Sunday, February 14, 2021
Saturday, January 30, 2021
Fly On the Wall | Sonia rises, takes charge
by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
Sonia rises, takes charge
Sonia Gandhi is trying to do what she is known for; stitching alliances. She successfully dislodged Vajpayee in 2004 by fixing alliances. But 2021 is not 2004. She has lost her most-trusted aide in Ahmed Patel and Rahul Gandhi has failed to enthuse workers and people at large. In 2004, Rahul had brought with him a hope to rejuvenate the party. Be it as it may, Sonia made a passionate appeal to all CWC members including dissidents that the first priority is to defeat the BJP in the ensuing Assembly polls. After clinching peace within the party, Sonia Gandhi has now charted on a course to retain Puducherry and wrest AssamIn Kerala, the Congress may be face-to-face with the Left parties but both are in alliance in West Bengal. In Tamil Nadu, the Congress is playing a second fiddle to the DMK. The way Sonia Gandhi deputed Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel as observer to Assam and he clinched alliance with five other Opposition parties in no time, has made BJP worried. The BJP and Bodoland People’s Front have already parted ways. Baghel is keeping the faction-ridden state unit together after the death of party’s tallest leader Tarun Gogoi and creating a new positive narrative. Sonia also over-ruled Rahul for a change and allowed Congress-Left alliance in West Bengal. A loss for Congress in these crucial states is a big worry for Sonia as BJP has left no stone unturned to win West Bengal, retain Assam and toy hold in TN, Puducherry and Kerala.CBI Truly Independent
Those doubting independence of CBI need to change their opinion, for a change. It showed great alacrity in completing probe into the Hathras rape & murder case. Yogi Adityanath denied these charges saying it was a conspiracy to destabilize his government. The September 2020 incident had rocked the nation and a probe was entrusted to the CBI. It was presumed that the CBI will sit over it for months or even years. After all, there are many such cases where the CBI continues to probe awaiting forensic evidence, viscera report etc etc. Even the last example is of Sushant Singh Rajput alleged suicide in June 2020. The Mumbai police was no evidence of murder, the NCB found no evidence against Sushant’s live-in partner Rhea Chakraborty oabout drugs, the ED was forced to eat the humble pie and other agencies went silent. But the CBI continues to investigate it giving no explanation of abnormal delay even after Bihar elections are over. But the CBI confirmed within four months it was a case of rape and murdere. It came as a huge setback to the Yogi. When Yogi expressed his unhappiness with political masters in Delhi, he was politely told, “We don’t interfere in CBI’s functioning. It’s truly independent.” No doubt, the steady rise of the saffron-robed monk may have created heart-burns in Delhi. For the saffron brigade, he is an icon and favourite leader and in great demand across the country for campaigning. In the power corridors of powers, the CBI’s Hathras case is seen as a politically-loaded move to cut Adityanath to size. Wait for the last word!!Lucky CBI Chief?
A big exercise is on for the selection of new CBI Chief as present incumbent R K Shukla is set to retire on February 1. But there is no sign of meeting of the Selection Committee comprising Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and Leader of the single largest party in Lok Sabha (Congress) to pick a new chief. Rakesh Asthana, DG, BSF and Dr Y C Modi, DG, NIA are the top contenders for the post. Both are PM’s favourite buddies. But a PMO insider says something else is cooking too. There may be a surprise in store for the low-profile, nameless, faceless R K Shukla. He has done a commendable job during the past two years. He doesn’t meet the media, doesn’t come on TV. The Boss likes such officers. So why disturb the arrangement? Why not give an extension, asked the source.Bureaucracy Supreme
The DoPT under the PMO keeps issuing one circular after the other urging the babus (IAS) to submit their immovable property details under the Conduct Rules, 1968 inherited by them or owned or acquired or held on lease or mortgage, either in his/her own name or in the name of any member of family or in the name of any other person. Half of the Babus don't care to respond. There is nothing unusual about it.
Sunday, January 24, 2021
Fly on the Wall | Modi’s baffling gift to Yogi
by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
Modi’s baffling gift to Yogi
The nomination of A K Sharma, Prime Minister Modi’s most trusted bureaucrat, as BJP MLC in UP continues to baffle the political class. Sharma was among Modi’s inner circle of officers when he was Chief Minister of Gujrat in 2001. Be it P K Mishra, K Kailashnathan, J C Murmu, R K Asthana, A K Sharma etc, they were all part of Modi’s CMO. When Modi moved to Delhi in 2014, a battery of around 12 officers moved along. But Modi decided to keep K Kailashnathan in Ahmedabad itself as Anandiben Patel’s CMO. The status of KK, as Kailashnathan is known in the bureaucratic fraternity, didn’t change even after Vijay Rupani took over as CM. KK was Chief Principal Secretary of Modi in 2013 and remains so in 2021 irrespective of who is CM, Gujrat. He is considered “Saheb’s proxy” because Modi talks only to KK and the wheels of administration move accordingly. PK Mishra replaced Nripendra Mishra as Principal Secretary in the PMO and RK Asthana continues to be a powerful IPS officer. J C Murmu was made Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir to be Modi’s eyes & ears in Srinagar. But somehow, he could not pass the muster and was brought back to Delhi as CAG. Therefore, the shifting of A K Sharma being sent to UP for a political inning is baffling given Modi's style of functioning. No one in the BJP handling UP affairs was willing to throw any light as to how A K Sharma was chosen as MLC? Who proposed his name? And why did Modi lend his most-trusted officer to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath? If he was most trusted, then why was he ousted from the PMO in the first place in 2020?
Another KK in Lucknow?
It is no secret that Yogi Adityanath is on his trip in UP and not like other BJP Chief Ministers who pay obeisance to political masters. Insiders in the BJP say that Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappayu is another pain in the neck of the party high command. Yogi doesn’t take the call of many senior leaders. The Central high command was also upset after Yogi Adityanath cut Sunil Bansal, the unquestioned king of Lucknow to run the affairs, to size.
Lately, there have been issues relating to handling crimes in the state and law & order problem, the latest being the Hathras case. Many complain that Yogi has not risen from caste-politics either despite being a loner, unmarried and honest. One school of thought is that it was Yogi who requested the high command to give him a competent person as he doesn’t trust his two deputy Chief Ministers. A K Sharma hails from Azamgarh and can play some role. No one is sure if Nitin Gadkari had a role in Sharma’s going to UP because he worked under him in the MSME as Secretary. No final word has come out about the future role of MLC AK Sharma. Will he be another KK in Lucknow?
Nadda’s rising clout
BJP president J P Nadda is back in action and batting on the front foot in West Bengal polls. He played a key role in the selection of seven Union Ministers who were made incharge of seven regions for Assembly polls. Obviously, Nadda's graph has risen after big Bihar won. Only recently, a couple of Chief Ministers of BJP ruled states wanted to call on the PM. But Modi politely conveyed to them to first apprise “Nadda ji” about the issues. Another major change jolted the party when three posts of joint general secretaries (Organisation) were discarded. Is RSS allowing a free hand to Nadda and General secretary (Organisation) B L Santosh? One will have to watch.
Why Govt doesn't communicate
Be it farm laws or any other issue, the Modi government’s bane is it to rush into decisions and lacking in communication. The classic example is of giving Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxine without phase-III trial data. It was alleged that the government had rushed into giving preferred treatment violating rules and risking lives of people. But no one, not even the IMCR, Drug Controller General of India or even the Health ministry said that the rules for EMA were amended way back in March 2019, a year before the Covid break out. The policy was changed by regulators to give EUA for vaccines without waiting for phase-III trial results. No favours were shown to Covaxine per se. When controversy engulfed the scientific community, the rules were dug out from the grave.
Saturday, January 16, 2021
Fly On the Wall | Pandemic over by June!
by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
Click here to read in Hindi & Marathi
Pandemic over by June!
Strange it may sound but true. The Modi government signed the vaccine purchase agreement with the two Covid Vaccine manufacturers (Serum Institute, Pune & Bharat Biotech Ltd, Hyderabad) only at the eleventh hour. It has not signed any agreement with any of the world Pharma companies including Pfizer or Moderna or for that matter with Russia’s Sputnik V. Yet India is set to launch the world's first & largest adult immunization program. Many other nations including the WHO financed billions of dollars for vaccines. But Modi showed his true Gujrati skills and waited till the end when sellers were desperate as they had stock-piled. Modi could do this largely because the pandemic is receding in India and there is no clamour among the people to get vaccinated like in the West. The Covidshield may not have been invented in India, but it is being treated as one because Seerum is supplying to the world. But many leading scientists may have questioned the way BBL’s Covaxin was given emergency clearance by waiving efficacy data. These include immunologists like Ms (Dr) Gagandeep Kang and Dr. Vineeta Bal, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune. Even Dr Ganga Khedkar, ex-head of Immunologist department said he won’t take the Covaxin until efficacy data comes. Yet, the going for Modi has been good. Many in the PMO say that India will overcome the pandemic by May-June without vaccinating 80 crore people. He may, perhaps, get rid of his grown up beard then.
How Govt pushed for Covaxin
There is an interesting tale behind the Covaxin. As soon as the pandemic broke out in March, the PMO tossed a question towards ICMR chief Dr Balram Bhargava – Can you develop a vaccine and by when? The ICMR and its battery of scientists & immunologists have been bossing around for decades. But such a question was never posed to them by the PMO. Frankly speaking, the ICMR never invented any vaccine either of its own. Bhargava went back to his 9-member vaccine panel headed by Dr Gangandeep Kang. There was silence of the grave. The PMO was getting restive. One fine morning, Dr Bhargava dissolved the ICMR vaccine panel in early May as the PM constituted the National Task Force on Vaccine directly under him. Dr Kang quit ICMR to go back to Vellore. Modi may not be a scientist but he knew there is enough politics among the scientists too and took the command in his own hand. Within days, the ICMR-Bharat Biotech signed an agreement on vaccines.
Why was Bharat Biotech chosen?
No answers are available till date as to why ICMR chose BBL to make the vaccine. No doubt, ICMR has been working closely with Bharat Biotech and many other Pharma companies for years and has partnered with it for Rotavirus and H1N1 vaccines earlier. No one has a clue till this date of the clauses of agreement between ICMR-BBL. What is known is that the ICMR had transferred the Coronavirus strain isolated at its National Institute of Virology, Pune to BBIL for making the vaccine in May 2020 itself. What is also known is that Dr Bhavgava had created a furor by asking the BBL to produce the Covid vaccine by August 2020. He even issued a terse letter in this regard. The letter surfaced in public domain embarrassing the government as it was felt Modi wanted to make an announcement from the Ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15. The ICMR had to eat crow when BBL couldn't produce the vaccine by August 15. But the Covaxin is ICMR’s baby and all regulators had to fast-track clearances tweaking laid down procedures without Phase-III efficacy data.
Kejri’s Konkani love
Arvind Kejriwal is considered a maverick and is not the one to give up. After his failed 2017 attempts, he has set his eyes on Punjab, Goa, Uttrakhand and UP again going to polls in 2022. In order to gain a toy hold in Goa, he hit upon a novel way and set up Konkani Academy in Delhi. There was no such demand for academy and no one was clamouring for it either. But Kejriwal’s sudden love for Konkani is not missed by rivals in Goa who are poking fun at him. Obviously, the national Capital will see a lot of cultural activities to promote Konkani language and Goan culture. Will it fetch votes for AAP in Goa where Kejriwal had lost deposits in all the seats? You guess!
Thursday, January 14, 2021
Big global demand for Indian Vaccines
- As Chinese vaccine Efficacy below 50%
- Covidshield, Covaxin may reap the harvest
New Delhi, Jan 14
With doubts emerging about the efficacy of China’ Coronavirus vaccine, CoronaVac during trials in Brazil & elsewhere, countries are scouting for Indian vaccines now.
With reports surfacing that CoronaVac, manufactured by Beijing-based Sinovac, showed only 50% efficacy, these countries are now knocking at India’s door. India is one of the largest vaccine suppliers.
While Seerum had already signed MOUs with Gavi-COVAX under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO) to supply up to 400 million doses and Bangladesh , a crisis of sort is erupting in Brazil, Indonesia and ten other countries who were dependent solely upon the Chinese Vaccine.
They had agreed to buy 400 million doses of CoronaVac and now want alternative vaccines too. Bharat Biotech is now in talks with Brazil to supply Covaxin, according to sources.
The Indian Government has given permission in principle to Indian vaccine manufacturers to export after meeting domestic demand. Rather, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is actively involved in the process through members of his task force on vaccine management headed by Dr V K Paul and Ministry of External Affairs.
Seerum has capacity to produce up to 100 million a month and got funding of $300 million from the Bill Gate Melinda Foundation to supply vaccines to GAVI. Bharat Biotech can raise its annual capacity to 200 million a year from the present 100 million.
The government has said Covishield & Covaxin can export to neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, African and South American countries. The shipments will also reach Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan and Myanmar at a later stage.
Modi had spoken to leaders of various SAARC nations earlier in this regard. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had said last week there was no bar on the export of Covishield or Covaxin but India’s requirements will get the first priority.
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