NATIONAL NEWS
A) Withdraw the ‘unconstitutional’ recall order of Chief Secretary: Mamata tells Centre.
Describing the Union government’s order to recall West Bengal Chief Sectary Alapan Bandyopadhyay as unconstitutional, unilateral and a result of political vendetta, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged the Centre to withdraw the order. I appeal to you to withdraw this letter and allow him to work for the people of the State. I will appeal to you Prime Minister, Home Minister, do not indulge in political vendetta when it comes to IAS and IPS officers, she said. Banerjee pointed out that she did meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and before leaving for Digha sought his permission three times. I feel insulted and humiliated, but they should not insult my officers. What was his (Mr Bandyopadhyay’s) fault? He went with me to meet PM, the Chief Minister said. Hours after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not participate in the review meeting on cyclone Yaas chaired by the Prime Minister, the appointments committee of the Cabinet attached the State’s top bureaucrat to the Centre. Referring to photographs of empty chairs at the Prime Minister’s meeting, Banerjee said she spoke to him for several minutes, which was not photographed and circulated. Since last night so many political leaders made unjust comments to tarnish my image, the image of my government, she said. The Chief Minister also raised the issue that the Leader of Opposition was not present when the Prime Minister visited Gujarat or Odisha. It was supposed to be a PM-CM meeting. Then, later it was revised with the presence of central ministers, Leader of Opposition and the Governor, Banerjee pointed out.
B) Recall of Bengal chief secretary is ‘malicious’, spells the death knell of federalism, says Congress.
The Congress on Saturday decried the recall of the West Bengal Chief Secretary by the Centre, alleging it was an unpardonable attack on the Constitution and federalism that will create anarchy in the country, PTI reported. Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the abrupt, malicious and unilateral recall of West Bengal’s chief secretary by the Modi Government has shocked the conscience of the entire nation. This is a double whammy when viewed in light of the fact that the chief secretary was granted an extension for three months by the Modi Government itself as recently as four days ago, he said and called it a death knell for federalism. This is a lethal blow to the Constitution of India, as also federalism. If the Union Government is permitted to recall the All India Service Officers i.e. IAS and IPS from the states for partisan political considerations and at its whims and fancies, the entire architecture of the rule of law and the Constitution will crumble, Surjewala said in a statement. He said if the head of bureaucracy in a state is summarily removed by the Union Government, why would any IAS or IPS officer, whether a district magistrate or a secretary or a police officer, listen to and follow the orders of state government or implement any policy or programme devised by the state government. This would lead to complete and total anarchy in the country, he alleged. Will the prime minister, the DPOT and the BJP Government disclose the reason for the U-turn in recalling the chief secretary within four days of granting him a three months extension, he demanded. The Congress leader also said the ongoing saga in the Calcutta High Court is grossly disturbing and bodes ill for an independent judiciary. Surjewala said equally shocking for every individual having faith in the Constitution is the recent letter written by Justice Arindam Sinha, a sitting Judge of the Calcutta High Court. Barely four days after he was granted an extension, the Centre on Friday night sought the services of West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and asked the state government to relieve the officer immediately, a move termed by the ruling Trinamool Congress as a forced deputation. Bandyopadhyay, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, was scheduled to retire on May 31 after completion of 60 years of age. However, he was granted a three-month extension following a nod from the Centre.
C) 13 more District Collectors empowered to grant citizenship to applicants from 3 countries.
The Home Ministry empowered 13 more District Collectors in five States Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab to grant citizenship certificates to applicants belonging to six minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The latest notification is a reiteration of similar orders issued in 2016 and 2018 and is not related to the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) that is yet to come into effect. The CAA passed in 2019 seeks to grant Indian citizenship to six undocumented communities that came to India till December 31, 2014. The May 28 notification intends to benefit legal migrants (who entered on passport/visa) from the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have already applied for Citizenship under Section 5 (by registration) and Section 6 (naturalisation) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The only way CAA could have helped the legal minority migrants is in fast-tracking their applications as it reduced the mandatory requirement of 11 years aggregate stay in India to five for citizenship. While the rules for CAA are yet to be framed, a minority applicant from the three countries, even if he or she came in 2014, becomes eligible for citizenship in the year 2025. Many of them, however, have been residing in India for more than 20 years on long-term visas (LTV). An LTV is a precursor to Citizenship. The applicants will have to apply online and a citizenship certificate will be provided after a security check by Central agencies and State police. Under the existing system, minority communities from the three countries who entered India before December 31, 2009, may or may not choose to provide a copy of their passports but they have to provide the date of the visa and may upload the visa document in place of the passport while applying for citizenship. The Home Secretaries of Punjab (except Jalandhar) and Haryana (except Faridabad) have also been given such powers. Citizenship is a Central subject and the Home Ministry periodically delegates powers to States through gazette notification under Section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
D) Vairamuthu to ‘return’ ONV Kurup literary prize.
Popular Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu on Saturday announced ‘returning’ the ONV literary prize, instituted in memory of Jnanpith laureate Malayalam poet late ONV Kurup, following protests from various quarters against the award to the songwriter, who is facing sexual harassment charges. Though he said he was ‘returning’ the award, in effect he was declining the honour, saying he did not want the jury to face embarrassment and blamed ‘vendetta’ behind the decision to reconsider the award by the ONV Cultural Academy. He requested that the cash prize of ₹3 lakh announced by the academy be given to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Public Relief fund and announced his own contribution of ₹2 lakh towards the same as a token of his love for Kerala and its people. Due to the interference of those with vendetta the award has been subject to reconsideration is what I have come to know. Wondering if the protests were aimed at belittling him and Kurup, Vairamuthu said he wanted to make sure that the scholarly jury should not be pushed to embarrassment. Therefore, I only desire to avoid receiving the award amid controversies, he said. On Friday, the ONV Cultural Academy had said it has decided to review the decision to grant the fifth ONV Literary Prize to Vairamuthu. The academy’s decision came in the wake of mounting protests from various quarters against the decision to give the award to the Tamil songwriter and poet who is facing accusations of sexual harassment. Actors Parvathi Thiruvothu and Geetu Mohandas and singer Chinmayi Sripada, who was among the women who accused Vairamuthu of sexual harassment, had objected to the Kerala honour for the lyricist. Vairamuthu had earlier denied the allegations levelled against him, calling them totally false and motivated.
E) As Jaishankar’s visit concludes, vaccine procurement challenges still being worked out.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed a range of issues on Friday including Covid-19 vaccine procurement, India-China border issues (according to the U.S.), climate change, the Quad, and the bilateral relationship. Discussions around vaccine procurement for India and related issues such as indemnity for vaccine manufacturers are still being resolved. I’m not going to get into the very specific angles of what was discussed, but certainly, vaccine manufacturing, procurement, delivery the larger question of how we can cooperate together both bilaterally and on the larger Quad context were covered today, Acting Assistant Secretary Dean Thompson who was present at the meeting said in response to a question from The Hindu. Both he and Jaishankar addressed the Indian press separately after the bilateral meeting. Asked whether there was a discussion on the allocation of vaccines from the U.S. stockpile, Jaishankar said the topic came up but did not get into details. The Biden administration has committed to sharing 60 million AstraZeneca doses and 20 million additional vaccine doses with the rest of the world by the end of June. American officials have said they will work with COVAX an international effort to equitably distribute vaccines in arriving at the allocation. Expanding vaccine manufacturing in India, Jaishankar said, was one of the goals of his visit to Washington. In a tweet on Friday, he said his meeting with Blinken and the team also focused on the Indo-U.S. vaccine partnership aimed at expanding access and ensuring supply. Resolving issues around U.S. demands for indemnity and early Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) were central to Jaishankar’s agenda in Washington, The Hindu had reported. However, regulatory, legal, commercial and supply-side aspects were still under discussion, the Minister told members of the Indian press on Friday. These [discussions] are going on between the companies concerned and the authorised people in India.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) As Putin hosts Lukashenko, U.S. hits Belarus with sanctions.
The United States on Friday announced punitive measures against Belarus targeting the regime of strongman President Alexander Lukashenko, who met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid a global outcry over the forced diversion of a European plane. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called for a credible international investigation into the events of May 23, which she called a direct affront to international norms. Belarus scrambled a military jet to divert a Ryanair plane and arrested 26-year old opposition journalist and activist Roman Protasevich who was on board, triggering a global outcry. The White House announced it was working with the EU on a list of targeted sanctions against key members of Mr Lukashenko’s regime. Meanwhile, economic sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises, reimposed by Washington in April following a crackdown on pro-democracy protests, will come into effect on June 3. The further U.S. moves on Belarus could target those that support corruption, the abuse of human rights, and attacks on democracy, Ms Psaki said. The White House also issued a Do Not Travel warning for Belarus to U.S. citizens and warned American passenger planes to exercise extreme caution if considering flying over Belarusian airspace.
B) Sri Lanka faces marine disaster after ship fire.
Sri Lanka faces an unprecedented pollution crisis as waves of plastic waste from a burning container ship hit the coast and threaten to devastate the local environment, a top environment official warned Saturday. Thousands of Navy ratings using mechanical diggers scooped tonnes of tiny plastic granules on the beaches that had come from the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl that has been smouldering on the horizon for ten days. Sri Lanka’s Marine Protection Authority (MEPA) said the microplastic pollution could cause years of ecological damage to the Indian Ocean island. This is probably the worst beach pollution in our history, MEPA chairman Dharshani Lahandapura said. The tiny polyethene pellets threaten tourism beaches and fish-breeding in shallow waters. Fishing has been banned along an 80 km stretch of coast near the ship that has been burning for 10 days despite an international firefighting operation.
