www.freepressjournal.in | twitter.com/fpjindia Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 I M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 As fuel prices hit record, dutY mop up jumps 48% Pg 7 mAss vAccine lAunch: BAck to normAl soon the vAried sociAl endeAvours of our BollYwood stArs Pg 15 290c. 180c. Sunrise: 07:15 am Sunset: 06:24 pm IT IS JUST A JAB, SO GO & GET ONE BJP does 'tandav' Vol. 64 No. 223 | MONDAY | JANUARY 18, 2021 | 13 Pages | EDITIONS: Mumbai*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-Paper 447 cases of adverse reactions, only three needed hospital care; two have been already discharged; minuscule numbers when one considers the scale – 2 lakh vaccines in a day State drive is on, not suspended FPJ NEWS SERVICE New Delhi As usual, India has a first to its credit. It conducted the highest vaccinations in the world in a day -- more than the US, the UK and France. But it also had to reckon with at least 447 cases of post-vaccination adverse events, three of whom needed hospital care. Two of them have been since discharged. Most of the adverse effects reported were minor -- swelling at the injection site, slight nausea or brief allergic reactions to the jab. Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain said that there had been 51 cases of minor complications in the national capital. Of these, there was one severe case, where the patient was admitted to the All-In- Joe Biden team is packed with desis LALIT K JHA / Washington Less than 100 hours ahead of his historic inauguration, US President-elect Joe Biden has either nominated or named at least 20 Indian Americans, including 13 women, to key positions in his administration, a new record in itself for this small ethnic community that constitutes one per cent of the country's population. As many as 17 of them would be part of the powerful White House complex. Topping the list is Neera Tanden, who has been nominated as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and Dr Vivek Murthy who has been , nominated as the US Surgeon General. Vanita Gupta has been nominated as Associate Attorney General Department of Justice, and on Saturday Biden , nominated a former Foreign Service official Uzra Zeya as the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security Democ, Topping the list is Neera Tanden, who has been nominated as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and Dr Vivek Murthy, who has been nominated as the US Surgeon racy and Human Rights. , Mala Adiga has been appointed as Policy Director to the future First Lady Dr Jill Biden and Garima Verma would be the Digital Director of the Office of the First Lady while Sabrina , Singh has been named as her Deputy Press Secretary . CONTD. ON P10 T SANJAY JOG Mumbai he Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has decided to contest the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly Elections, slated for later this year. Veteran party leader Sanjay Raut said that the decision was taken after extensive discussions. "So, here is the much awaited update. After discussions with Shri Uddhav Thackeray Shiv Sena , has decided to contest the West Bengal Assembly Elections. We are reaching Kolkata soon...!! Jai Hind, জয় ব ংল !" Raut tweeted. Notably the party snapped , its decades-old ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the Maharashtra elections in October 2019, claiming that its ally had not kept its promise of 50:50 power sharing. It will be interesting to see how the BJP reacts to the development since it is trying to dislodge dia Institute of Medical Sciences. Doctors treating COVID19 patients said vaccines are proving safe and recommend that people don’t hesitate in getting one FPJ NEWS SERVICE / New Delhi Chalo Calcutta, sings Sena LAST WORD Pg 8 when it is offered. Fevers and aches are clinical reactions, it means your body’s defence stem is gearing up and you’re gaining immunity pointed out one med, ical practitioner. But he agrees that it is normal to have misgivings about something that is going to be injected into your body . Experts say as the use of vaccine broadens, some rare side effects will almost certainly surface; but most of them may have to do with other ailments a person is suffering from. Such random events can’t be allowed to have a potential ripple effect. CONTD. ON P10 Literally, ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ SANJAY JOG Mumbai The Maharashtra Government clarified on Sunday that it had not cancelled the Covid-19 vaccination, as had been reported in a section of the press. ‘‘No Covid-19 vaccination sessions were planned on January 17 and 18, so the question of cancellation does not arise. The vaccination sessions will be organised for four days in the next week, as per the Government of India guidelines,’’ said the public health department in its clarification. This has further exposed a lack of coordination between the public health department and other agencies involved in the vaccination drive. There was confusion among the implementing agencies after the announcement by a section of department functionaries that the vaccination drive across the state had been put on hold for January 17 and 18, following operational glitches in the government’s IT platform CoWin. In view of the technical snag in the CoWin app, the beneficiaries in Mumbai could not be alerted automatically by SMS but had to be informed by messages or phone calls. Thereafter, some functionaries told the press and media that the vaccination drive had been cancelled on January 17 and 18, though there was no official press release. However, early on Sunday morning, the department issued a clarification that since no vaccination had been scheduled on January 17 and 18, there was no question of its cancellation. CONTD. ON P10 EDIT the ruling Trinamool Congress and secure a foothold in Bengal. Sena had earlier also hinted at 'branching out' in the national capital, although its presence in Delhi is minuscule. The Sena’s decision elicited much online mirth with many likening it to the Akali Dal wanting to contest from Maharashtra, riding on its overweening concern for farmers. While some felt enthused at the prospect of the Sena wanting to project itself as an umbrella party and yearning to have a pan India footprint, others gave it a grim reminder that in the Bihar Assembly election, although it had fielded as many as 22 candidates, the party managed to get only 0.05% of the votes, even less than the NOTA (None of the Above) voting option, which was opted for by 1.68% of the voters. Protesting farmers are not inclined to relent from the path they have chosen – of a long-drawn agitation, if need be. But they will not be ‘politically incorrect’ either, lest they alienate the sympathy they have generated. So, even as Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav announced that they will carry out a tractor parade along Delhi's Outer Ring Road on Republic Day the latter also , underscored that the parade will be conducted peacefully with the Tricolour in hand. JOE-KAMALA TO GET KOLAM KICKOFF LALIT K JHA / Washington Kolam, a traditional Indian art form of drawing geometric patterns on the floors as a sign of welcome, was part of the virtual kick-off ceremony of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris, who traces her origin to Tamil Nadu where these auspicious designs adorn almost every household. Pictures of thousands of Kolam tiles were on Saturday woven into a video to welcome Biden and Harris in the spirit of ‘Presidency for All' and to showcase the multi-cultural heritage of America. Over 1,800 individuals from across the US and many from India participated in the online initiative to create thousands of Kolam designs to celebrate the historic event. Students from 10 public schools in Washington DC also participated in the exercise. CONTD. ON P10 PM flags off 8 trains to Statue of Unity in Guj OUR CORRESPONDENT Ahmedabad Eight trains will soon head for Gujarat’s Kevadia where the Statue of Unity of Sardar Patel is located. None other than PM Modi on Sunday flagged off the trains connecting Kevadia to different regions of the country . The prime minister had his good reasons: More tourists, he pointed out, flock to the Statue of Unity than the Statue of Liberty in the US, adding that nearly 50 lakh tourists had visited the landmark since it opened in 2018. The prime minister said this was possibly the first time that so many trains were flagged off at the same time for one destination. With increased connectivity over one lakh , people will visit Kevadia daily in the near future, he said citing a survey . "Along with jawans, the kisan will also celebrate the sovereignty of the country ," Yadav said at a press conference here, raising the decibel level on the 53rd day of the farmers' protest at the borders of the national capital against the Centre's farm laws. Yadav also added that brandishing of weapons, use of inflammatory language and intimidation would be a strict ‘no-no’. "There will be no disruption of the official Republic Day ceremony he added. The parade ," will pass through Peeragadhi, CONTD. ON P10 Only the Divine can convert the worst enemy into a best friend. Sri Ma over web series Show ridicules Hindu gods: Party MP Manoj Kotak urges Centre to set regulatory authority for OTT platforms SANJAY JOG / Mumbai The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Sunday issued a notice to Amazon Prime on its web series 'Tandav'. The move comes after several leaders protested against the show, with BJP MP Manoj Kotak writing to I&B minister Prakash Javadekar, seeking a ban on the series for ridiculing Hindu deities. Kotak has urged Javadekar to constitute a regulatory authority for OTT platforms and, in the meantime, ban the controversial Tandav He . claimed that programmes telecast on these platforms are full of sex, violence, drugs, abuse, hate and vulgarity Sometimes, they also hurt . religious sentiments, he said. In a related development, BJP MLA Ram Kadam has Indian tail wags hard Brisbane Test rookies Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur punched above their weight with splendid half-centuries to keep Australia at bay after an en, grossing third day's play in the series-deciding fourth Test here on Sunday . The series is level at 1-1 with two days remaining and it appears that India are on track to at least force a draw that would ensure they retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy . Australia's openers -- David Warner (20) and Marcus Harris (1) -- saw out six overs, and extended the home team's lead to 54 by stumps after India's first innings ended at 336. CONTD. ON P10 filed a complaint at Ghatkopar police station against the makers of Tandav for allegedly insulting Hindu gods. "Strict against should be taken against the actor, director and producer of the web series," he said. '‘OTT platforms having absolute freedom from censorship has led to repeated attacks on Hindu sentiments which I strongly condemn. I spoke to the I & B Minister and requested that OTT content be regulated in the interest of integrity of India and we are fast moving in that direction,’’ said Kotak. CONTD. ON P10