Jailing Opposition leaders is a failed idea. It hasn’t worked in India and Bangladesh, Pakistan too are strong examples. Such moves don’t deplete political power and they certainly don’t appear to hurt leaders’ popularity. With a trial yet to begin, Manish Sisodia’s prolonged incarceration had symptoms of the same problem.
Political cartoonists speak truth to power in Bangladesh. In India, they are censored
Political cartoonists are back in Bangladesh. So is the idea of speaking truth to power. Cartoonists question rulers, especially those stifling civil liberties. By satirizing despots, they actually cut them to size. Closer home, India isn’t setting a good example either by removing a cartoon about coalition governments from textbooks.
Hindenburg’s charges demand a pointwise response from SEBI & govt. Outrage won’t suffice
SEBI is a vital financial regulator and must go the extra mile to show it remains uncompromised. Hindenburg’s allegations against chairperson Buch need pointwise responses. General denials, outrage, and attacks on Hindenburg betray government and SEBI’s defensiveness. Stock markets haven’t reacted so far, but only transparency will ensure long-term confidence.
Bail under UAPA and PMLA is virtually impossible to obtain. Occasionally, at SC level, it is granted but trial courts remain diffident. Terror one can understand, but what is called money laundering is often tax evasion. Perhaps the honourable apex court needs to comprehensively review bail restrictions under these two Acts, judge whether these are unduly harsh, do not conform to basic constitutional principles and well established criminal jurisprudence.