'Amrit Kaal' for Modi, not commoners, says AAP; Mamata terms it poll budget; Cong calls it ‘pro-corporate’

New Delhi, Mar 23: A Surat district court on Thursday sentenced Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison after holding him guilty in a criminal defamation case over a remark on the “Modi” surname in 2019. The court later granted Rahul bail to appeal.

The case was filed on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi after the Congress leader allegedly said: “How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?”

The complainant claimed the controversial remark was made at a rally at Kolar in Karnataka, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He said the comment defamed the entire Modi community.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, H.H. Varma, had concluded hearing final arguments last Friday and set 23 March as the date of judgment.

The judge had asked Rahul to be present in court when he pronounced his decision. The Congress MP had previously appeared thrice during the hearing. He was last seen in court in October 2021 to record his statement. He pleaded not guilty.

The final arguments in the defamation case resumed in February 2023 after the Gujarat High Court vacated the interim stay it had imposed on the proceedings in March 2022 on the complainant’s plea, demanding the presence of Rahul Gandhi.

The Surat West MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi said there were CDs and a pen drive of Rahul Gandhi’s speech to prove that the Congress leader had made that “defamatory” comment.

Rahul’s lawyer, on the other hand, said Narendra Modi — and not Purnesh Modi — should have been the complainant because most of Rahul’s speeches targeted the Prime Minister. 

There is a need for increased monitoring and precautionary measures to ward off H3N2 but no cause for panic yet, say experts as India confirms its first two deaths due to the influenza virus.

In Karnataka, 78-year-old Hiregowda. a diabetic who suffered from hypertension died due to the H3N2 seasonal influenza subtype on March 1. Another death, that of a 56-year-old lung cancer patient, was reported from Haryana.

From January 2 to March 5, 451 cases of the H3N2 have been reported in the country, according to data shared by the ministry on Friday. It also said it is keeping a close watch on the situation and cases are expected to decline from month end.

H3N2 is a non-human influenza virus that normally circulates in pigs and has infected humans, according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Symptoms are similar to those of seasonal flu viruses and can include fever and respiratory symptoms such as cough and runny nose, and possibly other symptoms, including body ache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea.

As concerns mounted and some people wondered whether this could possibly turn out to be another Covid, pulmonologist Anurag Agrawal said he doesn’t expect to see a massive wave.

"Admission to hospital has not been very common and only about 5 per cent cases have been reported to be hospitalised," added Tarun Sahani, senior consultant, internal medicine, Apollo Hospitals.

While there is no need to panic yet, Sahani said it is advisable to take precautions similar to those taken during Covid times.

"... if most of the infected people recover albeit slow, it should be fine," virologist Upasana Ray, an alumni member of the Indian National Young Academy of Science (INYAS) and member of Global Young Academy (GYA), told PTI.

She noted that lockdowns and extensive use of masks for extended periods of time helped control transmission of more virulent versions of the virus, but also prevented good exposure of regular seasonal respiratory viruses.

"Due to at least two years of elaborate, expansive use of masks, we might have lost part of our immunity against the versions of these other respiratory viruses that are now getting transmitted," Ray argued.

According to Agrawal, H3N2 outbreaks can "indeed cause death" and are more severe than regular flu.

"Since there is general immunity to flu and vaccines exist, I wouldn’t expect to see a massive wave but yes, all outbreaks and deaths are of some concern," Agrawal, the dean of the Trivedi School of Biosciences at Ashoka University, told PTI.

Sahani noted that India is witnessing a huge spike in H3N2 cases since the start of 2023.

"The incidence is two to three times higher than usually seen at this time of the year. This virus is known to be a subtype of Influenza A virus which is common at this time of the year," Sahani told PTI.

Though the Covid pandemic seems to be ending, the spate of respiratory illnesses continues among adults with a significant number being infected with influenza viruses such as H3N2, adenovirus and H1N1.

According to the latest data available on IDSP-IHIP (Integrated Health Information Platform), a total of 3,038 laboratory-confirmed cases of various subtypes of Influenza including H3N2 have been reported till March 9 by the states.

This includes 1,245 cases in January, 1,307 in February and 486 cases in March till 9th, it said.

The Union Health Ministry is keeping a close watch on the seasonal influenza situation in various states/UTs through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network on a real-time basis.

Agrawal said flu surveillance is an important part of public health.

"In coming times we will have better combined respiratory virus surveillance," Agrawal, the former director of the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology noted.

Ray agreed, saying disease monitoring is urgently needed to address the situation. 

Haveri, Mar 15: Tension prevailed in Karnataka's Haveri district on Tuesday as an incident of stone pelting by hardline hindutva activists on a mosque, Muslim houses and a school led to people of the two communities coming into a confrontational position.

Police has made elaborate security arrangements and is making an all out effort to rein in the situation. At least 15 persons have been arrested in connection with the incident. 

Saffron activists, who pelted stones on the mosque, claimed that when they had taken the procession of Sangolli Rayanna (a martyr who fought the British), a section of Muslims had pelted stones on them and disrupted the procession. Stones were pelted at a similar programme last week.

On Tuesday when their rally was disrupted, the saffron activists pelted stones on the mosque, houses of Muslims and also damaged their vehicles, police sources said. Locals said that saffron activists had pelted stones on the local Urdu school and students had run outside from the classes and stood on the streets crying for help.

The group had also attacked an auto driver and smashed his vehicle. As tension mounts, police have made tight security measures and deputed policemen at the localities where Muslims live in large numbers.

Agriculture Minister B.C. Patil, reacting to the incident, said that it is wrong on anyone's part to pelt stones during the rally of Sangolli Rayanna and police will lodge complaints and initiate action. However, he said he was not aware of the stone-pelting incident on Tuesday.

"I don't have information on the stone pelting incident at the mosque. Will get details," he said.

Congress leader Siddaramaiah stated that the strife should be resolved amicably without giving any room for violence. The police should maintain peace, and whoever violates the law should be punished, he added.