| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Rajasthan could become second State to reject farm laws Rajasthan is likely to become the second Congress-ruled State after Punjab to formally reject the Centre's Farm Acts, which are being opposed by large sections of agriculturists across the country. A special session of the State Assembly will be convened shortly to discuss the impact of the contentious laws on the farmers. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Wednesday that an Amendment Bill would be brought in the Assembly to nullify the applicability of the Central legislations and a resolution adopted against the Centre's stand on the issue of farmers' welfare. The Council of Ministers took the decision to call the Assembly session at its meeting held here. Gehlot said Rajasthan would follow suit after the passage of Bills against the Central statutes in the Punjab Assembly. "The Congress stands resolutely with our Annadatas (food providers) and will continue to oppose the anti-farmer laws passed by the NDA government," he tweeted. The Council of Ministers laid emphasis on a mandatory provision for procurement of agricultural produce at minimum support prices. It observed that the removal of ceiling on the stock of farm commodities in normal circumstances under the Essential Commodities Act after the implementation of new agricultural laws would lead to an increase in black marketing and hoarding. Senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse quits party, to join NCP on Friday Senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse has resigned from all posts of the party. He has also resigned from the party's primary membership. He is likely to join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday. "Eknath Khadse has informed us that he has resigned from all posts in the BJP. We will now induct him into our party," Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil said. Khadse had been unhappy within the BJP for over two years now. He was asked to resign from a ministerial post in the previous BJP-led state government over allegations of graft. Despite an inquiry, the allegations are yet to be proven. He had also asked for the probe committee's report to be made public, but his demand was not accepted by the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. "I resigned because of the ill-treatment meted out to me in the organisation. I hold Devendra Fadnavis responsible for ruining my political career in BJP," Khadse said. He also claimed that while no Opposition leaders have made allegations against him, bogus cases were registered against him by a CM from his own party. His daughter-in-law Raksha Khadse is a BJP MP from Raver in Jalgaon district. Khadse's decision to quit BJP is seen as a blow to the party. Given that he is the party's tallest leader from northern Maharashtra, his departure could ignite more switchovers from the BJP. On Monday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had said that Khadse was earlier the Leader of Opposition and played a huge role in building the BJP in the State. "He would criticise us and we would take note of it," Pawar said. "One is bound to feel disturbed if his contributions and hard work are not taken note of. He may think why he shouldn't shift to a party which appreciates his work," the NCP leader said. Meanwhile in Kolkata, another switchover Three years after being in hiding, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) founder Bimal Gurung today made a public appearance in Kolkata and announced that he had severed all ties with the BJP. Extending an olive branch to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Gurung said the BJP did nothing for the Darjeeling hills. "I want to see Mamata Banerjee as Chief Minister for the third time in 2021," Gurung said, adding that he wanted to ally with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the 2021 Assembly polls to "give a fitting reply to the BJP".  Gorkha Janamukti Morcha supremo Bimal Gurung addresses a press conference in Kolkata on October 21, 2020. Gurung has been an ally of the BJP and a constituent of the NDA for more than a decade. He supported BJP candidates who contested Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat in the past, including the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The development, which may have serious ramifications in the politics of West Bengal, particularly Darjeeling hills, comes days after the Union Home Ministry held a meeting to discuss issues of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) region. Air pollution linked to 1,16,000 infant deaths in India in 2019: Report Outdoor and household particulate matter pollution contributed to the deaths of more than 1,16,000 Indian infants in their first month of life in 2019, according to State of Global Air 2020 report by the U.S.-based Health Effects Institute. More than half of these deaths were associated with outdoor PM2.5 and others linked to use of solid fuels such as charcoal, wood, and animal dung for cooking. Long-term exposure to outdoor and household air pollution contributed to over 1.67 million annual deaths from stroke, heart attack, diabetes, lung cancer, chronic lung diseases and neonatal diseases in India in 2019.  Morning haze envelops the skyline on the outskirts of New Delhi on October 16, 2020. For the youngest infants, most deaths were related to complications from low birth weight and preterm birth. Overall, air pollution is now the largest risk factor for death among all health risks, according to the report. The study highlights the ongoing challenge of high outdoor air pollution, with South Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal featuring among the top 10 countries with the highest PM2.5 exposures in 2019. All of these countries experienced increases in outdoor PM2.5 levels between 2010 and 2019. ICMR approves new, low-cost testing method developed at IIT-Kharagpur A new coronavirus diagnostic method, using a low-cost portable unit developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur has been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The approval came after tests with patient samples showed an accuracy level slightly lower than the gold standard RT-PCR method at a fraction of the cost.  Representational image. File The machine cost less than ₹5,000 to make and the test kits would each cost about ₹500, IIT-Kharagpur researchers told journalists on Wednesday. Once the viral RNA was extracted, the testing process took about one hour. The IIT was in discussion with commercial manufacturers and start-ups, and hoped that the government would also subsidise the cost of test kits, they said. EC reiterates Covid-19 norms for campaigning after parties flout rules The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday reiterated its guidelines for campaigning during the Covid-19 pandemic after finding that political parties and candidates had been lax in maintaining crowd discipline during the ongoing polls. With campaigning underway for the Bihar Assembly elections and by-polls across States, the EC wrote to all recognised national and State parties to reiterate its earlier advisory regarding social distancing, mask-wearing and other Covid-safe measures. "Instances of such public meetings have come to notice of the Commission, where large crowds have assembled in utter violation of social distancing and the political leaders/campaigners are addressing the gathering without wearing masks in complete disregard of the guidelines/instructions," the EC said. It added that it has "taken a serious view of the laxity on the part of political parties and candidates on the ground in terms of maintaining crowd discipline" and reiterated the need for parties to be careful during campaigning. Calcutta High Court modifies order on puja pandals Calcutta High Court on Wednesday made minor modifications to its order passed on Monday by allowing a higher number of organisers to enter the Durga Puja pandals. But it maintained that pandals will remain no entry zones and visitors will not be allowed inside. Hearing a review petition, a Division Bench of Justices Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee said that 'dhakis' (traditional drummers) may be permitted, but only in the no entry zone outside and not within the pandal area. 'Dhakis' will have to wear masks and maintain physical distancing norms, the court said. For smaller Durga Puja pandals whose area is less than 300 sq metres, now 30 organisers are allowed inside, while bigger ones can have up to 60 names in the list of organisers who are allowed inside. In the order issued on Monday, the numbers were 15 and 25 for smaller and bigger pandals respectively. The court added that charts with the name of organisers or locals who will be allowed inside the pandals should be hung up by 8 a.m. every day and all the people (who are allowed inside) should not be present inside the pandal at one time. For bigger Durga Pujas, 45 persons can be present inside the pandal and for smaller ones, 25 people can be present at any given time. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 76,98,702 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,16,622. In Brief: The Union cabinet today approved the payment of bonus to around 30.67 lakh Central government employees for 2019-2020 in a move that the government hopes will encourage spending and boost the economy ahead of the festive season. The total cost to the exchequer will be ₹ 3,737 crore. The money will be given in a single installment before Vijaya Dashami. The Union Cabinet also approved the adoption of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, which had been amended by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last week. The amendment paves the way for the creation of District Development Councils (DDCs) in the Union Territory (UT). The DDC members will be directly elected by the people. The Act was amended and notified by the MHA on October 17. "The move will help establish all the three tiers of grass-root level democracy like in other parts of the country," said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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