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The Hindu: The Gandhis must face the courts
Whatever be the merits
of the charges against the principal office-bearers of the Congress party in
the ‘National Herald’ case, it is an issue that has to be settled in a court of
law, and not in the wider political arena, much less in Parliament.
If the Congress
believes there has been no wrongdoing in the transactions related to the
acquisition of Associated Journals Private Ltd. by Young Indian, a non-profit
company in which the party's president, Sonia Gandhi, and vice-president, Rahul
Gandhi, are the main shareholders, it must simply choose the judicial route to
establish their innocence. The Delhi High Court order upholding the trial court
summons to both of them, along with other directors of Young Indian, is based
on what it sees as prima facie evidence of criminality. The best way to deal
with the situation is to face it legally. When Subramanian Swamy first
questioned the legality of the transactions, it was the Congress that
challenged him to take Ms. Gandhi and her son to court. “It is for those who
make allegations to prove their charges,” the party had said in 2012. It cannot
then turn around now and say that the entire proceedings amount to political
vendetta. Even if there is a political motive, the party’s president and
vice-president have to provide answers to the questions that have arisen from
the trial court summons and the High Court’s refusal to intervene. To disrupt
Parliament on an issue that involves no larger public interest goes against all
democratic norms, and it cannot be justified on any count. Indeed, to speak of
political vendetta following a court summons is to cast aspersions on the very
independence of the judiciary.
A look at the facts of
the case does make one doubt whether AJL could not have protected its
shareholders’ interests by liquidating some of its assets in order to return
its loan to the Congress. The floating of Young Indian, described by the court
as a ‘special purpose vehicle’, does cast some suspicion. At the same time, the
weak point in Dr. Swamy’s case seems to be the absence of any identifiable
victim who has been cheated or whose funds have been misappropriated. After
all, the various assets of AJL still stand in its name and the shareholders of
Young Indian, which being a Section 25 (non-profit) company, cannot get any
dividend or profit out of the company’s rental income. The Congress will have
to believe in its own contention that there was no ‘entrustment’ in the first
place for anyone’s trust to be breached and that no one claims to be deceived
or cheated. But the judicial process will have to be faced squarely without
resort to political theatre. The charges of cheating and criminal breach of
trust against the Congress leaders will have to be countered only through the
legal route.
mer·it
The quality of being
particularly good or worthy, especially so as to deserve praise or reward.
bear·er
A person or thing that
carries or holds something.
a·re·na
A level area
surrounded by seats for spectators, in which sports, entertainments, and other
public events are held.
sum·mons
An order to appear
before a judge or magistrate, or the writ containing it
ven·det·ta
A blood feud in which
the family of a murdered person seeks vengeance on the murderer or the
murderer's family.
in·ter·vene
Come between so as to
prevent or alter a result or course of events.
as·per·sion
An attack on the
reputation or integrity of someone or something.
float
Rest or move on or
near the surface of a liquid without sinking.
sus·pi·cion
A feeling or thought
that something is possible, likely, or true.
con·ten·tion
Heated disagreement.
coun·ter
Speak or act in
opposition to
The Hindu: December
10, 2015
Trumpeting bigotry
American politics
touched a new low this week when Donald Trump, a frontrunner for the Republican
presidential nomination, called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims
entering the United States”. Mr. Trump’s controversial remarks in the past,
including offensive statements about undocumented Mexican immigrants being
rapists, insults to war veterans and sexist attacks on women in the media, drew
expected criticism from Democrats and other liberals. Yet, this time even
fellow Republican candidates and mainstream Republican Party heavyweights
distanced themselves from Mr. Trump’s views on Muslims. The property mogul’s
comment contradicts, morally if not legally, the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, which requires that “Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.
Islamophobia in the U.S., which surged after the 9/11 terror attacks, appears
to be on the rise again. This time it is coterminous with soaring worldwide
anxiety about Islamic State, which has been linked to the Paris terror attacks
of November and last week’s shooting in San Bernardino, California. Little
wonder then that the numerically significant cohorts of the U.S. conservative
fold are lapping up Mr. Trump’s incendiary, divisive proposal. Their support is
manifested in the one polling trend that has baffled campaign analysts, Mr.
Trump’s evergreen lead over all other candidates, which shows no sign of
withering in the face of his increasingly reckless provocations. After this
week’s foray into apparent bigotry, a rolling five-day poll by Reuters placed
his support vote at 35.6 per cent, giving him a comfortable lead over Florida’s
Senator Marco Rubio, a distant second at 14.9 per cent.
The Trump phenomenon
begs questions both tactical and strategic. Tactically, he has made a stark
choice in the matter of battle-versus-war and it could well win him the
Republican nomination. His steady march to the far right of American politics
is a safe bet that he will emerge, or has already emerged, as the favourite of
those who championed the cause of the Tea Party, of immigration hawks,
pro-lifers, white supremacists, gun-lovers and all manner of conservatives.
However, that leaves the rest of America unaccounted for, especially the elusive
median and swing voters. Unless Mr. Trump abruptly changes tack
post-nomination, a move that could prove politically costly in itself, he may
have handed the Democratic nominee, likely to be Hillary Clinton, the keys to
the Oval Office next year. Beyond the nomination battle, the broader strategic
link between the rise of IS and the worldwide proliferation of Islamophobia is
paramount. Perhaps mindful of this link, Ms. Clinton has moved in exactly the
opposite direction, towards the political centre. She has taken a firmer stand
against IS than President Barack Obama did, yet spoken expansively about
fostering an attitude of inclusiveness. Depending on which paradigm prevails,
post-2016 America will either continue to welcome minorities to its shores, or
emerge as a source of recruitment propaganda for extremists.
big·ot·ry
Intolerance toward
those who hold different opinions from oneself.
front run·ner
The contestant that is
leading in a race or other competition.
im·mi·grant
A person who comes to
live permanently in a foreign country.
co·ter·mi·nous
Having the same
boundaries or extent in space, time, or meaning.
soar
Fly or rise high in
the air
co·hort
An ancient Roman
military unit, comprising six centuries, equal to one tenth of a legion.
lap
Overtake (a competitor
in a race) to become one or more laps ahead.
in·cen·di·ar·y
(of a device or
attack) designed to cause fires.
man·i·fest
Display or show (a
quality or feeling) by one's acts or appearance; demonstrate.
baf·fle
Totally bewilder or
perplex.
prov·o·ca·tion
Action or speech that
makes someone annoyed or angry, especially deliberately
for·ay
A sudden attack or
incursion into enemy territory, especially to obtain something; a raid.
tac·ti·cal
Of, relating to, or
constituting actions carefully planned to gain a specific military end.
hawk
A diurnal bird of prey
with broad rounded wings and a long tail, typically taking prey by surprise
with a short chase
e·lu·sive
Difficult to find,
catch, or achieve.
fos·ter
Encourage or promote
the development of (something, typically something regarded as good).
par·a·digm
A typical example or
pattern of something; a model
shore
A prop or beam set
obliquely against something weak or unstable as a support.
prop·a·gan·da
Information,
especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a
particular political cause or point of view.
Business Standard
Rural distress
intensifies
Even as India
celebrates the golden jubilee of the Green Revolution, the National Sample
Survey Organisation (NSSO) has come out with data indicating that nearly 70 per
cent of farmers subsist on economically unviable farm holdings of less than a
hectare in size. Over one-fifth of farm households report salaried employment,
and not farming, as the prime source of their income. Around 44 per cent others
have to seek work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme to supplement their income. Little wonder that the owners of such tiny
farms have a strong urge to migrate to urban areas. Farmer distress is
particularly acute at present since 18 of the 29 states are facing drought in
one part or the other for the second year in a row. This is only the fourth
occasion of a back-to-back drought in over 100 years - the last one being in
1986 and 1987.
The Green Revolution,
which undeniably ended the country's "ship-to-mouth" existence and
transformed it into an exporter of rice and wheat, has also led to lopsided
growth in agriculture, causing regional and other disparities. It has remained
confined to a few crops - wheat, rice, sugarcane and, of late, cotton and maize
- and to a few states in the northwest and south with well-developed irrigation
facilities. The growth of these crops has been supported also by assured
marketing at fixed prices (minimum support prices or MSP) through open-ended
procurement. Eastern India, which is well endowed with water resources and
other prerequisites for agricultural growth, including cheap labour, remained
agriculturally backward till recently, when the attention shifted to it for
ushering in the "second green revolution". Equally neglected has been
the rain-dependent farming practised on over 55 per cent of the country's
arable land. Many essential commodities, including pulses and oilseeds, are
grown largely by small and marginal farmers on lands that are not irrigated.
These have gained little from the latest farm technologies which relied on
improved seeds, water and fertilisers to show results. The imports of these
commodities have, consequently, been surging steadily and are expected to hit
new highs this year.
While it is true that
new technologies and agronomic practices have tended to impart a degree of
drought-resilience to farming - as reflected in farm output during every
drought year being higher than the previous one - the same cannot be said for
the drought-proofing of agriculture through development of irrigation. The
total area irrigated from surface water resources has more or less stagnated,
as no new major or medium irrigation project has been taken up for decades.
Unless irrigation facilities expand, it is futile to expect the
drought-proofing of agriculture.
Nor have much-needed
agriculture sector reforms made any headway. Little has been done in vital
areas like land consolidation, making land leasing legal, reforming farm
marketing and improving sustainability of agriculture. Job and income
generation opportunities in the rural non-farm sector, to absorb those who want
- or, indeed, need - to quit farming, are also few. The need, therefore, is to
push through critical reforms in the farm sector, to make the Green Revolution
relatively more broad-based, and to create productive employment avenues in
rural areas to deal with sustained rural distress.
dis·tress
Extreme anxiety,
sorrow, or pain.
in·ten·si·fy
Become or make more
intense
un·vi·a·ble
Not capable of working
successfully; not feasible.
a·cute
(of a bad, difficult,
or unwelcome situation or phenomenon) present or experienced to a severe or
intense degree.
drought
A prolonged period of
abnormally low rainfall; a shortage of water resulting from this.
lop·sid·ed
With one side lower or
smaller than the other.
dis·par·i·ty
A great difference.
en·dow
Give or bequeath an
income or property to (a person or institution).
pre·req·ui·site
A thing that is
required as a prior condition for something else to happen or exist.
ush·er
Show or guide
(someone) somewhere.
surge
(of a crowd or a
natural force) move suddenly and powerfully forward or upward.
stag·nate
(of water or air)
cease to flow or move; become stagnant.
head·way
Move forward or make
progress, especially when circumstances make this slow or difficult.
av·e·nue
A broad road in a town
or city, typically having trees at regular intervals along its sides.
Indian Express
Not just GST
The squalling in
Parliament is adversely affecting not just the legislation to finally install
the much-delayed goods and services tax regime but also a host of other bills
which have received far less public attention.
The Real Estate
(Regulation and Development) Bill 2015, which received the cabinet nod on
Wednesday, is an example of a legislative measure that promises to radically
reform a crucial sector. The bill is scheduled to be presented in the Rajya
Sabha in the ongoing winter session, but it is unlikely to be taken up if the
opposition parties, especially the Congress, continue to hold up business. On
the GST bill, the Congress has staked out a position that is different on at
least three counts from that taken by the ruling BJP, but there is more
convergence on the real estate regulator bill. The latest version of the real
estate bill, based on the report of a select committee of the Rajya Sabha,
which also had Congress representation, incorporates several changes demanded
by the opposition parties.
The real estate
regulator bill is expected to qualitatively enhance consumer protection in a
sector that has long had a lopsided builder-buyer equation. It aims at
establishing a Real Estate Regulatory Authority in states and Union territories
to monitor real estate transactions. The objective is to institutionalise
transparency and accountability, boost consumer confidence, and promote timely
execution and professionalism in the sector while making it easier to access
capital and financial markets. It will cover both residential and commercial
projects. The bill stipulates mandatory disclosure of all registered projects,
including details of the promoter, layout plan and the statuses of approvals.
The cabinet-approved version redresses several weaknesses of the previous draft
that had received the Lok Sabha’s nod — crucial changes include the bringing in
of commercial projects as well as real estate agents in the ambit of the bill.
In early 2014, a
Congress-led government in Maharashtra became the first state government to
frame a law to regulate and develop the housing sector. Today, the party stands
in the way of a similar reform at the national level. The real estate bill may
not be as eye-catching as the GST bill, but it also promises to bring about
much-needed change. Political parties like the Congress and the BJD, therefore,
who were at the forefront of stalling the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, should
introspect.
squall
(of a baby or small
child) cry noisily and continuously.
adversely
In an adverse manner;
"she was adversely affected by the new regulations"
con·ver·gence
The process or state
of converging
.
lop·sid·ed
With one side lower or
smaller than the other.
stip·u·late
Demand or specify (a
requirement), typically as part of a bargain or agreement.
man·da·to·ry
Required by law or
rules; compulsory.
dis·clo·sure
The action of making
new or secret information known.
am·bit
The scope, extent, or
bounds of something.
fore·front
The leading or most
important position or place.
in·tro·spect
Examine one's own
thoughts or feelings.
stall
(of a motor vehicle or
its engine) stop running, typically because of an overload on the engine.
The Guardian
view on Syria
policy: Isis is the enemy but Assad is the problem
s forces loyal to
Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad regained control of a significant part of the
city of Homs this week, it is important to remember how Syria has reached this
point. Almost five years ago Syrians came out in their hundreds of thousands to
demonstrate largely peacefully for the freedoms that others had mobilised for
during the Arab spring. The dictator reacted by unleashing a brutal wave of
violence against his own citizens, including Scud missiles, chemical weapons
and barrel bombs. Partly because there was no western intervention to protect
civilians, the anti-Assad uprising reacted by becoming increasingly associated
with jihadism, their main external support coming from the Gulf states.
In this context,
Islamic State, casting itself as a defender of the majority Sunni population
targeted by Mr Assad, took control of large swaths of territory, even while
slaughtering many Sunnis too. Mr Assad’s policy of mass murder, which accounts
for most of the 300,000 violent deaths in Syria, and the displacement of over
half of the country’s population (4 million of whom are refugees abroad) has
been the main engine behind the rise of Isis in Syria.
All of this bears
repeating as the west intensifies its campaign against Isis and as the local
ceasefire in Homs began to take effect this week. As documents published in the
Guardian this week have shown, Isis’s self-proclaimed caliphate has plans to
become a full-blown state stretching across Syria and Iraq. Mr Assad’s
propaganda, echoed by Russia, claims that he is an indispensable ally in the
fight against Isis. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Mr Assad’s
military, just like Russia’s, has focused most of its operations against
anti-Assad rebels. The ceasefire in the Homs district of Al-Waer, in the city
that was the “capital” of the 2011 uprising, is a painful symbol of the reality
that Mr Assad’s aim is to make sure there is nothing left in Syria but him and
Isis.
If Isis is to be
defeated, the best hope of building ground forces capable of pushing it out of
the areas it controls can only come from local Sunni groups. To harness the
support of those groups – who for four years now have felt abandoned by the
west – it is essential to maintain the message that Mr Assad is no ally, and
that he cannot be part of a long-term solution for Syria.
This isn’t Iraq in
2003. Conditions must be created to ensure the Syrian state can survive without
Mr Assad. Anything that smacks of the de-Ba’athification that was such a
disaster in Iraq must be avoided. Minorities will need to be given security
guarantees, especially the Alawite community from which the Assad family comes.
But as diplomatic efforts continue, alongside the necessary battle against
Isis, it remains essential to ensure that no meaningful political transition
can allow Mr Assad to remain entrenched in power. Isis is the enemy, but Mr
Assad is the problem. Indeed, as long as Mr Assad remains, Isis will remain too
– and its terrorism will grow.
un·leash
Release from a leash
or restraint
bru·tal
Savagely violent.
scud
Move fast in a
straight line because or as if driven by the wind
swath
A row or line of
grass, grain, or other crop as it lies when mown or reaped.
slaugh·ter
Kill (animals) for
food.
caliphate
The era of Islam's
ascendancy from the death of Mohammed until the 13th century; some Moslems
still maintain that the Moslem world must always have a calif as head of the
community; "their goal was to reestablish the Caliphate
prop·a·gan·da
Information,
especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a
particular political cause or point of view.
ech·o
(of a sound) be
repeated or reverberate after the original sound has stopped
in·dis·pen·sa·ble
Absolutely necessary.
har·ness
A set of straps and
fittings by which a horse or other draft animal is fastened to a cart, plow,
etc., and is controlled by its driver.
smack
A sharp slap or blow,
typically one given with the palm of the hand.
A·la·wi
A member of a Shiite
Muslim group living mainly in Syria.
en·trench
Establish (an
attitude, habit, or belief) so firmly that change is very difficult or
unlikely.
The Dawn
State Bank on CPEC
SOME important remarks
made by the State Bank governor, Ashraf Mahmood Wathra, about transparency in
the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects deserve careful consideration.
In an interview given
to Reuters, Mr Wathra said that “CPEC needs to be made more transparent”, going
on to indicate that many crucial details of the various projects to be executed
under the CPEC umbrella remain hidden even from him.
For example, he said
that out of $46bn, he does not know “how much is debt, how much is equity and
how much is in kind”. Details of this sort are important to know because they
can help us understand the potential economic impact that CPEC will have in the
future, given the many hopes attached to this project.
The State Bank has
also repeatedly invoked the CPEC projects as the best hope for reviving growth
in the country, but whether this is merely wishful thinking or a realistic
expectation can only be determined if crucial financial details of the projects
are known.
In a later
clarification, the State Bank asserted that it remains positive about CPEC, but
it stood by its transparency concerns.
Also read: Pakistan
should be more transparent on $46bn China deal, SBP head says
The governor’s remarks
are notable for a number of reasons. This is the first time that the need for
greater transparency in CPEC has been mentioned from such an important platform
as the State Bank.
Since the economy is
faced with dwindling inflows of foreign investment and exports, it is crucial
to know how its foreign exchange-earning capacity is going to shape up in the
years to come, especially in light of the rising external debt burden that the
government has been taking on.
Even though the
government tells us that its plans to build industrial estates along the route
of the road link from Gwadar to Khunjerab will help boost exports, Mr Wathra is
entirely correct when he acknowledges this vision but adds that “we need to see
this plan with more clarity”.
The CPEC project may
indeed have tremendous potential for the country but only if it is implemented
properly. By steadfastly refusing to share any of the crucial details of the
various projects that make up the CPEC bouquet — even with stakeholders as
important and central to its execution and impact as the State Bank — the
government is not shoring up confidence in its capacity to oversee the
implementation of such a large vision.
reuters
Reuters is an
international news agency headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom
and a division of Thomson Reuters. Until 2008, the Reuters news agency formed
part of an independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of
financial market data
trans·par·ent
(of a material or
article) allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be
distinctly seen.
in·voke
Cite or appeal to
(someone or something) as an authority for an action or in support of an
argument.
re·vive
Restore to life or
consciousness.
as·sert
State a fact or belief
confidently and forcefully.
dwin·dle
Diminish gradually in
size, amount, or strength.
tre·men·dous
Very great in amount,
scale, or intensity
shor·ing
Shores or props used
to support or hold up something weak or unstable.
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