CURRENT AFFAIRS
19 September 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Media cannot make a religious minority community target of its attacks: Supreme Court.
A message needs to go out to the media that it cannot make a religious minority the target of its attacks, the Supreme Court said on 18 September. The dignity of a community is as important as journalistic freedom. They want a cohesive nation. They, as citizens and judges, are concerned about national security but they are also equally concerned about protecting human dignity. They, as a court, know what happened in the Emergency. So, they want a free flow of ideas. But they are also equally conscious about the right to dignity of a community. This was observed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, while heading a 3 judge Bench, on hearing a plea for a pre-telecast ban on a program partially aired on Sudarshan TV on UPSC Jihad. The show, anchored by the editor-in-chief of the channel Suresh Chavhanke, claims that members of the Muslim community are attempting to infiltrate the civil services. Describing media regulatory bodies such as the News Broadcasters Association as toothless, the court asked them, as well as the government, to suggest measures that could strengthen media self-regulation. The court added that it would not have stepped in and ordered an injunction on the Sudarshan TV show recently had there been a strong self-regulatory mechanism.
B) People being misled over farm bills: PM.
On 18 September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that some people in the country were trying to mislead farmers over reforms introduced by his government in the agricultural sector. He said that misinformation is being spread in the country today by some people that farmers will not be getting the right prices for their produce. But the government is committed to helping farmers get fair prices, now they can sell their products anywhere in the country without any restrictions. He said this while inaugurating a railway project in Bihar. While referring to the new farm Bills, Modi further said that the farmers of the country will get freedom from brokers and they will get more options and opportunities to sell their produce. These Bills have come as a Raksha Kawachi [protective shield] for them. But some people are spreading different kinds of misinformation about farm Bills. They are protesting for the sake of protest. On 17 September, the Lok Sabha passed two Bills: The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. On 15 September, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and the party’s lone representative in the Union Cabinet Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned yesterday over these Bills pushed by the government.
C) SAD to take a call on staying a part of NDA.
The SAD will be holding a video consultation with its leaders on 18 September to decide on whether to continue in the NDA alliance. A SAD leader and former minister in the SAD-BJP government in Punjab, however, told that the consultation would not be the decisive factor and that feedback from our people in Punjab would need to be taken, possibly once the Parliament session is over. Rajya Sabha MP from the party Naresh Gujral said the decision was yet to be taken but that the party is mindful of the fact that our Army is eyeball to eyeball with China on the northern and eastern borders and that Pakistan has been trying to foment trouble for India in Punjab. They are mindful of the need to stand together and not undermine the government as it faces these challenges. The SAD-BJP alliance has been one of the oldest and most durable in the NDA. The 3 farm Bills have hit the SAD in its rural base, which is unsettled over what the legislation could mean to their incomes. Political analysts are of the view that the SAD’s decision to quit the Union government may be a last-ditch effort to save its core farmer vote bank.
D) Don’t cross borders while criticizing judiciary, Madras High Court Chief Justice advises individuals.
Individuals should express themselves without crossing the border of just and fair criticism. Likewise, it is not the job of a constitutional court to use a sledgehammer for something which may not even amount to contempt, the Madras High Court observed. Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the observations after accepting the opinion of Advocate General Vijay Narayan that there was no necessity to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against actor Suriya. Justice S.M. Subramaniam of the High Court had written to the Chief Justice by taking exception to the actor’s statements against the judiciary. The actor, involved in educating poor students through his Agaram Foundation, was critical of the judiciary’s refusal to cancel the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions in view of the pandemic. He had said that the court, which was functioning virtually because it feared threat to life, was expecting students to physically go out and write examinations without any fear of Covid-19.
E) Army finds prima facie evidence of AFSPA violations in the Shopian encounter.
The Army has found prima facie evidence that its troops violated powers under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) during an encounter in Kashmir’s Shopian district in which 3 men were killed in July this year, by adding that disciplinary proceedings have been initiated. On July 18, the Army had claimed that three militants were killed in Amshipura village in the higher reaches of south Kashmir’s Shopian district. The Rajya Sabha on 18 September passed the Salary, Allowances, and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020. Opposition parties attacked the government saying that it was using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to curtail MPs’ salaries while it seemed to have enough funds for seeming extravagances, including over ₹20,000 crores for revamping the Central Vista and erecting a new Parliament building.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Google pulls Paytm from Play Store, restores it after a few hours.
On 18 September, Google restored the listing of Paytm on its application store, a few hours after it had pulled down the popular financial services platform for violating its policies related to gambling. In a blogpost, Paytm said that it had recently introduced the ‘Paytm Cricket League’ on its consumer app, where users receive player stickers after each transaction, collect them, and receive Paytm Cashback, and it was because of this feature that Google had removed the application from Play Store. While assuring users that their account balance was safe, Paytm, which competes with Google’s digital payments application GPay in India, said all activities on Paytm are completely lawful. It added, however, that it had temporarily removed the cashback component to meet the Play Store policy rules. It is a violation of their policies. Earlier on 18 September, Google removed the Paytm app from its Play Store. After the app was restored, Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma tweeted: Thanks everyone for their support! Paytm App is back, live in Play Store. They have launched a UPI CashBack campaign this morning. Their app got suspended by Google for this.
B) Trump will not attend the UN General Assembly in person.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump will not attend the UN General Assembly gathering in person next week. His chief of staff told the journalists that aboard Air Force. This decision marks an about-face for Mr. Trump, who last month said that he wanted to deliver his speech in the General Assembly hall in New York, even if other world leaders are staying away due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Chief of White House, Staff Mark Meadows had ended the debate once and for all by telling reporters a route to Wisconsin, where Mr. Trump was to hold a campaign rally, that he would not physically attend the General Assembly’s 75th session, which will take place mainly by videoconference due to the health crisis. The main part of this year’s UNGA, when world leaders take turns to give speeches, runs through the week starting September 21 and ends on September 29. In opening remarks on 15 September, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has emphasized this year’s focus on the global response to the coronavirus pandemic plus peace and security, disarmament, human rights, gender equality, and sustainable development.
