Parties should not give tickets to candidates with criminal background: ECI to SC

New Delhi, Apr 15: As the world grapples with coronavirus, researchers have found the presence of a different kind of coronavirus -- bat coronavirus (BtCoV) --in two bat species from Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, according to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

There is no evidence or research to claim that these bat coronaviruses can cause disease in humans, said Dr Pragya D Yadav, Scientist at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and also the first author of study.

The study has been published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research,

Twenty-five bats of Rousettus and Pteropus species from Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu were found positive for BtCoV in Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

"These bat coronaviruses have no relation with SARS-CoV2 responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic," Yadav said, adding that Pteropus bat species were earlier found positive for Nipah virus in 2018 and 2019 in Kerala.

"Bats are considered to be the natural reservoir for many viruses, of which some are potential human pathogens. In India, an association of Pteropus medius bats with the Nipah virus was reported in the past. It is suspected that the recently emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) also has its association with bats," the objective of the study titled 'Detection of coronaviruses in Pteropus and Rousettus species of bats from different states of India' stated.

"In the present scenario of changing demography and ecological manipulations, it is challenging to have checks on the encounters of bats with other animals and humans," the study stated, highlighting that the need for active and continuous surveillance remains crucial for outbreak alerts for bat-associated viral agents with epidemic potential, which would be helpful in timely interventions.

"Although CoVs in the subfamily coronavirinae do not usually produce clinical symptoms in their natural hosts (bats), accidental transmission of these viruses to humans and other animals may result in respiratory, enteric, hepatic or neurologic diseases of variable severity. It is still not understood as to why only certain CoVs can infect people," the study said.

The scientists stressed on the need of proactive surveillance of zoonotic infections in bats.

The detection and identification of such viruses from bats also recommends cross-sectional antibody surveys (human and domestic animals) in localities where the viruses have been detected.

Similarly, if the epidemiological situation demands, evidence-based surveillance should also be conducted, the study said while emphasing on the need of developing strong mechanisms for working jointly with various stakeholders such as wildlife, poultry, animal husbandry and human health departments.

"In conclusion, our study showed detection of bat CoVs in two species of Indian bats. Continuous active surveillance is required to identify the emerging novel viruses with epidemic potential," Dr Yadav said.

Elaborating on the study, Dr Yadav said throat and rectal swab samples of two bat species -- Rousettus and Pteropus -- from seven states were screened for the bat coronvirus during which the representative samples collected from Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu tested positive while those from Karnataka, Chandigarh, Punjab, Telengana, Gujarat and Odisha came out negative.

The reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests and sequencing were used for the confirmation of the findings.

"This is an ongoing study to understand the prevalence of the Nipah virus in bats," she said.

Jaipur, Jul 13: Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Monday unanimously passed a resolution supporting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot-led government and accusing the BJP of destabilising the government by indulging in horse-trading of MLAs.

The CLP also condemned all "undemocratic" acts to weaken Congress party and its government and demanded action against any Congress office-bearers involved in anti-party activities.

"Feared by exemplary works and public service of Congress government, BJP-led conspiracy is trying to destabilise Congress' state government, horse-trading of MLAs and trying to murder democracy by using money and political power," read the resolution.

"It is unfortunate that BJP did not learn lessons from the defeat in the Rajya Sabha elections and are trying to destabilise Congress government using corrupt means. 

This ripping off of democracy by BJP is an insult to 8 crore people of Rajasthan, they will not accept it. CLP meet expresses its confidence in Congress President Sonia Gandhi and leader Rahul Gandhi, and unanimously supports the government led by Ashok Gehlot," it said.

"This meet urges that strict disciplinary action be taken against any office-bearer or member of Legislative Party who indulges in activities against the Congress government, party or gets involved in any conspiracy," read the resolution.

As many as 107 MLAs attended the CLP meeting, which begun in the afternoon and now has been concluded.

"107 MLAs are present at the CLP meeting in Jaipur," Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's media advisor confirmed to media.

The crisis in Rajasthan Congress intensified with Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot at loggerheads. While Gehlot is blaming BJP for trying to destabilise the state government by poaching MLAs, Pilot is camping in Delhi to speak to the party leadership regarding the political turmoil in the state.

BJP has claimed that the Ashok Gehlot-led government has lost the majority in the state.

"Sachin Pilot was the rightful candidate for the post of Rajasthan Chief Minister but Ashok Gehlot took the charge; a conflict in the party began since then. What is happening today is the result of that conflict. The state government has lost the majority," Rajasthan BJP President Satish Punia said today.

May 7: Accusing the BJP government in Karnataka of "medieval barbarism" and treating migrants as worse than "bonded labourers", CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday hit out at the state's decision to stop workers from returning to their homes in different parts of the country citing requirements of the construction sector.

The Karnataka government has withdrawn its request to the railways to run special trains to ferry migrant labourers to their home states, hours after builders met Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to apprise him of the problems the construction sector will face in case they left.

"This is worse than treating them as bonded labour. Does the Indian constitution exist? Are there any laws in the country? This BJP state government is throwing us back to medieval barbarism. This will be stoutly resisted,” Yechury said in a tweet.

The railways is running Shramik Special trains to ferry to their home towns migrants who were stranded at their places of work during the lockdown.

So far, it has run more than 115 such trains.

The Principal Secretary in the Revenue Department N Manjunatha Prasad, who is the nodal officer for migrants, had requested the South Western Railways on Tuesday to run two train services a day for five days except Wednesday, while the state government wanted services thrice a day to Danapur in Bihar. However, later, Prasad wrote another letter within a few hours that the special trains were not required. Several migrants in the city were desperate to return home as they were out of jobs and money.

Yechury also lashed out at the central government over reports that it owed states and industry Rs 3 trillion and accused the centre of shifting the burden of fighting the pandemic to the state governments.

“While shifting the entire burden of fighting the pandemic on to the State governments, Modi government is not even paying their legitimate dues. After November 2019, Centre has not paid the GST compensation dues for the rest of the financial year, i.e., March 2020.

“Modi government has the right to loot while crores of people & States are left with nothing but the right to starve?,” he tweeted.