COVID FIGHT NOT OVER, BE SATARK, SAAVDHAN: PM MODI AT HIGH-LEVEL REVIEW MEETING

Amid rising concerns over the spread of Omicron variant of coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday stressed on Covid-appropriate behaviour, saying the fight against the pandemic is not over and directed officials to send teams to states with low vaccination, rising cases, and insufficient health infrastructure, to assist them in improving the situation.

Modi gave directions to officials during a high-level meeting to review the status of COVID-19 and Omicron, the new variant of concern (VOC), and said "we should be 'satark' (vigilant) and 'saavdhan' (cautious)". The fight against the pandemic is not over, he said, and asserted that the need for continued adherence to Covid safe behaviour is of paramount importance even today.

The meeting was held to review the public health response measures for containment and management of COVID-19, strengthening of health infrastructure including availability of drugs, oxygen cylinders and concentrators, ventilators, PSA plants, ICU/oxygen supported beds, human resources, IT interventions and status of vaccination, the PMO said in a statement.

Officials briefed the prime minister about the emerging scenario globally driven by the new variant, with an overview of the surge in cases in countries having high vaccination coverage and presence of the Omicron variant, it said. He was also apprised of the technical brief and priority actions recommended by the WHO in the context of Omicron.

SUSPENSION OF MPs: RAJYA SABHA COUNTERS MALLIKARJUN KHARGE CLAIM

A day after Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had left it to the govt and Opposition to resolve the stalemate over the suspension of 12 MPs from the House, and that he said he “cannot do anything”, the RS Secretariat Thursday countered the same. It also challenged Kharge’s assertion that the House was repeatedly adjourned at the slightest disturbance.

Without naming Kharge or any other leader, the Secretariat regretted the “factually incorrect narrative” on the suspension, blaming the stalemate on “shifting positions” of parties and “lack of agreement” amongst them.

In a statement, the Secretariat said during his talks with “leaders from both the sides” as well as in the House, Naidu had “urged both the sides to resolve the matter amicably through discussion given the stated positions”, even “complimented some members for coming forward to resolve the stalemate… and was in regular contact with them”.

It added, “It is informed that initially it was proposed to the Chairman that the Leader of the Opposition would express regret on behalf of all the 12 suspended Members on the Floor of the House… But subsequently an issue was raised that what if some parties whose members were among the suspended would disagree with LoP in case he expressed regret… The Chairman suggested that the best course would be to talk to all concerned parties before expressing regret for the incidents of August 11… It was even suggested that if all parties concerned were not on board, regret could be expressed on behalf of the parties willing to do so. But nothing happened thereafter.”

‘IS INDIA STILL A DEMOCRACY’: OPPN LEADERS SLAM ALLEGED ‘HATE SPEECH CONCLAVE’

Several Opposition leaders, including those from the Congress and the TMC, on Thursday condemned what they said was a “hate speech conclave” held in Haridwar recently and called for strict action against those involved.

All-India Trinamool Congress national spokesman Saket Gokhale demanded immediate action against the organisers and speakers of the Dharma Sansad held recently in Haridwar, where “hate speeches” were allegedly made against Muslims.

Gokhale lodged a complaint in this connection at the Jwalapur police station in Haridwar district.

At the event, several speakers allegedly made inflammatory and provocative speeches, calling for the killing of people from the minority community.

Held at Ved Niketan Dham in Haridwar from December 17-20, the Dharma Sansad was organised by Yati Narasimhanand Giri of the Juna Akhada, who is already under police scanner for making hate speeches and inciting violence against Muslims.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Maulana Mahmood Madani wrote a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Minorities, over the remarks made at the Haridwar meet, calling on them to take cognizance of the matter and prosecute the perpetrators. Madani said, “They have posed threat to the peace and communal harmony of the country”.

Congress spokesperson Shama Mohammed said Munawar Faruqui has been relentlessly punished for alleged jokes which he didn’t even crack, but there is no action against the ‘Dharm Sansad’ members who openly called for “genocide against Muslims in Haridwar!”. “Is India still a democracy!” she said.

K'TAKA PASSES ANTI-CONVERSION BILL AMID DIN, CONG CALLS IT 'ANTI PEOPLE'

The contentious "anti-conversion bill" was passed by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday, amid din, with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai terming it as both constitutional and legal, and aimed at getting rid of the menace of religious conversion.

Opposing the "Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021", tooth and nail, the Congress dubbed it "anti-people", "inhuman", "anti-constitutional", "anti-poor" and "draconian", and urged it should not be passed for any reason and that it be withdrawn by the govt.

JD(S) too expressed its opposition to the bill, which was introduced in the Assembly on Tuesday.

The bill provides for protection of right to freedom of religion and prohibition of unlawful conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means.

It proposes an imprisonment from three to five years with a fine of Rs 25,000, while for violation of provisions with respect to minors, women, SC/ST, the offenders will face imprisonment from three to ten years and a fine of not less than Rs 50,000.

The bill also makes provisions for the accused to pay up to Rs five lakh as compensation to those who were made to convert, and with regards to cases of mass conversion there shall be a 3-10 year jail term and a fine of up to Rs one lakh.

The bill that is also being opposed by Christian community leaders, mandates that persons who wish to convert to another faith shall give a declaration in a prescribed format at least 30 days in advance to the District Magistrate or the Additional District Magistrate specially authorised by the District Magistrate in this regard of his residing district or place of birth within the state.

Also the religious converter who performs the conversion shall give 30 days advance notice in a format, to the District Magistrate or the Additional District Magistrate.

COVID DASHBOARD – INDIA

As of 0800 IST 24/Dec

from mohfw.gov.in ,

New Cases on Thursday 6,650

Active Cases 77,516 (-775)

Total Deaths (Deaths Yesterday) 4,79,133 (105)

Total Vaccination: 140,31 Crores (+57,44,652)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

RISK OF HOSPITAL CARE FROM OMICRON UP TO 70% LESS THAN DELTA, SAYS UK

An individual with Omicron is 50% to 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital, compared with the Delta strain, the UK health security agency said Thursday. They are also between 31% and 45% less likely to attend emergency departments with Omicron than with Delta. However, data from the HSA also showed that while a booster improves protection, it starts to wane more rapidly than with Delta, and is 15% to 25% lower from 10 weeks after the third dose.

The agency also cautioned that the highly infectious nature of the strain could still lead to significant numbers of severe illness that squeeze the health service. It also said the analysis is “preliminary and highly uncertain” because of the small number of Omicron patients in hospitals and the fact that most were in younger age groups. Health secretary Sajid Javid said the emerging information was “encouraging news”, but he said it was “not very clear yet ... by how much that risk is reduced”.

As of December 20, 132 people had been admitted to UK hospitals with Omicron, of whom 14 — aged between 52 and 96 — died. The UK govt said on Thursday it would not impose any new restrictions before Christmas, but might do so soon after.

PUTIN: RUSSIA NEEDS SECURITY GUARANTEES FROM WEST

Russia wants to avoid conflict with Ukraine and the West, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, demanding an “immediate” response from the US and its allies to Moscow’s demand for security guarantees. “This is not our (preferred) choice, we do not want this,” Putin said at his annual news conference when asked about the possibility of conflict with Ukraine. He said Russia had received a generally positive initial response to security proposals it handed to the US this month and that negotiations would start early next year in Geneva.

In a separate answer, Putin grew more heated when recalling how Nato had “cheated” Russia with successive waves of expansion since the Cold War, and said Moscow needed an answer. “You must give us guarantees, and immediately — now.”

THE REST

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ONE KILLED IN LUDHIANA COURT BLAST, CM SAYS ‘ANTI-NATIONAL’ FORCES

One person died and six others were injured in a blast inside the Ludhiana District Court Complex Thursday noon, with Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi blaming “anti-national forces” and saying the probe into the incident will be linked to investigations in the sacrilege bid at Golden Temple and the FIR registered against SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia.

Police said the blast occurred inside the public washroom on the second floor when the district court was functioning. The Centre has sought a report from state officials and sent teams from the National Investigation Agency and the National Security Guard to the spot.

The police said that one body, charred beyond recognition, was recovered from the spot. It is suspected that the deceased person was either carrying the explosive or planning to plant it, they said. The police also did not rule out the possibility of a “suicide bomb” attack.

AYODHYA LAND SCAM: PRIYANKA GANDHI, MAYAWATI SEEK SC PROBE

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday sought the intervention of the Supreme Court in the alleged land 'scam' in Ayodhya linked to local MLAs and relatives of state govt officials, a day after the UP govt ordered a probe into the matter.

Gandhi also dismissed as an "eyewash" the probe into what she called as Ayodhya land 'scam' in areas around the proposed Ram temple while Mayawati demanded that the state govt cancel the land deals if the allegations in a media report on the issue are true.

Gandhi said the Supreme Court should take suo motu cognisance of the land deals and hold an inquiry as the Ram temple in Ayodhya is being built following its order.

Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Priyanka Gandhi is already fighting the battle in the people's court and a decision on whether to move court will be taken after discussions within the party.

"JUST HAVE FUN": HARISH RAWAT KEEPS UP SUSPENSE AS THREAD STIRS CONGRESS

Uttarakhand Congress leader Harish Rawat flashed more troubling signals for his party yesterday as he offered no explanation for tweets aimed at his party’s leaders and instead told reporters that he would "speak when the time comes."

Harish Rawat, seen as the Congress's face for the Uttarakhand election early next year, said in his tweets yesterday that he felt his hands are tied, that he wants to rest, and that he hoped for "guidance from Lord Kedarnath" about the what path to take.

He was bombarded by reporters' questions Thursday morning.

"When the time comes, I will share everything with you. Who else will I speak to, if I don't speak to you? I will call you. For now, just have fun," said the former Uttarakhand CM.

‘ALLOW PARENTS TO MARRY OFF DAUGHTERS AT 18 BUT FIX 21 AS AGE FOR REGISTRY’

Several khap leaders who gathered in Haryana’s Jind on Thursday said the Centre should continue allowing parents to marry off their daughters at the age of 18 instead of the proposed 21. They also favoured the age of 21 for girls’ court marriages to avoid “elopement or love marriages”.

“Most of the khap leaders were against the current format of the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and seeks to raise the minimum legal age of marriage for girls from 18 to 21 years,” says Dev Vert Dhanda, organiser of the khap panchayat. After several objections from the Opposition, the Bill was sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

CITING SECURITY, CENTRE ASKS PHONE FIRMS TO KEEP CALL RECORDS FOR TWO YEARS

The Department of Telecommunications has amended the Unified License Agreement asking telecom and Internet service providers as well as all other telecom licensees to maintain commercial and call detail records for at least two years, instead of the current one-year practice.

“It is a procedural order. Many security agencies pointed out to us that they needed data even after a year since most investigations take more than that to be completed. We had a meeting with all service providers who agreed to keep the data for the extended period,” a senior DoT official said.

RBI EXTENDS CARD TOKENISATION DEADLINE BY 6 MONTHS TILL JUNE-END

The RBI on Thursday extended the deadline for wiping off card data on merchant sites and applying tokenisation by another six months as merchants and payments companies expressed their inability to meet the December 31 deadline.

After June 30, 2022, all card data “shall be purged”. In addition to tokenisation, industry stakeholders must devise an alternative mechanism to handle recurring e-mandates, equated monthly instalment (EMI) options, etc. or any post-transaction activity that currently involves the storage of card-on-file data by entities other than card issuers and card networks.

On March 17, 2020, the central bank had said from June 30, 2021, merchant websites and payment aggregators should not store customer card data.

At the request of merchants and payment aggregators as well as card companies and banks, this timeline was extended until December 31, 2021. In order to avoid inconveniencing customers, the central bank on September 7 this year introduced card-on-file tokenisation (CoFT) services.

‘MAKE IT MUST TO PLAY INDIAN MUSIC IN FLIGHTS OPERATED BY INDIAN AIRLINES’

Let’s make it mandatory to play Indian music on flights operated by Indian airlines as well as at airports; such a seemingly small step might go a long way in strengthening our people’s emotional connect with the country’s traditions. This is the demand put forward by the (ICCR) along with various musicians and singers to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday. “... playing Indian classical or light vocal and instrumental music in aircraft being operated in India and also at various airports be made mandatory for all India-based airlines,” the letter said.

'83' MOVIE LOOKS POISED TO BE THIS YEAR'S BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTER

The film which trade analysts expect to be the biggest blockbuster of 2021 is hitting a total of over 5,512 screens and distributors are still in talks for 83 to be released in many more.

On Thursday, 83 was released globally on 1,512 screens in 80 countries. On Friday, it will be shown on 4,000 screens across India in five languages which include Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, both 2D and 3D. In terms of the overseas market, 83 is going to have the widest global release of any Bollywood movie ever, overtaking the record set by Sooryavanshi starring Akshay Kumar.

Starring Ranveer Singh in the role of cricketer and captain Kapil Dev, 83 tells the journey of the Indian cricket team which was considered an underdog in the tournament but went on to win India’s first World Cup against the favourites, the West Indies, changing the country’s place in cricket history.

HEARD VIRAT ON CAPTAINCY, NOW GANGULY NEEDS TO SPEAK: SHASTRI

India's Limited Overs captaincy change could have been handled better “with good communication”, and now that Virat Kohli has given his side of the story, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has to present his version, former India head coach Ravi Shastri said on Thursday.

According to Shastri, it is not about whether Kohli or Ganguly was lying. “The question is, what is the truth. You want to know the truth and that can only come with dialogue and communication. Nothing else,” he said.

Days after Ganguly had said that he personally told Kohli not to give up the T20I captaincy, Kohli told reporters that there had been no communication from the board once he had decided to relinquish leadership in the shortest format in September.

Regarding the ODI captaincy, Kohli had said he was informed that the selectors were removing him only 90 minutes before the meeting to pick the Test squad for the South Africa tour this month.

According to Shastri, it would not be right to form an opinion on the issue until it is known what “actually happened” between Kohli and Ganguly.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits. - Robert Louis Stevenson

OFF TRACK

The preacher, in his Sunday sermon, used "Forgive Your Enemies" as his subject. After a long sermon, he asked how many were willing to forgive their enemies. About half held up their hands. Not satisfied he harangued the congregation for another twenty minutes and repeated his question. With thoughts of Sunday dinner, all responded except one old gentleman in the rear.

"Mr. Jones, are you not willing to forgive your enemies?"

"I don't have any."

"Mr. Jones, that is very unusual. How old are you?"

"96."

"Mr. Jones, please come down in front and tell the congregation how a man can live to be 96 and not have an enemy in the world."

The old man teetered down the aisle and slowly turned around. "It's easy. I just outlived the sons of bitches."