The Evening Wrap: Impasse continues as doctors deny meeting Mamata without live streaming

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on September 14 appealed to the agitating doctors, who had arrived at her residence in Kolkata for talks, to join the meeting, amid their demand for live-streaming of the discussions. The meeting between Banerjee and the agitating junior doctors who are protesting over the R.G. Kar rape and murder incident did not take place at the scheduled time as the medics remained adamant on live-streaming of the talks. “I would request you all to come inside and attend the meeting. As the matter is before the court, we cannot allow live streaming. I will video-record the meeting and will provide you with a copy only after permission from the Supreme Court,” she said, while appealing to students to come inside and not to get drenched in rain. “Today, you said that you want a meeting, so I have been waiting. Why are you people insulting me like this? Please don’t insult me like this. Earlier on the three occasions, I have been waiting but you people didn’t come,” she said. Protesting doctors in Kolkata assented to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hours after she visited their protest site in Salt Lake. West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant had extended the invitation after the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front wrote to him welcoming Banerjee’s visit but insisted on an audience with her to discuss their demands. In a fresh attempt to placate protesting resident doctors, Banerjee visited the protest site and urged doctors to return to work. “I came to meet you as your ‘Didi’ (elder sister), not as the Chief Minister...This is my last attempt to resolve the crisis,” she said. The CM also assured the protesting doctors like her brothers and sisters that she will not take action against them. Banerjee said that like the doctors who are protesting in the open and spending sleepless nights in inclement weather conditions, she is unable to sleep at night. Accompanied by State Director General of Police Rajiv Kumar, Banerjee reached the site at Salt Lake Sector 5 around 1 p.m., taking those present there by surprise. The Chief Minister announced that she is dissolving all the “Rogi Kalyan Commitee (Patient Welfare Body)’ of all state-run hospitals, including R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. Protesting doctors said that they will withdraw from the strike till their demands are met. The doctors urged for immediate talks with the State Government to resolve the imbroglio. The agitating junior doctors said they would not compromise on their demands while continuing their sit-in demonstration outside the State Health Department headquarters for the fifth consecutive day on September 14. Ragpicker injured in Kolkata blast A person was injured in a blast that took place in central Kolkata on September 14, a police officer said. The explosion occurred when he was “near a plastic bag” at the crossing of Blochmann Street and S.N. Banerjee Road. “The injured person was identified as 58-year-old Bapi Das, who lives on a footpath beside S.N. Banerjee Road. He is a ragpicker,” the officer said. He suffered injuries in his right wrist and is being treated at the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital. “The area was cordoned off and a bomb disposal squad reached the place. They checked the bag and the vicinity,” he said. Suspected Nipah case in Kerala’s Malappuram In less than two months after a schoolboy died of Nipah at Pandikkad in Malappuram district yet another case of the infection surfaced at Naduvath, near Wandoor, hardly 10 km from Pandikkad, on September 14. The test result of a 23-year-old man who died at a private hospital at Perinthalmanna on Monday last was found positive. The man, a student in Bengaluru, had been admitted at Perinthalmanna hospital with jaundice symptoms. His blood sample tested at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, found him positive for Nipah virus. However, the Health department is awaiting result from the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for final confirmation. Health officials in the district have swung to action following the initial test results. The man’s family at Naduvath was placed in quarantine. Health officials said that further action would follow once the Pune test results were available. On July 21, 2024, a 15-year-old boy from Chembrassery, near Pandikkad, in the district died of Nipah at Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. The boy’s death had created a scare, prompting the district authorities to impose restrictions on movement and social contact. Family, friends and comrades bid final adieu to Sitaram Yechury Family, friends, admirers, and comrades bid a final adieu to Sitaram Yechury, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary on September 14, as his mortal remains were brought to the party headquarters for people from all walks of life to pay their last respects. At 3:30 p.m., he left the party office for one last time, with a winding trail of mourners following in the wake of the funeral cortege, holding his photographs and raising slogans. They accompanied his mortal remains till 14 Ashoka Road, which was the CPI(M) central committee’s office for many years. It was here, in 1984, that a 32-year-old Yechury first joined party’s highest decision-making body. His family then left for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where, in accordance with his wishes, his body was donated for medical research. Several leaders from various parties paid their tributes to Yechury. Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong, Vietnam Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai, Palestinian Ambassador Adnan Abu Alhaija and former Nepal PM Madhav Kumar Nepal also came to express their condolences. A host of academic luminaries, including historian Romilla Thapar, visited the party headquarters as did several members of civil society. Yechury is the first CPI(M) general secretary to die in the saddle in what was his third and final term. His successor would have been elected at the next party Congress in April 2025, but his abrupt departure leaves the party with the tricky task of looking for an immediate replacement. In the run-up to the party Congress, organisational elections are already going on at the district level. To prepare the political line and the organisational draft for the Congress, the party’s Polit Bureau is scheduled to meet on September 27 and 28, followed by the Central Committee meeting on September 29 and 30. Upcoming elections to decide J&K’s future, terrorism on its last legs: PM Modi Terming the upcoming Assembly elections as “one that will decide the fate of J&K”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 14 launched a scathing attack on the Gandhis, the Abdullahs and the Muftis and underscored that “terrorism was in its last stage” in the Union Territory (UT). “These elections are going to decide the fate of J&K. Since Independence, our J&K has been targeted by foreign powers. Terrorism is now counting its last days in J&K. The upcoming elections will decide the UT’s future,” Modi, who addressed the first ever election rally in J&K’s Doda, said. On Statehood, the PM said only BJP will restore it to J&K. Targeting the opposition, PM Modi said the politics of dynasts “hollowed out and destroyed J&K”. “These parties promoted separatism and terrorism in J&K for the past seven decades only to keep their shops running. They provided a safe haven for the propagation of terrorism for personal gains. They only promoted their own kith and kin,” the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister also targeted the manifestos of the NC, the Congress and the PDP in his speech. “Voters have to choose between BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ and these parties’ manifestos, advocating return of the old bad days. The manifestoes call for the return of Article 370 and roll back of reservations to Paharis, Gujars and Bakerwals. Also, advocates snatching the voting rights of Valmikis and Dalits,” Modi said. He described the upcoming elections in J&K as one where “the dynasts are pitted against the youth with high aspirations and dreams of J&K”. Praising party workers who drove from parts of Ramban and Kishtwar districts to Doda, Modi said his party conducted first Panchayat elections since 2000 as the NC, the PDP and the Congress failed to hold them. He said those youth who threw stones at police and security forces were aspiring big in life now. “Stones are being used to construct new big buildings,” the PM said. The BJP has fielded a terror victim Shagun Parihar from the Kishtwar constituency. “Both the parents were killed by terrorists. She is our tool against terrorism,” the PM said, as he pledged to work for a “prosperous J&K”. ‘Sensitive’ inputs delaying High Court chief justice appointments: Centre to Supreme Court The Centre told the Supreme Court that “sensitive material” with the government is delaying the implementation of the Supreme Court Collegium’s recommendations for appointments of chief justices to high courts. Attorney General R. Venkatramani told a bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that he has received certain inputs from the Union government which are sensitive in nature. He also told the top court that revealing these issues in the public domain would neither be in the interest of the institution nor of the judges involved. “I would like to place the inputs and my suggestions in a sealed cover for perusal by the judges,” Venkatramani told the bench. The matter has now been posted for hearing on September 20. The top court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Harsh Vibhore Singhal seeking a direction that a time limit be fixed for the Centre to notify the appointment of judges recommended by the apex court collegium. It has also sought a direction to plug the ‘zone of twilight’ of there being no time for notifying the collegium’s recommendations for the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. The plea said that in the absence of a fixed time period, “the government arbitrarily delays notifying appointments thereby trampling upon judicial independence, imperilling the constitutional and democratic order and disparaging the majesty and sagacity of the court”. The plea said if any name is not objected to or the appointments are not notified by the end of such fixed time period, then appointments of such judges must be taken as notified. In Brief: Upping the ante over the conflict-of-interest row involving SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch, the Congress on September 14 claimed that she traded in listed securities while in possession of unpublished price-sensitive information and has been investing in Chinese firms at a time when India is facing geopolitical tensions with China. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh pointed to “fresh conflict of interest allegations” against Buch, claiming that she, as a whole-time member and later as the SEBI chairperson, traded in listed securities worth ₹36.9 crore. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 14 September 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Impasse continues as protesting doctors refuse to meet Mamata without live-streaming West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on September 14 appealed to the [agitating doctors, who had arrived at her residence]( in Kolkata for talks, to join the meeting, amid their demand for live-streaming of the discussions. The meeting between Banerjee and the agitating junior doctors who are protesting over the R.G. Kar rape and murder incident did not take place at the scheduled time as the medics remained adamant on live-streaming of the talks. “I would request you all to come inside and attend the meeting. As the matter is before the court, we cannot allow live streaming. I will video-record the meeting and will provide you with a copy only after permission from the Supreme Court,” she said, while appealing to students to come inside and not to get drenched in rain. “Today, you said that you want a meeting, so I have been waiting. Why are you people insulting me like this? Please don’t insult me like this. Earlier on the three occasions, I have been waiting but you people didn’t come,” she said. Protesting doctors in Kolkata assented to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hours after she visited their protest site in Salt Lake. West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant had extended the invitation after the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front wrote to him welcoming Banerjee’s visit but insisted on an audience with her to discuss their demands. In a fresh attempt to placate protesting resident doctors, Banerjee visited the protest site and urged doctors to return to work. “I came to meet you as your ‘Didi’ (elder sister), not as the Chief Minister...This is my last attempt to resolve the crisis,” she said. The CM also assured the protesting doctors like her brothers and sisters that she will not take action against them. Banerjee said that like the doctors who are protesting in the open and spending sleepless nights in inclement weather conditions, she is unable to sleep at night. Accompanied by State Director General of Police Rajiv Kumar, Banerjee reached the site at Salt Lake Sector 5 around 1 p.m., taking those present there by surprise. The Chief Minister announced that she is dissolving all the “Rogi Kalyan Commitee (Patient Welfare Body)’ of all state-run hospitals, including R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. Protesting doctors said that they will withdraw from the strike till their demands are met. The doctors urged for immediate talks with the State Government to resolve the imbroglio. The agitating junior doctors said they would not compromise on their demands while continuing their sit-in demonstration outside the State Health Department headquarters for the fifth consecutive day on September 14. Ragpicker injured in Kolkata blast A [person was injured in a blast that took place in central Kolkata]( on September 14, a police officer said. The explosion occurred when he was “near a plastic bag” at the crossing of Blochmann Street and S.N. Banerjee Road. “The injured person was identified as 58-year-old Bapi Das, who lives on a footpath beside S.N. Banerjee Road. He is a ragpicker,” the officer said. He suffered injuries in his right wrist and is being treated at the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital. “The area was cordoned off and a bomb disposal squad reached the place. They checked the bag and the vicinity,” he said. Suspected Nipah case in Kerala’s Malappuram In less than two months after a schoolboy died of Nipah at Pandikkad in Malappuram district [yet another case of the infection surfaced at Naduvath]( near Wandoor, hardly 10 km from Pandikkad, on September 14. The test result of a 23-year-old man who died at a private hospital at Perinthalmanna on Monday last was found positive. The man, a student in Bengaluru, had been admitted at Perinthalmanna hospital with jaundice symptoms. His blood sample tested at Government Medical College, Kozhikode, found him positive for Nipah virus. However, the Health department is awaiting result from the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for final confirmation. Health officials in the district have swung to action following the initial test results. The man’s family at Naduvath was placed in quarantine. Health officials said that further action would follow once the Pune test results were available. On July 21, 2024, a 15-year-old boy from Chembrassery, near Pandikkad, in the district died of Nipah at Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. The boy’s death had created a scare, prompting the district authorities to impose restrictions on movement and social contact. Family, friends and comrades bid final adieu to Sitaram Yechury Family, friends, admirers, and comrades bid a [final adieu to Sitaram Yechury]( the Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary on September 14, as his mortal remains were brought to the party headquarters for people from all walks of life to pay their last respects. At 3:30 p.m., he left the party office for one last time, with a winding trail of mourners following in the wake of the funeral cortege, holding his photographs and raising slogans. They accompanied his mortal remains till 14 Ashoka Road, which was the CPI(M) central committee’s office for many years. It was here, in 1984, that a 32-year-old Yechury first joined party’s highest decision-making body. His family then left for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where, in accordance with his wishes, his body was donated for medical research. Several leaders from various parties paid their tributes to Yechury. Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong, Vietnam Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai, Palestinian Ambassador Adnan Abu Alhaija and former Nepal PM Madhav Kumar Nepal also came to express their condolences. A host of academic luminaries, including historian Romilla Thapar, visited the party headquarters as did several members of civil society. Yechury is the first CPI(M) general secretary to die in the saddle in what was his third and final term. His successor would have been elected at the next party Congress in April 2025, but his abrupt departure leaves the party with the tricky task of looking for an immediate replacement. In the run-up to the party Congress, organisational elections are already going on at the district level. To prepare the political line and the organisational draft for the Congress, the party’s Polit Bureau is scheduled to meet on September 27 and 28, followed by the Central Committee meeting on September 29 and 30. Upcoming elections to decide J&K’s future, terrorism on its last legs: PM Modi Terming the upcoming Assembly elections as “[one that will decide the fate of J&K]( Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 14 launched a scathing attack on the Gandhis, the Abdullahs and the Muftis and underscored that “terrorism was in its last stage” in the Union Territory (UT). “These elections are going to decide the fate of J&K. Since Independence, our J&K has been targeted by foreign powers. Terrorism is now counting its last days in J&K. The upcoming elections will decide the UT’s future,” Modi, who addressed the first ever election rally in J&K’s Doda, said. On Statehood, the PM said only BJP will restore it to J&K. Targeting the opposition, PM Modi said the politics of dynasts “hollowed out and destroyed J&K”. “These parties promoted separatism and terrorism in J&K for the past seven decades only to keep their shops running. They provided a safe haven for the propagation of terrorism for personal gains. They only promoted their own kith and kin,” the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister also targeted the manifestos of the NC, the Congress and the PDP in his speech. “Voters have to choose between BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ and these parties’ manifestos, advocating return of the old bad days. The manifestoes call for the return of Article 370 and roll back of reservations to Paharis, Gujars and Bakerwals. Also, advocates snatching the voting rights of Valmikis and Dalits,” Modi said. He described the upcoming elections in J&K as one where “the dynasts are pitted against the youth with high aspirations and dreams of J&K”. Praising party workers who drove from parts of Ramban and Kishtwar districts to Doda, Modi said his party conducted first Panchayat elections since 2000 as the NC, the PDP and the Congress failed to hold them. He said those youth who threw stones at police and security forces were aspiring big in life now. “Stones are being used to construct new big buildings,” the PM said. The BJP has fielded a terror victim Shagun Parihar from the Kishtwar constituency. “Both the parents were killed by terrorists. She is our tool against terrorism,” the PM said, as he pledged to work for a “prosperous J&K”. ‘Sensitive’ inputs delaying High Court chief justice appointments: Centre to Supreme Court The Centre told the Supreme Court that [“sensitive material” with the government is delaying]( the implementation of the Supreme Court Collegium’s recommendations for appointments of chief justices to high courts. Attorney General R. Venkatramani told a bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that he has received certain inputs from the Union government which are sensitive in nature. He also told the top court that revealing these issues in the public domain would neither be in the interest of the institution nor of the judges involved. “I would like to place the inputs and my suggestions in a sealed cover for perusal by the judges,” Venkatramani told the bench. The matter has now been posted for hearing on September 20. The top court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Harsh Vibhore Singhal seeking a direction that a time limit be fixed for the Centre to notify the appointment of judges recommended by the apex court collegium. It has also sought a direction to plug the ‘zone of twilight’ of there being no time for notifying the collegium’s recommendations for the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. The plea said that in the absence of a fixed time period, “the government arbitrarily delays notifying appointments thereby trampling upon judicial independence, imperilling the constitutional and democratic order and disparaging the majesty and sagacity of the court”. The plea said if any name is not objected to or the appointments are not notified by the end of such fixed time period, then appointments of such judges must be taken as notified. In Brief: Upping the ante over the [conflict-of-interest row involving SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch]( the Congress on September 14 claimed that she traded in listed securities while in possession of unpublished price-sensitive information and has been investing in Chinese firms at a time when India is facing geopolitical tensions with China. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh pointed to “fresh conflict of interest allegations” against Buch, claiming that she, as a whole-time member and later as the SEBI chairperson, traded in listed securities worth ₹36.9 crore. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today’s Top Picks [[Watch: The legacy of Sitaram Yechury] Watch: The legacy of Sitaram Yechury]( [[Watch: What is Net Zero? A key to tackling climate change] Watch: What is Net Zero? A key to tackling climate change]( [[India may have most people exposed to high temperature if warming crosses 1.5°C: study] India may have most people exposed to high temperature if warming crosses 1.5°C: study]( [[Denialism and ‘assertism’ are two sides of the same coin (For e-paper anchor)] Denialism and ‘assertism’ are two sides of the same coin (For e-paper anchor)]( Copyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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