Covid spread becomes faster No indiscriminate use of Covid pill Average R-value (number of people a Covid patient can infect) touched 1.64 on Jan 10 from 0.95 on Dec 2 — an increase of 73% in 40 days Molnupiravir has not been included in national treatment guidelines owing to safety concerns 17 states have R-value greater than the national average chennai l wednesday l january 12, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION Yogi minister quits, BJP loses OBC heavyweight Expected to join SP; 3 MLAs loyal to him also resign from party N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow IN a major setback for the BJP, senior OBC leader and labour minister in the Uttar Pradesh government Swami Prasad Maurya quit his post on Tuesday citing ideological differences and the alleged negligence of the Yogi Adityanath government towards the backward classes, farmers, youth and small traders. Later, three MLAs supporting him — Brajesh Prajapati, Roshan Lal Varma and Bhagwati Sagar — also quit the party. Maurya claimed more BJP legislators would leave the party. “The edge of my blow would be felt in the days to come with a series of resignations from the BJP,” he said, adding that he would announce his future course of action on January 14. Maurya also resigned from the BJP and is expected to join the Samajwadi Party (SP) along with his supporters. Meanwhile, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted an undated photograph of him with Maurya, saying, “We welcome the leader of social justice and equality in SP .” The development came on a day when UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, deputy CM Keshav Prasad Muarya and Bid to stitch Oppn pact in five states NCP chief Sharad Pawar is trying to cobble together a joint Opposition alliance in the poll-bound states, though the Congress officially rejected TMC’s overtures in Goa | P10 state BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh met the party’s top leadership in Delhi to finalise the names of candidates for the upcoming state polls. According to sources, Maurya was in touch with the SP chief and the two discussed the political future of Maurya’s daughter Sanghmitra, a BJP MP from Badaun who had in 2019 defeated Akhilesh’s cousin Dharmendra Yadav. BJP insiders said Maurya wanted to contest the upcoming polls from a seat other than his constituency Padrauna. He also sought a ticket for his son Ashok and two dozen partymen close to him. However, the BJP’s top leadership did not respond favourably . Maurya and the three MLAs had switched over to the BJP from the BSP in 2016 ahead of the 2017 polls  P10 express read No need for further restrictions: Ma Su Concerned for safety of people near dam: SC HC bins Spicejet plea against ‘wind up’ order Chennai: Noting that CM MK Stalin does not want livelihood and economy to be affected by lockdowns, Tamil Nadu health minister M Subramanian on Tuesday said the CM is of the view the current curbs are enough. He added that TN had stopped sending all samples with ‘S’ gene drop for whole genome sequencing to confirm Omicron infections | P2 New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday told TN and Kerala that it is concerned about the safety, security and health of the people living in the vicinity of the Mullaiperiyar dam. The court said it is willing to examine the dam strictly on statutory basis, adding counsel of both States had agreed to meet and decide the core issues to be addressed by SC | P5 Chennai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed Spicejet’s appeal against an order to wind up the company and have its assets taken over by an official liquidator for failing to pay dues of 24 million USD to a Swiss aircraft maintenance company. However, the HC extended a stay on operation of the order till January 28 so the company may approach the SC | P13 apex court registry sitting on CBI plea in Maran case Remember the MTNL rip-off by Dayanidhi Maran when he was Union telecom minister? He had a secret and un-billable telephone exchange that had 756 multimedia highspeed lines installed at his homes in Chennai and linked to Sun TV illegally. For years, the Marans tried to misuse even the judicial process to delay the trial, but now it is on in full steam. Nine months ago, the CBI moved the SC for permission to launch further probe so as to add Sun TV as accused, but the registry is yet to list it for hearing. Will judicial delay let the Marans off the hook, wonders S Gurumurthy Page 9 These states include Bihar (2.08), UP (2.03) and all five southern states. Maharashtra, MP, Chhattisgarh, Bengal and Jharkhand also have R-value over 1.64 Contraception must for three months for both men and women taking the pill; otherwise, the child born may have genetic disorders It can cause defects in a developing fetus and it may affect the reproductive system in youngsters | P9 Jab-o-meter Take your shot Jan 10 82,76,158 doses Jan 11 76,68,282 doses Total doses 1,53,70,44,657 NATIONWIDE jan 10 jan 11 Fresh cases 1,79,723 1,68,063 Recoveries 46,569 69,959 Deaths 146 277 tamil nadu jan 10 jan 11 Fresh cases 13,990 15,379 Recoveries 2,547 3,043 Deaths 11 20 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■