go to court to protect himself,” he said. “I support the protesting farmers 100% and every single person in the country should support them as they are fighting for us,” he said. When asked about the tweets of BJP president J.P. Nadda, accusing the Congress of misleading farmers, Gandhi alleged that they were an “attempt at distraction”. “Who is he? Is he my professor that I have to keep answering him? I will answer the country or the farmers if they pose questions,” he said. “I am not afraid of anyone, neither of [Prime Minister] nor of anyone else. I am a clean person, they can’t touch me. They can shoot me, but can’t touch me. I am a patriot and I protect my country, and I will keep doing it,” he said. “Even if I stand alone and everyone else is on the other side, it makes no difference as I will keep fighting. This is my duty and I am a bigger fanatic than them. Today you may not agree with me but when you become slaves, you may agree. That’s acceptable to me,” he added. Asked about the Supreme Court appointed expert committee, he refused to offer any comment except to say, “Everyone was seeing the reality of the Supreme Court”. India beats Australia by 3 wickets to retain Border-Gavaskar trophy An [Indian cricket team saddled with broken bones and battered bodies showed a never-seen-before zeal to retain the coveted Border-Gavaskar trophy]( with a historic three-wicket win over Australia in the fourth and final Test here, successfully chasing a 328-run target to seal the four-match series 2-1. This is only India’s second Test series victory in Australia. Rishabh Pant (89 not out off 138 balls) played a critical role in chasing down the target on a fifth day wicket and ending the home team's 32-year-old unbeaten run at the ‘Fortress Gabba’ in Brisbane. The BCCI has announced a ₹5 crore bonus for the triumphant Indian team. India asks WhatsApp to withdraw privacy policy [ File photo for representation. ] File photo for representation. The [Indian government has asked WhatsApp to withdraw the recent changes in the privacy policy]( of the messaging app, saying unilateral changes are not fair and acceptable. In a strongly worded letter to WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said India is home to the largest user base of WhatsApp globally and is one the biggest markets for its services. The proposed changes to the WhatsApp terms of service and privacy policy “raise grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens,” it wrote. The Ministry asked WhatsApp to withdraw the proposed changes and reconsider its approach to information privacy, freedom of choice, and data security. Stating that Indians should be properly respected, it said, “Any unilateral changes to the WhatsApp Terms of Service and Privacy would not be fair and acceptable.” Red Fort access restricted after bird flu scare [ File photo of Red Fort in New Delhi. ] File photo of Red Fort in New Delhi. [After a sample taken from a dead crow found at Red Fort tested positive for bird flu](, orders have been issued to restrict the entry of public into the monument, officials said on Tuesday. Around 15 crows were found dead in the premises of the Red Fort a few days ago. Entry to the public into monument has been restricted till January 26 as a precautionary measure. On Saturday, samples from a dead owl in the Delhi zoo had tested positive for avian influenza. Last week, the Delhi government had banned the sale of processed and packaged chicken brought from outside the city and ordered the closure of the Ghazipur poultry market in east Delhi for 10 days after samples taken from crows and ducks at parks and lakes in the national capital tested positive for avian influenza. FIR lodged against Amazon Prime’s web series ‘Mirzapur’ [ ] An [FIR has been lodged in Uttar Pradesh against the makers of the web series ‘Mirzapur’ on charges]( of outraging religious feelings and portraying a particular community as linked to crime. The FIR was lodged at Mirzapur’s Kotwali Dehat police station on a complaint of Arvind Chaturvedi, a local journalist who has also written a book on the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his police complaint, Chaturvedi said the plot and dialogues of the web series have hurt his “religious, social and regional sentiments” and that it has provided a wrong portayal of Mirzapur city. The FIR names executive producers of the series Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar and Bhaumik Gondaliya and Amazon Prime Video platform, where the series has been running. In the FIR, Chaturvedi alleges that the web series portrays a specific community as linked to crime, shows illicit relationships and incest, slang and abuses, and caste discord. The series also projects the judicial system as “false and polluted,” he says. Ajay Kumar Singh, SP Mirzapur, said the FIR was lodged and legal action taken. Chaturvedi said he wanted the name of Mirzapur to be removed from the series. “This fight will go on till the name of the Mirzapur web series is changed,” he told the media. Syllabus for JEE and NEET not to be reduced [ Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. ] Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. The [syllabus for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)]( will not be reduced in 2021, the Education Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. However, since several Class 12 boards have cut down their syllabi this year, both the engineering and medical entrance tests will offer more choices in their question paper patterns. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has reduced its Class 12 board examination syllabus by 30% in view of the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. “The syllabus of JEE and NEET will remain unchanged for the year 2021. However, unlike previous years, this year the candidates will have options to answer the questions in JEE and NEET Examinations,” said the Ministry statement. It was issued as a clarification after Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s comments at a webinar on Monday were reported to suggest that the entrance tests would also be based on a reduced syllabus. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 1,05,94,880 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,52,763. Addressing a press conference, NITI Aayog member (Health) V.K. Paul said today that concerns about adverse effects and serious problems post-immunisation now seem to be negligible and stressed that both the vaccines are safe. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, “As per the data available so far, only 0.18% is the Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI), and 0.002 is the percentage of the people who were hospitalised following immunisation. These are fairly low, in fact, lowest in the world in the first three days.” He added that India recorded the highest number of first day vaccinations for Covid-19 immunisation. In Brief: In a heart-wrenching road accident, 15 migrant labourers from Rajasthan who were sleeping on a sidewalk were killed after a truck ran over them in Gujarat’s Surat late on Monday. The accident took place near Kosamba village, around 60 km from Surat, according to the police. While 14 died on the spot, one person died in the hospital. Several others who are injured have been hospitalised. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [alt_text]( [Best from science journals: When mosquitoes were given malaria]( [alt_text]( [Fourth-innings thrillers, VVS, and more: vintage moments of India’s tours of Australia]( [alt_text]( [Learnt a lesson from the series, never ever underestimate India: Langer]( [alt_text]( [Watch | Punjabi man in Chennai preserves Thirukkural on palm leaves]( You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0bffp4b7bf2f90kauhrxfebysa8hkac@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. 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