NATIONAL NEWS
Duty of public intellectuals to expose the lies of the state: Justice Chandrachud
Public intellectuals have a duty to expose the lies of the state, Supreme Court Justice DY Chandrachud observed, stressing that in a democratic country it is important to hold governments in check and guard against falsehoods. The SC judge was delivering the 6th Chief Justice M.C. Chagla Memorial Lecture, when he cautioned against an over-reliance on the government to provide social, political, economic, cultural and, in the current context, medical truths. He also highlighted the importance of a press that is free from influence of any kind political or economic to ensure that governments can truly be held to account for actions and policies. One cannot rely only on the State for truth. Totalitarian governments are known for their constant reliance on falsehoods to consolidate power we see there is an increasing trend among countries around the world to manipulate COVID-19 data, Justice Chandrachud said. His remarks come in the wake of concerns expressed by experts, activists and journalists that governments may have fudged Covid data to hide the true spread of infections. The phenomenon of fake news is on the rise. The WHO (World Health Organization) recognized this during the COVID pandemic calling it infodemic. Human beings have a tendency to get attracted to sensational news which are often based on falsehoods, he explained. This is the second time in this month that judges of the Supreme Court have asked the public to be cautious. On Independence Day, CJI Ramanna had criticised the functioning of the Parliament, saying there was no clarity in laws. Now we see legislations with lot of gaps, and lot of ambiguity in making laws, Justice Ramana said at the Independence Day ceremony organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association. We don’t know for what purpose are the laws being made which is creating a lot of litigation, inconvenience and loss to the government and inconvenience to the public.
ED goes after Abhishek Bannerjee
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) which comes under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, has summoned Trinamool Congress national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, also the nephew of chief minister Mamata Bannerjee, in connection with a money laundering and coal scam case. The ED, it is learnt, has also summoned Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira Naroola Banerjee as well, setting the stage for another confrontation between the Centre and West Bengal. Mamata Bannerjee charged the Centre of petty, vindictive politics reminding The BJP once again of the losses suffered in the Assembly elections. When the BJP government in Delhi cannot compete with us in politics, they use agencies, Ms Bannerjee said at a recent public event. Challenging the BJP to fight against her party politically, the Chief Minister said, Why are you unleashing the ED against us. Against your one case we will raise bagfuls. We know how to fight back. We know the history of Gujarat. Stepping up the counter attack, Banerjee pointed out that allocation of rights for natural resources like coal comes under the purview of the central government. No use pointing fingers at the Trinamool for corruption in coal. It is under the Centre. What about its ministers? What about the BJP leaders who looted the coal belt of Bengal, the Asansol region, she said on the occasion of the party’s foundation day programme. PTI reports that Abhishek Banerjee, 33, who represents the Diamond Harbour seat in Lok Sabha, has been summoned to appear before the investigating officer of the case in New Delhi on September 6, while his wife Rujira has been sent a similar summon under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for September 1. Rujira had earlier been grilled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case. Some Indian Police Service (IPS) officers and a lawyer linked to Abhishek Banerjee have also been summoned to appear on different dates next month in the same case, the officials said. The Bengal coal smuggling case, which had led to the arrest of several middle-men, refers to the mining and smuggling of coal worth Rs 20,000 crore across the borders of the states to Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar, allegedly with the help of government officials in collusion with politicians.
Bhavina goes for gold.
And, in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympic Games, paddler Bhavinaben Patel has her sights fixed on gold after she entered the finals beating silver medalist of Rio Olympics, Zhang Mia of China in the semi-final of the Women’s Singles Class 4 category at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Saturday. Bhavinaben won 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8 in a match that lasted 34, to enter the final gold medal match. She will now face World No.1 Zhou Ying of China. Patel was quoted as saying, I don’t consider myself as disabled, I am always confident I can do anything and today I also proved that we are not behind and para table tennis is as ahead as other sports. This is a very, very, very big achievement for me. People say that to beat China (in table tennis) is impossible but I’ve proven today that nothing is impossible. Everything is possible if you want to do (it), Bhavinaben said in a video posted on Twitter by public broadcaster Doordarshan. When asked if she had expected to make it this far coming into the Paralympics, Bhavinaben told SAI Media, No, I just thought that whatever match comes, I have to give it my 100%. And that’s what I’ve been doing. When you give 100%, a medal will come.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Taliban largely seal off Kabul airport as airlift winds down
The crowds kept coming to the Kabul Airport to flee from the Taliban as the US and its allies began winding up rescue operations. Italy said its final evacuation flight had landed in Rome but that it would work with the United Nations and countries bordering Afghanistan to continue helping Afghans who had worked with its military contingent to leave the country. Our imperative must be to not abandon the Afghan people, especially women and children, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Saturday. He said 4,890 Afghans were evacuated by Italy’s air force on 87 flights, but did not say how many others were still eligible. The U.S. and its allies have said they will continue providing humanitarian aid through the U.N. and other partners, but any broader engagement including development assistance is likely to hinge on whether the Taliban deliver on their promises of more moderate rule. A U.N. agency meanwhile warned that a worsening drought threatens the livelihoods of more than 7 million people. The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said Afghans are also suffering from the coronavirus pandemic and displacement from the recent fighting. The Taliban deployed extra forces around Kabul’s airport on Saturday to prevent large crowds from gathering after a devastating suicide attack two days earlier, as the massive U.S.-led airlift wound down ahead of an August 31 deadline. Agencies reported on the new layers of checkpoints that have sprung up on roads leading to the airport, some manned by uniformed Taliban fighters with Humvees and night-vision goggles captured from Afghan security forces. Areas where large crowds of people have gathered over the past two weeks in hopes of fleeing the country following the Taliban takeover were largely empty. A suicide attack on Thursday by an Islamic State affiliate killed 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, and there are concerns that the group, which is far more radical than the Taliban, could strike again. Many Western nations have completed their evacuation operations ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces. More than 1,00,000 people have been safely evacuated through the Kabul airport, according to the U.S., but thousands more are struggling to leave and may not make it out by Tuesday. In Kabul, hundreds of protesters, including many civil servants, gathered outside a bank while countless more lined up at cash machines. The protesters said they had not been paid for the past three to six months and were unable to withdraw cash. ATM machines are still operating, but withdrawals are limited to around $200 every 24 hours. The Taliban cannot access almost any of the central bank’s $9 billion in reserves, most of which is held by the New York Federal Reserve. The International Monetary Fund has also suspended the transfer of some $450 million.
Biden :China still withholding ‘critical’ details on virus origins.
President Joe Biden said on Friday that China was withholding critical information on the origins of COVID-19 after the U.S. intelligence community said it did not believe the virus was a bioweapon – but remained split on whether it escaped from a lab. The U.S ., however, does not believe Chinese officials had foreknowledge of the virus before the initial outbreak of the pandemic that has now claimed 4.5 million lives, according to the unclassified summary of an eagerly awaited intelligence report. Critical information about the origins of this pandemic exists in the People’s Republic of China, yet from the beginning, government officials in China have worked to prevent international investigators and members of the global public health community from accessing it, Mr. Biden said in a statement. To this day, the PRC continues to reject calls for transparency and withhold information, even as the toll of this pandemic continues to rise. U.S. intelligence has ruled out that the coronavirus was developed as a weapon, and most agencies assess with low confidence it was not genetically engineered. But the community remains divided on the pathogen’s origins, with four agencies and the National Intelligence Council judging in favour of natural exposure to an animal as the likely explanation, and one agency favoring the lab leak theory. Analysts at three agencies were unable to reach a conclusion. The intelligence community and global scientists lack clinical samples or epidemiological data from the earliest Covid-19 cases, it added. Mr. Biden said the U.S. would continue to work with allies to press Beijing to share more information.
