Saturday, March 6, 2021

Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other details of West Bengal Sitting MLAs

Dear Friends, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and West Bengal Election Watch have analyzed the criminal, financial and other background details of 282 out of 294 sitting MLAs. In the current assembly, 10 seats are vacant. Two MLAs namely SUDARSAN GHOSH DOSTIDAR of AITC and ALI IMRAN RAMZ of AIFB are not analysed due to unclear affidavits available on the ECI website at the time of making this report. This analysis is based on the affidavits submitted by the candidates prior to the 2016 Assembly elections and bye elections conducted thereafter. For the complete reports in Hindi and English, please see: https://adrindia.org/content/west-bengal-assembly-election-2016-analysis-criminal-background-financial-education-gender CRIMINAL BACKGROUND MLAs with criminal cases: Out of 282 sitting MLAs analysed, 104(37%) MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves. MLAs with serious criminal cases: 90(32%) MLAs have declared serious criminal cases. MLAs with declared cases related to murder: 7 MLAs have declared cases related to murder (IPC section 302). MLAs with declared cases related to attempt to murder: 24 MLA has declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC section 307). MLAs with cases related to Crimes against Women: 10 MLAs have declared cases related to crimes against women (IPC Section-354). Party wise sitting MLAs with criminal cases: 68(33%) out of 205 MLAs from AITC, 20(51%) out of 39 MLAs from INC, 11(46%) out of 24 MLAs from CPI(M), 3(50%) out of 6 MLAs from BJP and 1(100%) out of 1 each MLAs from CPI and Independent have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits. Party wise sitting MLAs with serious criminal cases: 61(30%) out of 205 MLAs from AITC, 15(39%) out of 39 MLAs from INC, 10(42%) out of 24 MLAs from CPI(M), 3(50%) out of 6 MLAs from BJP and 1(100%) out of 1 MLA from Independent have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Friday, March 5, 2021

Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other details of Puducherry Sitting MLAs

 CRIMINAL BACKGROUND


  • MLAs with criminal cases: Out of 30 sitting MLAs analysed, 11 (37%) MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves.

  • MLAs with serious criminal cases: 4 (13%) MLAs have declared serious criminal cases.

  •  MLAs with declared cases related to murder:  1 MLA has declared case related to murder (IPC section 302).

  • MLAs with declared cases related to attempt to murder: 1 MLA has declared case related to attempt to murder (IPC section 307).

  • Party wise sitting MLAs with criminal cases: 6 (40%) out of 15 MLAs from INC, 2 (29%) out of 7 MLAs from ALL INDIA N.R. CONGRESS, 1 (25%) out of 4 MLAs  from AIADMK and 2 (67%) out of 3 MLA from DMK have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

  • Party wise sitting MLAs with serious criminal cases:  3 (20%) out of 15 MLAs from INC and 1 (14%) out of 7 MLAs from ALL INDIA N.R. CONGRESS have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Thursday, March 4, 2021

India dropped from Freedom House’s list of 'free' countries

 Impartiality and competence of EC questioned

In its latest report the US watchdog observes that the free world had shrunk as a result and that the country was being driven towards 'authoritarianism'

 “Under Modi, India appears to have abandoned its potential to serve as a global democratic leader, elevating narrow Hindu nationalist interests at the expense of its founding values of inclusion and equal rights for all.”

“A new report from the independent watchdog group Freedom House is sobering. Authoritarianism and nationalism are on the rise around the world. Governments are becoming less transparent and have lost the trust of the people…,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken  said.

 “India’s status declined from free to partly free due to a multiyear pattern in which the Hindu nationalist government and its allies have presided over rising violence and discriminatory policies affecting the Muslim population and pursued a crackdown on expressions of dissent by the media, academics, civil society groups, and protesters.”

Some of the specific reasons for the change in scores on various counts that resulted in India losing its “free” status include the frequent use of the sedition law and other charges to deter free speech, the restrictions on foreign funding of NGOs and the action against Amnesty which resulted in it shutting shop in India, “the unusual appointment of a recently retired chief justice to the upper house of Parliament”, and the “excessively harsh” lockdown that triggered the displacement of millions.

 the Modi government and its state-level allies continued to crack down on critics in 2020, and “their response to Covid-19 included a ham-fisted lockdown that resulted in the dangerous and unplanned displacement of millions of internal migrant workers”.

It also took note of the “corona jihad” narrative whereby “the ruling Hindu nationalist movement also encouraged the scapegoating of Muslims, who were disproportionately blamed for the spread of the virus and faced attacks by vigilante mobs”. 

“Political rights and civil liberties in the country have deteriorated since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, with increased pressure on human rights organisations, rising intimidation of academics and journalists, and a spate of bigoted attacks, including lynchings, aimed at Muslims. The decline only accelerated after Modi’s reelection in 2019,” the report said.

“Last year, the government intensified its crackdown on protesters opposed to a discriminatory citizenship law and arrested dozens of journalists who aired criticism of the official pandemic response. Judicial independence has also come under strain; in one case, a judge was transferred immediately after reprimanding the police for taking no action during riots in New Delhi that left over 50 people, mostly Muslims, dead,” the report pointed out.

It took note of the law curbing inter-faith marriages in Uttar Pradesh.

 it placed on record questions raised about the impartiality and competence of the Election Commission of India.

“The Commission is generally respected and had been thought to function without undue political interference. In 2019, however, its impartiality and competence were called into question. The panel’s decisions concerning the timing and phasing of national elections, and allegations of selective enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, which regulates politicians’ campaign behaviour and techniques, suggested bias toward the ruling BJP.”

The report flagged as a cause of concern “the opaque financing of political parties, notably through electoral bonds that allow donors to obscure their identities”.

The report noted that a great deal of corruption cases go unreported and unpunished, and “the authorities have been accused of selective, partisan enforcement”. 

The delay in setting up the Lokpal and Lokayuktas has been recorded, as also the diluting of the RTI law by the Modi government. 

The attacks on the media have found mention, and the perception that the Prime Minister’s call to the media to help prevent the spread of “pessimism, negativity, and rumour mongering” was a warning not to criticise officials’ management of the pandemic.

“Academic freedom has significantly weakened in recent years, as intimidation of professors, students, and institutions over political and religious issues has increased.... Academics face pressure not to discuss topics deemed sensitive by the BJP government, particularly India’s relations with Pakistan and conditions in Indian Kashmir,” the report said.

The above are some excerpts of the Report which was published in the Telegraph of 4.3.21

Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Kerala Election Watch

 Dear Friends,


Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Kerala Election Watch have analyzed the criminal, financial and other background details of 132 out of 140 sitting MLAs. In the current assembly, 4 seats are vacant. There are 4 MLAs who have not been analysed due to unavailability of their properly scanned and complete affidavits, at the time of making this report. This analysis is based on the affidavits submitted by the candidates prior to the 2016 Assembly elections and bye elections conducted thereafter.



CRIMINAL BACKGROUND

  • MLAs with criminal cases: Out of 132 sitting MLAs analysed, 86(65%) MLAs have declared criminal cases against themselves.
  •  MLAs with serious criminal cases: 28(21%) MLAs have declared serious criminal cases.
  •  MLAs with declared cases related to murder:  2 MLAs have declared cases related to murder (IPC section 302).
  •  MLAs with declared cases related to attempt to murder: 6 MLAs have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC section 307).
  •  MLAs with declared cases related to Crime against Women: 1 MLA has declared cases related to Crime against Women (IPC section 354).
  • Party wise sitting MLAs with criminal cases: 51(91%) out of 56 MLAs from CPI(M), 12(63%) out of 19 MLAs from CPI, 9(45%) out of 20 MLAs  from INC, 5(28%) out of 18 MLAs from IUML and 4(67%) out of 6 MLAs from Independent have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
  • Party wise sitting MLAs with serious criminal cases:  18(32%) out of 56 MLAs from CPI(M), 3(16%) out of 19 MLAs from CPI, 2(11%) out of 18 MLAs from IUML and 5(25%) out of 20 MLAs from INC have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Friday, February 26, 2021

Unproven Claim of COVID-19 Cure with Ayurvedic Drug by Health Minister: PBT Files Complaint with U.P. Medical Council Seeking Cancellation of Dr. Harsh Vardhan’s Medical Registration for Violation of MCI Code of Ethics

 on Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Indian health minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, who is also a bona fide allopathic medical doctor was in the news across the country for openly and publicly endorsing a new Ayurvedic drug, Coronil, manufactured by Patanjali Research Institute, standing next to the well-know Yoga-guru Swami Ramdev, claiming that this is the first medicine that can even cure COVID-19 infection. The problem is – this fantastic claim is based on flimsy, unsubstantiated data and without authentic approval by the “gold-standard” USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). The Indian Medical Association (IMA), largest group of doctors of allopathic medicine, has also expressed their shock and severely criticized Dr. Vardhan for promoting unscientific Ayurvedic medicine for reasons that has nothing to do with the modern medical science.

Apart from being a registered medical practitioner, Dr. Vardhan is also a well-known, high-profile figure in Indian medicine being a top BJP leader and central minister of health. Innocent ordinary people and COVID-19 patients are likely to be misguided to purchase and take this new Ayurvedic drug with the false hope for a cure from COVID-19 when a doctor and central minister to the stature of Dr. Vardhan candidly endorses “Coronil”. The MCI Code of Ethics & Regulations, 2002 has provided categorical warnings for all registered doctors against endorsing any drugs that are not scientifically tested or authorized for use in modern allopathic medicine. Any public promotion of such dubious drugs by a doctor may be viewed as “unethical” for which a doctor’s medical license may be revoked temporarily or permanently. PBT lodged a formal complaint today with the U.P. Medical Council (where Dr. Vardhan did his MBBS and originally registered as a physician) seeking an immediate investigation and cancellation of Dr. Vardhan’s medical registration for unethical misconduct under Sections 1.1.1, 1.2.1, 6.1, 6.5 and 6.8(h) of MCI Code of Ethics & Regulations, 2002 (see PBT’s complaint to UPMC below).

U.P. Med. Council Complaint (Feb 23, 2021) Dr. Harsh Vardhan

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Coronil got approval to treat cough and fever, but Patanjali sold it as ‘Covid cure’

New Delhi: Patanjali’s Coronil, which the company’s founder Baba Ramdev has touted as a cure for Covid-19, was approved for boosting immunity and treating cough and fever and not as a treatment for coronavirus, ThePrint has learnt.

The state licensing authority (SLA) of Uttarakhand, which falls under the Ministry of AYUSH, is now ready to shoot off a letter to the Haridwar-based Patanjali Ayurveda in connection with its bid to brand Coronil as a cure for Covid-19.

The company faces charges under two Acts, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, if proved guilty of making a false claim, the SLA told ThePrint.

“We will be sending a letter to Patanjali by the end of the day today. We haven’t approved the product for Covid-19 but only to boost immunity and treat cough, fever,” Dr Y.S. Rawat, joint director, SLA, Uttarakhand, said over a call Wednesday. 

Covid-19, which has triggered a pandemic around the world, currently has no proven cure.

“The company has to either prove how the drug could treat Covid-19 or else roll back the claim. Otherwise, we will suspend or cancel the licence given to Coronil,” he added.

Patanjali Ayurved spokesperson S.K. Tijarawala, however, told ThePrint that “everything is submitted well in order and as per the rules laid down by the government”.

How was the drug approved? 

The company applied for drug approval through an application dated 10 June. “The company had submitted the documents, as per the protocol including the formulation sheet (explaining the formula used to manufacture the drug), testing protocol (to check the efficacy of the drug) and label claim (which mentions that for what conditions the drug will be sold),” Rawat said. 

The department, he added, followed the standard procedure for drug approval, “where an expert committee considered the application and approved the drug on 12 June”.

“We had informed the company on the same day about the application clearance,” he said, adding that “the application was not complicated”.

“The drug is made of ashwagandha, giloy and tulsi. While the first ingredient is known for immunity-boosting properties, tulsi and giloy are given for treating cough and fever, respectively,” he added. 

Sections under which Patanjali could be booked 

The company could be charged under three sections of the two aforementioned Acts. According to Rawat, the firm is under the scanner for allegedly promoting the product with claims of “having magical properties” to cure Covid-19, labeling the product with misleading information, and advertising the products with misleading information. 

“The letter, which we will dispatch in sometime, charges the company for breaking the rules under Section 161 and Rule 170 of Drugs and Cosmetics Act,” he said. 

The charges, the officer said, pertained to “misleading consumers by printing wrong information on the label and… for inappropriate advertisements”. 

“The company will also be booked under Drugs and Magic Remedies Act (if proved guilty) as the company claims to ‘cure’ Covid,” he added.

The SLA will also be responding to a letter received from the Union Ministry of AYUSH Tuesday, where the latter had sought a response on the categories under which the drug was approved.

“We will send the same letter to the ministry to showcase our action against the company.”

Saturday, June 6, 2020

Ahmedabad, Modi's City, Worse Record

Though Delhi and Mumbai might seem to be worst off with the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths each day, Ahmedabad with less than half the population of these metros has the highest deaths per million population in the country. It also has the highest case fatality rate (CFR) — number of deaths per 100 cases — among the nine megapolises with populations of over 5 million. 

At 115 deaths per million, Ahmedabad is much worse than Mumbai in second place with 80 deaths per million. Among the top metros, Bangalore seems to be doing the best with just one death per million. When it comes to CFR, Chennai’s 0.9 is the lowest among the nine mega cities. The data is as of Friday morning. 

The comparison here is between the nine urban agglomerations — cities and their urban outgrowths, like Greater Mumbai or Greater Kolkata — in the country that has 5 million or more people living in them. 

A low CFR is often seen as a result of extensive testing and hence detecting of a large number of positive cases. The higher the number of positive cases, the denominator, the smaller the CFR would be. Ahmedabad’s CFR of 6.9 has been explained by many as the result of inadequate testing. But the city’s deaths per million figure suggests shows there is more to the poor handling of Covid cases than just inadequate testing. 

Even in absolute numbers, Ahmedabad which has recorded 953 deaths is second only to the Mumbai with 1,698 deaths. Delhi follows Mumbai with 650 deaths. Bangalore has recorded just 14 deaths so far and the least number of cases, just 428. 

Though many cities have been trying to draw comfort from their recovery rates, epidemiologists have repeatedly pointed out that in an infection like Covid where over 90% of those infected are expected to recover, the share of those recovering can only rise steadily with the passage of time and hence recovery rates are a misleading measure for progress in the fight against the disease. 

These nine urban agglomerations contribute over 1.3 lakh cases (nearly 60% of India’s total) and 4,299 deaths, over two-thirds of the country’s total. An urban agglomeration (UA) is continuous urban habitation that surrounds a city or the continuous geographical stretch of two or more cities which in many ways function as the same city. 

Mumbai UA for instance is constituted by the Municipal Corporations of Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivali, Ulhasnagar and Mira Bhayandar. Similarly Kolkata UA spreads over the districts of Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Hooghly and Howrah. Chennai UA has Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram while Hydarabad UA includes Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medak. Ahmedabad UA also includes Gandhinagar. 

The 2020 population estimates for these UAs from the United Nation’s World Urbanisation Prospects was used to calculate the deaths per million. The census of India does not include Delhi’s satellite districts like Ghaziabad and Gurgaon in the Delhi UA and hence Delhi’s cases as well as population are only for Delhi state or the city of Delhi. Delhi’s 2020 population is taken from the census population projections for states. 

The above is from TOI