BHUBANESWAR l monday l january 04, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 28 l jeypore EDITION sweeping war powers to xi in china’s new defence law Effective Jan 1, the decision-making powers on military policy rest with Xi Jinping-led Central Military Commission (CMC) right to mobilise military, civilian assets State Council – China’s cabinet – will have a no say in defence matters as the revisions place sweeping powers into the hands of CMC to mobilise both military and civilian resources to defend its assets both in China and abroad. ‘Disruption’ and protection of ‘development interests’ added as grounds for mobilising and deploying troops and reserve forces ■ 2 years Provides legal ground to launch war ■ Including ‘development interests’ provides legal grounds for the country to launch war to defend national development interests The CMC is now formally in charge of making national defence policy and principles, while the State Council becomes a mere implementing agency to provide support to the military Time taken by the National People’s Congress to pass the law CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Bharat Biotech’s candidate yet to finish phase 3 trial, points out Oppn; bid to ridicule scientific community, says Nadda @ New Delhi Midnapore 2014: 14.26% 46.5% 2019: 48.62% (+34.36) 42.32% (-4.19) P r a n a b M o n d a l & P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Kolkata/Guwahati Call them spoilers, proxies or B-teams, with Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam just months away, two political parties have thrown their hat in the ring, one in each state, with the sole aim of damaging bigger and more established players. While the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has declared that it will contest the West Bengal elections, not for the A medic conducts a dry run of Covid-19 vaccination on a health worker, at the Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala on Sunday | PTI has not been reviewed in the case of Covaxin. Tharoor warned that the approval is premature, saying Covaxin’s use should be avoided as it could be dangerous. Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Giriraj Singh took potshots at the Opposition. “Our in-house cynics M/s Jairam, Tharoor & Akhilesh are behaving true to form,” tweeted Puri. While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and BSP head Mayawati lauded the scientific community SP chief Akhilesh , Yadav, who on Saturday said he would not take a ‘BJP vaccine’, adviced the government on Sunday to avoid a cosmetic approach. As for CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury, he called for full disclosure of data of the P7 trial phases.  Govt’s case “COVAXIN is more likely to work against newer variants like N501Y Variant (UK variant) & any other that may arise due to antigenic drift as it contains immunogens (epitopes) from other genes in addition to those from Spike protein,” says Harsh Vardhan Covixin is based on whole inactivated coronavirus; only 7 per cent persons receiving 6 microgram dose had mild symptoms Covaxin data shows it not only produces antibodies in all participants but also sensitises ‘CD4 T lymphocytes that imparts durable immune response, says Vardhan Universities, colleges to reopen from January 11 tions for the sixth semester UG and fourth semester PG students will be conducted between June 16 and 30 and the results will be published by July 15. Physical classes will be held in regular manner to cover all chapters of the syllabus including those already covered online. Wherever possible, the physical classroom teaching will be recorded and shared with absentee students. Social distancing of six feet will be ensured in classrooms, libraries, laboratories and other common places and if required, classes will be divided in batches and teaching hours will be extended. Classroom teaching will be conducted on all days except Sundays, Republic Day, Saraswati Puja (February 16) and Utkal Divas (April 1) besides the examination period. However, 25 per cent syllabuses will be covered by the students as self-study with guidance from the faculty . Hostels will be opened for the final year UG and PG students and PhD, MPhil and other research scholars from January 10 with adequate Covid safety measures in place. Research activities will also commence on physical mode from January 11. Dibrugarh Sivasagar Kamrup Kamrup Metro Tinsukia assam  Upper districts  Central districts Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday congratulated Bharat Biotech after ‘Covaxin’ vaccine received the approval for emergency use in the country. “This will strengthen the vaccination effort for entire country he said. ,” It is a matter of great pride that two Made In India vaccines have received emergency use approval by the panel of experts, the Chief Minister said. “The entire nation is grateful to our scientific community for their hard work and commitment in the face of adversity ,” he added. After allowing partial reopening of schools, Odisha government on Sunday announced commencement of classes for final year students of UG and PG in colleges and universities in physical mode from January 11. A notification issued by the Higher Education department stated that all State-run universities, government and nongover nment colle g es can resume their classes with due compliance to Covid safety guidelines. The private universities can also commence classes for the UG and PG students from the same date. The physical classes will be conducted from January 11 to March 15 for the fifth semester UG and third semester PG students and from April 2 to June 15 for sixth semester UG and fourth semester PG students. “Decision regarding conduct of classes for students of other semesters will be taken at a later stage,” said Higher Education Minister Arun Sahoo. Examinations for the fifth semester UG and third semester PG students will be held between March 16 and 31 and the results will be published by April 30. Similarly, examina- Bishnupur 2014 14.11% 45.5% 2019 46.25% (+32.14) 40.75% (-4.75) spoilers threaten to muddle poll play in bengal and Assam AGP stronghold E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar @ Bhubaneswar Bankura 2014 20.31% 39.1% 2019 49.2% (+28.92) 36.5% (-2.6) Electorate in Scheduled Tribes 27% Junglemahal Scheduled Castes & OBCs 35% Naveen congratulates Bharat Biotech E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Purulia 2014 7.15% 38.87% 2019 49.33% (+42.18) 34.19% (-4.68) Jhargram 2014 9.73% 54.6% 2019 44.56% (+34.83) 43.72% (-10.88) E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Regulatory approvals to a couple of coronavirus vaccines on Sunday set off a political slugfest, with a section of the Opposition questioning the nod to Bharat Biotech’s homegrown Covaxin, since it is yet to complete phase 3 trials. While Congress leaders sought full disclosure of Covaxin’s data, BJP chief J P Nadda tore into the Opposition for coming up with “wild theories” to “ridicule” the accomplishments. The Congress remained divided, with chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hailing the scientific community, but deputy leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor asking searching questions on the haste in according approval to Covaxin. The Congress troika demanded Union health minister Harsh Vardhan’s explanation on why mandatory protocols and verification of data had been done away for Covaxin. Soon enough, Vardhan reacted sharply, saying: “Disgraceful for anyone to politicize a critical issue”. Sharma, who heads the Parliamentary panel on the Ministry of Home Affairs, which had deliberated on the Covid-19 management plan, noted that the data on safety and efficacy Junglemahal vote share (LS poll)  BJP  TMC west bengal Nod to Covaxin triggers concern, political joust Positioning for powerplay Jorhat Nagaon Golaghat AGP in 2016 elections contested 26 seats Won 14 Seats won by AGP in Upper and Central Assam 9 first time though, newbie Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has entered the fray in Assam. Most do not give them any chance and say they will be mere also-rans. But they are expected to be crucial tools in the hands of the serious contenders to play the role of a spoiler. The JMM is expected to damage the chances of the BJP, benefiting the Trinamool Congress, as both are expected to vie for the votes of tribals, among whom the BJP has made major inroads recently . The AJP could do the same to the Asom Gana Parishad, a BJP ally and this could be to the ad, vantage of the Congress. Like the AGP the new party’s leader, ship comes mainly from former activists of the All-Assam Students’ Union with regionalism Continued on: P8 BJP to hold demos in all blocks E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Cuttack Tension continued to grip Nrutanga village under Mahanga police station in the district for the second day following the brutal murder of former Mahanga block chairperson and BJP leader Kulamani Baral (73) along with a close associate Dibyasingh Baral (80) over alleged political rivalry on Saturday night. Five platoons of police forces were deployed in the village to prevent any flare-up in the situation as the bodies of the slain leaders were brought to the village from SCB Medical College and Hospital, C u t t a ck , fo r c re m at i o n o n Sunday . More than 3,000 workers flanked by several senior BJP leaders including State unit president Samir Mohanty, Leader of Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik and general secretary Lekhasri Samantasinghar took the bodies in a massive bike rally from Khandol to Nrutanga. The mourning party workers were found shouting slogans against Law Minister Pratap Jena and chanting “Pagal Babu Amar Rahe” till the bodies reached Nrutanga. “The family members of the deceased leader have mentioned the Law Minister’s name in the FIR, stating that the murderous attack was carried out at his behest. The Law Minister should resign or the Chief Minister should dismiss him from the ministry immedia t e l y, ” Mohanty told mediapersons. On Sunday, Kulamani’s son Ramakant Baral filed an FIR naming 12 persons including eight people from Nrutanga and four persons from the nearby Jankothi village accusing them of hacking his father and relative to death over political rivalry. “The incident is a fallout of the exposure of massive corruption in Prime Minister Awas Yojana implementation in the region,” Ramakant stated in his FIR. “The attack was carried out at the behest of Law Minister Pratap Jena. The accused persons had also brutally murdered another BJP worker Bikash Chandra Jena in the village in 2018. The police did not take any action against them and now they killed my father. The Minister is shielding the accused,” the FIR alleged. While district BJP unit president Prakash Behera has sought the intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik into the incident, the Law Minister refuted the allegation. “I will personally look into the case so that culprits get punishment,” said Jena, while condemning the murder. Cuttack SP (Rural) Jug al Kishore Kumar Banoth said that a case has been registered under section 302 of IPC basing on the FIR lodged by Kulamani’s son. Meanwhile, Mahanga police on Sunday detained one suspect in connection with the case. Continued on: P5  BHUBANESWAR: the State BJP on Sunday announced that the party will hold demonstrations in front of all police stations and block offices in undivided Cuttack district demanding the resignation of Law Minister Pratap Jena over the double murder in Mahanga. “If Jena does not resign, he should be removed from the ministry immediately,” State unit president Samir Mohanty said. Condemning the incident, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan hoped that the administration will take strong action against the guilty persons. “There may be differences in social life, but there is nothing more deplorable than violence and killing,” he said. The BJP alleged that Baral was made a target as he had raised the issue of massive corruption in implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Nrutanga panContinued on: P5 chayat.  ‘Jai Jagannath’ reverberates as Srimandir opens up for all devotees 5th semester UG and 3rd semester PG Chants of ‘Jai Jagannath’ and ‘Haribol’ resonated in the Sri Jagannath temple as the shrine reopened its doors for all devotees on Sunday. There was relief and joy all around as people were able to get entry to the temple for darshan of the holy Trinity after a long Covid-19-induced interval of nine months | P4 Classes January 11 to March 15 Examinations Between March 16 and 31 Results by April 30 6th semester UG and 4th semester PG Classes April 2 to June 15 Examinations Between June 16 and 30 WITH THIS ISSUE THE ESSENTIAL CAMPUS DIGEST Results by July 15 The State government has brought more relief to Class X students by reducing the total marks to be appeared for by the students in the HSC examinations. P3  Jena shielding killers, BJP leader’s son claims in FIR Schedule Matric students to aPPear for 80 marks its ideological mooring. Political circles in both the states believe the JMM and the AJP have been propped up by the Trinamool and the Congress respectively to do what the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen did to the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar last year. In the closely contested Bihar elections, Asaduddin Owaisi’s party contested 14 seats in the Muslim-dominated areas, winning five and hurting the RJD. Why the BJP believes the JMM is a Trinamool proxy is not far to seek. In the 2016 Assembly elections, the Jharkhand party contested 23 seats, 14 of them in the tribal-dominated districts Jhargram, Purulia, Bankura and West Midnapore, popularly called Junglemahal. BIRD of prey YOUR LIFE COACH 28 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF edex (TABLOID) A migratory bird takes wings after a successful fish catch at Mangalajodi in Chilika Lake on Sunday | Irfana MP drafting law to make vandals pay up E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhopal Taking a leaf out of UP’s book, Madhya Pradesh is drafting a stringent law with a provision to auction the properties of stonepelters to recover damages caused to public property or individuals. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s decision comes close on the heels of three incidents of clashes between two communities during the Ram temple fundraising processions taken out in Ujjain, Indore, and Mandsaur districts. “Their act not only causes damage to properties, but also poses a risk to human lives. While peaceful protests are the right of the citizens, vandals and arsonists have to be severely dealt with,” Chouhan said. When introduced, MP will become the second state after UP to have such a law. express read 17 killed in cremation ground roof collapse Ghaziabad: Seventeen people, most of them attending a funeral, were killed and 15 others injured when the roof of a shelter at a cremation ground in Uttar Pradesh’s Muradnagar collapsed on Sunday, police said | P8