CURRENT AFFAIRS
06 April 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Anil Deshmukh resigns as Maharashtra Home Minister, to be replaced by Dilip Walse Patil.
Senior NCP leader and party chief Sharad Pawar’s aide Dilip Walse Patil was on Monday given the charge of Maharashtra Home department following the resignation of Anil Deshmukh. Earlier in the day, Deshmukh, the state’s Home Minister, resigned from the State Cabinet. The resignation comes after the Bombay High Court on Monday directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary investigation into the allegations leveled against him by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. In his resignation letter, Deshmukh said, Bombay High Court in a petition filed by Adv Jayashri Patil has directed the CBI to conduct preliminary investigation. As a result, it is not morally correct for him to continue as state’s Home Minister. He have therefore decided to resign. On March 30, the Bombay High Court had pulled up Patil for the same plea seeking a CBI inquiry into the allegations against Deshmukh stating that it was prima facie filed for cheap publicity. A Division of Justices S.S. Shinde and Manish Pitale had stated, Entire petition is cut-copy-paste. What is your locus standi? Can you set criminal law in motion? Prima facie, we are of the opinion that such petitions are filed for cheap popularity. It is unacceptable. Addressing Patil, Justice Shinde had said, you are a doctorate of law. Please show us some original pleading in your petition. You have only reproduced conversations between the former Commissioner and Home Minster. You are only extracting paragraphs after paragraphs. However, a Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G.S. Kulkarni ordered the CBI to conclude the inquiry into Singh’s allegations against Deshmukh within 15 days and take further action as necessary. Singh had written a letter last month, after being transferred from the position as Mumbai Police Commissioner, alleging that Deshmukh had told suspended police officer Sachin Vaze to collect ₹100 crore extortion money from hoteliers in the city.
B) Rafale Deal: Fresh revelations reveal 1 million euros paid to an Indian accused of money-laundering.
French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation had paid one million euros to an Indian company owned by a middleman in connection with the €7.87-billion Rafale deal between India and France in 2016, French anti-corruption agency Agence Française Anticorruption (AFA) found in its audit, according to a French media report. That middleman is now accused of money-laundering in India in another defence deal. The company said the money was used to pay for the manufacture of 50 large replica models of Rafale jets, even though the inspectors were given no proof that these models were made. Yet, against all apparent logic, the AFA decided not to refer the matter to prosecutors, according to an investigation by Mediapart. Rafale was originally shortlisted in the Medium Multi-Role Contract Aircraft (MMRCA) deal for 126 jets, but the deal got held up over pricing and technology transfer issues. Dassault had provided AFA with a proforma invoice dated March 30, 2017, supplied by an Indian company called Defsys Solutions, which, according to the AFA investigation report, was related to 50% of the total order (€1,017,850), for the manufacture of 50 models of the Rafale C, with a price per unit of €20,357. However, the report said Dassault was unable to provide the AFA with a single document showing that these models existed and were delivered, and not even a photograph when AFA inspectors subsequently found these details in mid-October 2018 and asked the company for an explanation. The inspectors thus suspected that this was a bogus purchase designed to hide hidden financial transactions, it said. Defsys Solutions is one of Dassault’s sub-contractors in India for the Rafale deal. However, the company with 170 employees is not a specialist in making models and instead assembles flight simulators and optical and electronic systems for the aeronautical industry, often under licence for foreign companies, according to the report. In addition, the company belongs to the Gupta family, one of whom is being investigated in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal. Sushen Mohan Gupta was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March 2019 for kickbacks in the AgustaWestland deal and later released on bail. Rafale was originally shortlisted in the Medium Multi-Role Contract Aircraft (MMRCA) deal for 126 jets, but the deal got held up over pricing and technology transfer issues.
C) Congress demands answers from PM on latest ‘revelations’
The Congress today asked for a thorough inquiry into the Rafale fighter aircraft deal and demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the latest ‘revelations’. At a press conference, Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala claimed that the report by the French news portal, Mediapart, has vindicated former party chief Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of corruption in the deal. In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi had alleged corruption in the Rafale fighter aircraft deal and made the issue central to his poll plank. Does it now not require a full and independent investigation into India’s biggest defence deal to find out how much bribery and commission in reality, if any, was paid and to whom in the Indian government? Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi answer to the nation now?asked Surjewala. How can middleman and payment of commission be permitted in a government-to-government Defence Contract or in any defence procurement in violation of the mandatory Defence Procurement Procedure [DPP], asked Surjewala.
D) Assam polls: 171 votes cast in a booth with 90 voters.
Five Assam polling personnel have been suspended after it was found that the 90 eligible voters of the booth had ended up casting 171 votes. The Dima Hasao District Election Officer has also ordered a re-poll at the 107(A) Khotlir Lower Primary School polling booth in the Haflong Assembly constituency, which went to the polls in the second phase on April 1. The booth was an auxiliary polling station of the main voting centre at Mouldam Lower Primary School nearby. The constituency had recorded 74% voting, markedly less than the second phase average of 80.96% across 39 Assembly constituencies of southern, central and parts of northern Assam. The District Election Officer had issued the suspension order citing dereliction of duty on April 2, but it came to light on April 4 evening. A district official said that according to the polling personnel, the villagers who came to vote at the auxiliary booth had come with their own list of voters. The chief of the interior village refused to accept the official voters’ list and the villagers cast their votes according to the one the chief was armed with, he said. The district officials did not clarify why the polling officials let the villagers have their way.
E) Fight against Maoists will intensify: Amit Shah.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a visit to Chhattisgarh, today said that the fight against Maoists will be intensified in the coming days and the loss of lives of jawans will not go waste. Shah made the comment after attending a wreath-laying ceremony in Jagdalpur, two days after 22 security personnel were killed in an ambush by the Maoists in south Bastar’s Tarrem. One CRPF commando is still missing.Shah, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, and other dignitaries laid the wreath on the mortal remains of the security personnel. Later, Shah attended a security review meeting at Jagdalpur police lines with CM Baghel and senior officials. After the meeting Shah said, In the past five-six years many security camps have been opened in core areas of Maoists in Chattisgarh. This attack is a result of their desperation.
F) LG to shut its mobile phone business.
South Korea’s LG Electronics on Monday said the company is closing its mobile business unit after nearly six years of losses totalling $4.5 billion. The move makes it the first major smartphone brand to withdraw from the market. LG said the mobile phone business will wind down by July 31, although inventory of some existing models may still be available post that. LG’s strategic decision to exit the incredibly competitive mobile phone sector will enable the company to focus resources in growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services, the company said in a statement. LG will continue to leverage its mobile expertise and develop mobility-related technologies such as 6G to help further strengthen competitiveness in other business areas, it added. For existing mobile customers, LG will provide service support and software updates for a period of time, varying by region. The company noted that details related to the employment will be determined at the local level. LG’s exit would present an opportunity to Apple and Samsung to gain more customers, especially in the U.S. where LG’s market share was 9% in December 2020.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Japan expresses concerns to China on Hong Kong, Uighurs.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Tuesday expressed strong concerns to his Chinese counterpart about Chinese incursions into territorial waters, the situation in Hong Kong and the human rights situation of China’s Uighur minority. China’s extensive territorial claims in the East and South China Seas have become a priority issue in an increasingly testy Sino-U.S relationship and are a security concern for Japan. In a phone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Mr. Motegi expressed strong concern about China’s incursions into territorial waters, as well as the Hong Kong situation and human rights issues concerning the Uighur minority, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. He also strongly called for concrete action, the statement said. China claims a group of uninhabited Japan-controlled islets, called the Senakaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. The issue has plagued bilateral relations for years. The two also discussed a broad range of regional issues and agreed on the importance of international cooperation to solve the situation in Myanmar, where a coup has been followed by a brutal military crackdown on street protests.
B) Vietnam’s PM Phuc sworn in as President.
The man behind Vietnam’s successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, was formally sworn in as President in Hanoi on Monday. Mr. Phuc, 66, was Vietnam’s PM for the last five years, a period in which the economy boomed, and his government’s COVID-19 response won plaudits at home and abroad. Following secret voting on Monday, Mr. Phuc scored the maximum votes among the almost 500-member rubber-stamp national Assembly. This is his well-deserved award, said Nguyen Khac Giang, a Vietnamese politics expert. Vietnam is run by the Communist Party and offlcially led by the party general secretary, President, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, 62, a former deputy minister of public security , was sworn in as PM on Monday.
C) Philippines slams China over continued ‘incursion’.
Aides of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday criticised China for what they called territorial incursions by hundreds of its vessels, which his legal counsel warned could damage ties and lead to unwanted hostilities. Mr. Duterte’s lawyer Salvador Panelo called the prolonged presence of boats an unwelcome stain on relations that risked unwanted hostilities that both countries would rather not pursue. They can negotiate on matters of mutual concern and benefit, but make no mistake about it our sovereignty is non-negotiable, Mr. Panelo said. Mr. Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque echoed the view: They will not give up even a single inch of our national territory or our exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The comments from the presidential palace are unusually strong given Mr. Duterte’s reluctance to confront Beijing, which he has sought to befriend. Foreign Ministry also rejected China’s view that Whitsun Reef was a traditional fishing ground in its waters, and said it would send a diplomatic protest each day that China boats stayed there.
