Current Affairs - 24 June 2015

Karnataka govt moves SC against acquittal of Jayalalithaa

• NEW DELHI: The Karnataka government on Tuesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court against Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and three others, acquitted by the state high court in the disproportionate assets case.
  
  The state government contended that the HC did mathematical error in calculating disproportionate assets of Jayalalithaa, resulting in miscarriage of justice.
  
  The government pleaded the court to restore trial court order convicting Jayalalithaa in the case.
  
  "The order of acquittal resulted in gross miscarriage of justice," the Karnataka government said in its appeal.
  
  "A serious totalling mistake has resulted in acquittal instead of order confirming the conviction, apart from many other serious infirmities in the order including ignoring even the admitted figures given by the accused themselves," the petition said.
  
  AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa was acquitted last month of all corruption charges in the 19-year-old Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case.
  
  The Karnataka high court on May 12 overturned the trial court's conviction of Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case, discharging her and three others. The conviction had forced her to resign as CM and install a "caretaker CM".
  
  After her acquittal, ​Jayalalithaa took oath as the Tamil Nadu CM on May 23.

Abhishek Banerjee: Challenge TMC and we will gouge out eyes

• KOLKAYA: TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is a nephew of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, has stirred a new controversy by saying that those who dared to challenge the TMC administration will have their eyes gouged out and their hands chopped off. 
  
  "Those who dare to show their eyes, we will tear it out and throw it on the streets. If someone shows us their hands we will cut them off. But you have to remember that in democracy, it is the common man who will say the last word," Abhishek Banerjee said on Monday while addressing a meeting in Basirhat area of North 24 Parganas.
  
  Banerjee also said that only the TMC has been standing up to PM Narendra Modi. 
  
  "Most political parties have fallen on the feet of Narendra Modi but TMC didn't," Abhishek Banerjee said. 
  
  The comments of Abhishek, who heads the youth wing of Trinamool Congress, has attracted severe criticism from the other political parties.
  
  "I think Abhishek Banerjee has been making such highly provoking speeches earlier also. There should be a case registered against him. He should not indulge in any such speeches being a Member of Parliament. Threatening the people to vote for Mamata shows that she does not have believe on the work she has done and that the BJP has emerged has a competition to TMC," said BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao. 
  
  "The comments are the reflection of the DNA of Trinamool Congress. This is what is expected of TMC and its leaders," BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh said. 
  
  CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said the proactive statements of Abhishek shows the mindset of Trinamool. 
  
  "I am not surprised by the statement. This is their ideology and mindset. Several TMC leaders had earlier spelt it out. Now Abhishek has said it," Chakraborty said. 

China blocks India's move in UN seeking action against Pakistan on Lakhvi

• UNITED NATIONS: China has blocked India's move in the UN demanding action against Pakistan over release of Mumbai attack mastermind and LeT commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi in violation of a resolution of the world body as it contended that India provided insufficient information.
  
  As the UN sanctions committee met here at India's request, a clarification was to be sought from Pakistan over Lakhvi's release in the 26/11 trial but the Chinese representatives blocked the move on grounds that India did not provide sufficient information, official sources said.
  
  In a letter to the current chair of the UN sanctions committee Jim McLay, India's permanent representative to the UN Asoke Mukherjee last month had said Lakhvi's release by a Pakistani court was in violation of the 1267 UN resolution dealing with designated entities and individuals.
  
  The sanctions measures apply to designated individuals and entities associated with terror groups including al-Qaeda and LeT, wherever located.
  
  The sanctions' committee has five permanent and 10 non-permanent UN member states in it.
  
  The release of Lakhvi had also raised concerns in the US, UK, Russia, France and Germany with Washington calling for him to be re-arrested.
  
  Lakhvi and six others — Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum — have been charged with planning and executing the Mumbai attack in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.
  
  Lakhvi, 55, a close relative of LeT founder and Jamaat—Ud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, was arrested in December 2008 and was indicted along with the six others on November 25, 2009 in connection with the 26/11 attack case. The trial has been underway since 2009.
  
  A Pakistani court had on April 9 set free Lakhvi, a development which India said "eroded" the value of assurances repeatedly conveyed to it by Pakistan on cross—border terrorism.

'Made in India' making big splash in Chinese border town

• XIASIMA, TIBET: India might be suffering USD 47 billion trade deficit with China, but it is making a big splash in this border town with several shops using 'Made in India' sign boards and traders cashing on border trade through the Nathu La pass. 
  
  Many shopkeepers in this small town in the centre of Tibet, who import Indian handicrafts, spices and textiles, use sign boards highlighting 'Made in India goods available'.
  
  The India-China trade through Nathu La, which is just 50 km from this town, is flourishing though it is still just around Rs 17 crore. 
  
  China has opened a second route through the Himalayan pass of Nathu La in Sikkim, 4,000 metres above sea level, for the first batch of Kailash-Manasarovar pilgrims. 
  
  Chinese ambassador to India Le Yucheng, who for the first time visited Sikkm and crossed over through the Nathu La border point on Sunday to receive the pilgrims, met Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and discussed steps to increase the trade. 
  
  Speaking to the Indian media here, Le said the present volume of over USD 70 billion bilateral trade is inadequate and does not represents the potential.
  
  He said the trade is set to grow with more Chinese investment in India.

Jharkhand MLA Kamal Kishore Bhagat jailed for 7 years for attempt to murder

• RANCHI: A Ranchi court on Tuesday sentenced Lohardaga MLA Kamal Kishore Bhagat of All Jharkhand Students Union to seven years' rigorous imprisonment in an attempt to murder case. 
  
  The court of additional judicial commissioner Krishna Kumar on Tuesday awarded seven-year rigorous imprisonment to MLA Kamal Kishore Bhagat, along with another party leader Alastair Bodra, in a 21-year-old attempt to murder case. 
  
  All Jharkhand Students Union is an alliance partner of the ruling BJP in Jharkhand. 
  
  Jail for Bhagat, a founding member of AJSU Party, has come as a shocker for his followers and the party. 
  
  The court had on Monday found Bhagat and Bodra guilty under 307 (attempt to murder), 325 (causing grievous hurt), 387 (grievous hurt in order to commit extortion) and 448 (house trespass). The two were sent to jail on Monday evening. 
  
  "Each of the two were awarded seven-year imprisonment with Rs 15,000 fine," public prosecutor CL Sharma said. 
  
  The legislator has been disqualified as per the order of the Supreme Court in July 2013, said chief electoral officer P K Jajoria. 
  
  The byelection for the Lohardaga assembly seat will be held within six months. 
  
  The development, however, does not pose any threat to the government which enjoys support of five AJSU legislators (now only four). 
  
  The BJP has 43 legislators besides four from AJSU Party in the 81-member assembly. 
  
  A group of AJSU leaders had on September 28, 1993 barged into the chamber of famous city-based neurologist KK Sinha seeking extortion. As he refused to give money a scuffle followed (involving guards of the doctor and AJSU Party leaders) during which one AJSU party leader Sudarshan Bhagat died. 
  
  Bhagat's lawyer Bikrant Sinha said: "We will move to the high court against the verdict". 
  
  AJSU spokesperson Deo Sharan Bhagat said the party has full faith in the judiciary. "In the same incident our leader Sudarshan Bhagat was killed. The government should set-up a special investigation team to probe the incident. The entire party is waiting for justice," Bhagat said. 

Probe into Lalit Modi-Dushyant Singh loan would continue: Arun Jaitley

• STANFORD: Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said assessing authorities in India would continue to do their job with regard to the probe into the over Rs 11 crore transaction between Dushyant Singh and Lalit Modi while asserting that his remarks on this issue were misinterpreted. 
  
  "I have never used such a word. That is never part of my domain," Jaitley told reporters when asked about opposition's allegations that his remarks that the loan given to Singh by Modi, the former IPL chief, was a commercial transaction, amounted to giving clean chit to the BJP MP. 
  
  "That is clear misinterpretation of (what I said). Whatever various assessing authorities in India have to do, its their job. They would continue to do that," Jaitley said on the sidelines of a public event at the Stanford University.
  
  Singh, son of Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, has been under attack over media reports that his company received Rs 11.63 crore in investments from Modi in 2008. 
  
  External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Raje have been facing flak for "helping" Modi in procuring travel documents in the UK, a country which he has made his home to avoid legal processes in India. 
  
  Modi, 49, travelled to London in 2010 after the Indian Premier League (IPL) became embroiled in allegations of match-fixing and illegal betting.

Doctors' strike: Delhi govt invokes ESMA

• NEW DELHI: Delhi government on Tuesday imposed Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) Act on resident doctors on strike as they failed to resume work by 11am as ordered by the government. 
  
  The move comes a day after when around 2,000 doctors at 20 hospitals in the national capital launched an indefinite strike, demanding adequate life saving drugs, security at work place and timely payment of their salaries.
  
  The Delhi govt had on Monday accepted all 19 demands of the striking government. "We accepted resident doctors' 19 demands, they want Central govt & MCD to accept them now," Satyendra Jain, health minister, Delhi government said. 
  
  He said government will initiate strict action if doctors fail to meet direction.
  
  The strike by resident doctors at 20 hospitals run by the central and Delhi governments and civic corporations including Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College, Maulana Azad Medical College had affected services at the facilities on Monday.

Islamic State hangs 2 boys for eating during Ramzan: Monitor

• BEIRUT: The Islamic State group has hanged two youths after accusing them of eating during daylight hours in the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan, the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said.
  
  "Residents of the village of Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province reported that IS hanged from a crossbar two boys aged under 18 near the HQ of the Hissba", the jihadist police, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP yesterday.
  
  "The children have been suspended by ropes from a pole since noon, and they were still there in the late evening," he said.
  
  "Apparently, they were caught eating." A placard was attached to the bodies reading "They broke the fast with no religious justification".
  
  Throughout the month of Ramzan, which began on Thursday, believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn until sunset.
  
  IS, which controls swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq where it has created a self-proclaimed "caliphate", advocates an extreme view of the application of Islamic law, or sharia.
  
  The jihadists do not hesitate to impose brutal punishments including beheadings, stonings, floggings and crucifixions.

Federal Structure, Diversity and Insurgency in India

• 1. Our country has been hailed as a triumph of democracy. India is known as largest functioning democracy in the world and also a beacon of democracy to the world. The cornerstone of success of democracy is the way the power has been distributed by the constitution. Further, the success of democracy also must be qualified the various armed challenges that we have seen in last seven decades. India is a Union of States. Our constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government, which is federal in structure but with certain unitary features. The Constitution distributes legislative powers between parliament and states legislative assemblies. We also have centrally administered Union Territories. The framers of our constitution adopted the federal system with many objectives. One of them was that such system will emerge as a means of managing ethnic and linguistic diversity. The rationale behind such idea was that the demand for autonomy can be more easily accommodated in a federal structure in comparison to unitary structure. The federal system of our country has been broadly a success, defying many prevailing theories that stipulate preconditions. In 1950s and 1960s, the mitigation of the linguistic conflicts in southern parts of India can be attributed to the federal system to a large extent. However under the federal system, the states have to rely upon the centre for largest chunk of its financial resources. Indian states vary dramatically in their languages, social structures, economies, and politics. The federal system has institutionalized these differences but has largely failed in homogenizing them. Any diversity and heterogeneity is not conflict-producing by itself but it carries the hazards of conflict. While on the one hand, we are bound together by strong bonds of culture, common objectives, friendship and affection, on the other hand, unfortunately, there are inherent in India, separatist and disruptive tendencies. The basic premise of India being a “Union” of states is that states can not by themselves separate themselves from the Union.  They States have to retain loyalty to India while acting with significant autonomy within them. But the federal system demands a careful balance between the local autonomy and central authority. In most circumstances, this balance has been manageable but is threatened while dealing with the ethnic and linguistic groups which have access to the support of the external elements that see themselves distinct from India. In some cases, the local actors, with significant external and internal support engage in separatist sentiments. Their goal is either to create a new autonomous unit in the Indian Union or outright formal independence. In several parts of our vast country, this has resulted in armed rebellion against the authority leading to Insurgency. The emergence of insurgencies in India is closely linked to various problems at home; the problems of centre-state relations and of relations among the states. India’s geopolitical location is such that most of her neighbours have been willing to provide guns, money, sanctuary, and training to insurgent groups.