NATIONAL NEWS
Lakhimpur Kheri incident: SKM writes to President seeking action, Congress seeks dismissal of MoS Ajay Mishra, arrest of his son
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has written to President Ram Nath Kovind demanding action against the killing of farmers at Lakhmipur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday afternoon, allegedly by being run over by vehicles in a Union Minister’s convoy. Farm unions protesting in front of district collectors’ offices in various parts of the country on Monday, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., were expected to submit copies of this letter to the President via district officials. The SKM’s demands were outlined in the letter, calling for Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra to be immediately dismissed from his post and a case filed against him for inciting violence and spreading communal hatred. It urged that Mishra’s son and others associated with the attack be booked under Section 302 (murder) and arrested immediately, and that the investigation be carried out by a Special Investigation Team under the supervision of the Supreme Court. The letter alleged that the involvement of Mishra’s son and his associates in the murderous attack showed a deep conspiracy of Uttar Pradesh and Central governments. It pointed to earlier inflammatory and derogatory speeches against farmers by Mishra, as well as statements by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar inciting party workers to take up lathis against farmers, and claimed that this was the context in which the Lakhimpur Kheri incident took place. The SKM has also called for Khattar to be sacked. It is clear from these incidents that these persons sitting in constitutional posts are using their positions for planned violence against ‘annadatas’ doing peaceful agitation. This is a crime as per the laws of the country, against the Constitution and the country, said the letter. In a related development, the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday announced that a retired High Court judge will probe the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and that it will give ₹45 lakh compensation to the families of the four farmers killed in the incident. The government will also give ₹10 lakh to those injured in the violence, said Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi. An agreement has been reached with the farmers. The government will give ₹45 lakh to the family members of the four farmers who were killed in the violence on Sunday. Besides, one member from their families will be given a government job at the local level, he said. The government will give ₹10 lakh to the injured and get the incident probed by a retired High Court judge, he said. Meanwhile, the Congress on Monday demanded the immediate dismissal of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra and the arrest of his son, who has been named in an FIR by the Uttar Pradesh Police. The party also demanded enhanced compensation of ₹1 crore for each of the farmers killed and sought immediate release of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who the leaders alleged has been illegally detained by the Uttar Pradesh Police. The Congress said it would hold protests outside the offices of all district magistrates across the country on Tuesday to protest against the incident. The Congress leaders protested outside UP Bhawan in the national capital and staged agitations elsewhere in the nation.
SC to decide whether the right to protest is an ‘absolute right’
The Supreme Court on Monday lashed out at farmers’ organisations for continuing with the protests against the Centre’s agricultural laws, saying that when the agitation snowballed into violence as in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, where eight people were killed, nobody takes rresponsibility When such incidents happen, causing deaths, loss to property and damage, nobody takes responsibility, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar observed. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal described the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on Sunday an unfortunate incident. The top law officer for the government said the court should make it very clear that protests should not continue when the challenge against the farm laws were in the highest court of the country. No more unfortunate incidents like this should take place… The protests must stop, Venugopal, supported by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, submitted. But how can there be protests when the matter is sub judice here? Why are there protests when the laws have been kept in abeyance? It is intriguing, there is no Act in place at the moment. The Act is stayed. The government has assured it will not give effect to it… So what is this protest for, Justice Khanwilkar, flanked by Justice C.T. Ravikumar on the Bench, asked Kisan Mahapanchayat, a farmers’ organisation. The farmers’ body wanted to sit on a ‘satyagraha’ at the Jantar Mantar in protest. Justice Khanwilkar said the farm laws were passed by the Parliament. The government is also bound by the laws passed by the Parliament… We are on principle here, once you go to court, how can the same party say that matter is before court, nevertheless I will still protest, the judge observed. The court, in its order, decided to frame legal questions in the issue. The Bench said it would first decide whether the right to protest was an absolute right. The court said it would decide whether farmers’ bodies could resort to protests on a subject — the legality of three farm laws — which was already sub judice. First we will decide these legal questions and then we will examine your question [whether permission can be granted to sit on ‘satyagraha’ at the Jantar Mantar], Justice Khanwilkar addressed Kisan Mahapanchayat. The Supreme Court fixed the case for final hearing on the two legal questions on October 21. It ordered the transfer of a case filed by Kisan Mahapanchayat in Rajasthan High Court on the same issue to itself. The Bench asked the Centre to file a consolidated counter-affidavit.
Government promises probe into ‘Pandora Papers’ leak
The government has promised an investigation into the revelations in the ‘Pandora Papers’ and assured appropriate action in such cases as per law, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday evening. Stating that only ‘a few Indians’ have been named in the papers so far, the Ministry said investigations in cases of Pandora Papers leaks appearing in the media will be monitored through a multi-agency group. Anil Ambani, Vinod Adani, Jackie Shroff, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Niira Radia, Sachin Tendulkar and Satish Sharma, are among the 300 Indians mentioned in the list so far. The government will also proactively engage with foreign jurisdictions for obtaining information in respect of relevant taxpayers and entities, the Ministry said, adding that India is part of an Inter-Governmental Group that ensures ‘collaboration and experience sharing to effectively address tax risks associated with such leaks’. The multi-agency group headed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman, with representatives from the Enforcement Directorate, the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Reserve Bank of India, will keep a tab of the phased disclosures from the Pandora Papers indicated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) website, the Ministry said. The website of ICIJ suggests that information will be released in phases and structured data connected to the Pandora Papers investigation will be released only in the days to come on its Offshore Leaks Database. It may be noted that following earlier similar such leaks in the form of ICIJ, HSBC, Panama Papers and Paradise Papers, the Government has already enacted the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 with an aim to curb black money, or undisclosed foreign assets and income by imposing suitable tax and penalty on such income, the Ministry said. Undisclosed credits of approximately ₹20,352 crore have been detected in the investigations carried out in the Panama and Paradise Papers by September 15. Rights group Oxfam India has called for immediate action by authorities and abolishing tax havens following the expose of the Pandora Papers. Tax havens cost governments around the world $427 billion each year. Developing countries are being hardest hit, proportionately. Corporations and the wealthiest individuals that use tax havens are out-competing those who don’t. Tax havens also help crime and corruption to flourish, Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar said. Abolishing tax havens can go a long way towards ensuring that governments actually have the access to tax revenue they need to fund quality public expenditure, he added. Many of the people whose names figure on the list have rejected financial misdoings. Among others, Biocon chief Mazumdar-Shaw on Monday said her hubsand’s offshore trust was bonafide and legitimate.
Stalin writes to 12 CMs to join hands against NEET, restore primacy of state govts in administering education
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday wrote to his counterparts of 12 States — Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, West Bengal and Goa — on the need to put up a united effort to restore the primacy of State governments in administering the education sector, as envisaged in the Constitution. He recalled a resolution adopted against the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in the Assembly. Our considered position has always been that the move by the Union Government to introduce NEET goes against the spirit of federalism and violates the constitutional balance of power by curbing the rights of the State governments to decide on the method of admission in the medical institutions founded, established, and run by them, the letter said. Stalin enclosed the report submitted by Justice AK Rajan Committee, which was appointed by the State government to study whether the NEET-based admission process has affected the socially backward students in the past few years. The Committee was also requested to suggest alternative admission procedures which would benefit all students, the feasibility of implementing such alternatives, and the legal steps to be undertaken to implement such fair and equitable methods. Based on the recommendation of the Committee, the Tamil Nadu State Assembly recently passed an Act called Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Act, 2021. We consider that the State governments need to assert their constitutional right and position in deciding the method of admission to their higher educational institutions he said. Stalin urged his counterparts to extend their support to ensure that the students of the respective States, especially those hailing from rural areas and marginalised sections of the society are not put to hardship in obtaining admissions to higher educational institutions. We need to put up a united effort to restore the primacy of State Governments in administering the education sector, as envisaged in our Constitution, the letter said.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
U.S. scientists David Julius, Ardem Patapoutian get Medicine Nobel for discovery of temperature, touch receptors
Two U.S.-based scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine on October 4 for their discovery of the receptors that allow humans to feel temperature and touch. David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian focused their work on the field of somatosensation, that is, the ability of specialised organs such as eyes, ears and skin to see, hear and feel. This really unlocks one of the secrets of nature, said Thomas Perlmann, secretary-general of the Nobel Committee, in announcing the winners. It’s actually something that is crucial for our survival, so it’s a very important and profound discovery. The committee said Julius, 65, used capsaicin, the active component in chilli peppers, to identify the nerve sensors that allow the skin to respond to heat. Patapoutian found separate pressure-sensitive sensors in cells that respond to mechanical stimulation, it said. The pair shared the prestigious Kavli Award for Neuroscience last year. Imagine that you’re walking barefoot across a field on this summer’s morning, said Patrik Ernfors of the Nobel Committee. You can feel the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the morning dew, a caressing summer breeze, and the fine texture of blades of grass underneath your feet. These impressions of temperature, touch and movement are feelings relying on somatosensation. Such information continuously flows from the skin and other deep tissues and connects us with the external and internal world. It is also essential for tasks that we perform effortlessly and without much thought, said Ernfors. Perlmann said he managed to get hold of both of the winners before the announcement. I only had a few minutes to talk to them, but they were incredibly happy, he said. And as far as I could tell they were very surprised and a little bit shocked, maybe. Last year’s prize went to three scientists who discovered the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus, a breakthrough that led to cures for the deadly disease and tests to keep the scourge from spreading though blood banks. The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1.14 million). The prize is the first to be awarded this year. The other prizes are for outstanding work in the fields of physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics.
Australia won’t welcome international tourists until 2022
The Australian Tourism Export Council, which represents a sector that made $33 billion a year from international tourists before the pandemic, wants international visitors to return by March. International tourists won’t be welcomed back to Australia until next year, with the return of skilled migrants and students given higher priority, the Prime Minister said on October 5. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia was expected to reach the vaccination benchmark on October 5 at which the country could begin to open up — 80% of the population aged 16 and older having a second shot. Last week, he outlined plans to allow vaccinated citizens and permanent residents to fly overseas from November for the first time since an extraordinarily tough travel ban took effect in March last year. But Mr. Morrison on October 5 said that after Australians, the next priority would be skilled migrants and international students entering Australia before tourists. Australian immigration has been at its lowest since World War II because of pandemic restrictions. The pandemic has also had a disastrous effect on Australian universities that rely heavily on fees paid by international students. The education sector fears that students will enroll in other countries unless Australia opens its border to them soon. The next priorities are skilled migrants that are very important for the country and who are double vaccinated, as well as students who are coming and returning to Australia for their studies, Mr. Morrison told Seven Network television. The Australian Tourism Export Council, which represents a sector that made $33 billion a year from international tourists before the pandemic, wants international visitors to return by March. Australia is racing to inoculate its population as an outbreak of the more contagious delta variant that began in Sydney in June continues to spread. Victoria State on October 5 reported a national record 1,763 new local infections. Australia’s second-most populous State also reported four COVID-19 deaths. The previous national record of 1,599 infections in 24 hours was set by New South Wales when its outbreak peaked on September 10. Hospitalizations peaked in Australia’s most populous State in mid-September. New South Wales leads the other States in vaccination rates and Sydney’s airport is expected to be the first to reopen to vaccinated travelers.
