Calcutta HC Pulls Up ECI Over BJP Ads on TMC: Morning Briefing

Calcutta High Court Criticizes ECI Regarding BJP Ads on TMC; SII Sends 

The Calcutta High Court on Monday criticized the Election Commission (EC) for its "serious failure" to address complaints regarding "derogatory" advertisements published by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal. The court restrained the opposition party from disseminating materials that violate the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, presiding over a single bench, issued the order during the hearing of a petition filed by the TMC, which sought to prevent the BJP from publishing advertisements that breach the poll code. Earlier this month, the BJP published at least four advertisements in local newspapers, depicting the ruling party as corrupt, anti-Hindu, and alleging that women are not safe under the current regime.

On Monday, the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) announced the shipment of its first batch of malaria vaccines, the R21/Matrix-M, to Africa. The initial shipment will be sent to the Central African Republic (CAR), followed by other African countries such as South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the coming days. Specifically, 163,800 doses of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine have been allocated for the CAR region, with 43,200 doses being dispatched from the Serum Institute of India's facility. Developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford and Novavax, this vaccine is the second to be authorized for use in children in malaria-endemic regions.