The Evening Wrap: PM Modi’s Ferozepur visit cancelled after farmers block roads

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed event at Ferozepur in Punjab on Wednesday had to be cancelled owing to a “security lapse”, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said. The Ministry has sought a detailed report from the State government to fix responsibility for the lapse and take strict action. The Prime Minister was scheduled to lay the foundation stones for several projects. According to a MHA statement, he landed at Bathinda in the morning from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. “Due to rain and poor visibility, PM waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. When the weather didn’t improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Marytrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. He then proceeded to travel by road after confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Police,” the statement said, adding, “Around 30 km away from National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the PM’s convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters. The PM was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of PM.” The statement noted that the Prime Minister’s schedule and travel plan were communicated well in advance to the State government. “As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready. Also in view of the contingency plan, Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which was clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda airport,” it stated. Farmers have been opposing Modi’s visit to Ferozepur. Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), one of the largest farmer outfits in Punjab, was at the forefront of the protest against his visit and its members were seen demonstrating and blocking roads at several places across the State. ₹8 lakh income limit to determine EWS ‘best way forward’, Government tells Supreme Court The Centre, in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, backed its committee’s recommendation to retain the ₹8-lakh annual income criterion to identify the economically weaker sections (EWS) of society as the “best way forward” and urged the court to let NEET counselling continue. Appearing before a Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and A.S. Bopanna, the government said it would not let anything come in the way of Other Backward Classes (OBC) and “poorest of the poor” getting the benefits of reservation. “We, as a government, will not accept any position whereby OBC or EWS is deprived of something that is legitimately due to them,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted. The government, meanwhile, said the NEET admission process could not wait for the conclusion of “lengthy arguments” in court. The court was hearing the case urgently following the government’s repeated oral requests on January 3 and 4 to list the case as NEET counselling was in limbo. On Wednesday, Mehta said the government’s statement in court on November 25 to put NEET counselling on hold while reviewing the EWS criteria had “never anticipated” the current situation. Resident doctors had clashed with the police amid protests in the Capital after the counselling process was suspended following the November 25 hearing. “Graduate and postgraduate counselling are stuck. We feel their [doctors’] issue is genuine. We need to respond to the bona fide request of doctors... There is a justified request from resident doctors to continue with the counselling... Society cannot go into lengthy arguments with the situation now... Let us proceed with the counselling,” Mehta conveyed a sense of urgency. But senior advocate Arvind Datar, for a petitioner, questioned the government’s plea to allow NEET counselling process to resume. “By counselling, does he [Mehta] mean the government will conclude NEET medical admissions on the basis of ₹ 8 lakh limit,” he asked. The government committee report showed that no exercise was undertaken before the ₹8 lakh threshold was fixed to identify EWS. “There was no application of mind... And now they are trying to justify the ₹ 8 lakh limit,” he stated. The cloud of doubt about the ₹8 lakh limit has led to a serious situation. “The entire counselling has been stopped,” he observed. The case started in the apex court with several NEET aspirants challenging a July 29, 2021 notification of the Centre announcing 27% quota to OBCs and 10% reservation to EWS in the All India Quota (AIQ) for NEET. The hearings, however, took an unexpected turn in October-November last year when the court itself started questioning the very basis of the income criterion of ₹8 lakh to determine EWS, asking whether the figure came out of “thin air” or was even an automatic adoption of the OBC criteria. After initially agreeing to place on record data supporting its ₹ 8 lakh limit, the government sought four weeks to “review” the EWS criteria on November 25. Subsequently, a three-member review committee formed by the government submitted a report on December 31, concluding that ₹ 8 lakh was indeed a “reasonable” income limit to determine EWS. The committee went on to say that the ₹ 8-lakh criterion had worked smoothly to identify and provide EWS quota to deserving candidates in the UPSC exams, NEET-UG and JEE (Mains), separately since 2019. “But the fundamental question asked by Your Lordships to the government was whether any study was undertaken before the announcement of the ₹ 8 lakh limit. There is no such exercise, as is apparent from the committee report,” Datar persisted on Wednesday. He submitted the NEET admission for 2021-2022 should resume as per the “old system” prior to the July 29 notification. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, for another petitioner, said the July 29 notification came five months after the NEET admission process commenced in March. “The government cannot change the rules of the game after game has begun. This is grossly unfair,” he submitted. He also questioned the OBC quota in AIQ. The court adjourned the hearing to Thursday. Revised guidelines for home isolation of COVID-19 patients People aged more than 60 and those with co-morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung/liver/kidney disease, cerebrovascular disease etc. shall be allowed home isolation for COVID-19 only after proper evaluation by the treating medical officers, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. The Ministry issued the revised guidelines for home isolation applicable to those who have been clinically assessed and assigned as mild/asymptomatic cases. They say that those suffering from immunocompromised status (HIV, transplant recipients, cancer therapy, etc) are not recommended for home isolation and shall be allowed home isolation only after proper evaluation by the treating medical officers. In another important revision, the Ministry noted that patients under home isolation would stand discharged and end isolation after at least 7 days (revised from the existing 14 days) have passed from testing positive, and no fever for three successive days. They shall, however, continue wearing masks. “There is no need for retesting after the home isolation period is over. Asymptomatic contacts of infected individuals need not undergo test,” it stated. For the caregiver, the Ministry notes that this should ideally be someone who has completed his vaccination schedule and should be available to provide care on 24 x7 basis. “A communication link between the caregiver and a medical officer is a prerequisite for the entire duration of home isolation.” India reports its first death due to Omicron from Rajasthan India on Wednesday announced its first death linked to Omicron, the highly transmissible variant of coronavirus. Joint secretary of the Union Health Ministry Lav Aggarwal said the death of a person with comorbidities, including diabetes, had been reported from Rajasthan and this was “technically” a Omicron-related death. The 73-year-old, who was found infected with Omicron in genome sequencing, had tested negative for the infection twice. He died in a Udaipur hospital on December 31, due to post-COVID-19 pneumonia coupled with co-morbidities—diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hypothyroidism. He tested positive on December 15 and has been in hospital since then. He was fully vaccinated with no significant contact and travel history. His genome sequencing results came in on December 25 and he was found to carry the Omicron variant. He died six days later around 3.30 a.m, a Health Ministry official confirmed. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments At the weekly press conference, joint secretary of the Union Health Ministry Lav Aggarwal said the surge in COVID cases was a matter of concern. “Currently, 28 districts are reporting more than 10% weekly positivity and 43 districts are reporting a weekly positivity between 5% to 10%. While there has been a sharp surge in cases across countries, hospitalisation has remained relatively lower as compared to the earlier surges,’’ he noted. Indian Council of Medical Research head Dr. Balram Bhargava said Omicron was now the predominant circulating strain in cities and all mass gatherings should be avoided. He also cautioned that drug Molunupiravir is not part of the national taskforce treatment protocol. “We are still looking into the drug,” he said. The drug recently got emergency use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India. Speaking about the booster or precautionary dose, Dr. V.K. Paul, member (Health), NITI Aayog, stated that the persons eligible for the same would receive the same vaccine as the previous two doses. Though there was a surge in cases, the hospitalisation rate was so far much lower than the 20% seen during the last wave, he said. He, however, he warned against being complacent. Dr. Arvinder Singh Soin, liver transplant surgeon, said: “Omicron may well end up being milder in terms of disease severity but with such increased transmissibility — and healthcare workers out sick — the burden on our hospitals will not be as mild.” Seconding this, Chief Scientist, World Health Organisation, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, tweeted: “Omicron is not common cold! Health systems can get overwhelmed. Important to have systems to test, advise and monitor large number of patients as the surge can be sudden and huge.” The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,50,45,056 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,82,629. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 05 JANUARY 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( PM Modi’s Ferozepur visit cancelled after farmers block roads; MHA seeks report from Punjab Govt on ‘security lapse’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed event at Ferozepur in Punjab on Wednesday [had to be cancelled owing to a “security lapse”]( the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said. The Ministry has sought a detailed report from the State government to fix responsibility for the lapse and take strict action. The Prime Minister was scheduled to lay the foundation stones for several projects. According to a MHA statement, he landed at Bathinda in the morning from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter. “Due to rain and poor visibility, PM waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. When the weather didn’t improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Marytrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours. He then proceeded to travel by road after confirmation of necessary security arrangements by the Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Police,” the statement said, adding, “Around 30 km away from National Martyrs Memorial in Hussainiwala, when the PM’s convoy reached a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by some protesters. The PM was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of PM.” [Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cavalcade stranded on a flyover 30 km away from Hussainiwala due to road jams by protesting farmers, in Punjab on January 5, 2022. Photo: Special Arrangement]  The statement noted that the Prime Minister’s schedule and travel plan were communicated well in advance to the State government. “As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready. Also in view of the contingency plan, Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which was clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda airport,” it stated. Farmers have been opposing Modi’s visit to Ferozepur. Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), one of the largest farmer outfits in Punjab, was at the forefront of the protest against his visit and its members were seen demonstrating and blocking roads at several places across the State. [underlineimg] ₹8 lakh income limit to determine EWS ‘best way forward’, Government tells Supreme Court The Centre, in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, [backed its committee’s recommendation to retain the ₹8-lakh annual income criterion to identify the economically weaker sections (EWS) of society]( as the “best way forward” and urged the court to let NEET counselling continue. Appearing before a Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and A.S. Bopanna, the government said it would not let anything come in the way of Other Backward Classes (OBC) and “poorest of the poor” getting the benefits of reservation. “We, as a government, will not accept any position whereby OBC or EWS is deprived of something that is legitimately due to them,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted. The government, meanwhile, said the NEET admission process could not wait for the conclusion of “lengthy arguments” in court. The court was hearing the case urgently following the government’s repeated oral requests on January 3 and 4 to list the case as NEET counselling was in limbo. On Wednesday, Mehta said the government’s statement in court on November 25 to put NEET counselling on hold while reviewing the EWS criteria had “never anticipated” the current situation. Resident doctors had clashed with the police amid protests in the Capital after the counselling process was suspended following the November 25 hearing. “Graduate and postgraduate counselling are stuck. We feel their [doctors’] issue is genuine. We need to respond to the bona fide request of doctors... There is a justified request from resident doctors to continue with the counselling... Society cannot go into lengthy arguments with the situation now... Let us proceed with the counselling,” Mehta conveyed a sense of urgency. But senior advocate Arvind Datar, for a petitioner, questioned the government’s plea to allow NEET counselling process to resume. “By counselling, does he [Mehta] mean the government will conclude NEET medical admissions on the basis of ₹ 8 lakh limit,” he asked. The government committee report showed that no exercise was undertaken before the ₹8 lakh threshold was fixed to identify EWS. “There was no application of mind... And now they are trying to justify the ₹ 8 lakh limit,” he stated. The cloud of doubt about the ₹8 lakh limit has led to a serious situation. “The entire counselling has been stopped,” he observed. The case started in the apex court with several NEET aspirants challenging a July 29, 2021 notification of the Centre announcing 27% quota to OBCs and 10% reservation to EWS in the All India Quota (AIQ) for NEET. The hearings, however, took an unexpected turn in October-November last year when the court itself started questioning the very basis of the income criterion of ₹8 lakh to determine EWS, asking whether the figure came out of “thin air” or was even an automatic adoption of the OBC criteria. After initially agreeing to place on record data supporting its ₹ 8 lakh limit, the government sought four weeks to “review” the EWS criteria on November 25. Subsequently, a three-member review committee formed by the government submitted a report on December 31, concluding that ₹ 8 lakh was indeed a “reasonable” income limit to determine EWS. The committee went on to say that the ₹ 8-lakh criterion had worked smoothly to identify and provide EWS quota to deserving candidates in the UPSC exams, NEET-UG and JEE (Mains), separately since 2019. “But the fundamental question asked by Your Lordships to the government was whether any study was undertaken before the announcement of the ₹ 8 lakh limit. There is no such exercise, as is apparent from the committee report,” Datar persisted on Wednesday. He submitted the NEET admission for 2021-2022 should resume as per the “old system” prior to the July 29 notification. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, for another petitioner, said the July 29 notification came five months after the NEET admission process commenced in March. “The government cannot change the rules of the game after game has begun. This is grossly unfair,” he submitted. He also questioned the OBC quota in AIQ. The court adjourned the hearing to Thursday. [underlineimg] Revised guidelines for home isolation of COVID-19 patients People aged more than 60 and those with co-morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung/liver/kidney disease, cerebrovascular disease etc. shall be allowed home isolation for COVID-19 only after proper evaluation by the treating medical officers, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. The [Ministry issued the revised guidelines for home isolation]( applicable to those who have been clinically assessed and assigned as mild/asymptomatic cases. They say that those suffering from immunocompromised status (HIV, transplant recipients, cancer therapy, etc) are not recommended for home isolation and shall be allowed home isolation only after proper evaluation by the treating medical officers. In another important revision, the Ministry noted that patients under home isolation would stand discharged and end isolation after at least 7 days (revised from the existing 14 days) have passed from testing positive, and no fever for three successive days. They shall, however, continue wearing masks. “There is no need for retesting after the home isolation period is over. Asymptomatic contacts of infected individuals need not undergo test,” it stated. For the caregiver, the Ministry notes that this should ideally be someone who has completed his vaccination schedule and should be available to provide care on 24 x7 basis. “A communication link between the caregiver and a medical officer is a prerequisite for the entire duration of home isolation.” [underlineimg] India reports its first death due to Omicron from Rajasthan India on Wednesday [announced its first death linked to Omicron]( the highly transmissible variant of coronavirus. Joint secretary of the Union Health Ministry Lav Aggarwal said the death of a person with comorbidities, including diabetes, had been reported from Rajasthan and this was “technically” a Omicron-related death. The 73-year-old, who was found infected with Omicron in genome sequencing, had tested negative for the infection twice. He died in a Udaipur hospital on December 31, due to post-COVID-19 pneumonia coupled with co-morbidities—diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hypothyroidism. He tested positive on December 15 and has been in hospital since then. He was fully vaccinated with no significant contact and travel history. His genome sequencing results came in on December 25 and he was found to carry the Omicron variant. He died six days later around 3.30 a.m, a Health Ministry official confirmed. [underlineimg] Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments At the weekly press conference, joint secretary of the Union Health Ministry Lav Aggarwal said the surge in COVID cases was a matter of concern. “Currently, [28 districts are reporting more than 10% weekly positivity]( and 43 districts are reporting a weekly positivity between 5% to 10%. While there has been a sharp surge in cases across countries, hospitalisation has remained relatively lower as compared to the earlier surges,’’ he noted. Indian Council of Medical Research head Dr. Balram Bhargava said Omicron was now the predominant circulating strain in cities and all mass gatherings should be avoided. He also cautioned that drug Molunupiravir is not part of the national taskforce treatment protocol. “We are still looking into the drug,” he said. The drug recently got emergency use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India. Speaking about the booster or precautionary dose, Dr. V.K. Paul, member (Health), NITI Aayog, stated that the persons eligible for the same would receive the same vaccine as the previous two doses. Though there was a surge in cases, the hospitalisation rate was so far much lower than the 20% seen during the last wave, he said. He, however, he warned against being complacent. Dr. Arvinder Singh Soin, liver transplant surgeon, said: “Omicron may well end up being milder in terms of disease severity but with such increased transmissibility — and healthcare workers out sick — the burden on our hospitals will not be as mild.” Seconding this, Chief Scientist, World Health Organisation, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, tweeted: “Omicron is not common cold! Health systems can get overwhelmed. Important to have systems to test, advise and monitor large number of patients as the surge can be sudden and huge.” [Omicron variant patients are being treated at Kings Institute in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on January 4, 2022.]  The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 3,50,45,056 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,82,629. 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