NATIONAL NEWS
A) Concerned by ‘intimidation tactics’ and threat to free speech of its users, says Twitter.
Micro-blogging platform Twitter on May 27 said it planned to advocate changes in core elements of India’s new IT Rules that inhibit free and open public conversation, while also expressing concern over intimidation tactics used by the Delhi Police against it recently in the ‘Congress toolkit’ case. A spokesperson said that Twitter was at present concerned by recent events regarding its employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression for its users. Twitter India suspends account impersonating CJI N V Ramana. We, alongside many in civil society in India and around the world, have concerns with regards to the use of intimidation tactics by the police in response to enforcement of our global Terms of Service, as well as with core elements of the new IT Rules, the company spokesperson added. According to Twitter, it is particularly concerned about the requirement to make an individual (the compliance officer) criminally liable for content on the platform, the requirements for proactive monitoring, and the blanket authority to seek information about its customers. It believes this represents dangerous overreach that is inconsistent with open and democratic principles. The company has also said that the Ministry of Electronic and IT should publish the Standard Operating Protocols on procedural aspects of compliance for public consultation. We also would like to reaffirm that Twitter continues to accept grievances from users and law enforcement via our existing grievance redressal channel available here under the new Rules, it said. As per Twitter, it was recently served with a non-compliance notice and has withheld a portion of the content identified in the blocking order under its ‘Country Withheld Content’ policy. Twitter maintains that the escalated content constitutes legitimate free speech. However, it has been compelled to withhold in response to a non-compliance notice due to the law’s limited scope under Section 69A, which gives limited room to an intermediary to defend the content. Not doing so poses penal consequences with many risks for Twitter employees.
B) Twitter not cooperating, says Delhi police.
Responding to Twitter’s statement, the Delhi Police on Thursday said the micro-blogging website is neither police nor judiciary and that it was refusing to cooperate with the law enforcement agency. Twitter Inc. is purporting to be both an investigating authority as well as an adjudicating judicial authority. It has no legal sanction to be either. The only legal entity, so empowered by the duly laid down law, to investigate is the police and to adjudicate is the Courts, Delhi Police spokesperson said. Terming the statement issued by Twitter mendacious, the police said Twitter was trying to adjudicate the truth. The Delhi Police said the website claims to have material information basis which it not only ‘investigated’ but arrived at a ‘conclusion’ and it must share that information with the law enforcement agency. There should not be any confusion about this logical course, the spokesperson said. The Delhi Police called Twitter’s conduct obfuscatory, diversionary and tendentious, adding that there is one simple thing to do which Twitter refuses to do. That is, cooperate with the law enforcement and reveal to the legal authority the information it has. According to police, they have registered a preliminary inquiry based on a complaint by the representative of the Indian National Congress. Hence, the efforts by Twitter Inc. that portray that this as an FIR filed at the behest of the Government of India is wholly and completely incorrect, the statement read.
C) States responsible for vaccine shortfall, claims govt release, but is silent on delay in vaccine procurement.
India’s top Covid-19 adviser Dr. V.K. Paul has said the States had coerced the Centre into expanding the availability of vaccines despite being aware of being inadequately prepared. The Centre has been facing heavy flak lately for falling vaccination rates primarily caused by vaccine shortage when the need of the hour is rapid vaccination of the populations at risk. Dr. Paul, Chairman, National Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration, in a press statement Thursday said that vaccine supply, which was managed by the Centre from January-April, was well administered but wasn’t upto the mark in May. The Centre did all the heavy-lifting, which included funding vaccine manufacturers, accelerating approvals, ramping up production and bringing foreign vaccines to India. The vaccine procured by the Centre is supplied wholly to the States for free administration to people. All this is very much in the knowledge of the States. The Government of India has merely enabled the States to try procuring vaccines on their own, on their explicit requests. The States very well knew the production capacity in the country and what the difficulties are in procuring vaccines directly from abroad, said his note, which was released by the PIB (Press Information Bureau)in the form of a ‘Myths Vs Facts’ questionnaire. States, who had not even achieved good coverage of healthcare workers and frontline workers in three months wanted to open up the process of vaccination and wanted more decentralisation. Health is a state subject and the liberalised vaccine policy was a result of the incessant requests being made by the States to give states more power. The fact that global tenders have not given any results only reaffirm what we have been telling the States from day one: that vaccines are in short supply in the world and it is not easy to procure them at short notice, the note said. The note, however, had no answer to the question, raised by many critics of its vaccination policy, as to why it delayed placing vaccine orders till January 2021, when so many other countries had placed procurement orders by mid-2020 itself. Also, there was no response as to why no foreign vaccines were given emergency use authorization in India until well into 2021.
D) Withdraw new rules in Lakshadweep, Rahul urges PM.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to intervene and withdraw the new orders and regulations introduced by Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Khoda Patel. In the letter, written on Wednesday and released by the Congress on Thursday, Gandhi alleged that the new regulations and orders threaten the heritage of the archipelago. Lakshadweep’s pristine natural beauty and its unique confluence of cultures have drawn people for generations. The custodians of its heritage seek to safeguard the archipelago for posterity. However, their future is threatened by the anti-people policies announced by the administrator of Lakshadweep, Shri. Praful Khoda Patel, he wrote. The Congress leader said the Administrator had unilaterally proposed sweeping changes without consulting elected representatives or the people of Lakshadweep who were protesting against ‘arbitrary’ actions. The administrator’s attempt to undermine ecological sanctity of the island is evident in the draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation issued recently. The provisions undermine safeguards pertaining to land ownership, dilute environmental regulations for certain activities, and severely limit legal recourse available to affected persons. Livelihood security and sustainable development are being sacrificed for short-term commercial gains, Gandhi said. The Congress leader said that the proposed rule in the draft panchayat regulation to disqualify members with more than two children was blatantly anti-democratic. Furthermore, proposed changes to regulations like Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Regulation, the Lakshadweep Animals Preservation Regulation, and lifting of restrictions on sale of alcohol are a deliberate assault on the cultural and religious fabric of the local community. The attempt to cut ties with Beypore port strikes at the close historical and cultural ties with Kerala, added Gandhi who is a Lok Sabha member from Kerala. The Congress leader also said that the administration demolished structures used by the fisher folk, fired contractual workers in various government departments, and relaxed quarantine norms, causing a spike in Covid-19 cases. Arguing that draconian regulations had been brought in to penalise dissent and undermine grassroots democracy in the guise of development and maintaining law and order, Gandhi’s letter to Modi read, I request you to intervene in this matter and ensure that the above mentioned orders are withdrawn. The people of Lakshadweep deserve a developmental vision that respects their way of life and reflects their aspirations. Meanwhile, Lakshdweep BJP Chief Mohammad Kasim has also joined the protests against Patel.
F) Tarun Tejpal case: HC directs sessions court to remove anything that reveals identity of woman.
Referring to the Goa court judgment acquitting journalist Tarun Tejpal, the Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the sessions court judge to redact the email ID of the survivor and the name of her husband and mother from the judgment before uploading it on the court website. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared before a single Bench of justice S.C. Gupte through videoconferencing and said the judgment in the case of sexual assault and rape was to be pronounced on May 19 which got postponed to May 21 when it was only revealed that Tejpal was acquitted. The State of Goa immediately filed for an appeal before the High Court challenging the acquittal. He went on to say that the physical copy of the judgment was made available only on May 25. He pointed out the paragraphs in which the email ID of the survivor, the names of her partner, now husband, and her mother had been revealed. He, therefore, urged the High Court to pass a direction to the sessions court to delete all the details that may reveal the identity of the survivor before uploading the judgment on the court website. In its order, the HC said, considering the law against disclosure of identity of victim, the sessions court is directed to redact the email ID of the prosecutrix (victim), her husband and mother’s name. The court said it would adjourn the matter to be heard once vacation was over and regular court started on June 7. Mehta, however, requested the court to hear the matter before that and said, The system expects sensitivity over jurisprudence. We owe it to our girls. The court agreed and posted the matter to be heard on June 2. On May 21, special judge Kshama Joshi at the Mapusa District and Sessions Court, Goa, acquitted Tejpal from all charges of rape by a person in position of control, rape by a person in position of authority, assault with the intent of outraging modesty, assault with intent to disrobe and sexual harassment.
G) Seven non-BJP-ruled states seek GST loss compensation.
Seven States ruled by the Congress and other Opposition parties have demanded that the Centre compensate tax losses to the States under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act at the earliest and enhance the additional borrowing limit to 5% of the Gross State Domestic Product. The Finance Ministers of non-BJP-ruled States raised the demands at a virtual meeting hosted by Rajasthan Urban Development and Housing Minister Shanti Dhariwal ahead of the GST Council’s meeting scheduled for May 28. The States also sought waiving of all taxes on the goods purchased for fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Dhariwal, who represents the Rajasthan government in the GST Council, said on Thursday that the Finance Ministers of all States would remain united on these issues and raise them effectively before Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the GST Council’s meeting.
H) Revive MPLAD scheme in its true spirit and release funds, Om Birla urged.
Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to restart the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme and make MPLAD funds available to MPs. Chowdhury said it is critical to have access to MPLAD funds because of the second wave of Covid-19 and the devastation caused by the cyclonic storm Yaas that made its landfall in Odisha and impacted neighbouring Bengal. The MP from Bengal said the funds are the only way by which the Members of Parliament can truly come to the aid of their constituents in their hour of grief and extreme need. While the second wave of the pandemic has brought unimaginable miseries, the people of Odisha and West Bengal are on the verge of facing the devastating affects of Yaas. The critical impact the cyclonic storm would have on the intensity of the pandemic in West Bengal and Odisha in particular remains to be seen in the coming days. There is a distinct possibility of a significant increase in the Covid-19 infection rate in the region in the coming days, Chowdhury wrote. He said the funds should be made available without any restrictions so that the amounts are rightly channelled to address the health care needs of the people in these uncertain and extremely sad times.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) U.S.-China engagement era has come to an end: top U.S. official.
The more than three-decade long era of engagement between the United States and China that saw the world’s two largest economies develop closely interdependent relations has come to an end, a top official of the Biden administration has said. The period that was broadly described as engagement has come to an end, Kurt Campbell, who is the Coordinator for Indo Pacific Affairs and the top U.S. official for Asia, said at a Stanford University event. He said competition would henceforth be the dominant paradigm and U.S. policy would work under a new set of strategic parameters, Bloomberg News quoted him as saying. Mr. Campbell’s comments underline the shift in U.S. views on China from the time of the Obama administration as well as the broadly bipartisan consensus on the current direction of relations, following four turbulent years for the relationship under the previous Trump administration. Mr. Campbell said Chinese policies under [President] Xi are in large part responsible for the shift in U.S. policy, Bloomberg News reported, adding that he cited clashes on China’s border with India, an economic campaign against Australia and the rise of China’s wolf warrior’ diplomacy’ as examples that suggested China is determined to play a more assertive role. He de. scribed the Chinese President as deeply ideological but also quite unsentimental and said the two top Chinese diplomats who had held talks with top Biden administration officials in Alaska in March Politburo member Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi – were nowhere near, within a hundred miles of Mr. Xi’s inner circle. He said the U.S. believed the best way to engage a more assertive China is to work with allies, partners and friends. Reacting to his comments, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Thursday that using ‘competition’ to define or dominate China-U.S. ties is a total mistake that will only lead to confrontation and conflict. Even if there is competition, it should be sound competition that helps to reinforce each other and pursue common progress, rather than a vicious competition to beat each other. China firmly rejects U.S. moves to exclude and contain China in the name of competition, he added.
B) Macron seeks forgiveness over Rwanda genocide.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he recognised his country’s role in the Rwandan genocide and hoped for forgiveness at a memorial in Kigali on Thursday, seeking to reset relations after years of Rwandan accusations that France was complicit in the 1994 atrocities. Only those who went through that night can perhaps forgive, and in doing so give the gift of forgiveness, Mr. Macron said at the Gisozi genocide memorial, where more than victims are buried. Rows of skulls lie there in a mass tomb and the names of the victims are inscribed on a black wall. I hereby humbly and with respect stand by your side today, I come to recognise the extent of our responsibilities, he said. Rwandan President Paul Kagame welcomed Mr. Macron’s speech, saying at a joint press conference later that his words were more powerful than an apology. Mr. Macron agreed in April to open the Rwanda archives of former President Francois Mitterrand, in office during the genocide. Later, Rwanda released its own report that found France was aware a genocide was being prepared and bore responsibility for enabling it, continuing in its unwavering support for Rwanda’s then President, Juvenal Habyarimana.
