House Chamber 5 1 .10  pm (US time): Protesters capitol complex 4 pull down baricades on the West Front of the Capitol 1 2 2 .15  pm: Mob enters buildings in the Capitol complex 2 .15  pm: Senators evacuated from the chamber 2 .30  pm: Protesters roam around THRISSUR l friday l January 08, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Defiling the hallowed spaces of democracy Statuary Hall, carrying flags 3 2 .43  pm: Police with guns drawn watch as protesters try to break into the House Chamber senate chamber Vice President’s office 2.59 pm: Protesters enter Senate chamber, mock leaders, take selfies 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 (Clockwise from above) Trump supporters massed outside the Capitol on Wednesday before breaking into it; Capitol Police with guns drawn stand near a barricaded door as protesters try to break into the House Chamber; and a protester covered in blood after a fight during the protest | AP Trump incites thousands of supporters at a rally, claiming he had won the presidential race, goads them to fight like hell Trump says he would go with them to the Capitol, but doesn’t. He slips into his car and goes to the White House instead Trump supporters storm Capitol building where joint session of House and Senate was on to count Presidential electoral votes One woman shot and killed by police during attempt by mob to break through a barricaded door; three others die too Trump calls the mob patriots in tweet; Twitter bans him for a day; Facebook, Insta block him for the rest of his term Session resumes after mob’s eviction; V-P Mike Pence defies Trump, affirms President-elect Joe Biden’s victory Trump finally says there will be orderly transition on January 20; Reps weigh options to stop Don even before his term ends h e re a re t h e y ? ” a Trump supporter demanded in a crowd of dozens roaming the halls of the Capitol, bearing Trump flags and pounding on doors. They — lawmakers, staff members and more — were hiding under tables, hunkered in lockdowns, saying prayers and seeing the fruits of the country’s divisions up close and violent. Guns were drawn. A woman was shot and killed by police, and three others died in apparent medical emergencies. A Trump flag hung on the Capitol. The graceful Rotunda reeked of tear gas. Glass shattered. On Wednesday hallowed , spaces of American democracy , one after another, yielded to the occupation of Congress, the Associated Press reported. The pro-Trump mob took over the presiding officer’s chair in the Senate, the offices of the House speaker and the Senate dais, where one yelled, “Trump won that election.” They mocked its leaders, posing for photos in the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one with his feet propped on a desk in her office, another sitting in the same seat Vice President Mike Pence had occupied only moments before during the proceedings to certify the Electoral College vote. That certification would eventually take place, but not until well after midnight. Wednesday began as a day of reckoning for President Donald Trump’s futile attempt to cling to power as Congress took up the certification of Presidentelect Joe Biden’s victory It de. volved into scenes of fear and agony that left a prime ritual of American democracy in tatters. Trump told his morning crowd at a rally that he would go with them to the Capitol, but he didn’t. Instead he sent them off with incendiary rhetoric. “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” he said, adding, “This is a time for strength.” His lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told the crowd, “Let’s have trial by combat.” What happened was nothing less than an attempted coup, said Republican lawmaker Diana DeGette. Police recovered two pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails. As the mob got out of control, police evacuated lawmakers, grabbing boxes of Electoral College certificates as they left. Yet Trump, in a video posted 90 minutes after lawmakers were evacuated, told the insurrectionists “We love you. You’re very special,” while asking them to go home. Heavily ar med of ficers brought in as reinforcements started using tear gas in a coordinated effort to get people moving toward the door, then combed the halls for stragglers, pushing the mob farther out onto the plaza and lawn, in clouds of tear gas, flash-bangs and percussion grenades. Video footage also showed officers letting people calmly walk out the doors despite the rioting and vandalism. Only about a dozen arrests were made. “This is how a coup is started,” said another Republican lawmaker Jimmy Gomez. “This is how democracy dies.” The world reacted in horror, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeting: “Distressed to see news about rioting and violence in Washington DC. Orderly and peaceful transfer of power must continue. The democratic process cannot be allowed to be subverted through P6, 9 unlawful protests.”  capitol disgrace W Speaker says nod must to question his staffer. Not so, replies customs Interview E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e ARIF MOHAMMED KHAN Governor E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ T’Puram/Kochi I’m ready to end my public life of 40 years if proved that I have taken any sort of bribe or committed any irregularities P Sreeramakrishnan, Speaker Motion seeking ouster Sreeramakrishnan said that a notice issued by the Opposition seeking permission for a motion seeking his removal will be considered in the assembly session. Earlier, the notice was not considered as it was not served 14 days prior. “This time, the notice has been given as per procedure and it’ll be taken up for discussion,” said Sreeramakrishnan. ATTEMPTS by the customs to question Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan’s personal staff in a case relating to the smuggling of US currency has snowballed into a tussle between the state legislature secretariat and the central agency. While the speaker continues to insist that his permission is needed to serve a legal notice on a staffer in the assembly, customs has refuted it by saying it acted with the right intention. Customs has served a third notice on K Ayyappan, the speaker’s additional private secretary and he is likely to , to appear for questioning on Friday . Legislature secretary S V Unnikrishnan Nair had shot off a letter to the customs superintendent stating that the speaker’s permission should be sought if a summons or warrant is issued to a staff of the legislative assembly. On Thursday, the speaker too justified his staffer evading the customs’ questioning by citing Rule 165 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the assembly . Sreeramakrishnan said a legal process, civil or criminal, cannot be carried out within the assembly precincts without the speaker’s permission. He said the rule does not specify whether it applies only to a member of the assembly . However, the speaker said no investigation will be blocked if it does not erode the credibility and integrity of the assembly and the legislature secretariat, and follows the rules and procedures. The legislature secretariat has only conveyed the rule to the agency, he added.  ● More on P4 WALAYAR parents seek CBI probe Govt not opposed to the victims’ parents’ plea seeking reinvestigation by the central agency, TNIE has learnt | P5 Centre estimates pandemic to pull down GDP growth to -7.7% in FY21 AIR VIEW BUT DON’T PROVOKE The LDF government will eagerly listen to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s policy address on Friday to know whether he would read out his remarks against the farm laws. Khan tells TNIE Chief of Bureau Anil S the state has every right to air its views, but it should not provoke conflict. Q&A: p4 @ New Delhi India’s pandemic-battered economy will shrink only 7.7% in the ongoing financial year (FY21) and not the near 10% decline projected by international agencies like the IMF and World Bank, according to the government’s advance GDP estimate released on Thursday . According to the finance ministry the GDP estimates re, flect resurgence in economic activities in the third and fourth quarters. “The continuous quarter-on-quarter growth endorses the strength of economic fundamentals of the country to sustain a post-lockdown V-shaped recovery,” a ministry statement read. However, the government’s projections would still make FY21 the worst year for Indian economy since independence. In FY20, GDP had grown 4.2% — the slowest in 11 years. Real GDP at constant prices in FY21 is likely to attain a level Agri only bright spot Contraction is forecast in almost all sectors except agriculture, which is projected to grow at 3.4%, while manufacturing could contract 9.4%. The job-intensive construction sector to fall 12.6% Sure shot? E X P RE S S RE A D Medical expert flags Covishield’s neuro-inflammatory risk B a l a C h a u h a n @ Bengaluru Ahead of the launch of Covishield, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, medical experts have drawn attention to some unanswered questions in a public assessment report. These pertain to the vaccine’s ability to control transmission of SARS-CoV-2, ef ficacy against new strains or other such mutations in the spike protein of the virus, and adverse events. “The reported adverse events of the vaccine suggest there is a high risk of neuro-inflammatory disorders, including transverse myelitis, facial nerve palsies and trigeminal neuralgia that need to be closely monitored,” Dr Vishal Rao, member of Karnataka government’s Covid Task Force, said in a scientific correspondence, which was shared with TNIE. Exper ts have also raised concerns about the duration of protection and dosing beyond the two-dose schedule, protection against longter m ef fects of Covid-19, effectiveness in children below of `134.40 lakh crore as against the provisional estimate of `145.66 lakh crore in FY20. Nominal GDP, which includes the price increases along with real output growth, is projected to contract 4.2% to `194.82 lakh crore. The first advanced GDP estimate is based on data of a seven-month period (April–October) — using a mix of data such as corporate results, agriculture production, transport and freight estimates, IIP and bank , deposits. The projection may be revised when better data is available. The second advance estimate is due to be released on February 26. 18 years, pregnant, lactating women and immune-compromised individuals. While commending the transparency good clinical and ethi, cal practices of the vaccine in ‘The Public Assessment Report of the Authorisation for Temporary Supply of AZD1222 from the MHRA, Government of UK,’ Dr Rao said the report has some “unanswered questions pertaining to the control of the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 or to prevent infection, though it seems to reduce the intensity of the illness. We will have to continue to wear face masks even after getting vaccinated.” Ex-min and Cong leader K K Ramachandran dies Kozhikode: Senior Congress leader K K Ramachandran, popularly known as Ramachandran Master, died aged 84 due to a cardiac arrest on Thursday. He has held posts of food and civil supplies minister and health minister in the Kerala assembly. P5 Pawar to arrive in state to quell NCP infighting T’Puram: In the wake of the infighting in Left ally NCP reaching a peak, party national president Sharad Pawar will soon come to Kerala to address the organisational dispute. Pawar is expected to hold talks with the party’s warring factions. P5 panel report Third-degree punishment caused death of Rajkumar S h a n A S @ T’Puram Justice K Narayana Kurup, who was appointed the inquiry commissioner by the state government to look into the custodial death of a 49-year-old man at the Nedumkandam police station, submitted his report on Thursday. The findings categorically stated the death had occurred due to ‘complications arising out of multiple blunt injuries characteristic of physical torture’. The jurist submitted the 160-page report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan with a special request to implement the proposed reforms contained in it at the earliest so that such incidents do not recur. The report gives a chilling account of how Rajkumar, accused of chit fund fraud, was subjected to third-degree punishment to get him to reveal where he had stashed away the depositors’ money. According to the report, the internal organs of Rajkumar suffered irreversible damage due to the horrendous torture he was subjected to for 72 hours. “He was lying on the floor and the officers pounded him. They slapped, kicked and spreadeagled him. This was done just to make him disclose details of the money he supposedly had with him,” Kurup told TNIE.  ● More on P4