CURRENT AFFAIRS
28 September 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Former Union Minister Jaswant Singh no more.
Former Union Minister Jaswant Singh passed away this morning after a long illness at the Army’s Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi. Hospital officials said that he had been admitted on June 25 this year and was being treated for sepsis and multi-organ dysfunction syndrome, and the effects of an old severe head injury. He had a cardiac arrest this morning. He is survived by his wife and two sons, including former Barmer MP Manvendra Singh. He was 82 years old. He was a veteran leader and held the key positions of finance, defense, and external affairs minister in governments which were headed by late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of the former Union Minister by tweeting that Jaswant Singhji served our nation diligently, first as a soldier, and later during his long association with politics. Singh, a former Army man himself, had dabbled in politics in his native Rajasthan in the 1960s after leaving the army, but came into the limelight in 1980, after being elected to the Rajya Sabha by the newly formed BJP. He remained a part of either House of Parliament between 1980-2014, being elected to the Rajya Sabha five times, in 1980, 1986, 1998, 1999, 2004, and four times to the Lok Sabha in the years 1990, 1991, 1996, 2009. Suave and well-versed in language and diplomatese, he soon became the go-to man in his party for strategic affairs as well as finance, also serving for a spell as deputy chairperson of the planning commission. He was also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha between 2004-2009. Singh was a close personal friend of former Prime Minister Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani.
B) Farmers can break free of APMC shackles: Modi.
Less than 24 hours after the oldest ally in the NDA, the Shiromani Akali Dal announced a parting of ways over the 3 farm Bills which were passed last week by the Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had highlighted the benefits of the Bills in his monthly radio broadcast, “Mann ki Baat”. The Prime Minister’s remarks come after a stormy monsoon session of Parliament where the Bills, aimed at reforming trade in agricultural produce were cleared, sparking protests in various parts of the country by farmers groups and opposition parties. Referring to the Bills, PM Modi said that Farmers now have the power to sell their produce anywhere and to anyone and they have the freedom to grow any crop and to sell it at a price best suited to them. He said that even in this time of crisis, the agricultural sector of our country has again shown its resilience. The agricultural sector of the country, farmers, villages are the very basis of Atmanirbhar Bharat, a self-reliant India. He also said that If the farmers remain strong then the foundation of Atmanirbhar Bharat will remain strong.
C) President gives assent to farm Bills.
On 27 September, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the 3 farm Bills that were passed in the Parliament last week and triggered protests in several parts of the country, especially in Punjab and Haryana. 2 Bills – the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, were passed in the Parliament on September 20. The last one, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, was also approved by a voice vote in Rajya Sabha on September 22. This proposed legislation is now going to be implemented as law.
D) Ladakh BJP delegation calls off council poll boycott
Indian Government is open to discuss protection available under the 6th Schedule of the constitution to Ladakh. This was said by the Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju at a press conference on 27 September. He said that the delegation has agreed to withdraw their demand to boycott the elections. The People’s Movement, which is a platform representing various politicians, religious and social organizations campaigning for the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh, had announced a boycott of the upcoming elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council-Leh on Tuesday, which is scheduled for October 16. Mr. Rijiju said that the delegation was assured that all issues related to land, jobs will be considered by the government.
E) Covid watch — Numbers and Developments.
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India has crossed 6 million and stands at 60,68,928 with the death toll at 95,498. On 27 September, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had cautioned that the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) first serosurvey should not create a sense of complacency in people with regard to the virus. Speaking in his social media interaction Samvaad-3, he said that the indications from the up-coming second sero survey are that India is far from having achieved any kind of herd immunity which necessitates that all of us should continue following COVID appropriate behavior. In a reversal, he said that the Health Ministry has advised against the wide usage of investigational therapies such as Remdesivir and plasma therapies. Private hospitals have also been advised against routine use of these investigational therapies and doctors in the States/UTs have also been made aware of this. Meanwhile, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti tested positive for the coronavirus. In a tweet on 26 September, she said that she had developed a mild fever during her trip to the Himalayas. She added that she will stay in quarantine at the Vande Mataram Kunj, which is situated between Haridwar and Rishikesh, and urged all those who came into contact with her to get tested.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Senate pushes to confirm Trump’s SC pick.
On 27 September, the Senate Republicans of the United States have prepared a concerted push toward quickly confirming President Donald the third Supreme Court nominee of Trump, Amy Coney Barrett, despite strenuous objections by Democrats. In a White House Rose Garden ceremony on 27 September, Donald Trump has announced Judge Barrett, as his selection to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on September 18. Judge Barrett said that she would be justice in the mold of the late staunch conservative Antonin Scalia. Supreme Court role in elections Trump urged Republicans, who hold a 53-47 Senate majority, to confirm Judge Barrett, a federal appeals court judge and a favorite of religious conservatives, by the November 3 election. Mc Connell said that he looks forward to meeting with the nominee next week and will carefully study her record and credentials. He has also made confirming the judicial appointments of Trump as a paramount priority.
B) In the first Trump-Biden debate, the U.S. will finally see its choice.
The volatile US. presidential election enters a fierce new stage this week when Donald Trump and Joe Biden hold their first debate, a television spectacle finally allowing Americans to witness the 2 antagonists head to the clash held on Tuesday, coming right after Mr. Trump defied Democrats and nominated a conservative to replace the late Supreme Court liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, could again upend an already nail-biting contest. Mr. Joe Biden, leads in polls against the Republican incumbent, both nationwide and in most of the crucial swing states set to provide the decisive electoral college count on November 3. But Mr. Trump, is campaigning hard, crisscrossing those battlegrounds on Air Force One while Biden runs a far lower profile strategy. Yet unlike the fawning treatment Donald Trump enjoys during his weekly call-ins to Fox News, he’ll find himself facing a man painting him as toxic in front of the entire country.
