CURRENT AFFAIRS
13 March 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Govt staff should not be appointed as Election Commissioners, says Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on Friday held that independent persons, and not government employees, should be appointed Election Commissioners. A Bench led by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman, in a judgment, said giving government employees additional charge as Election Commissioners was a mockery of the Constitution. The Bench held that people holding public office could not be appointed Election Commissioners and directed States to comply with the constitutional scheme of independent and fair functioning of election commissions. It said the independence of the panels could not be compromised. The court said it was disturbing to see government employees manning election commissions as an add-on job. The judgment came on an appeal against an order of the Bombay High Court, which had set aside the election notification issued by the Goa State Election Commission in the municipalities of Margao, Mapusa, Mormugao, Sanguem and Quepem.
B) Quad is a force for global good, says PM Modi.
We are united by our democratic values and our commitment to a free open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the first Quad summit on March 12. Our agenda today, covering areas like vaccines, climate change and emerging technologies, makes Quad a force for global good, he said, adding that the Quad will be a pillar of stability in the region. Invoking the Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the Prime Minister said that he see this positive vision as extension of India’s Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam philosophy, which regards the world as one family. In his remarks, U.S. President Joe Biden announced the launch of a partnership to boost vaccine manufacturing. The Quad is going to be a vital arena for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, he said. Biden also described Quad as a new mechanism to enhance cooperation and raise mutual ambition as they address accelerating climate change. We know our commitments. Our region is governed by international law, committed to all the universal values and free from coercion but I am optimistic about our prospect, he said, in an apparent reference to China which is flexing its muscles in the region. The Quad is going to be a vital arena of cooperation in the Indo Pacific and he look forward to working closely with all of you in the coming years, Biden told Quad leaders. Known as the ‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue,’ representatives for the four member nations have met periodically since its establishment in 2007. The four countries plan to establish a series of working groups that will focus on climate change; critical and emerging technologies, including working to set technology standards and norms; and jointly developing some of the critical technologies of the future, officials said.
C) Trinamool submits memorandum to ECI on Nandigram Mamata incident.
A six-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the alleged attack on party president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The memorandum quoted various comments made by BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the run-up to the Wednesday incident in Nandigram. Calling it a deep-rooted conspiracy, it alleged that the attack was premeditated. The party demanded an immediate, thorough and unbiased investigation into the incident. To underline their claim that the alleged attack was pre-planned, the party, in the memorandum, listed eight instances. Among them it said that two days before the incident, on March 8, as per the TMC, BJP State president Dilip Ghosh put up a caricature of Banerjee, depicting she would be hit at Nandigram. The removal of the State Director General of Police was also a part of this conspiracy, it claimed. On March 9, a day before the incident, without consulting the State government, it said, the DGP was removed by the ECI. Importantly, the memorandum cited a speech of Modi as evidence. The memorandum also quoted a conversation between BJP MP Saumitra Khan and Minister of State Babul Supriyo on Twitter to support their theory. On the very day of the incident, the TMC said, the BJP complained against the police personnel responsible for Banerjee’s security. By 6.30 p.m. that day, it claimed, the Superintendent of Police and the local police were suspiciously absent when the attack took place. It also alleged that eye-witnesses were planted. There is a clear nexus between the post by Dilip Ghosh on Facebook, multiple complaints by BJP seeking removal of DGP, the unilateral decision of the ECI to remove the erstwhile DGP, the plan revealed by Saumitra Khan on Twitter, and the BJP’s request to suspend security personnel of Banerjee, the memorandum said. After the meeting with the ECI, Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’ Brien, Lok Sabha members Saugata Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mandal and Satabdi Roy, and Rajya Sabha member Santanu Sen, speaking to reporters, said the ECI’s credibility was at stake. Dastidar said the public perception in West Bengal was that the ECI was not a neutral body. Roy said, It is not for us to repose faith in the Commission, it is for them to at least appear fair in the eyes of the general public.
D) SC seeks govt’s response on plea against Places of Worship Act.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the government to respond to a plea challenging a special law enacted in 1991 by the Congress government, which freezes the status of places of worship as it was on August 15, 1947. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde issued notice to the Union Ministries of Home, Law and Culture on a plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay against various provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991. Upadhyay said the arbitrary, irrational and retrospective cut-off date bars Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs from approaching courts to re-claim their places of worship which were invaded and encroached upon by fundamentalist barbaric invaders. The Act declared that the character of places of worship-pilgrimage shall be maintained as it was on August 15, 1947 and no suit or proceeding shall lie in court in respect of disputes against encroachment done by fundamentalist barbaric invaders and law breakers and such proceeding shall stand abated, the petition said. The petition said Sections of the Act that dealt with the bar on legal claims were against the principles of secularism. Section 2, 3, 4 not only offend right to pray, practice and propagate religion (Article 25), right to manage maintain administer places of worship-pilgrimage (Article 26), right to conserve culture (Article 29) but are also contrary to State’s duty to protect historic places (Article 49) and preserve religious cultural heritage (Article 51A), the petition said.
E) DMK releases list of candidates.
The DMK on Friday retained most former Ministers and MLAs in its list of 173 candidates for the Assembly election, while fielding party president M. K. Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency in Chennai. In all, 187 candidates will contest on the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol. DMK president M.K. Stalin, who released the candidates’ list, said it was a list of victors. He said the DMK alliance was not a political alliance or created just for the purpose of the election: It is an alliance of principle, he said. DMK president M.K. Stalin announces the list of candidates on Friday, for the TN Assembly Election DMK president M.K. Stalin announces the list of candidates on Friday, for the TN Assembly Election. Stalin will contest from the Kolathur constituency. Candidates of MDMK, Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi, Tamilaga Vazhurimai Katchi, Forward Bloc, Makkal Viduthalai Katchi and one candidate of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi will contest with the ‘Rising Sun’ symbol.
F) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 1,13,31,416 with the death toll at 1,59,839. Novavax Inc’s coronavirus vaccine was 96% effective in preventing cases caused by the original version of the coronavirus in a late-stage trial conducted in the United Kingdom, the company said on Thursday, moving it a step closer to regulatory approval. There were no cases of severe illness or deaths among those who got the vaccine. The vaccine was also about 86% effective in protecting against the more contagious virus variant first discovered and now prevalent in the U.K. It was about 90% effective overall, combining data from people infected with both versions of the coronavirus. Novavax has a licensing agreement with the Serum Institute of India for commercialisation of its vaccine.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Premadasa slams invite to Myanmar junta’s Minister.
Sri Lanka’s Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa vehemently condemned the Rajapaksa administration’s invitation to the Myanmar junta’s Foreign Minister, for a virtual meet of regional body BIMSTEC early April. The invitation basically legitimised the military takeover, Mr. Premadasa said, describing the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena’s move as distasteful and dastardly. In a letter sent earlier this month, Mr. Gunawardena invited the junta-appointed Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin for a ministerial meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation that Sri Lanka now chairs. Amid mounting criticism from hundreds of social media users and pro-democracy activists from Myanmar, Colombo sought to justify its invitation, saying it was extended to all members, and limited to the BIMSTEC meet. The government is yet to decide on its stance on the military power grab in Myanmar, Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Jayanath Colombage earlier told this. Urging the Foreign Minister to withdraw his invitation, and apologise to the people of Myanmar, Mr. Premadasa told media persons on Thursday that the Foreign Minister had the audacity to invite an illegally appointed Minister, despite Aung San Suu Kyi’s party securing a resounding win in the last elections. Her party, Mr. Premadasa said, came to power by the ballot and not the bullet, adding: But today bullets are being used by the military administration on the people of merely for attempting to restore democracy. Meanwhile, former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party has called on the government to impress upon the Myanmar delegation, scheduled to participate in the meet, to revert to the democratically elected President, State Counsellor and Parliament.
B) WHO says no reason to stop using AstraZeneca vaccine.
The World Health Organization said on Friday there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after several countries suspended the rollout over blood clot fears. The WHO, which said its vaccines advisory committee was examining the safety data coming in, stressed that no causal link had been established between the vaccine and clotting. The UN agency also said that after the injection of more than 260 million vaccine doses so far around the world, no deaths had yet been attributed to a COVID-19 jab. Denmark, Norway and Iceland paused the use of the AstraZeneca jab as a precaution after isolated reports of recipients developing blood clots. Italy and Austria have banned the use of shots from separate batches of AstraZeneca, and Thailand and Bulgaria said they would delay the rollout of the shot. A range of health authorities around the world have insisted the jab is safe, including the European Medicines Agency and the WHO. AstraZeneca is an excellent vaccine, as are the other vaccines that are being used, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva. Yes, we should continue using the AstraZeneca vaccine, she added, stressing though that any concerns over safety must be investigated. We must always ensure that we look for any safety signals when we roll out vaccines, and we must review them, she said. But there is no indication to not use it.
