From The Newsroom: British scientist says Covid-19 is unlikely to be eradicated; Govt employees get Rs 3,737 cr bonus

In your evening news brief, From The Newsroom, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh calls BJP-JD(U) partnership as "superhit" as the opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in cricket; British scientist says that coronavirus will be around for "evermore" as it is unlikely it will be eradicated; the government decides to give Rs 3,737 crore bonus to 30.67 lakh central government employees; Eknath Khadse leaves BJP to join NCP and former CBI chief R K Raghavan says Bofors scandal is an example of a genuine case being sabotaged by a government-run by a party that has a lot to hide.

Here are the top stories of October 21, 2020:

The Bofors scandal is an example of a genuine case being sabotaged by a government-run by a party that has a lot to hide, says former CBI chief R K Raghavan, placing the “guilt” of the case not succeeding in court on those that controlled the agency in the 1990s and in 2004-2014.

The corruption scam, which led to the fall of the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government in 1989, related to alleged kickbacks in the Rs 1,437 crore Howitzer gun deal signed in 1986 with Swedish arm manufacturer Bofors. It was alleged that the Swedish company paid nearly Rs 64 crore as bribe to politicians, Congress leaders, and bureaucrats.

Calling the BJP-JD(U) partnership as "superhit" as the opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in cricket, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that one can debate on the quantum of development done by the alliance government in Bihar, but no one can point a finger at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on corruption.

Attacking the opposition RJD, Singh said the people had witnessed its 15-year tenure and can see the difference between its "misrule" and the good governance of the Nitish Kumar-led alliance government.

Lashing out at Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, senior leader Eknath Khadse, who left BJP to join NCP said that it was a painful decision but circumstances and false cases compelled him to do so.

“I have given 40 years to the BJP…I was among those who raised the party in Maharashtra,” Khadse told reporters in his hometown of Muktainagar in Jalgaon district.

When asked whether Fadnavis was the only reason for his departure from BJP, he said: “Yes…of course…that is the reason.”

The government on Wednesday decided to give Rs 3,737 crore bonus to 30.67 lakh central government employees to encourage spending during the festival season and add to demand in the economy.

The decision to give a productivity-linked bonus and non-productivity-linked bonus for 2019-2020 was taken at the Union Cabinet meeting, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

The bonus ahead of Vijayadashami and Diwali will encourage the middle-class to go out and spend and thus add to the demand in the economy, he said.

The bonus will be disbursed in a week's time.

The coronavirus will be around for "evermore" as it is unlikely it will be eradicated, a British scientist on the government's advisory committee for the pandemic said on Wednesday, adding that a vaccine would help improve the situation.

Britain, like other countries in Europe, is currently in the grip of a resurgence in Covid-19 infections, with much of the country under local restrictions and more than 21,000 daily cases reported on Tuesday