NATIONAL NEWS
Ten dead, several buried under debris after major landslide in Himachal’s Kinnaur
Ten people were killed, 13 rescued and several others feared buried under debris after a landslide trapped a bus and other vehicles in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, PTI quoted officials as saying. Ten bodies have been recovered so far, while 13 injured have been pulled out of the rubble, Deputy Commissioner, Kinnaur, Abid Hussain Sadiq said. He said the rescue operation is underway to locate several other persons trapped under the debris. Earlier, a police officer in Bhawanagar said around 25 to 30 were trapped under the rubble. The landslide and shooting of stones occurred at Chaura village on national highway number five in Nigulsari of Nichar tehsil in Kinnaur district at around noon, State Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said.
Union Health Minister Mandaviya counters Sisodia, shares communication sent to Delhi govt on oxygen shortage deaths
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on August 11 questioned the Delhi government’s claim of not having received any letter from the Centre inquiring about deaths due to oxygen shortage during the second Covid-19 wave and tweeted the communication sent by his Ministry on July 26 in this regard. Sharing a snapshot of the mail sent to the Delhi government on Twitter and addressing Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Mandaviya said it is not too late and he can send the data by August 13 so that the Health Ministry can reply to Parliament on the issue. Here is the copy of the mail sent by my ministry to the Delhi government on 26th July. It’s not too late yet! By August 13 you can send the data so that we can answer the question in Parliament. After reviewing with your officers, please send the necessary data as soon as possible, Mandaviya tweeted. Sisodia had on August 10 alleged that the city government had not received any letter from the Centre inquiring about deaths due to oxygen shortage during the second Covid-19 wave. The Delhi Minister, however, said they have decided to share all the details with the Central government. I read in newspaper reports that the Centre is saying that it has asked State governments to share the number of oxygen-related deaths. The Delhi government has not received any letter on oxygen-related deaths. When you [Centre] have not written any letter, how can you say that States are not informing you? We had formed an inquiry committee but you did not allow it [probe] to happen through the Delhi L-G, he had said. The Central government at a press briefing on August 10 said only one State has till now reported suspected deaths due to oxygen shortage during the second wave of Covid-19 after the Centre sought the data from them on such fatalities following the raising of the issue in Parliament. When the question was raised in Parliament, States were specifically asked this question and as per reports received, only one State mentioned suspected deaths and no State has so far said that there were deaths because of oxygen shortage, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal had said while replying to a query. Last month, opposition parties had hit out at the government for informing the Parliament that no deaths due to oxygen shortage have been specifically reported by States and Union Territories during the second Covid-19 wave. The Centre recently had sought from States and Union Territories data on deaths in connection with oxygen shortage during the second of Covid-19 earlier this year and the information was to be collated and presented in Parliament before the Monsoon session ends, official sources had said. According to the sources, 13 States and UTs, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab have responded to the query by August 10. They said only Punjab has reported four suspected deaths due to oxygen shortage.
Communal slogans at Jantar Mantar: Delhi court grants bail to former BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay
A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to former BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay, arrested in connection with the communal slogans allegedly raised during a protest at the Jantar Mantar here. Metropolitan Magistrate Udbhav Kumar Jain granted relief to Upadhyay, who is an advocate, on a bond of ₹50,000. The accused was sent to judicial custody yesterday by a court here, considering that his bail application was pending. A video showing anti-Muslim slogans being raised during a protest at Jantar Mantar here was widely circulated on social media, following which Delhi Police registered a case in connection with the matter on Monday. Hundreds of people had attended the protest organised by ‘Bharat Jodo Aandolan’ at Jantar Mantar on Sunday. Shipra Srivastava, media in-charge of Bharat Jodo Aandolan, had said the protest was held under the leadership of Upadhyay. However, she denied any links to those who raised anti-Muslim slogans. Upadhyay too denied any involvement in the anti-Muslim slogan-shouting incident. The video shows a group of people shouting inflammatory slogans and threatening Muslims during the protest at Jantar Mantar.
Removed offending tweet by Rahul Gandhi and locked his account, Twitter tells Delhi High Court
Microblogging site Twitter today on Wednesday, Augut 11, 2021, informed the Delhi High Court that it has removed an offending tweet posted by Congres leader Rahul Gandhi sharing a picture of himself with the parents of a nine-year-old alleged rape and murder victim in the capital. Twitter further said the account of Gandhi has also been locked as his August 5 tweet was in breach of its policy. Following Twitter’s submission, a bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh posted the hearing on the petition seeking initiation of legal action against Gandhi for September 27. During the brief hearing, the bench got miffed at the advocate, appearing for the petitioner Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar, who disputed the submission made by Twitter’s counsel before the court. The counsel for respondent number 4 (Twitter) says they have removed (the tweet) even without order from the court. There is no reason to disbelieve it. If this is your attitude, we are not issuing notice. We will see on next date, the bench remarked. Senior advocate Sajan Poovayya, representing Twitter, said, We have locked that account and the tweet is no longer available. It violates our policy as well. This is the status as on date. In his petition, Mhadlekar, who claims to be a social activist, claimed that Gandhi posted a photo of himself with the victim’s family members on Twitter on August 5. This, the plea said, was in violation of Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and Section 23(2) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) 2012, both of which mandate that the identity of a child victim of a crime shall not be disclosed. A violation of section 74 of the JJ Act is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or fine of ₹2 lakh or both. A violation of section 23(2) of the POCSO Act is punishable with imprisonment for a period of minimum six months and maximum one year.
Parliament passes bill for privatisation of state-run general insurance companies
A bill to allow privatisation of state-run general insurance companies received parliamentary assent on Wednesday after the Rajya Sabha passed it with a voice vote amid vociferous protest and tearing of papers by opposition parties, PTI reported. The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021, was passed by a voice vote in the din in a matter of minutes, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman not replying to brief points raised by MPs. Opposition parties from the TMC and the DMK to the Left parties opposed the bill and wanted it to be referred to a select committee but the motion was rejected by a voice vote, leading to slogan-shouting by opposition members who stormed into the Well, tore papers and moved dangerously close to the presiding officer’s chair. Rajya Sabha personnel were deployed around the presiding officer and the house table to prevent a repeat of Tuesday’s ugly scenes when some MPs had climbed on the table. The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021, was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 2.
Supreme Court wants vacancies in consumer dispute bodies filled up in 8 weeks
The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave the Centre and the States eight weeks to fill up the vacancies in the consumer disputes redressal commissions. Is there some ‘muhurrat’ required for taking steps? States are defeating the purpose for which the consumer protection laws have been made… they have been made for the benefit of people, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, heading a Bench, also comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy, said. The Bench asked the Centre to conduct a comprehensive legislative impact study on the Consumer Protection Act of 2019. We want to know the impact of this legislation on litigation, Justice Kaul said. The court gave the government four weeks to complete the study. When the government complained about the paucity of time, Justice Kaul said, You make legislations instantly. You rush through so many things, you can rush through this too. The court asked if the governments, both at the Centre and in the States, had deliberately kept the vacancies pending to dissuade people from filing complaints. You don’t want complaints to be processed, for citizens to get justice? There is no manpower, there is no infrastructure. People get fed up. You say ‘we will get this thing done’ or ‘we will get that thing done’, and then nothing happens. You seem to have only vacancies and not appointments, Justice Kaul slammed the governments. The legislative intent behind the Consumer Protection Act was to empower ordinary citizens, he noted. However, the ground reality is different. There is little attempt made to translate the legislative intent to administrative infrastructure, facilities, staff, Members in order for the functioning of the consumer disputes commissions, the Bench stated. The Centre had dilly-dallied over the appointments of Members in the National Commission.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Biden to host democracy summit in Dec.
In line with his campaign message on foreign policy, U.S. President Joe Biden will host a ‘Summit for Democracy’, virtually, on December 9-10, around three themes: defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights. The summit will gather together heads of state, civil society, philanthropy, and the private sector, the White House announced on Wednesday. A second summit, this time in-person, will follow about a year later, the White House said. In his first six months in office, the President has reinvigorated democracy at home, vaccinating 70% of population, passing the American Rescue plan, and advancing bipartisan legislation to invest in our infrastructure and competitiveness, it said. The Summit is seen as one way to counter growing Chinese influence. In his March 2021 ‘Interim National Security Strategic Guidance’ to agencies and departments, Mr Biden had written: I believe we are in the midst of an historic and fundamental debate about the future direction of our world. There are those who argue that, given all the challenges we face, autocracy is the best way forward. And there are those who understand that democracy is essential to meeting all the challenges of our changing world. Wednesday’s announcement suggested that there would be country-wise commitments made at the first summit. Following a year of consultation, coordination, and action, President Biden will then invite world leaders to gather once more to showcase progress made against their commitments ., it said.
Senate passes massive infrastructure Bill.
U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the Senate passage on Tuesday of a historic $1.2 trillion infrastructure package,celebrating a major bipartisan win on a plan he vowed would transform America. By funding work on roads, bridges and ports, as well as clean water and high-speed internet, Mr. Biden said the Bill – which still needs House approval – would create thousands of highpaying jobs for people without college degrees. This historic investment infrastructure is what I believe you, the American people, want, he said in a White House address. This Bill shows that we can work together, he added. Some seven weeks after the Democratic leader stood with senators from both parties hailing a preliminary agreement, the bill received rare bipartisan support in Washington’s highly-polarized political atmosphere. Needing just a simple majority, it passed by 69 votes to 30 with backing from a third of Republican Senators. The measure now faces a make-or-break vote in the House of Representatives in coming weeks, where its future is less certain as division shave sprung up in the Democratic majority. Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer credited Mr. Biden for winning approval of the first major infrastructure package in over a decade on a bipartisan basis after just seven months in office. It’s been a long and winding road, but we have persisted, Mr. Schumer said. The ambitious plan provides for $550 billion in new federal spending on transport infrastructure, but also for public transit, broadband internet, and clean water, as well as electric charging stations and other measures to fight climate change. The total price tag relies on other public funds that have already been appropriated. In a deeply divided Washington, the Bill’s final approval would mark a resounding victory for Mr. Biden, a former senator who touts his ability to reach across the aisle. In a sign of the continued influence wielded by former president Donald Trump, three Republican senators who participated in the negotiations announced they would not support the plan after Mr. Trump threatened reprisals for helping to hand Mr. Biden a political win.
