NEWS
DIGEST, MID-DAY
30 Aug 2018:18 Zilhajj 1439: Vol: 10, No:96
INDIA
One nation, one election: Law Commission
endorses proposal for simultaneous Lok Sabha, assembly polls
New Delhi :In its draft report submitted to
the government, the Law Commission has endorsed simultaneous elections to Lok
Sabha and state assemblies. Recommending changes in the Constitution and the
electoral law to hold simultaneous polls, the panel said that it can prevent
the country from being in constant election mode.Such an exercise, the draft
report said, will save public money, help reduce the burden on administrative
setup and security forces and ensure better implementation of government
policies.It said if simultaneous polls are held, the administrative machinery
of the country will be continuously engaged in developmental activities,
“rather than in electioneering”. It, however, cautioned that “holding
simultaneous elections is not possible within the existing framework of the
Constitution”.This comes a week after Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat
categorically ruled out any possibility of holding simultaneous elections for
both the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies without a “legal framework” in
place. “Koi chance nahi” (no chance at all), Rawat had said when asked if it
was still feasible to hold the parallel polls.His clarification comes amid a
growing debate on holding simultaneous polls, with the ruling party making a
strong pitch for the idea. The BJP has argued that one election would check
expenditure and ensure that the nation is not in “election mode” throughout the
year.indianexpress
India replaced its currency to wipe out
illegal money stashes. Now the central bank says it didn’t work: washingtonpost
NEW DELHI — When Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced the replacement of 80 percent of India’s cash in 2016,
he sparked a currency crisis that led to huge job losses and stalled growth as
it hit India’s vast informal sector.For months, people lined up at banks and
ATMs — sometimes for more than eight hours — to withdraw limited amounts of
cash to pay bills or buy daily groceries.Their troubles were a sacrifice for
the nation, Modi said at the time. Old notes would be handed back to the banks,
and the vast reserves of untaxed “black money” being used for dodgy deals among
fat-cat businessmen, dirty politicians and Pakistani terrorists would be
invalidated in one fell swoop.Now, newly released data from the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) shows that 99.3 percent of high-value notes in circulation — worth
about $216 billion — came back to the banks. That means that those illicit
hoards that the government was hoping to flush out of the system were not in
the form of cash and are still out there.And the long lines for cash, not to
mention the losses in jobs and growth? Not necessary.“The RBI has in effect
said that the prime minister’s premises and claims were dubious, and, in as
much words, he didn’t know what he was talking about or getting into,” said
Mohan Guruswamy, founder of the Center for Policy Alternatives and a former
adviser to the finance minister.India’s economy runs mostly on cash, so Modi’s
demonetization thoroughly shook the country. New Delhi-based Center for
Monitoring the Indian Economy estimated that the shock move caused the loss of
1.5 million jobs, though other economists have put the number lower.In the
weeks and months after Modi’s bombshell announcement, small-business owners
said their customers stopped coming because they had no cash. Marriages were
delayed because cash stacked up to pay for venues and caterers was now
worthless. Millionaires joked about borrowing cash from their maids to buy cups
of chai.Some found clever ways to avoid the long lines, such as bribing bank
managers or paying people to stand in their place. But many who stood in lines
said they supported Modi and his efforts to clean up India’s economy at the
time.Guruswamy said the new data suggests that the entire policy was never
thought out properly. “All reports on [black money] categorically stated that
the undeclared incomes were mostly invested in properties and assets in India
and abroad and in gold and jewelry. The cash with people was cash in stock and
deployed for everyday business and living,” he said.
PM lying on Rafale & demonetisation,
helping friends to turn black money into white: Rahul Gandhi
Hours after Youth Congress workers marched to
the Prime Minister’s residence to protest against the Rafale scam, Congress
president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday afternoon reiterated his demand for a Joint
Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe what he described as the great ‘Rafale
Robbery’.“Rafale is a clear-cut case. Anil Ambani never made aircraft. He is
under ₹45000 crore loan and opened a company just a few days before Rafale
deal. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been making aircraft for past 70
years. An aircraft that was for ₹520 Cr was bought for ₹1600 Cr, why?” news
agencies quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying.The day after the Reserve Bank of India
acknowledged the failure of Demonetisation and admitted that over 99% of the
currency in circulation that was denotified had returned to the banking system,
the Congress president described Demonetisation as a scam designed to help 15
or 20 crony capitalists.He sarcastically added that the Prime Minister need not
apologise to the nation for Demonetisation. “You apologise when you make a
mistake but Demonetisation was not a mistake; it was a deliberate measure to
help the PM’s cronies,” he declared. PM Modi’s friends had turned their black
money into white during Demonetisation, he added.
Rahul Gandhi calls demonetisation a ‘huge
scam’
Man Lynched in UP's Bareilly Based on
Suspicion That He Stole a Buffalo
Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh): A young man who was
home from Dubai where he worked as a tailor was lynched in a village in Uttar
Pradesh’s Bareilly district on suspicion that he had stolen a buffalo, police
said today.Shahrukh, 20, was beaten to death last night in Bholapur Hadoliya
village under the Cantt police station area here.Four people have been
arrested, said Superintendent of Police (City) Abhinandan Singh.Shahrukh and
three others had gone out last night when a group of locals caught hold of
them, suspecting that they had stolen a buffalo. He was thrashed by the group
while his associates managed to escape, police said.He was admitted to hospital
in a serious condition and later succumbed to injuries,Shahrukh worked in Dubai
as tailor and had recently come home, Singh said.According to the post-mortem
examination, severe beating was the cause of death, the SP said. Both sides
have lodged FIRs.Shahrukh’s brother has filed a complaint against 20-25 unnamed
persons and three of his associates. The side which alleged buffalo theft have
also lodged a case, the SP added.PTI
Police probe into Kasganj violence 'grossly
compromised', Muslims were 'selectively targeted', claims report by activists
New Delhi: Muslims were "selectively
targeted" in the wake of the 26 January communal clashes in Uttar
Pradesh's Kasganj and the police probe into the violence was "grossly
compromised", a report prepared by civil rights activists has alleged.The
report — Truth of Kasganj — released on Wednesday also alleged that there were
"inconsistencies" in the police's version of the violence, as
documented in the two FIRs, and there were attempts to protect certain people.
The activists also demanded a "high-level inquiry" into the clashes.
Former IPS officer SR Darapuri, civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad,
Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey, lawyer Shoaib Mohammad and academician Apoorvanand
released the report, which is based on a study of the police reports,
first-person accounts of affected people, and on-ground visit.Communal clashes
had broken out in the western Uttar Pradesh town after stones were pelted on a
'Tiranga Yatra' taken out to celebrate the Republic Day. The police had said
some people were riding motorcycles carrying the tricolour and were chanting
Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai. When they reached a minority
community-dominated locality, some "anti-social elements" pelted
stones and opened fire. In this firing, a man called Chandan was killed and two
others were injured.The activists concurred with the findings of the report
that "Muslims were selectively targeted in the wake of the communal
clashes". They also alleged that there was "discriminatory delivery
of justice" to favour and protect certain people, based on a
"majoritarian agenda".The report has been endorsed by a number of
civil society groups from India and abroad — Alliance for Justice and
Accountability, New York; Citizens for Justice and Peace, Mumbai; Indian
American Muslim Council, Washington DC; Peoples' Union for Civil Liberties, New
Delhi; Rihaee Manch, Lucknow; South Asia Solidarity Group, London, and United
Against Hate, New Delhi, said Ajit Sahi, who worked on the report. The police
investigation into the violence has been "grossly compromised in a blatant
attempt to protect the Hindus and frame the Muslims", the 21-page report
alleged, adding, the administration and police "failed" in preventing
the violence.PTI
‘Nationwide raids, arrest of activists to
divert attention from falling popularity of Modi, BJP’
NEW DELHI: Unleashing strong attack on the
government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the wake of the arrest of five
eminent human rights activists, noted award-winning writer Arundhati Roy on
Thursday said that the nationwide raids and arrest of the activists were “to
divert attention of people from the reasons of falling popularity of the ruling
BJP and PM Modi.”Addressing a press conference, she warned that there would be
spate in violence in coming weeks and months till the elections because, she said,
BJP and Modi are losing popularity.The press conference was called at the Press
Club of India to denounce the arrest of activists — Lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj,
journalist-academician Gautam Navlakha, writer Arun Ferreira, poet Varavara
Raoand and activist Vernon Gonsalves.Reading out from her written statement,
Arundhati Roy said: “Recent analyses of real voter data as well as the
Lokniti-CSDS-ABP Mood of the Nation survey have shown that the BJP and Prime
Minister Narendra Modi are losing popularity at an alarming rate for them. We
know that since 2002 riots of Gujarat, whenever popularity and power of the
ruling party (BJP) goes down, a dangerous situation is created and riots
occur.”“From now to the elections, it will be a continuous circus of arrests, assassinations,
lynching, bomb attacks, riots and pogroms. We have learnt to connect the
approach of the elections with the approach of all kinds of violence,” she
said.Roy said that the arrests are “ruthless and continuous attempt to divert
attention from the reasons for this loss of popularity and fracture the growing
solidarity of the opposition.”Some other eminent figures like Prashant Bhushan,
Aruna Roy, Kavita Srivastava, Kalyani Menon, Adv. Sanjay Parikh, ND Pancholi,
Wilson Bezwada and Harish Dhawan also spoke on the occasion and condemned the
arrest of the activists.Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan said: “Before
arrests of activists, a campaign was run by media and a new term was coined
that these activists are Urban Naxals. It means you are labeling as Naxals
those who are fighting for the rights of oppressed Dalits, Tribals and
minorities in order to arrest them. And what is this Urban Naxal? These
activists have been working for human rights for 25 years.”caravan daily
Names of 7 Cr Muslim, Dalit voters removed
from voters’ list at the behest of BJP, RSS: Nadeem Javed
Mumbai: Chairman of All India Congress
Committee’s Minority department and former MLA Nadeem Javed lashed out at Modi
government and said that the ruling BJP is working on RSS agenda. He alleged
that names of 7 Cr Muslim and Dalit voters have been removed from the voters’
list at the behest of RSS and BJP. They aim at depriving Muslims and Dalits
from right to vote, he said. Nadeem Javed told this while addressing a meeting
of Congress officials at Tilak Bhawan on Wednesday.Boosting the morale of youth
Congress he advised them to be ready to work with high spirit so that Congress
party could be brought to power under the able leadership of Rahul Gandhi. He
stressed the need for alliance of secular parties to defeat BJP.siasat
Hizbul Mujahideen chief’s son arrested in
terror-funding case from Srinagar
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on
Thursday arrested Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) chief Syed Salahuddin’s son, Syed
Ahmad Shakeel, from Srinagar for allegedly receiving funds for terrorist
activities in 2011.An NIA statement said it arrested Shakeel after raiding his
house in Srinagar’s Rambagh area along with the Central Reserve Police Force
and the Jammu and Kashmir police.It said that Shakeel, who works as a lab
technician at Srinagar’s Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, was
arrested since he ignored NIA’s summons and will be taken to Delhi for
interrogation. “A non-bailable warrant was earlier issued by the NIA Special
Court, Patiala House, New Delhi,’’ the statement said. “He will be produced
before the NIA Special Court for his custody for custodial
interrogation.”hindustantimes
WORLD
US official calls for investigation into
Saudi-UAE raids in Yemen
A US official has called for an investigation
into attacks by the Saudi-UAE coalition in Yemen and for perpetrators to be
held accountable.In an interview with Al Jazeera in the Saudi city of Jeddah,
Deputy US Ambassador to Yemen Ana Escrogima called for a speedy and transparent
probe into the raids carried out by the Saudi-UAE coalition in
Yemen.Escorgima's calls came after a team of UN-mandated investigators said in
a report they had "reasonable grounds to believe that the parties to the
armed conflict in Yemen have committed a substantial number of violations of
international humanitarian law."Aljazeera
UN warns of 'perfect storm' over Syria's Idlib
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said a
potential "perfect storm" is looming over Syria's Idlib province,
with possible military implications beyond the region.Speaking to reporters in
Geneva on Thursday, De Mistura offered to travel to Idlib to help ensure
civilians can leave through a humanitarian corridor amid fears of an imminent
government offensive to retake the last major region controlled by rebels."You
can understand that when there is a perfect storm coming up in front of our
eyes potentially, we need to address first things first," De Mistura said.
"I am once again prepared ... personally and physically, to get involved
myself ... to ensure such a temporary corridor would be feasible and guaranteed
for the people so that they can then return to their own places once this is
over," he added. Aljazeera
FLASH
VIEWS & NEWS
The latest arrests
represent erosion of civil liberties, fundamental rights:Prashant Bhushan
Johnson and Johnson
case points to a regulatory deficit, and lack of medical ethics:Shah Alam Khan
Compiled and edited by
Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:34 PM)
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