EC is singularly responsible for 2nd COVID-19 wave: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on Monday castigated the Election Commission over the COVID19 second wave in the country holding it lsquosingularlyrsquo responsible for the spread called it the lsquothe most irresponsible institutionrsquo and even said its officials should probably be booked for murder The EC allowing political parties to take out rallies and meetings had led to the spread of the virus the HC saidSocial distancing violation continues unabated at a public meeting of actor and BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty and party candidate Anirban Ganguly at Nachansa in Birbhum West Bengal on Monday PicAFPThe first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the stinging observation while hearing a public interest writ from Karur AIADMK candidate and Transport Minister M R Vijayabaskar for the April 6 Assembly polls Their petition sought a direction to the authorities to ensure fair counting of votes on May 2 in Karur by taking effective steps and proper arrangements with COVID19 protocols Chief Justice Banerjee warned that the court will stop the counting of votes on May 2 if a blueprint to follow COVID19 protocol is not put in placeOn Sunday Tamil Nadu reported 15000 new casesElections had been held in four states mdash Tamil Nadu Kerala Assam and West Bengal and the union territory of Puducherry While voting is over in all the other states the eighth and last phase in West Bengal is scheduled on April 29West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed the HCrsquos observations She also demanded withdrawal of central forces to contain COVID19 spread in West Bengal in the next phase of polling ldquoI welcome the Madras High Court order which clearly said the EC cannot escape its responsibility Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EC are responsible for the current situation of COVID spreading in the staterdquo she saidA COVID victimrsquos kin cry in New Delhi on Monday PicPTIKrsquotaka shuts down forces rope in retireesgtgt The Karnataka government on Monday announced a lsquoclose downrsquo across the state for 14 days from Tuesday night in a bid to control the huge spike in cases Shops selling essential commodities can remain open only from 6 am to 10 am The state cabinet also decided to provide COVID19 vaccinations free of cost at government hospitals for those aged between 18 and 44 yearsgtgt All medical personnel of the armed forces who have retired or have taken premature retirement in the past two years are being recalled to work in COVID19 facilities within proximity of their present place of residence the government said on Mondaygtgt Five COVID19 patients died at a private hospital in Hisar Haryana on Monday Their relatives held a protest claiming they died due to grave shortage of medical oxygen at the facility Police said they were verifying the allegations The hospital administration was not available for commentsgtgt The Supreme Court on Monday decided to advance its summer vacation which will now commence from May 8 in view of sudden surge in COVID19 casesgtgt Former finance secretary S C Garg on Monday said the fresh wave and consequent local lockdowns may bring down the economic growth to below 10 per cent in the current fiscal Earlier this month International Monetary Fund projected an impressive 125 per cent growth rate for India in 2021 The Economic Survey projected a growth rate of 11 per cent while RBI retained its forecast at 105 per cent for the ongoing fiscal year17313163Total no of coronavirus cases in India so far195123Total no of deaths due to the virus in India so far14304382Total no of patients recovered and discharged in India so far141911223Total no of people vaccinated so farThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever