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8 EDITORIAL
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2018
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The dragon beckons again Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China should be seen in the context of the flux of global geopolitics
W
ith the Rajya Sabha Chairman rejecting the notice given by 64 Opposition members for the impeachment of the Chief Justice of In dia, the focus has shifted to the presiding officer’s pow er to admit or reject a motion. The Congress, spear heading the move, is planning to approach the Supreme Court. Section 3 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, says the presiding officer may admit or refuse to admit the motion after holding consultations with such persons as he thinks fit, and considering the material before him. The law is open to interpretation on wheth er he can reject the motion on merits without sending the charges to a committee for investigation. A com mon sense view suggests the Chairman has to apply his mind to the nature of the charge. To argue that he should merely satisfy himself on the number of signa tures appended to the motion and straightaway consti tute a probe committee is unlikely to find judicial fa vour. However, it needs a court to delineate the contours of such an interpretation. Rajya Sabha Chair man and VicePresident M. Venkaiah Naidu held there is little merit in any of the five charges. He has consi dered the implications for judicial independence if an investigation were ordered into charges that he says are based on mere suspicion and conjecture. He has picked holes in the motion’s wording, saying the signatories themselves are unsure of the veracity of the charges. As for the legal foundation of his order, Mr. Naidu has cited the Supreme Court ruling in M. Krishna Swami v. Union of India (1992), which directed the Speaker (or Chairman) to act with utmost care, circumspection and responsibility and to keep equally in mind “the serious ness of the imputations, nature and quality of the re cord before him, and the indelible chilling effect on the public administration of justice and the independence of the judiciary in the estimate of the general public”. He has also gone by Mehar Singh Saini (2010) to elabo rate on the phrase “proved misbehaviour or incapaci ty”, used in Article 124(4) of the Constitution, the ground for impeachment of a Supreme Court judge. What is possibly the main charge — that Justice Misra misused his control over the roster to assign cases se lectively with a view to influencing their outcome — is indeed a serious one. But the question is whether im peachment is an option in the absence of concrete ma terial to establish this charge. The Opposition is divided on initiating impeachment proceedings and there are two views within the Congress itself. Taking the matter to court may result in a judicial resolution, but it is un likely to end the controversy over the functioning of the Supreme Court, an issue that has unfortunately as sumed a very political and polarised character.
Nabbing absconders The ordinance is not enough; the government needs to plug many more legal loopholes
L
ast Saturday, within hours of Prime Minister Na rendra Modi’s return to Delhi from an overseas tour, the Union Cabinet approved the promulga tion of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018. A fugitive is defined as someone who has left India to avoid criminal prosecution or who is already over seas and refuses to return to face the law. In recent weeks, banks have been asked to mandatorily collect passport details of those borrowing above ₹50 crore, and the passports of some wilful defaulters are being impounded too. Given that the proposed legislation was announced well over a year ago, the trigger for this belated haste is easy to see. While presenting Budget 201718, the Finance Minister referred to instances of of fenders fleeing the country to escape its justice system, and said the government was looking at a law to confis cate the assets of such persons till they return to face the law. By September, the Finance and Law Ministries had agreed on a draft Bill, but it was only introduced in the Lok Sabha this March, in a session that proved to be a washout. The government is no doubt conscious of the clamour for tough action on absconding offenders, particularly those involved in financial misdemeanours and wilful defaulters of bank loans. There remains great consternation over liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s flight from the country, with his nowde funct Kingfisher Airlines having run up outstanding loans of over ₹9,000 crore from Indian banks. Both Mr. Mallya and former Indian Premier League commission er Lalit Modi, who faces an Enforcement Directorate probe for foreign exchange law violations, are in Bri tain. They left Indian shores for safer climes under the NDA government’s watch, as did diamond merchants Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and their associates, whose firms defrauded the country’s second largest public sector bank of over ₹12,800 crore. India is no closer to getting Mr. Modi or Mr. Mallya back to face the law, with extradition proceedings against the latter crawling through U.K. courts. No clear indications about wheth er their return could be expedited emerged during Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with his British counter part Theresa May last week. Meanwhile, though govern ment agencies have attached the diamond merchant duo’s assets in India, an American court has disallowed the sale of their assets in other jurisdictions while allow ing their U.S.based entity to offload its assets. The rea son: India is yet to pass a model law mooted by the UN for crossborder insolvency cases. It is not clear wheth er this ordinance can tide over this major handicap. The government may have opted for the ordinance route to deflect the heat from these cases of fraud, but it needs to present a coherent vision about its plans to bring back those fugitives who have already got away and plug the remaining loopholes in the system.
P.S. Raghavan
P
rime Minister Narendra Modi goes to China on April 27, against the background of turbulence in global geopolitics and some domestic disquiet about “softening” of India’s China policy. The international backdrop is worrying in many respects. The faceoff between the U.S. (and its allies) and Russia is arguably worse than during the Cold War. They confront each other, through proxy forces, in three active con flict zones — Ukraine, Syria and Af ghanistan. The recent U.S.French British missile strikes in Syria were a stark reminder. It now emerges that prior communication to the Russians had ensured that equip ment, personnel and civilians had been evacuated in advance. Ho wever, such deconfliction arrange ments seem to be episodic, and there is a lurking danger that mis calculation or brinkmanship might spark off a direct conflict at a local level. Edgy confrontation Sanctions — particularly the new U.S. legislation, CAATSA (Counter ing America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act), under which it can impose sanctions on any company which engages with Russia in the defence or energy sector — impart a sharper edge to the confrontation. This weapon
tralia and New Zealand. Unpredictable U.S. The unpredictability of U.S. fo reign policy is driving even its clos est allies to hedge their options. Ja panese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and Mr. Xi are to exchange visits in the near future — a significant breakthrough in relations between two strategic rivals, who were on the verge of a military confronta tion about five years ago. Japan (like India) is concerned about Chi na’s assertiveness in its neighbour hood and the geopolitical implica tions of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Yet, having failed to persuade Mr. Trump (with whom he claims excellent personal chemistry) to rethink U.S. withdrawal from the TPP and uncertain about the con sistency of U.S. policy in the re gion, Mr. Abe sees benefit in sus taining a dialogue with China, whose positive response reflects its own desire to keep in touch with a U.S. ally, in the face of con flicting U.S. signals on trade and security policies. The sharpening of U.S.Russia acrimony has complicated India’s relations with both countries. Be sides pressure to address the In
Mutual interest in serenity This is the backdrop to the current “reset” in IndiaChina relations. With a strengthening RussiaChina axis and with the U.S. taking its eye off China to deal with Russia, it is prudent for India to maintain a harmonious dialogue with China, even as we deal with the wrinkles in our relations with the other two great powers. China’s motivation in extending the olive branch may be similar: to maintain serenity in relations while it deals with its oth er challenges. This is not to say that India should not stand firm on its core interests, political, economic or strategic. We cannot overlook Chi nese designs in our neighbour hood — from Doklam to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives — or ig nore the larger geopolitical threat posed by the land and sea corri dors of the BRI. It is just that cir cumstances may have opened up some space for furthering mutual interests, without compromising on our other interests. Countries do not publicly admit adverse asymmetries in relations,
Trade issues While India is being asked to ad dress its trade surplus of about $25 billion with the U.S., Mr. Trump asked China (in a tweet last month) to reduce its massive trade surplus of about $375 billion with the U.S. by just $1 billion! He prob ably meant $100 billion, as has been suggested by his Administra tion, but it is worth noting that in 2017 alone, the U.S.’s trade imba lance rose by about $28 billion. America’s decision to withdraw from the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade grouping ex cluding China, effectively benefit ed China. India itself, running a trade def icit of over $50 billion with China, is in difficult negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Econom ic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade grouping that includes China, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Japan, Korea, Aus
but their policymakers have to fac tor them into their policies and ac tions. Of course, even countries in adverse asymmetric relationships have levers which can and should be used to further their vital inter ests. In most cases, this is best done through quiet dialogue in stead of public airing of differenc es, which hardens attitudes. Importance of messaging It is a valid point that the public messaging on this change in tone of the IndiaChina relationship could have been better. The course of IndiaChina relations in the past couple of years had creat ed a public narrative of bilateral frictions over CPEC, Doklam, our Nuclear Suppliers Group member ship and other issues, on which In dia had to take strong public posi tions. The transformation in the international environment, creat ing opportunities for nonconfron tational dialogue, could perhaps have been better explained. Fo reign policy can be pursued far more effectively when it is sup ported by public perceptions. The reality is that India has to maintain a pragmatic balance in its relations with the three major powers, remaining conscious of the fact that elements of these re lations will be continuously im pacted by the dynamic flux of to day’s global geopolitics. The Prime Minister’s visit to China should be seen in this con text. P.S. Raghavan, a former diplomat, is Convenor of the National Security Advisory Board. The views expressed are personal
Master of the next steps With the notice for his impeachment rejected, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra should proactively initiate reform
Faizan Mustafa
I
n an unprecedented move, se ven Opposition parties finally initiated the process to im peach the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Dipak Misra. VicePresident, and Rajya Sabha Chairman, Ven kaiah Naidu has rejected the mo tion. Whether the VicePresident can himself examine the merits of the impeachment motion in itself is debatable as this is the job re served for the inquiry committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. The matter may soon be in the Supreme Court. And if it is, the CJI should not constitute a Bench to hear this petition if the credibil ity of our judiciary is to be preserved.
On the Bench One charge against Justice Mishra pertained to the arbitrary use of his powers as ‘master of the ros ter’. On April 11, a threejudge Bench headed by the CJI had given a judgment upholding absolute power of CJI in the constitution of benches. A similar order was passed by a fivejudge Bench again headed by the CJI in November 2017, when for the first time in the Supreme Court’s history, adminis trative powers were used within 24 hours to overrule a judicial or der of a Bench, in this case headed by Justice J. Chelameswar. Another twojudge Bench of Justices A.K.
Sikri and Ashok Bhushan is sche duled to hear Shanti Bhushan’s pe tition later this week. Thus, Bench constitution is at the core of cur rent crises and something must be done about it without attributing motives to the CJI. “As a repository of constitution al trust, the Chief Justice is an insti tution in himself,” said Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, who authored the 16page April 11 order. Thus we are told not to question the CJI’s deci sions. But then by the same logic, is Rashtrapati Bhavan not an insti tution? Is the Prime Minister’s Of fice not an important institution of our democracy? Is Parliament not the most important institution? If the answer to these questions is in the positive, then how come deci sions by these high constitutional functionaries are routinely struck down by the judges of High Courts and Supreme Court? In fact if men were angels, there would be no need to limit the pow ers of public officials through con stitutional means. Judges too are humans like us and thus are falli ble. Judges are our last resort against governmental authoritar ianism and that’s why they must be insulated from the governmen tal control. But similar protection at times may be needed against at least the ‘administrative actions’ of Chief Justices. Thus if civil liber ties are seen to be under threat due to potential abuse of powers by Chief Justices, a review of ear lier judgments like Prakash Chand (1998) that held the Chief Justice as an ‘absolute’ master of the roster should be urgently taken up. Constitutionally speaking, the judiciary is not ‘state’ under Arti
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CJI’s impeachment The decision by the Rajya Sabha Chairman to reject the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice of India is short sighted (“RS Chairman rejects motion against Chief Justice Misra”, April 24). Given the simmering discontent within the judiciary the issue certainly deserved closer scrutiny as it was also a chance for the political class to engage itself in an enlightened debate on the wide range of issues affecting the higher judiciary. An impartial inquiry would have also instilled more confidence in the common man as far as the key watchdog of our democracy is concerned. C. Suresh, Andathode, Thrissur, Kerala
By rejecting the unprecedented, illconceived and politicallymotivated ■
GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
The impeachment controversy is now about a presiding officer’s power to reject a motion
diaU.S. trade imbalance, India has been warned that its defence and energy links with Russia could at tract U.S. sanctions under CAATSA — a development which could have a major impact on our defence preparedness. Russia’s intensify ing defence cooperation with Chi na and its actions in Afghanistan and with Pakistan are areas on which serious and delicate highle vel IndiaRussia dialogue is being pursued.
GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
Back to the court
was not wielded in anything like this form in the Cold War; its im pact could be far more devastating in today’s globalised world. Recent American sanctions on major Rus sian multinationals, whose stocks are internationally traded, wi dened the target beyond Russian oligarchs to a larger body of share holders within and outside Russia. As the U.S. ratchets up pressure on Russia, it has donned kid gloves in dealing with China, as indicated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tweets. A recent tweet appreciates Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “kind words on tariffs and auto mobile barriers” and “his enlight enment on intellectual property and technology transfers”.
cle 12. But in Naresh S. Mirajkar (1967), the apex court itself made a distinction between ‘judicial’ and ‘administrative’ powers of the court. Thus when the CJI acts in his ‘administrative’ capacity, his actions are certainly subject to fundamental rights, including the right to equality. On equality Right to equality includes right against arbitrariness. In E.P. Royappa (1973), the Supreme Court itself expanded the protec tion of equality when it observed that “From a positivistic point of view, equality is antithetic to arbi trariness. In fact equality and arbi trariness are sworn enemies; one belongs to the rule of law in a repu blic while the other, to the whim and caprice of an absolute mo narch.” In Tulsiram Patel (1985), the Supreme Court itself held that nonobservance of the principles of natural justice too violates right to equality. Thus the CJI’s partici pation in cases about his own pow ers has not gone well with those who believe in the fundamental rule of natural justice that ‘no one shall be a judge in his own case’. His recusal could have enhanced his own credibility and saved the judiciary from the crises. The Supreme Court Rules, 2013, framed under Article 145 of the
Constitution, do state that CJI is master of rolls. But since constitu tion of Benches is an ‘administra tive’ function, this function cannot be exercised at the CJI’s whims and wishes. Thus the cherrypick ing in Bench constitution may not be violative of ‘the rule by law’ but is definitely contrary to the ideals of ‘the rule of law’. Spirit of law at times is more important than let ter of law. An interpretation accepting no limitations on the exercise of the powers of the CJI and justifying even power to act in an arbitrary manner means a rewriting of the entire jurisprudence developed by the Supreme Court on the exercise of ‘administrative discretion’. Iso lated cases of even improper use of power should never be criti cised, and the Vice President re jected the motion because of this. But if there is pattern in which Benches are being constituted, it is to be more closely examined. In Prem Chand Garg (1962), the apex court held that rules made by the court violative of fundamental rights may be struck down as ultra vires of the Constitution. Thus if the rule of the CJI being master of rolls is used in an arbitrary man ner, such a rule should either be read down or there should be safe guards built into it. Certainly, all judges are equal and seniority has no bearing on the constitution of Benches. But then equality also means that se nior judges be treated equally with junior judges. Their exclusion from all constitutional Benches has certainly sent the wrong sig nals. Since in the roster prepared by the CJI after the press confe
rence by four seniormost judges, some subjects have been assigned to more than one judge, the CJI again decides on his own who gets which matters and thus has not in any way improved the situation in reducing his discretion. Moreover, all important matters have been reserved for the CJI. Amend the Rules The CJI yet again has this oppor tunity today which he should proactively use to bring in real re forms by amending the Supreme Court Rules on constitution of Benches. Any CJI would have a fairly good idea about the ideolog ical positions of all the brother judges and therefore even if there is no malice on his part, he can al ways constitute a Bench with judg es who are likely to go this way or that. This power therefore has a huge impact on the justice deliv ery system. In the wake of the cur rent crises, some mechanism can be evolved to ensure that one indi vidual does not have absolute power to make or unmake Bench es. We may disagree with a num ber of judicial and administrative decisions of the CJI. But none of his actions can really amount to ‘incapacity or proved misbeha viour’, i.e. grounds of impeach ment, and thus the rejection of the notice by the VicePresident. Let the CJI himself come for ward in leading the process of de veloping the mechanism that will exclude the remotest possibility of arbitrariness by future CJIs. Faizan Mustafa is Vice-Chancellor, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. The views expressed are personal
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step against the Honourable CJI, the VicePresident and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha has stopped a grave assault on the highest judiciary. He has saved the most important pillar of our democracy from falling victim to a vicious campaign launched by those possessed by ulterior motives and having scant respect for the institution. The common man appeals to the Opposition, especially the Congress, to stop destroying our respected institutions of democracy. Mahendra B. Jain, Belagavi, Karnataka
■ By pursuing the course of impeachment against the Chief Justice, the Opposition seems to have crossed the threshold limit of exercising its democratic rights. The Opposition needs to realise that we can progress only on the basis of strong
democratic institutions. The case here appears to be one of weakening a pillar of our democracy without a sound basis. Niranjan Sahoo, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
■ The higher judiciary always stands out as a beacon of hope and credibility especially when the other pillars, which include the legislature, the executive and the media, are fast losing their glory. The failed attempt at impeachment should not be considered as the end of the crisis. The CJI must strive to settle the issue with his fellow judges at least for the sake of the credibility of the higher judiciary.
Jaskaran Singh Gill, Phagwara, Punjab
Dalit unrest It is a fact that the socalled upper and middle castes
have failed in enabling a safe space for the socially unprivileged. By pretending that castebased atrocities do not exist and putting forth the argument that the issue is politicised, they have only exposed the bubble of social equality. Data on atrocities against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will give them a reality check. Amidst all this, attempts to dilute the SC/ST Act will only make the situation even worse(Editorial page, “A summer of gathering discontent”, April 24). Disha Goyal, New Delhi
■ Increasing violence against the minorities and Dalits can be attributed to a large extent to the regressive values being upheld and promoted by the ruling dispensation. Reason has been the biggest casualty in all this and issues are looked
at from partisan angles. It is next to impossible to have any sort of rational discussion on the issue without you being perceived as being either pro or anti somebody or thing. Constitutionally mandated rights for a citizen which should get strengthened as the Republic matures are instead getting overrun by identity politics. Manohar Alembath, Kannur, Kerala
Serial discontent One is in agreement with the report, “Regressive Bengali serials irk Mamata” (April 23). I may add that television serials in Telugu are going from bad to worse. The content is in very bad taste and shows that scriptwriters are unable to think of progressive ideas. The characterisation of women is bad with an emphasis on domestic violence. I am sure
that this is the case in other language serials too. What are the broadcasting regulators doing? Let me list some of the ills: there is an emphasis on novel methods of criminality, orthodox and blind beliefs and villainy by even women. P. Muralidhar Rao, Hyderabad
Handwritten and 75 p The article, “Last pen standing” (The Hindu– Magazine, April 15), should silence the doubting Thomases. The fact that the Musalman — with its editorial office in Chennai — which the article claims to be the world’s only handwritten newspaper, has a readership of 21,000 people across India is heartening. Who said the reading habit is dead? Jayanthi S., Chennai
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THE HINDU
OPED 9
NOIDA/DELHI
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2018
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THE WEDNESDAY INTERVIEW | AMIT SHAH
‘The Karnataka election is our gateway to the south’ The Bharatiya Janata Party president on why he thinks his party will win the Assembly election, and on the state of the party’s alliances Nistula Hebbar
How do you frame these elections in Karnataka, with a view to 2019 and other issues?
I believe that there are three issues which are im portant in Karnataka. One is the development yatra under (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, on which Karnataka has fallen behind. The Bhara tiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to take Karnataka along as well. Second, after 1967, caste, dynasty and appease ment have affected the elec toral politics of this country, and we want to change this to a politics of performance. This means development, and he who prioritises that should be given the oppor tunity to govern. We want to take politics to that level. Third, from the point of view of the BJP, we are looking at this election as a ‘gateway to the south’.
on expansion, which is why you see so many BJPruled States. We will win 2019 with more seats, not just a repeat of 2014.
development for all, of those who have voted for us and those who haven’t. We also want to bring this credo to Karnataka.
It is being said the Janata Dal (S) will emerge as a king maker in this election. Are you open to an alliance with them if you don’t reach the magic mark?
■
But, as a political party, the BJP also indulges in caste politics. You do bank on support from certain castes and communities while fighting polls.
There is a difference bet ween the two things. If a can didate, at the MLA or chief ministerial level, gets an ad vantage of belonging to a par ticular caste while fighting polls, that is one thing. But after having been elected, if you only look after the deve lopmental needs of a particu lar caste or community, that is a different matter altogeth er. The BJP has never done that. For example, it is said that if Mulayam Singh (Yadav) comes to power, he will only look after the Yadavs, and if Behenji (Bahujan Samaj Par ty chief Mayawati) comes, she will look after only the Ja tavs. But that is not said about the BJP. We believe in
■
All the opinion polls so far have shown the prospects of a hung Assembly in Karnataka. Are you worried?
This always happens with us. In Tripura, Uttarakhand, Manipur and even Gujarat, we are first shown to be be hind in the opinion polls, or that the poll is going to be a hung verdict, then we are shown to be improving. And exit polls end up showing us heading to a big majority. Thus I consider this a good portent for us if the first few opinion polls show a hung verdict (smiles).
In a lighter vein, it is said that if Karnataka votes one way, the rest of the country votes another. Are you worried about this trend if you win?
The BJP has broken many such electoral myths. And I’m happy to say that we will break this particular myth as well.
■
The Congress’s campaign has been very much woven around the issues of Kannada pride, the importance to the language, a separate flag, and today while filing his nomination from Badami, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah invoked the Chalukya king Pulakeshin defeating “northern king” Harshavardhan. What is your response to all this?
We are also not against the promotion of regional lan guages. There are many reso lutions passed by the BJP in its executives and councils where we have strongly sup
■
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
■
ported the promotion of re gional languages. In fact, we have more staunch views on promoting regional languag es than the Congress ever did. As far as invoking King Pulakeshin and Harshvard han to remind Kannadigas of regional pride, what about invoking the power struggle between the Wadiyars and Hyder Ali? Why is the Con gress giving so much impor tance to Tipu Sultan then? Apart from the battle in Karnataka, you are also locked in a battle with the Opposition on the issue of the impeachment of the Chief Justice of India and other issues.
The Opposition is expected to do this. Do you think they will praise us?
■
Prime Minister Modi had spoken against the politicisation of rape incidents at various fora, the latest in London, but the poll advertisement by your party then talks of rapes under the Congress government and the recent ordinance relating to death
penalty to rapists of minors. ■ We have come out with an ordinance. This is not politi cisation of the issue, but to say that we are a government that has taken strong steps in this direction. Bringing such an ordinance to further plug loopholes in these laws is the duty of the government, which we are speaking about in our advertisements.
How do you see the BJP’s relationships with what were once strong allies, like Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Shiv Sena? ■ If you had observed during Atalji’s (former Prime Minis ter Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s) time and in the time of UPA as well, when there are al liances, there were always differences of opinion too. We had alliances and diffe rences with Mamata Baner jee and J. Jayalalithaa, even with the Shiv Sena in NDA there were differences. Diffe rences were there between allies in the UPA too, and so too with our government now. In fact, we will go into the 2019 polls with more al
The flaw in the < > assessment you people are making is that the issues flagged by the Congress are not the ones resonating with the people of the State.” lies than we had in 2014. We have allies in Tripura, As sam. In U.P. we have two al lies, three parties in Maha rashtra are with us, Nitish Kumar has joined us in Bihar. Our alliance will be larger than it was in the last polls. If you take 2014, you maxed out in major States. It will be difficult to repeat that feat. Where do you expect to make up for this?
There are 219 Lok Sabha seats which we haven’t won and we can win in 2019. In the Northeast itself there are 18 seats we can win. There is Odisha, West Bengal where we are the number two party now and were at number three in 2014. In Telangana too there are seats we can win. We have been working
■
■ This is an election for ef fecting a change. Except for one district, I have visited ev ery district in the State, met my party workers and the people at large. Everybody knows this is an election that will bring a change in govern ment, and that the Janata Dal (S) is not the party to bring about that change. The situa tion of needing an alliance does not arise. We are win ning Karnataka with a com fortable margin.
But Congress president Rahul Gandhi has termed the Janata Dal (S) as the “B” team of the BJP. ■ I don’t take Rahul Gandhi very seriously, why are you? The flaw in the assessment you people are making is that the issues flagged by the Con gress are not the ones reso nating with the people of the State. On the ground, 3700 suicides by farmers is an is sue, the tottering civic struc ture of Bengaluru is an issue. I often say that the develop ment of Karnataka is stuck in Bengaluru’s traffic. Infras tructure, despite so much Central aid, has not been im proved. Up to ₹80,000 crore has been sanctioned by the Centre under various heads to the State, with the leap in funding between the 13th and 14th Finance Commis sions being nearly ₹1,30,000 crore. Even so, infrastruc ture is poor in Bengaluru. I make it a point to stay close to the airport when I visit,
else I know I’ll waste at least two hours to reach it to catch a flight. Law and order is weak, corruption is at its peak, and the system of go vernance has been absolute ly destroyed. The hierarchy of administration between taluka and Chief Minister has been destroyed. How do you respond to the huge loss in bypolls in Rajasthan. And the defeats in U.P. ■ No bypoll decides the go vernment at the Centre. It is not a comment on whether the people want the BJP or Prime Minister Narendra Mo di at the helm. That is decid ed in the general elections. When the time comes to de cide that whether you want Narendra Modi or someone else, I won’t take the name because the Opposition itself is confused on that score, then the people will support us. There are many reasons for that. We have had success in uplifting the lives of more than 13.86 crore people, by giving cooking gas to 3.5 crore households, by build ing 7 crore toilets as a com mitment to cleanliness and the dignity of women. Some media people show, say, a goat tethered to a toilet, in stead of being used. That’s the easy thing to do. We are launching campaigns to edu cate people on putting toilets to proper use, but I want to ask why the media hasn’t questioned why these toilets were not built in the last 70 years, why 5.5 crore house holds were not given power connections, 19,000 villages had been left in darkness. We worked on these issues. These are people we have touched and made a pious at tempt to uplift. And that is the reason we will be voted back.
How do you view the
banding together of the Opposition? ■ I only say that at one time the Congress party was the main pole of politics in this country — as BJP president I’m proud that now it is my party that is the fulcrum of politics in this country.
Do you think the party could have handled the fallout of the Kathua incident better as it invited much controversy? ■ There was a heinous inci dent of rape and murder, no one can support it. After the incident, local people from the area got together and said that the people being caught by the police were not the right people. Seeing this crowd, the local repre sentatives went there and said the Crime Branch of the CID should take up the inqui ry. A resolution was brought to the Assembly, even these two Ministers voted in favour of that resolution asking for a thorough probe. The CBCID then investigated and filed a charge sheet. At that point of time some lawyers went on strike. None of our people was there, but people from the Congress were there. No questions were asked to Ghu lam Nabi Azad as to why the man who was his polling agent was heading this strike. No one from our side has supported the rapists, not a single public statement has been made. Even so, there was a perception built that this was so. So percep tions should also be respect ed in a democracy, and we asked the two Ministers to step down. The media picked up this issue after the chargesheet was opposed by the lawyers, led by a person close to the Congress, but you people are not in the ha bit of questioning the Congress.
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Urdu and patriotism
FIFTY YEARS AGO APRIL 25, 1968
It is time to reassert Urdu’s unique contribution to the construction of India’s inclusive identity
With the crisis in the textile industry becoming more acute on account of the heavy accumulation of stocks, the Southern In dia Millowners’ Association today [April 24] directed its 175 membermills in Madras, Kerala, Mysore, Andhra and Pondi cherry to curtail their production by 331/3 per cent “until the position improves”. The membermills will forthwith suspend production for two days in a week but will pay layoff wages to their workers for the period of closure. The general body of the Association which met here [Coimbatore] today [April 24] under the Chairmanship of Mr. K. Sundaram, resolved also to close the mills for a day on April 27 as a token of protest against the high incidence of taxation imposed by the Union Govern ment. The Association requested the Indian Cotton Mills Fed eration to press the Government of India to enact legislation for curtailment of yarn and cloth production on an all India basis to avoid regional imbalance. It decided to request the Re serve Bank of India to liberalise credit facilities for textile mills as well as yarn trade.
Textile mills to curtail output
Mohammed Ayoob GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
The language that gave the country the most popular slogan of the independence move ment and produced unmatched patriotic verses during the freedom struggle suffered the most from Partition. Wrongly associated exclusively with Muslims and appropriated by Pakistan as its official language, Urdu has languished in India since Independence. “Inquilab zindabad” or “long live the revolution,” coined by Urdu poet and freedom fighter Hasrat Mohani in 1921, be came the principal slogan of millions who marched under Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership to demand the end to British rule. Subhas Chandra Bose chose three Urdu words as the motto for his Indian National Army: ittehad, itmad, qurbani, or unity, confidence, sacrifice. Poetphilosopher Muhammad Iqbal’s Ode to India, “Saare jahan se accha, Hindostan hamara”, or “Our India is unrivalled in the world”, came close to being adopted as the national anthem. During the independence movement it re verberated throughout the country with stirring verses such as “Mazhab nahi sikhata, apas mein bair rakhna; Hindi hain hum watan hai Hindostan hamara”, or “Religion does not teach us to bear malice towards one another; We are all Indians and India is our homeland.” This poem was projected as the national anthem of the country as India neared Independence and was recited at the opening session of the Constituent Assembly in Decem ber 1946. Had Pakistan not appropriated Iqbal as the pro genitor of the idea of a Muslim homeland, the poem, unpa ralleled for its simplicity and intensity of emotion, would have certainly been adopted as the national anthem. Urdu poetry was a major vehicle for the expression of pa triotism and defiance of British rule. Ramprasad Bismil’s “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai” (“The de sire for martyrdom burns in our hearts”) became extremely popular once word spread that Bhagat Singh recited it on his way to the gallows. Josh Malihabadi’s “Mera naara, inqilaab o inqilaab o inqilaab” (“My slogan: revolution, revolution, revolution”) captured the spirit of the times succinctly. There is a gem of a poem by Iqbal titled “Naya Shivala” or “New Temple,” which has not received adequate recogni tion. Here, Iqbal argues that Indians must shed their diffe rences and build a temple dedicated to India rather than to a particular deity. In conversation with an imaginary Brah min, Iqbal berates the latter for harbouring malice towards fellow countrymen. He simultaneously accuses the Muslim preacher for imbibing nothing but violence from his God. Iqbal concludes with the ringing assertion: “Finally, in dis gust I have given up both the temple and the mosque; I have given up listening to the Muslim preacher’s sermons and to your tales; You think that God resides in your idols of stone and clay? To me, every particle of my country’s dust is God”. It is time to reassert Urdu’s unique contribution to the construction of India’s inclusive national identity currently under threat from divisive forces of communalism and chauvinism. Mohammed Ayoob is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations, Michigan State University
CM YK
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Meeting Mr. Muivah
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This refers to a situation where an individual, a bu siness or a government is unable to gather enough cash to meet its payment obligations to lenders. A li quidity crisis is different from a solvency crisis where the total value of an entity’s assets is less than the value of its overall lia bilities. A business facing a liquidity crisis may be un able to meet its liabilities in a timely manner, but the value of its assets may still be much greater than that of its liabilities. In some cases, the inability to meet its immediate obligations can force a business to sell its assets at low prices to raise immediate cash. Such a fire sale of assets can end up threatening its solvency. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
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To be a reporter is to never give up the chase Vijaita Singh
A condolence meet is the unlikeliest occasion on which to get an interview. Yet, it happened with me. Thuingaleng Muivah (now 84), the general se cretary of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Naga lim (IsakMuivah), or NSCNIM, was in Nagaland House on June 29, 2016. He was there to pay his last respects to his compa nion and important leader of the organisation, Isak Chisi Swu, who had passed away at a Delhi hospital a day earlier at the age of 86 after a pro longed illness. Nagaland House, at A.P.J. Abdul Ka lam Road in central Delhi, was teeming with people who had gathered to catch a glimpse of Swu. For the uninitiated, bagging an interview, leave alone a conversation with Mr. Muivah is an uphill task as he lives un der police protection in a government bungalow on Lodhi Road. His move ments are monitored. The
security layer around him was further enhanced af ter the NSCNIM signed a framework agreement with the Government of India on August 3, 2015 to find a solution to the com plex Naga issue. There are occasions when Mr. Muivah speaks to the media and issues statements, but they be came extremely rare after the group signed the agreement. As I stood there, wait ing for the casket to arrive, there was a flurry of activ ity. There were a number of sport utility vehicles be ing driven in and I saw an elderly person getting down from one with the help of security person nel. As he walked in, I real ised it was Mr. Muivah. I followed him to a VIP room, a big hall, being rea died for him. I quickly took out my phone and switched on the recorder. I sat at his feet and fired my questions. Hard of hearing, Mr. Muivah ad justed his ear plugs and answered the questions
patiently. He said the out fit had not given up the de mand of sovereignty. He also said that separate flags and passport for the Nagas were not just a “de mand” as “Nagas were never under the Indian rule.” Though it was a brief interview, there were attempts to interrupt the conversation. I persisted. I did not get up till I got my answers. After the interview was published, a senior go vernment official sought to know when and where I had spoken to Mr. Muivah, and who arranged the in terview. Needless to say, like any journalist, my standard response was: we don’t disclose our sources. Mr. Muivah’s statement put the government in a spot as the Opposition questioned the framework agreement. I was glad that the pavement thumping worked. It’s a different thing that the Naga peace deal is still nowhere in the picture, and shrouded in mystery.
The following is the concluding portion of Mr. Bonar Law’s [annual] Budget statement [for Britain, announced in Lon don]: The yield from tobacco this year would be £7,500,000. There would be a small additional duty on matches yielding £600,000, also additional 118 per hundred weight on sugar yielding this year £12,400,000. The Chancellor announced that there would be a luxury tax following the French example and asked the House to appoint a Select Committee to frame schedules defining articles. The tax would be at the rate of twopence in the shilling. Mr. Bonar Law concluded by express ing the conviction that the House would examine the propo sals with a full realisation of the necessities and with a desire to help the Government. He was perfectly certain that the coun try would bear the additional burden with the same spirit with which it had borne sacrifices far greater than money. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
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