CURRENT AFFAIRS
18 September 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Delhi riots: Opposition leaders meet President, demand independent probe into police role.
On 17 September, opposition leaders met President Ram Nath Kovind and demanded an independent probe by a commission headed by a retired or sitting judge into the role of the Delhi police in the February riots and the ongoing probe into the incident. The Delhi police have set up special investigation teams, and its Special Cell has been probing the aspect of conspiracy behind the riots, in which 53 people lost their lives. In a memorandum, the leaders voiced concern over the probe being conducted by the police. The memorandum said the investigation by the police did not inspire confidence as there were serious questions about its “impartiality”. It criticized the police for the reference made to CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in a supplementary charge sheet, citing disclosure statements made by the accused. This is a disturbing trend that raises serious questions over the manner of such investigations. Congress Treasurer and MP Ahmed Patel, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D. Raja, DMK leader and MP Kanimozhi and RJD leader and MP Manoj K Jha were part of the delegation that met the President.
B) Chidamabaram wonders if there are two governments or one.
Pointing out divergent statements from different functionaries, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram posted a series of tweets taking a dig at the Centre and wondering if there were 2 governments or one under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian, at a recent press conference, had claimed the economy had reported a V-shaped recovery, while RBI Governor Shaktikant Das on 16 September said that the country would see a gradual recovery. Chidambaram said that RBI Governor squashes hopes of a V-shaped recovery and says recovery will be prolonged and gradual. Sharing the same page with him is the CEA, the author of the V-shaped recovery theory that he sells in every interview. On the ongoing tension between India and China too, different ministers have said different things about the situation in Ladakh. Chidambaram pointed out that Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai had said that there had been no infiltration along India-China border in the last 6 months. The Defence Minister and External Affairs Minister, meanwhile, in statements made on various platforms, have warned China to vacate its illegal occupations for peace and tranquillity to return on the border. Makes you wonder whether we have two governments or one under PM Modi.
C) Protests erupt again in Kerala over gold smuggling.
Anti-government protests continued to buffet Kerala for the sixth consecutive day on 17 September. The presence of Higher Education Minister K. T. Jaleel at the office of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for questioning in connection with the gold smuggling case appeared to have catalyzed the protests led by Congress and BJP workers. Police removing activists of BJP who staged a march to the office of National Investigation Agency in Kochi on 17 September demanding the resignation of KT Jaleel, Minister for Higher Education. Police removing activists of BJP who staged a march to the office of National Investigation Agency in Kochi on 17 September demanding the resignation of KT Jaleel, Minister for Higher Education. Protestors broke Covid-19 protocols and grappled with the police in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur, resulting in injuries on both sides. In Palakkad, police used pressurized water jets and swung batons to disperse Congress workers. Several persons, including an MLA, were injured in the melee. Overlapping investigations by Central agencies into the smuggling of gold via air freight addressed to foreign officials at the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram has become a major flashpoint in the politics of state and opened a Pandora’s box of allegations against the office of Chief Minister, ministers and kin of ruling party politicians.
D) Mp. Harsimrat Kaur resigned from the cabinet of PM.
Union Minister for Food Processing and Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet today as her party faced massive protests in Punjab over its support to ally BJP’s agri-sector Bills. She had resigned from Union Cabinet in protest against anti-farmer ordinances and legislation. On 17 September, senior advocate Anup Chaudhuri, for petitioner Firoz Iqbal Khan, urged the court to initiate contempt proceedings against Suresh Chavhanke, Sudarshan TV’s editor-in-chief and anchor of the show ‘Bindas Bol’, for his tweets following a court order staying the broadcast of the show. Mr. Chaudhuri has said something, we will ignore responded Justice D.Y. Chandrachud responded. It was only recently that the court had convicted civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan of contempt over a couple of tweets.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) No power on earth can stop Indian soldiers from patrolling: Rajnath
No power on earth can stop Indian soldiers from patrolling along the normal routes, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asserted in the Rajya Sabha on 17 September in response to questions over reports that Chinese troops were blocking the Indian Army patrols along the disputed boundary in eastern Ladakh. Patrolling patterns are traditional and well-defined. No force on earth can stop our soldiers from patrolling and our soldiers have sacrificed their lives for that. There will be no change in the patrolling pattern, he said to a question from former Defence Minister A.K. Antony. Face-offs happened because patrols were interrupted. Starting a war is within one’s reach, but its outcome cannot be predicted. India has always sent out a message of peace. However, it is amazing that efforts are being made to disturb that peace. Briefing the Rajya Sabha on the situation along the Line of Actual Control, Singh said China continues to be in illegal occupation of land along the eastern border. Blaming China for the situation in Ladakh, he said it was the Chinese Army that provoked the Indian Army. With China having upped its infrastructure along the border, we have also ramped up our infrastructure, he said and lauded ITBP for its role in protecting the border.
B) Committee to look into ‘monitoring’ of Indians by a Chinese company.
In a letter to Congress leader K.C. Venugopal on 17 September, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the government had constituted an expert committee to look into allegations that a Chinese company monitored online activity and data of thousands of Indians, including politicians, bureaucrats and journalists. The letter included details of the committee under the National Cyber Security Coordinator to investigate any illegalities in the surveillance carried out, reportedly by Shenzhen-based Zhenhua Data Information Technology Company. Zhenhua reportedly built a database of dossiers on about 2.4 million people worldwide. The government also said that they had asked Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong to explain the activities of the company but that he had said the Chinese government had nothing to do with Zhenhua, calling it a private company. Venugopal, who had questioned the government in the Rajya Sabha about its response to the allegations about Zhenhua’s activities, confirmed receiving the letter. Replying to my zero-hour intervention on Chinese surveillance, EAM Dr Jaishankar informed us that the government has taken the matter seriously and constituted an expert committee to assess this within 30 days. We expect quick action on this. In Beijing, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) sought to defend Zhenhua’s activities. Instead of collecting data, it only mobilises data which is open and available online. I would like to stress that as a staunch defender of cybersecurity, China opposes and fights all cybercrimes.
