Centre's vaccination scheme has created 2 classes of citizens in India: Kerala High Court
Kochi(PTI): The Centre's vaccination scheme has created two classes of citizens in India - those who got COVAXIN, whose movements are restricted, and those who received COVISHIELD and can go anywhere -- Kerala High Court said on Tuesday.
The observation by Justice P V Kunhikrishnan came during the hearing of a man's plea for a third jab of an internationally recognised vaccine so that he can go abroad for work.
The man, who was working as a welder in Saudi Arabia, moved the court for a third jab as the two doses of COVAXIN he has received is not recognised or approved in the Gulf nation and therefore, he stands to lose his job there as he cannot go there without being vaccinated by an internationally recognised vaccine.
"Due to the State-sponsored vaccination scheme, there are two types of citizens in the country - those who received COVAXIN and those who got COVISHIELD. The former's movement is restricted, while the latter can go anywhere," the court said.
It said the creation of two classes of citizens has resulted in "infringement of the fundamental right of movement of the petitioner".
"His movement is restricted. A citizen is suffering due to a State-sponsored vaccination scheme. It is a clear case of infringement of the fundamental rights of the petitioner," the court observed.
The judge said he will not order as to whether a third jab be administered to the petitioner, but will direct the Centre to redress his grievance within one month.
The court listed the matter on November 5 to await the Centre's response on the view expressed by the judge.
During the hearing, the Centre told the court that a similar matter was pending before the Supreme Court which said it will wait for the World Health Organisation (WHO) decision on the issue.
The court said if the Centre wants to take more time to make a decision, a direction can be issued to pay the petitioner the amount he was receiving as salary when working abroad.
"The court cannot sit like a mere spectator," the judge said.
The Centre had in August said that clinical trials were underway to ascertain efficacy of administering a third dose of COVID vaccine and it will take several months to complete.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
