| 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. Farmer Protests: Centre and Delhi Police should decide on allowing tractor rally: SC The Supreme Court today said the Centre and the Delhi Police should take a call on whether or not protesting farmers could hold tractor or vehicle marches on Republic Day in the national capital. The government could not ask the court to decide on issues concerning law and order. "Entry into Delhi is a law and order issue. Who should be allowed entry and on what conditions are all determined by the police. We cannot be the authority to decide it," Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde told Attorney General K.K. Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Chief Justice Bobde said there was still time for the Union of India and the Delhi Police to "invoke all its powers". Venugopal said people were camping outside the city. There was a threat of illegal entry on January 26. The government was looking to the court to "strengthen its hands". The government wanted the court to pass an injunction order to restrain farmers from holding rallies to "disrupt" Republic Day celebrations in Delhi. The government said the right to express dissent against the farm laws did not include a right to "malign the nation globally". "Why do you want us to tell you how to use your powers. We are not the first authority in law and order issues. Authorities prohibit and then the court acts. It is not that the court prohibits and the authorities carry out," Chief Justice Bobde said. The Solicitor General urged the court to list the case on January 20, to which the Bench agreed. Joint platform of farmers unions distances itself from political outreach  BKU (Haryana) President Gurnam Singh Chaduni The joint platform of protesting farmer unions, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), has disassociated itself from the political outreach of one of its key members, Haryana leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni. However, Chaduni will continue to be part of the delegation of unions negotiating with the Centre for now. Chaduni had written letters to political parties in relation to the ongoing protest against farm laws on Delhi's borders, and had allegedly met some politicians at Delhi's Constitution Club on Sunday. The SKM had previously decided not to invite political parties to its stage or rallies, both to avoid government accusations that politics have hijacked the protest as well as in acknowledgement that there is a range of political opinions among the protesters themselves. "SKM is not associated with the 'all-party meeting' taken up by Mr. Chaduni with political parties. SKM, after taking note of Mr. Chaduni's ongoing activities with political parties, after due discussion on the same in a general body meeting of SKM yesterday, has formed a Committee that will inquire into the matter and give its report in 3 days' time. SKM will take further steps thereafter," said a statement signed by six other leaders of the united front. The protesting unions will meet Central Ministers for the tenth round of talks tomorrow, at the same time as the SC-nominated committee holds its first meeting. Whatsapp transcripts prove Modi govt conducted Balakot air strikes to win polls, claims Imran Khan  The policy change was originally scheduled to come into effect on February 8, 2021. In a series of tweets today, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said India's "fascist" government led by Narendra Modi "used the Balakot crisis for domestic electoral gains", in a reference to air strikes carried out on terror camps across the Line of Control on February 26, 2019 in the aftermath of the Pulwama terrorist attack in which 40 CRPF jawans died. Since 2019, Khan and his government have alleged on multiple forums that the Modi government could carry out 'false flag' operations to generate a pretext for carrying out punitive action against Pakistan. A false flag operation is generally understood as a covert action carried out by a state with the objective of pinning the blame on an adversary, either a state or a non-state actor. Khan today tweeted that the transcripts of the Whatsapp chats between Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasupta, former CEO of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) have vindicated his claims. In a series of tweets, the Pak PM said, "In 2019, I spoke at UNGA [United Nations General Assembly] on how India's fascist Modi govt used the Balakot crisis for domestic electoral gains. Latest revelations from communication of an Indian journalist, known for his warmongering, reveal the unholy nexus between the Modi govt & Indian media that led to a dangerous military adventurism to win an election in utter disregard for the consequences of destabilising the entire region. Pakistan averted a larger crisis by a responsible, measured response to Balakot. Yet, Modi govt continues to turn India into a rogue state." He added, "Now India's own media has revealed the dirty nexus that is pushing our nuclearised region to the brink of a conflict it cannot afford. I want to reiterate that my govt will continue to expose India's belligerent designs towards Pakistan & Modi govt's fascism. Int (sic) community must stop India from its reckless, militarist agenda before the Modi govt's brinkmanship pushes our region into a conflict it cannot control." Responding to Khan's remarks, Republic TV said in a statement that it rejected the allegations made by the Pakistan government against Arnab Goswami, and claimed that there was a "deep-conspiracy of anti-India and anti-national forces" against the channel. At the time of publication of this newsletter, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was yet to issue a statement on Khan's allegations. Makers of 'Tandav' web series apologise for hurting religious sentiments  Saif Ali Khan in 'Tandav': Wasted potential. The makers of the Amazon Prime web series 'Tandav' have issued an unconditional apology for hurting religious feelings. In a statement issued today, they said, "The web series Tandav is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental. The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party or person, living or dead. The cast and crew of Tandav take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologise if it has unintentionally hurt anybody's sentiments." Earlier, an FIR was lodged in Lucknow against the makers on charges of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and promoting enmity on grounds of religion. The political drama series, released on January 15, has Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub in the cast. The FIR was lodged at the Hazratganj police station under various sections of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) and the Information Technology Act. Aparna Purohit, head, India Original Content of Amazon; Ali Abbas Zafar, director, Tandav Web Series; Himanshu Krishna Mehra, producer; and Gaurav Solanki, writer, were named in the FIR. In the FIR, registered on a complaint of a sub-inspector of the Hazratganj police, the complainant said he was asked to watch the show on Amazon Prime Video by senior officers after he alerted them about angry social media posts on the series. The SI alleged that in the 17th minute of the first episode, characters dressed in an improper way and representing Hindu gods and goddesses were shown speaking in undignified and "low-level" language. This could incite and hurt religious sentiments, he said. The FIR accused the series of undignified portrayal of a person occupying the post of Prime Minister of the country, showing castes as "high and low", and having scenes that insult women. "The intent of the web series is to incite religious sentiments among a particular community and spread class conflict," it alleged. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati took to Twitter, saying the "objectionable" parts should be removed from the series so that the atmosphere of peace, harmony and common brotherhood was not spoilt. Mamata announces she will fight Bengal polls from Nandigram  Mamata Banerjee. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she would contest the 2021 Assembly polls from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district. Banerjee made the announcement at a public meeting in Nandigram, almost a month after Trinamool Congress (TMC) heavyweight and former MLA from the constituency Suvendu Adhikari quit the party and joined the BJP. "What if I contest seat in Nandigram . How will that be…. I will ask Subrata Bakshi [State TMC president] that I want to contest from here and my name should be included from Nandigram,"she said. The announcement assumes significance not only because Banerjee is all set to take on Adhikari in his fiefdom but also because Nandigram symbolises the party's struggle against forcible land acquisition during the Left Front regime. "We are offering support to the protest against the farm bills because the way your land was being forcibly acquired, there is an attempt to forcibly take away the farm produce," Banerjee said. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,05,72,426 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,52,521. In a clarification, Covaxin manufacturer Bharat Biotech has said that those with any history of allergies, fever, and bleeding disorders, are on blood thinners, are immunity-compromised, or on medication should not take the vaccine. A statement uploaded on the company website today said the vaccine was also contraindicated for pregnant/lactating women, and people with any other serious health related issues as determined by the vaccinator/officer supervising vaccination. The statement comes amidst reports of a slow uptake in the first phase of Covid-19 vaccination in the country that began on January 16. Bharat Biotech has now released a fact sheet detailing the possible adverse events. It said, "There is remote chance that COVAXIN could cause severe allergic reaction, including difficulty in breathing, swelling of face/throat/fast heart beat, rashes all over the body, and dizziness and weakness." The clinical efficacy of Covaxin is yet to be established and is still being studied in phase 3 clinical trials. In Brief: Vijay Mallya cannot be extradited until a confidential "legal issue" concerning him is resolved, the Centre informed the Supreme Court on Monday. The U.K. has refused to provide details of this "issue", saying it was judicial in nature. It has also refused to disclose how long it would take to resolve the issue, though reassuring that it knew how important the Mallya case was to the government of India. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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