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Exclusive at ThePrint: The Modi government wants to see if ‘One Nation, One Election’ can actually work, so much so that the “law ministry has asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to examine the ‘feasibility’ of implementing the 2017 NITI Aayog proposal to hold two-phase, simultaneous elections”, Anubhuti Vishnoi reports for ThePrint. The ECI will submit its assessment in the next few days.
The man leading the lawyers’ agitation in support of the accused in the Kathua rape-murder case is actually an old Congress hand. It turns out that Jammu bar association president B.S. Slathia, who was behind the bandh demanding a CBI probe into the 8 year-old rape-murder case is a Congress leader and “very close to Congress veteran and Rajya Sabha leader of the opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad”, Maneesh Chhibber reports for ThePrint. Fault lines within the Congress have been exposed in the state, because state Congress chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir has openly criticised the protests.
Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi held a candlelight vigil at India Gate at midnight to protest against the Kathua and Unnao rape cases. “India simply cannot continue to treat its women the way it does,” The Times of India reports him as saying.
Dailies appeared to have a theme today vis-a-vis their front-page coverage.
In The Hindu, Modi’s ‘damage-control’ Thursday: With the rising number of protests in the country, against various decisions, or lack thereof, by the central government and the Supreme Court, PM Narendra Modi decided to finally address a few concerns Thurday:
1. Firstly, the PM “suggested to the 15th Finance Commission to consider incentivising states that have worked on population control”, the Hindu reports. This follows criticism from the southern states that they were being discriminated against in the 15th Finance Commission for performing well on development parameters. Essentially, the terms of reference for the commission suggest the use of 2011 census data instead of the 1971 one to allocate funds to states, which meant that states that had managed to reduce their populations over that time (a good thing) would get less money.
2. The Centre also wrote a letter to the Supreme Court, seeking a review of the order “diluting” the provisions of the SC/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. “The government said the ‘confusion deserves to be corrected’ and the 20 March judgment is ‘directly in conflict’ with the original intentions of the Act”, The Hindu reports front page. Also read Sanya Dhingra’s comprehensive report for ThePrint from Thursday.
The Times of India’s Supreme Court summary:
1. Justice J. Chelameswar refused to entertain a PIL on the Chief Justice of India’s powers, a day after the Supreme Court said the CJI was the master of the roster and alone had the power to constitute benches and assign cases. “Sorry, I cannot take up the case. I do not want to hear the case. The reason is too obvious… I do not want one more reversal of the order in the next 24 hours,” he said. The Times of India also reports him saying that “there is a relentless campaign in the last two months against me, accusing me of wanting to grab some office”.
2. Data breaches are a reality in the 21st century, and the SC acknowledges the potential of Aadhaar being misused. During the Aadhaar hearing in the SC Thursday, the apex court said that “the demographic data of millions of citizens could be a huge ‘gold mine’ for commercial entities”. The court stressed that safeguards were needed.
The Indian Express on Kathua and Unnao:
1. More cracks emerged in the J&K government with regard to the Kathua rape and murder case and violence in Kashmir. “In perhaps the strongest indictment by the Peoples Democratic Party of its alliance with the BJP since it came to power in 2015, J&K tourism minister Tassaduq Mufti has said the two parties have ‘ended up being partners in a crime (for which) an entire generation of Kashmiris might have to pay with their blood’. He said a lot more criticising the state of affairs in Kashmir. Read the article to get the full picture.
2. BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was detained by the CBI this morning. This comes after the UP police filed an FIR against him Thursday for rape and under the POCSO Act . The UP government has handed over to the CBI the cases of the alleged rape and the subsequent death of the victim’s father in judicial custody.
Except for Hindustan Times, which focused on the following:
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Defence Expo in Chennai Thursday, an opportunity he used to criticise the “laziness, incompetence or perhaps some hidden motives” behind tardy military procurements by the former UPA government. He also ran into Cauvery protesters shouting “go back Modi”.
2. 23 regional boards have promised the Centre that they will stop the practice of inflating marks awarded in Class XII board exams. This means that Delhi University colleges may also stop setting unrealistically high cut-off percentages for admission this year; that is, if everyone joins the bandwagon.
Business Class
Finally some ‘achhe din’ for the economy. The Economic Times reports, “Industrial production grew faster than 7 per cent for the fourth month running in February while consumer inflation moderated to a five-month low in March…” It raises the hope that the RBI will not raise interest rates any time soon.
The mega merger of Idea Cellular and Vodafone India may hit a roadblock. The Economic Times reports, “The telecom department (DoT) is likely to shortly ask Vodafone India and Idea Cellular to collectively pay nearly $3 billion (approx. Rs 18,870 crore) of dues relating to a mix of pending licence fees, spectrum usage charges (SUC) and one-time spectrum charges (OTSC) as a pre-condition for clearing their mega merger…”
The government may consider changing some ‘restrictive conditions’ to make the sale of Air India more attractive for the prospective buyers, reports Mint.
News it’s just kind of cool to know
Kidambi Srikanth is offically the World Number 1 in men’s singles badminton. The Badminton World Federation rankings came out Thursday, and the shuttler from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh is now the second Indian badminton player, after Saina Nehwal, to make it to number one after rankings were computerised, The Times of India reports.
Reservation in government jobs for several ‘special groups’, including women, has been removed in Bangladesh after the country witnessed unprecedented protests. Bangladesh Prime Minister Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the decision Wednesday, NDTV reports.
The Quint has been looking closely at electoral bonds, and they have found “that electoral bonds have hidden alphanumeric numbers printed on them to track down the link between donors and political parties”. Read their story to know more.
Point of View
BJP leaders observed a day’s fast Thursday to protest against the logjam in the just-concluded Budget session of Parliament. The Indian Express, in its editorial, criticises the party, writing, “But what did the BJP’s senior leadership do to end the logjam and get the house to work?”
Following protests over the Cauvery dispute, all the IPL matches have been shifted out of Chennai. The Hindu, in its editorial, criticises the administration for the decision. It writes, “Without shifting IPL out, the rights of fans and protesters could have been protected.”
Kathua and Unnao have emerged as symbols of the despicable state of the society we live in. Ashoka University vice-chancellor Pratap Bhanu Mehta, in his column in The Indian Express, writes, “In Kathua and Unnao, just blaming politicians is another way of exonerating ourselves.”
It is not just the rape, but the support for suspects that has shaken the conscience of the nation in the Unnao and Kathua rape cases. CPM politburo member Brinda Karat writes in her column in The Hindu, “In Kathua and Unnao, the common feature is the blatant support given by BJP leaders to those accused of rape.”
Does morality matter in economics as a science? Former World Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu thinks so. In his column in The Indian Express, he writes, “To deal with corruption, it is not enough to just get fiscal policies right. It is in our collective long-term interest to nurture individual values.”
The terms of reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission continue to evoke sharp reactions. Patna-based economist Shaibal Gupta, in his column in The Times Of India, writes, “Any stand by the advantaged states, be they in south or north, to suggest that the Finance Commission should not attempt any equalisation is actually tantamount to a step towards secession of the advantaged states from the Indian union, instead of consolidating the nation.”
Khareedega kaun is a question that arises for Air India. All potential serious bidders from India have made it clear that they are not interested. Quite possible that the airline may not get sold at all. It has a mountain of debt and large legacy costs. It makes more sense for a serious entrepreneur to start a new airline. Air India’s debt and giving a golden handshake to its employees is a sovereign obligation that will have to be honoured. Its prized landing slots, ground handling and maintenance facilities, real estate will have to be sold piecemeal. It has loyal customers, especially amongst the diaspora, whom the Gulf carriers will nibble away. Keeping the Maharajah going for so long past his natural life has cost the nation a lot of money.