This Week in Explainers: Did Covishield kill a 20-year-old? Trouble for AstraZeneca, Serum Institute
It’s been a week full of controversies. Some news from the past is grabbing headlines again like the Covishield vaccine and the alleged plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The election season continues and campaigns are getting personal with lots of tu-tu-mein-mein.
Amid all this, a sex scandal row has erupted in Karnataka. It involves former prime minister HD Deve Dowda’s grandson Prajwal Revanna.
In Uttar Pradesh, days of suspense came to an end on Friday. The Gandhi scion will not fight from Amethi but Rae Bareli instead.
All this and more in our weekly wrap of the most-read explainers.
1. It is official. Rahul Gandhi will contest from Rae Bareli and not Amethi, a seat he lost to BJP’s Smriti Irani in 2019. And Priyanka Gandhi has decided to stay away from the poll race. But why has Rahul made the switch? What is the Congress thinking? We analyse.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra upon their arrival before the nomination filing of Rahul ahead of the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, in Rae Bareli. PTI
2. Karnataka politics has been rocked by a sexual assault scandal. It involves one of the state’s most famous political families – that of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda. Karnataka’s Hassan, from where Prajwal Revanna is contesting, went to polls on 26 April and days before that sex videos involving him surfaced online. This was followed by a police complaint by a woman who alleged that Prajwal and his father, HD Revanna, had allegedly sexually harassed her.
Now Prajwal, who has been suspended from the Janata Dal (Secular), has fled the country. HD Revanna has been booked in connection with kidnapping one of the victims in the sex video scandal. We tell you all about this case and how it unfolded.
Student union members burn a poster of JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna during a protest against his involvement in the alleged sexual abuse case, in Bengaluru. PTI
3. In India, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is a terrorist. And if the US is to be believed, Indian officials have plotted to kill the Sikhs for Justice founder, an allegation New Delhi has denied. The controversy, however, refuses to die down.
A report by The Washington Post published earlier this week said that the alleged plan to assassinate Pannun was hatched by a RA&W agent, now identified as Vikram Yadav. But who is Yadav and what else do we know about this case? Read to find out more.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is pictured in his office in New York. US authorities have been alleging India’s role in a plot to assassinate Pannun in New York City after he advocated for a sovereign state for Sikhs. File photo/AP
4. The pandemic is largely behind us, but AstraZeneca has brought back dreadful memories of COVID-19. The pharmaceutical giant has admitted in a UK court that its vaccine, sold as Covishield in India, can cause Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) in ‘very rare cases’. Should we be worried? What are doctors saying? We have some answers.
5. After AstraZenca’s court admission, trouble seems to be brewing for the pharma firm in India. Parents of a girl, who died months after taking Covishield, are likely to sue the company along with vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII).
The family of the 20-year-old data scientist Karunya Venugopal alleges that she died after taking the Covishied jab. Now they want to take action against AstraZeneca and SII. Here’s the complete story.
6. Another heartbreaking story comes from Uttar Pradesh. It’s about the state’s topper. You’d think that would be a reason to celebrate. However, excelling in her studies turned into a nightmare for Prachi Nigam.
As images of the Class 10 Uttar Pradesh board exams ranker went viral, she was not praised but mocked for her physical appearance – her facial hair to be precise. Sadly, this is not an isolated case. Women across the world are made conscious about their body hair. We talk about the taboo in this essay.
That’s some food for thought for you this weekend. Happy reading. And if you like the way we break down the news, bookmark this page.
PS: If you plan to binge-watch Heeramandi, here’s an interesting story. It’s about the real-life tawaifs and their role in India’s Independence struggle.