Governance updates - 07-07-2021

Stan Swamy's death: Ten Opposition party leaders have written to the President on the custodial death of Father Stan Swamy: “It is now incumbent that

Governance updates

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• Stan Swamy's death: Ten Opposition party leaders have written to the President on the custodial death of Father Stan Swamy: “It is now incumbent that all those jailed in the Bhima Koregaon case and other detenus under politically motivated cases, misusing draconian laws like UAPA, Sedition etc be released forthwith.” As anguished and angry international comments poured in, the Ministry of External Affairs was forced to swear by “India’s democratic and constitutional polity, which is complemented by an independent judiciary, a range of national and state level Human Rights Commissions that monitor violations, a free media and a vibrant and vocal civil society.” In contrast to the government’s prickly and comical behaviour when farmer protests had attracted ire abroad, the Ministry said, “India remains committed to promotion and protection of human rights of all its citizens.”
• American vaccines not in India yet: The US embassy has clarified why vaccines donated by the Biden administration are not available in India yet, though they are in neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan. “In the case of India, the delay is not from the US side. India has determined that it needs further time to review legal provisions related to accepting vaccine donations,” the embassy told CNBC-TV18. “Once India works through its legal process, our donation of vaccines to India will proceed expeditiously. We refer you to the GoI for specifics on the status of its discussions with COVAX, which is helping to facilitate.”
• PDP and Delimitation Commission: Hours after the PDP declined to meet the visiting Delimitation Commission in Srinagar, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned Gulshan Ara, mother of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, for questioning in a money laundering case. Ara, the wife of former Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, has been asked to appear before the central probe agency at its office in Srinagar on July 14. Tweeting the summons, Mehbooba said, “On the day PDP chose not to meet the Delimitation Commission, ED sent a summon to my mother to appear in person for unknown charges. In its attempts to intimidate political opponents, GoI doesn’t even spare senior citizens. Agencies like NIA & ED are now its tools to settle scores.”
• South Africa's Gupta brothers: Two of the three Indian-origin Gupta brothers, who fled South Africa, are now officially wanted fugitives after Interpol issued red notices against them. A red notice is an alert to Interpol member states that an individual is a wanted fugitive, but it is not equivalent to an arrest warrant. The move would help the prosecution to bring Atul, Rajesh and their elder brother Ajay Gupta to South Africa to stand trial for fraud and laundering of 25 million rand, linked to the failed Estina Dairy Farm project in Free State province.
• Do we need super-censorship: The Standing Committee on Information and Technology headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor grilled the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on the “super censorship” clause introduced in the draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The committee members, according to sources, asked the Ministry to explain the “reasons” and “motivation” for introducing the provision which allows the government to order recertification for a film cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification. Ministry officials were caught in a bind and claimed that the bill has been misunderstood and that the Ministry itself will have no powers to censor any film. The bill only allows the Ministry to return the film for recertification.

 

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