NATIONAL NEWS
Modi announces repeal of three contentious farm laws Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Friday announced the repeal of three contentious farm laws, assuring farmer groups protesting against them for the past year that the legislative process for the repeal would be completed in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament. Modi also announced the formation of a committee with representatives from both Central and State Governments to look into issues related to agriculture, such as zero budget farming, fertilizers, change in crop patterns, transparency in establishing Minimum Support Prices and so on. Addressing the nation in a television broadcast, the Prime Minister said his government’s intentions in bringing in these laws was to provide alternatives to small farmers, who constituted 80% of farmers in India, for access to markets and good prices for their crops. I apologise to you, my countrymen, that despite my government’s good intentions, there may have been some lack in our Tapasya (penance) that we could not convince some of our farmer brothers of the intentions of these laws which were as pure as the light from a lamp, he said, while announcing the repeal. Earlier governments too had considered such measures and we consulted a range of stakeholders and experts before bringing in these laws. Many farmers were happy with the reforms and we are grateful to them. We could not explain to some farmers despite our efforts. Agricultural economists, scientists and progressive farmers also tried their best to make them understand the importance of agricultural laws, he noted. Even though this section was not a huge part of the larger category of farmers, it was important for us that we convince them. We tried engaging them in dialogue, we listened to their arguments and the logic that they put forward, we agreed to suspend the implementation of these laws for two years, and the matter has also been put before the Supreme Court. Particular sections of the laws that they objected to were also removed, but may be there was something lacking somewhere that we were not able to convince this section of farmers, said Modi, explaining the background to the decision taken by his government. On this auspicious day of Gurpurab [birth anniversary of Guru Nanak], I appeal to all farmers who are protesting to return home in good spirits, he said. The announcement of the repeal of the laws comes in the backdrop of Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, where the protests have had some traction.
Will continue agitation until the laws are actually repealed in Parliament, say farm unions
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to repeal the three contentious farm laws, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) announced the mobilisation of a large number of farmers to protest sites on November 26 to mark the first anniversary of anti-farm law agitation being intensified. Although they welcomed the announcement by Modi, farmers, however, said that they will continue their agitation until the government withdraws the three laws in the Parliament. The protest will not be withdrawn immediately, we will wait for the day when the farm laws are repealed in Parliament. Along with MSP, the government should talk to farmers on other issues too, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait tweeted in Hindi. A protesting farmer distributes sweets after hearing the announcement on repeal of three farm laws, at Ghazipur border, on November 19, 2021. Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary urged them to return home and not be adamant as the Centre has met their demand of repealing three farm laws. Various farmers unions have been protesting at the borders of the national capital since last year to demand repeal of three farm laws.
Withdrawal of farm laws impelled by fear of elections: Chidambaram
Calling the Centre’s decision to repeal the farm laws as a great victory for the farmers and the Congress, senior party leader P. Chidambaram on Friday took a dig at the government, saying the move was not inspired by a change of heart but impelled by fear of elections. His remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation on Friday morning, announced that the government has decided to repeal the three farm laws, which were at the centre of protests by farmers for the past year. What cannot be achieved by democratic protests can be achieved by the fear of impending elections! Chidambaram tweeted. The PM’s announcement on the withdrawal of the three farm laws is not inspired by a change of policy or a change of heart. It is impelled by fear of elections, the Congress leader charged in a series of tweets. Anyway, it is a great victory for the farmers and for the Congress party which was unwavering in its Opposition to the farm laws, Chidambaram said. In another tweet, Chidambaram said if there is fear of losing the next election, the prime minister will admit that demonetisation was a Himalayan blunder, admit that the GST laws were poorly drafted and implemented in a hostile manner, admit that Chinese troops have intruded into Indian territory and occupied our land, admit that the CAA is a patently discriminatory law, admit that the Rafale deal was dishonest and requires to be investigated, admit that the acquisition and use of Pegasus spyware were illegal. Many farmers had been protesting and were encamped at Delhi’s borders since November 2020 with a demand that the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee MSP for crops. The Centre, which has held 11 rounds of formal dialogue with the farmers, had maintained that the new laws are pro-farmer, while protesters claimed they would be left at the mercy of corporations because of the legislations.
Hyderpora incident: Bodies of two locals exhumed and handed over to families in Srinagar for burial
The Jammu and Kashmir administration, on Thursday night, handed over the bodies of two locals to their families for burial. Altaf Bhat and Dr. Mudasir Gul were among the four killed during an anti-militancy operation at Srinagar’s Hyderpora on Monday. The bodies were earlier exhumed around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday from the two graves located at a far-off hillock, Wadder Zachaldara, in north Kashmir’s Handwara in front of a local magistrate. Official sources said the bodies of Bhat, who owned the building where the incident took place, and Dr. Gul, who had rented accommodation in the building, were taken to the Police Control Room (PCR) in Srinagar from Handwara. The close relatives were also called to the PCR and the bodies were handed over to them for burial at their ancestral graveyards in Srinagar, officials said. Family sources of Bhat and Gul said the bodies would be buried before the sunrise at the Barzalla and Pirbagh graveyards. With relatives and locals waiting for the bodies to arrive, emotional scenes were witnessed at the two residences. Srinagar Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu, while confirming that the bodies were exhumed at Handwara earlier, said, This is the first step towards ensuring justice is done in this case. I also hope the magisterial probe is now changed into a judicial probe. However, the body of third slain local, Amir Magray, son of Abdul Latief Magray, who has won the bravery award for killing a militant with a stone, was not exhumed or handed over to the family yet. The return of two bodies is a step forward. But what about Aamir Magray of Ramban? His body ought to be returned as well, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) spokesperson Suhail Bukhari said. Earlier, Section 144, which bars assembly of more than five people, was imposed in three villages of Magray’s native place Ramban. The families of Magray, Bhat and Gul had contradicted the police statement that they were killed in exchange of firing during an encounter or had any links with the militants. They accused the security forces of staging the encounter and using the civilians as a human shield. The J&K administration has already ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Allahabad High Court urges Centre to speed up Uniform Civil Code
Stating that the Uniform Civil Code is a necessity and mandatorily required today, the Allahabad High Court has called upon the Central government to forthwith initiate the process for its implementation. The UCC cannot be made ‘purely voluntary’ as was observed by Dr. B.R Ambedkar 75 years back, in view of the apprehension and fear expressed by the members of the minority community, Justice Suneet Kumar said on November 18. The court directed the Centre to consider the constitution of a committee or commission for implementing the mandate of Article 44, as directed by the Supreme Court. A common civil code will help the cause of national integration by removing disparate loyalties to laws which have conflicting ideologies. No community is likely to bell the cat by making gratuitous concessions on this issue. It is the State which is charged with the duty of securing a uniform civil code for the citizens of the country and, unquestionably, it has the legislative competence to do so, the court observed. Justice Kumar made the observations while hearing a bunch of 17 petitions filed by inter-faith couples, who contracted marriage upon conversion, seeking protection of their life, liberty and privacy guaranteed under Article 21, to live independently as man and woman without the interference of the their family or others. The petitioners apprehended threat to their life and liberty at the hands of their parents, relatives and other family members in connivance of the State machinery. Noting that there has been a steep rise in inter-community, inter-caste and interfaith marriages and relationships, which has exploded specially in the last few decades, the court said that since 1950 the society has considerably evolved and the relationships, be it interfaith, inter culture, coupled with the rise in the number of single women requires a comprehensive Family Code which is in conformity with the changing times. Providing relief to the 17 inter-faith couples, the court also said the marriage registrar lacks the power to withhold the registration of marriage merely for the reason that the parties have not obtained the necessary approval of conversion from the district authority. The court noted that the new anti-conversion law in UP, which was brought by the Yogi Adityanath-led government last year, per se, does not prohibit interfaith marriage but the requirement of approval by the district authorities could make it tedious for such couples. Such an approval is directory and not mandatory. If interpreted otherwise, the Act (The Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021) would not satisfy the test of reasonableness and fairness, and would fail to pass the muster of Article 14 and Article 21, the court said. The HC, while allowing the petitions, observed that the consent of the family or the community or the clan or the State or executive is not necessary, once two adult individuals agree to enter into a wedlock which is lawful and legal. Their consent has to be piously given primacy, with grace and dignity. The Marriage Officer/Registrar cannot refuse to register a duly solemnized marriage, and/or, insist of a conversion approval of the district authority, the court said. Holding that Intimacies of marriage lie within a core zone of privacy, which is inviolable, Justice Kumar said, The absolute right of an individual to choose a life partner is not in the least affected by matters of faith.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Austria to enter lockdown, bring in mandatory vaccinations
Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said Friday that the country will go into a national lockdown to contain a fourth wave of coronavirus cases. Schallenberg said the lockdown will start Monday and initially last for 10 days. Most stores will close, and cultural events will be cancelled. He initially said all students would have to go back into home schooling. Wolfgang Mueckstein, the country’s health minister, later said that kindergartens and schools would remain open for those who needed to go there but all parents were asked to keep their children at home if possible. Starting on February 1, the country will also make vaccinations mandatory, public broadcaster ORF reported. We do not want a fifth wave, Schallenberg said, according to ORF. Nor do we want a sixth or seventh wave. Austria had initially introduced a national lockdown only for the unvaccinated that started Monday, but as virus cases continued to skyrocket, the government said it had no choice but to extend it to everyone. This is very painful, Schallenberg said. The national lockdown will initially last for 10 days, then the effects will be assessed and if virus cases have not gone down sufficiently, it can be extended to a maximum of 20 days. Austria’s intensive care doctors welcomed the government’s decision. The record infection figures that we have now experienced day after day will only be reflected in normal and intensive care units with a time lag. It really is high time for a full stop, Walter Hasibeder, the president of the Society for Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Intensive Care Medicine told Austrian news agency APA. Given the current infection developments, we believe there are no alternatives to even greater contact restriction than recently, so any measures that help curb the momentum are welcome, he added. For the past seven days, the country has reported more than 10,000 new infection cases daily. Hospitals have been overwhelmed with many new COVID-19 patients, and deaths have been rising again, too. So far, 11,525 people have died of the virus in Austria. Austria, a country of 8.9 million, has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Western Europe — only 65.7% of the population is fully vaccinated. Despite all the persuasion and campaigns, too few people have decided to get vaccinated, Schallenberg said, leaving the country no other choice but to introduce mandatory vaccinations in February. The chancellor said the details would be finalised in the coming weeks but those who continued to refuse to get vaccinated would have to expect to get fined. For a long time, the consensus in this country was that we didn’t want mandatory vaccination, Schallenberg said. For a long time, perhaps too long.
Kamala Harris becomes first woman to get US presidential powers
US Vice-President Kamala Harris on November 19, 2021, became the first female acting President of the United States for one hour and 25 minutes when US President Joe Biden temporarily transferred power to Harris while he went under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy. With this development, 57-years-old Kamala Harris is now the first woman ever who held presidential powers in the 250-years-old history of the US. Kamala Harris is the first woman, first African-American and first Asian-American, first Indian-American who holds the second-most powerful position in the US. Harris was elected US Vice-President on November 7, 2020, after Joe Biden was declared the President of the United States in the US Presidential Elections 2020. US President Joe Biden, 79-years-old, on November 19, 2021, underwent his first routine annual physical checkup at Walter Reed Medical Center since taking the office. Following this, it is a protocol for a Vice-President to assume Presidential powers while the President undergoes a medical procedure that requires sedation or anesthesia.
