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Archives for May 2018

Campaigning for Assembly elections in Karnataka ends today

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Campaigning for Assembly elections in Karnataka will end this evening (Thursday, May 10).

The state will go to polls on Saturday to elect a new assembly. Out of 224 constituencies, voting will take place for 223 seats.

Polling in Jayanagar assembly constituency has been countermanded following the death of BJP candidate BN Vijay Kumar.

Counting of votes will be taken up on the 15th of this month. A total of 2655 candidates, including 219 women are in the poll fray for the Saturday’s polls.

Political parties will hold multiple rallies and roadshows today in their last ditch efforts to woo the voters.

BJP President Amit Shah and the party’s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa will participate in a roadshow in chief minister Siddaramaiah’s Badami constituency today.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi will also campaign for their party on the final day.

Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw

Modi says Rahul’s PM remark is dynastic ‘arrogance’

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In the final lap of his campaign blitz in Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a sharp attack against Congress President Rahul Gandhi, saying a “dynast” aspiring to be the Prime Minister was sheer “arrogance”.

Addressing back-to-back rallies at different places in the southern state, which votes on Saturday to elect a new government, Modi said Congress leaders were arranging big meetings and conspiring to remove him.

Taking a swipe at Gandhi, Modi said he was day-dreaming of becoming the Prime Minister in 2019.

“There is a leader of Congress who thinks only about one thing throughout the day – how to be the Prime Minister. Such is the arrogance of the ‘naamdhaar’. This naamdhaar (dynast) doesn’t care about others who are standing in the queue.

“He came like a bully, marched his way ahead when there were others waiting with so many years of experience. How can someone just declare himself the Prime Minister? This is simply nothing but sheer arrogance.”

He said Gandhi with an “inflated ego despite losing 25-30 elections in the last four years” didn’t even bother about the leaders who have been waiting for 40 years and about other allies in the UPA.

“The Congress has lost in almost all the states in the last four years. But the ego of the ‘naamdhaar’ is still bloated. He says he will become the Prime Minister in 2019. Isn’t this his ego?”

During an interaction with prominent citizens in Bengaluru on Tuesday, the Congress President had replied in the affirmative when he was asked if he was ready to be India’s Prime Minister if the Congress emerges as the largest party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress hit back at Modi asking him if he thought he was the only one who had the right to be Prime Minister.

“Is Narendra Modi the only one with the right to be the Prime Minister?” Congress spokesman Anand Sharma asked.

Modi also accused the Congress, which has been in power in Karnataka for the last five years, of not doing justice with the aspirations of the people of the state and instead bringing six evils — “Congress culture, communalism, casteism, crime, corruption and contract system” — to the country.

He said Congress leaders were out on bail in a Rs 5,000 crore scam and had “absolutely no respect for many of our prominent institutions like the Election Commission, CBI, Army, Enforcement Director or Vice President’s office.

“The Congress has been on a spree to disrespect and belittle these great institutions,” Modi said, adding that they were were now questioning the judiciary and even calling for impeachment of the Chief Justice of India.

The Prime Minister also attacked his predecessor Manmohan Singh, who on Monday criticized the BJP government for its “disastrous policies” and “economic mismanagement”, leaving the country with crises that were avoidable.

“When Manmohan Singh had his government in the Centre, the remote control was at 10, Janpath (official residence of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi),” he said.

Under his rule, Modi said, it were the people who held the remote control.

The Prime Minister said he would continue to follow the orders of the “high command” — the countrymen, the citizens.

Kerala Governor seeks report from CM on twin political murders

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on Wednesday sought a report from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the twin political murders that took place in and around the state’s Kannur district.

On Monday late night, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) member K. Babu, 47, was slashed with swords by suspected Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists in Mahe, a three sq km area which is part of Puducherry, but comes within the state, and borders Kannur.

Less than an hour later, Shanoj, 36, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activist, was attacked with knives in Kannur and died in a hospital. Police said CPI-M workers could be behind the attack.

According to informed sources, Sathasivam has asked Vijayan to include the action taken report, also, as there were reports of violence breaking out in certain parts of Mahe on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Kerala police chief Loknath Behra and his Puducherry counterpart Sunil Kumar Gautam met in Thalassery, near Kannur, to discuss the case as investigating the murder in Mahe is the responsibility of Puducherry police.

“We had a meeting with the Kerala police chief and the probe has begun, with our team doing it,” Gautham told the media.

Behra said: “We had a discussion on the incident and we have decided to cooperate to probe the case. We are sure that very soon the accused will be arrested.”

Kannur district, which is the home district of Vijayan, has always been a sensitive area politically and has seen 13 political murders after he assumed office in 2016.

Out of these, in eight cases, CPI-M workers have been named as accused while in four, it is those of the BJP-RSS. In one case, workers of the Social Democratic Party of India are the accused.

The second-largest constituent of the ruling Left Democratic Alliance – the Communist Party of India on Wednesday expressed concern on what is happening.

CPI State Secretary Kanam Rajendran said that even though several all party meetings have taken place, the situation again turns bad after a while.

“In the past four months, four political murders have taken place.. this is a cause of concern and the state government should act,” he said.

Journalist Upendra Rai sent to judicial custody

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A court here on Wednesday rejected the CBI’s plea for additional custody of senior journalist Upendra Rai, arrested for dubious transactions in his accounts, and sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

Rai was presented before Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann who rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) plea seeking extension of his custodial interrogation and remanded him to judicial custody till May 23.

Owner of Printlines Media Group and formerly employed with Tehelka, Rai was arrested for dubious transactions in his accounts to the tune of over Rs 100 crore during 2017-2018.

He is also accused of using false information to obtain a pass to access sensitive areas in airports across the country and is alleged to have committed the offence in connivance with the officials of aviation company Air One Aviation Pvt Ltd and some public servants of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).

The CBI filed an FIR on Tuesday naming Upendra Rai, Air One Aviation Pvt Ltd, its Chief Security Officer Prasun Roy, some unidentified public servants of BCAS and others.

Rai, Roy, some public servants and other private persons were questioned by the CBI at its headquarters here, a CBI official said.

The CBI found that in 2017, Rai’s bank accounts show credit of Rs 79 crore with several transactions of over Rs one lakh each while in the same period the accounts reflect debit amount of Rs 78.51 crore.

Siddaramaiah’s political Strategy To beat BJP In Karnataka

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A Karnataka political analyst, Sandeep Shastri, has perhaps hit the nail on the head with his pithy observation that while Modi is relying on the BJP’s “pan-India nationalism (sic!)” to determine the outcome of the coming state assembly elections in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah has “strategically attempted to steer the issue away by privileging the local”. That, I believe, is the fundamental reason why it looks as if the Congress will triumph. The two “local issues” are both related to water: the Mahadayi in north-western Karnataka (Bombay Karnataka) and the Cauvery (Kaveri) in the southern reaches of the state.

The BJP is caught on a cleft stick on the Mahadayi (known as the Mandovi in Goa). Nearly four decades ago, the Karnataka government sought an answer to the severe drinking water and irrigation problems of the drought-ridden and perennially thirsty districts of of Belgavi (Belgaum), Vijaypura (Bijapur), Gadag, Haveri, Bagalkot and Dharwad, in addition to the twin cities of Hubbali (Hubli)-Dharwad, by proposing to link two tributaries of the Mahadayi river, Kalasa and Banduri, to divert some 7.56 tmc from the Mahadayi to the Malaprabha river. Ironically, it was the Vajpayee government at the centre that cleared the project in 2002.

The Goa government protested that this would cause “huge ecological imbalance” in Goa and damage the “fragile eco-system of the Western Ghats”. In consequence, the Mahadayi dispute was referred in 2010 to an inter-state Water Disputes Tribunal headed by Justice JN Panchal. The Tribunal is in the process of winding up oral arguments before going on to finalize its recommendations.
modi yeddy 650
PM Narendra Modi and state BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa at a farmers’ rally in Davanagere, Karnataka

Instead of letting matters take their quasi-judicial course, Amit Shah started playing political games to strengthen the electoral standing of his party in the forthcoming elections in which the outcome in the state as a whole is going to be substantially determined by who wins the argument over the Mahadayi. Typically, Shah worked out a jumla. After convoking a tripartite meeting between Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, Karnataka BJP leader and former Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa (of Bellary mining scandal infamy), and Shah himself, Parrikar was persuaded to write a letter to Yeddyurappa on December 20, 2017, saying “Goa will not oppose giving water to Karnataka for drinking water needs”.

Like Gogia Pasha producing a rabbit from a hat (“Gillie! Gillie!), Yeddyurappa revealed the letter with a flourish next day. However, only Yeddyurappa was left impressed with his act. Questions immediately started to flow. What, after all, was Parrikar offering in terms of tmc? Why was the settlement being offered only “if the BJP were voted to power”, as stated by Modi in his public addresses in the state. Why not now, especially as the BJP is in office both in Goa and at the centre?

Karnataka’s Congress Chief Minister Siddaramaiah rubbished the offer as a “violation of federal structure protocol” for why had Parrikar written to an opposition BJP party leader instead of officially to him, as one Chief Minister to another? Siddaramaiah pointedly said he was more than willing to visit Goa to discuss the issue “if invited”, adding that he would meet not only his counterpart but “Goa Congress leaders” too. Equally pointedly, the Goa Chief Minister has not had the courtesy to extend the invitation. He obviously does not have the political will to bail out the BJP in Karnataka by fleshing out the vague wording of his letter to Yeddyurappa. His aim – as was Amit Shah’s and Modi’s – was just to deceive the voters of north-west Karnataka by putting out words without meaning, the special political dirty trick of the Modi-Shah dispensation.
The people of Bombay Karnataka were not deceived. Indeed, they received unsolicited support for their skepticism from a BJP ally, Rakhi Prabhudesai Naik, spokesperson of the Goa Shiv Sena, who demanded, “We have to know who has given the authority to (Amit) Shah, who is from Gujarat, to decide about our water?” She emphasized what the people of Bombay Karnataka knew instantly and instinctively, that “Shah is merely bluffing the people of Karnataka”.

To muddy the waters further, the BJP’s Goa Irrigation Minister, Vinod Palyekar, arrived uninvited to the Kalasa-Banduri area in mid-January this year and uttered what is delicately called an “abusive word” to describe the people of Karnataka. Inevitably, a huge row erupted, with Vatal Nagaraj, a leader of Kannada Okkuta, the umbrella organization of protesting Karnataka groupings, asking to know “what authority” does the Goa minister have “to visit the state to inspect works. Was he asked to do so by the (Mahadayi) tribunal? Or the centre? Or was he invited by the state government?” The Karnataka Irrigation Minister, MB Patil, in effect answered those questions when he weighed in with the acute observation that it was none other than “Parrikar (who) has orchestrated this move”. The BJP tried to minimize the damage caused by “condemning the comments made by the minister” – but stopped short of suspending the man from primary membership of the party (as has happened to someone else we all know!)

The only sane suggestion has come from Rahul Gandhi who, at a public meeting in Hubli on February 26, suggested that the Prime Minister should take the initiative to “bring all the three chief ministers (of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra) together and find a solution to the Mahadayi issue. Don’t make excuses. It’s a drinking water problem, please solve this soon”. This sane, statesmanlike approach has no takers in Lok Kalyan Marg or Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg because the BJP is not interested in solving people’s problems; all they seek is to outwit the common man by offering the sky while digging up the communal grave.

BJP president Amit Shah at an election rally in Karnataka

At the other end of the state, from Talacauvery in south-west Mysuru to Billigundulu in the south-east where the Cauvery enters Tamil Nadu, the dispute has gone on without resolution since 1974 when the previous 50-year Mysore-Madras agreement, negotiated under British auspices, came to an end. In 1990, at Tamil Nadu’s instance, the issue was referred to the Cauvery Waters Disputes Tribunal. It took the tribunal a staggering 16 years to give its final award – an award that was rejected by Karnataka, leading to Tamil Nadu appealing to the Supreme Court under Article 132 of the Constitution. After further years of cogitation, the three-member Supreme Court bench, headed by the Chief Justice, thought it had rendered a Judgement of Solomon to bring the dispute to closure when it reduced Tamil Nadu’s share by 14.6 tmcf and added that to Karnataka’s share while seeking to comfort Tamil Nadu with thought that they (the SC) had declared inter-state rivers to be “national assets” and insisted on the Centre setting up the Cauvery Management Board “within six weeks”.

What was the Judgment of Solomon? When wise King Solomon was confronted with two women claiming to have given birth to the same child, Solomon ordered that the child be sliced in half. One woman agreed, the other tearfully dissented, at which Solomon concluded that the woman in tears who dissented was the true mother because no real mother would agree to her child being sliced in two. In this case, however, both the claimants rejected the slicing of the child Cauvery in the shares ordered by the court. Tamil Nadu refused to see its share reduced and Karnataka says it deserves not 14 tmcf more of Cauvery waters as granted by the SC but 40 tmcf more!

Meanwhile, the centre, in the looming shape of Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari, refuses to be rushed by the Supreme Court’s orders that the Cauvery Management Board and its Water Regulation Committee be set up within six weeks. Although leading farmers’ representatives – S Ranganathan and PR Pandian in Tamil Nadu and the Cauvery Hitaraksha Samiti President G Madegowda in Karnataka – have both welcomed the Supreme Court decision and asked that the uncertainty be ended with each state getting on with what it has received, no political party in either state is willing to accept the Supreme Court’s orders as final and irreversible.

karnataka bandh
There was a statewide bandh in Karnataka in January (this year) over the Mahadayi river water sharing dispute

This, of course, suits the Congress fine in Karnataka as the status quo remains, while the BJP is left carrying the can with regard to protecting itself from the censure of the Supreme Court for having failed to carry out its orders to establish the “institutional mechanism” for implementing the court’s directions “within six weeks”.

Thus, on both counts – Mahadayi and Cauvery – Siddaramaiah emerges on top of the political ladder. The BJP can’t win Karnataka, unless it starts stoking communal fires. And that too might backfire on them.

A Congress win in Karnataka in April-May will wipe out memories of the reverses it has suffered in the North-East, and set the stage for overturning BJP governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, as also allow the Congress to retain Mizoram which also goes to the polls in November (although few remember). No wonder Modi is wondering whether to call the general elections in November along with the states going to the polls then in the hope that another Modi Wave might reverse the anti-incumbency wave in these three key BJP-ruled states. On the other hand, Modi would be haunted by the thought of what happened to Vajpayee when he called early elections in 2004. While Modi impales himself on the horns of his dilemma, we’ll all know soon enough which way the pendulum finally swings

Erdogan Says Trump Renegade on Iran Deal, Impacting Entire World

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by Andolu Ajansi

The U.S. will lose out from President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, warned Turkey’s president on Wednesday.

The deal was made “possible after years of negativity, in the end raising hope all around the globe. At the drop of a hat, turning this deal around and retreating from this deal, possibly is not just going to impact the region but also the entire world,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told CNN International.

“This is not how international mechanisms work, international covenants and international conventional cannot be annulled at will,” he added.

“If any document bears your signature, you need to respect that, you need to abide by that,” he underlined.

The economy of the whole world is at stake, he warned, adding: “The U.S. might gain some certain positivities out of the withdrawal from this or the rising oil prices, but many of the countries in poverty will even be hit harder and deeper.”

“We don’t need new crises in the region,” he added.

Asked if Trump’s action could lead to a geopolitical war, Erdogan said: “That’s not what we would wish to see of course, this is not something would like to expect. However in my view, the U.S. will be the ones to lose. Iran will never compromise on this agreement and will abide by this agreement till the end.”

One must “respect an agreement you have signed,” he reiterated.

Bucking pressure from the U.S.’ closest European allies, and most of the U.S. political establishment, Trump on Tuesday pulled the U.S. out of the landmark nuclear agreement that world powers struck in 2015 with Iran.

Trump opted not to extend sanctions relief for Iran, vowing instead to re-impose nuclear-related economic penalties.

The 2015 deal placed unprecedented restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions, but Trump has railed against it since his presidential campaign, repeatedly calling it the “worst deal” he has ever seen.

All of the U.S.’ negotiating partners — the UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and the EU — agree that maintaining the accord is the best way to reign in Iran’s nuclear program.

SC pulls up ASI for failing to take a appropriate steps to protect Taj Mahal

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The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday came down heavily on the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for its failure to take steps to protect and preserve of the iconic Taj Mahal.

The apex court also expressed concern over Taj Mahal being infected by insects and asked the authorities, including the ASI, what steps they have taken to prevent this.

“This situation would not have arisen if the ASI would have done its job. We are surprised with the way the ASI is defending itself. You (Centre) please consider if the ASI is needed there or not,” a bench of Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta told Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni, who was appearing for the Centre.

Meanwhile, Nadkarni told the bench that the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was considering the apex court’s suggestion to appoint international experts to look into the issue of protection and preservation of Taj Mahal.

In March this year, the apex court had asked Uttar Pradesh government to place before it a draft of vision document on protection and preservation of the Taj and the environment in the Taj Trapezium Zone, which is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

The top court has been monitoring developments in the area to protect the monument, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1631. The mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

World leaders react to US withdrawal from Iranian nuclear deal

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[Carlos Barria/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from a multinational nuclear agreement with Iran, saying the deal is “defective at its core” and announcing “the highest level of sanctions” against Tehran.

Under the deal signed in Vienna with six world powers – the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union – Iran scaled back its uranium enrichment programme and promised not to pursue nuclear weapons.

In exchange, international sanctions were lifted, allowing it to sell its oil and gas worldwide. However, secondary US sanctions remain. United Nations inspectors have repeatedly confirmed Iran’s compliance with the deal.

Trump said the agreement – also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – was a “horrible one-sided deal that should never ever have been made”.

In response, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran would bypass Washington and negotiate with the other signatories of the deal, calling the US move “unacceptable”.

Following Trump’s speech on Tuesday, there was an immediate reaction by world leaders, including the other parties to the landmark deal.

Here’s a round-up of statements from around the world:

France, Germany and UK

“France, Germany and the UK regret the US decision to leave the JCPOA,” French President Emmanuel Macron, a champion of the deal, wrote on Twitter.

“The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake,” he added.

“We will work collectively on a broader framework, covering nuclear activity, the post-2025 period, ballistic activity, and stability in the Middle East, notably Syria, Yemen and Iraq.”

France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said in a radio interview “the deal is not dead”. He said Europe’s foreign leaders will meet next week with representatives from Iran to talk about the future of the JCPOA.

Germany also reiterated it also wants to uphold the deal. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said “the deal makes the world safer”, adding that Germany could find no legitimate reason for pulling out of the deal.

On Twitter, UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said he regretted the US no longer taking part in the nuclear deal.

“UK remains strongly committed to the JCPoA, and will work with E3 partners and the other parties to the deal to maintain it,” he added.

European Union
The top European Union diplomat, Federica Mogherini, called on the international community to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.

“The EU will remain committed to the continued full and effective implementation of the nuclear deal,” Mogherini said from Brussels.

“We fully trust the work, competence and autonomy of the International Atomic Energy Agency that has published 10 reports certifying that Iran has fully complied with its commitments.

“The lifting of nuclear-related sanctions is an essential part of the agreement. The EU has repeatedly stressed that the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions has a positive impact not only on trade and economic relations with Iran, but also mainly, [it has] crucial benefits for the Iranian people.”

China
China, one of the countries that signed the JCPOA, joined the Europe its response, saying the country is committed to protecting the deal as it stands.

China’s special envoy to the Middle East, Gong Xiaosheng, said in a press conference in Iran the agreement promoted peace.

“Having a deal is better than no deal. Dialogue is better than confrontation.” he said according to Xinhua news agency.

Russia
Russia, one of the signatories of the deal, said it will try to keep the deal functioning despite Tuesday’s decision by the US.

Yevgeny Serebrennikov, first deputy head of the defense and security committee in the Russian Upper House of Parliament also told RIA news agency Trump’s decision could put the nuclear talks between the US and North Korea at risk.

Israel
Speaking at a press conference in West Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded Trump’s decision.

“Israel fully supports President Trump’s bold decision today to reject the disastrous nuclear deal with the terrorist regime in Iran.

“Israel has opposed the nuclear deal from the start because we said that rather than blocking Iran’s path to a bomb, the deal actually paves Iran’s path to an actual arsenal of nuclear bombs and this within a few years time.

“The removal of sanctions under the deal has already produced disastrous results. The deal didn’t push war further away, it actually brought it closer.”

Barack Obama
In a written statement, the former US president, whose administration negotiated and signed the deal, issued a list of points as to why Trump’s decision is “so misguided”. “The reality is clear. The JCPOA is working – that is a view shared by our European allies, independent experts, and the current US Secretary of Defence,” Barack Obama wrote.

“The JCPOA is in America’s interest – it has significantly rolled back Iran’s nuclear programme. And the JCPOA is a model for what diplomacy can accomplish – its inspections and verification regime is precisely what the United States should be working to put in place with North Korea.

“Indeed, at a time when we are all rooting for diplomacy with North Korea to succeed, walking away from the JCPOA risks losing a deal that accomplishes – with Iran – the very outcome that we are pursuing with the North Koreans.”

Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain
Saudi Arabia, a regional rival of Iran and longtime US ally, said that it supports Trump’s decision.

“The kingdom supports and welcomes the steps announced by the US president toward withdrawing from the nuclear deal … and reinstating economic sanctions against Iran,” the Saudi foreign ministry said.

Riyadh’s allies in the Gulf – the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – also welcomed Trump’s decision.

United Nations
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that he was “deeply concerned”, urging the remaining parties of the deal to abide by their commitments.

“It is essential that all concerns regarding the implementation of the plan be addressed through the mechanisms established in the JCPOA. Issues not directly related to the JCPOA should be addressed without prejudice to preserving the agreement and its accomplishments,” Guterres said.

Australia and Japan
Both Australia and Japan have also said they regret the US decision. Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called on all sides to use restraint in their response.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Taro Kono issued a statement saying Japan hopes the pulling out does not affect Iran’s capabilities of adhering to the JCPOA.

“We hope that the countries involved will continue to deal with the issue in a constructive manner,” he added.

Turkey
In a response to the news, Turkey called Trump’s decision “an unfortunate step”, adding that the deal was an important step to prevent nuclear proliferation.

“The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action must be protected and continue to be implemented in full transparency, uninterrupted and complete, under the control of the IAEA,” a statement on the foreign ministry’s website said.

Ibrahim Kalin, spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on Twitter the US withdrawal could put the world at risk.

“Turkey maintains its firm stance against all nuclear weapons regardless of who owns them,”, he added.

John Kerry
The former US secretary of state also issued a statement in support of the deal.

“Today’s announcement weakens our security, breaks America’s word, isolates us from our European allies, puts Israel at greater risk, empowers Iran’s hardliners, and reduces our global leverage to address Tehran’s misbehaviour, while damaging the ability of future Administrations to make international agreements,” John Kerry wrote.

“No rhetoric is required. The facts speak for themselves. Instead of building on unprecedented nonproliferation verification measures, this decision risks throwing them away and dragging the world back to the brink we faced a few years ago.

“The extent of the damage will depend on what Europe can do to hold the nuclear agreement together, and it will depend on Iran’s reaction. America should never have to outsource those stakes to any other country. This is not in America’s interests. We should all hope the world can preserve the nuclear agreement.”

Javadekar urges students to join Swachh Bharat Summer Internship

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The Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar has urged students to come forward and become part of the nationwide Swachhta Mission by participating in “Swachh Bharat Summer Internship- 100 Hours of Swachhata” campaign.

:Swachh Bharat Summer Internship – 100 Hours of Swachhata” – was launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in association with the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to engage youth across the country for sanitation related work and village level development.

The program from 1st May to 31st July is aimed to develop the skill and orientation of youth for sanitation related work, bring youth across the country to make a significant contribution to the swachhta revolution and integrate youth in the community service in rural areas in the run up to the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Javadekar has said that Swachh Bharat Programme, launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has now become a people’s movement in the country. In a tweet/video message, Javadekar said that Prime Minister launched Swachh Bharat campaign three years ago and now it has caught the imagination of the public and large numbers of people are participating in it.

The HRD Minister said that now it is turn of the youth to participate in Swachh Bharat Summer Internship by visiting villages for 10 to 15 days during the summer vacation for making clean and dirt free ambiance. He said that this is the self-education and people’s education process to ensure the large scale participation of the people.

Students enrolled in Colleges and Universities may apply in “Swachh Bharat Summer Internship” through the enrolment form. Candidates may participate individually or in teams also. The location and team size may be decided in consultation with Nodal Officers.

After enrollment for the internship through the website, candidates will be accepted as valid only once approved by the Nodal Officer at the Parent Institution. Candidates are to devote at least 100 hours conducting Swachhata-related activities in rural areas selected by them and approved by the parent institution. The last date of registration is 15th May.

An Internship Report to be submitted by the candidate on the online portal in the prescribed format within 15 days of completion of fieldwork. The online report submitted by the candidate shall be reviewed and approved by the Nodal Officer for the purpose of certification and rewards.

All participants will be given a Swachh Bharat Internship Certificate on completion of their internship and its approval by the parent institution. 2 curriculum credits will be given to interns whose internship reports are found eligible to get credits by parent institution. The Best 3 interns/ teams will be recognized at college, university, state and national levels.

The winners will be awarded by Shields / cups and special certificates at College Level:

In addition to certificates, Cash Awards will be given along with appropriate certificates as per the following:

University Level: Rs 30,000, Rs 20,000, Rs 10,000 along with appropriate certificates. State Level: Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000, Rs 20,000 along with appropriate certificates.

National Level: Rs 2 lakh, 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 along with appropriate certificates.

Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw

India’s death penalty for rapists of young girls could push them to kill

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With the majority of rapes committed by someone known to the victim, the new law could drive offenders to murder to avoid detection

India’s government approved the death penalty for convicted rapists of girls under the age of 12, amid a groundswell of public outrage following the gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl in Jammu and Kashmir state.

The shocking case involved a girl from the Bakarwal nomadic tribe, who was out grazing her horses when she was abducted, drugged and murdered after a week of torture and repeated rape. It led to a nationwide outcry for swifter justice.

However, the hastily issued executive order is facing criticism from activists and politicians, who say the death penalty, usually meted out for severe crimes in India, will not be a deterrent to child rapists without an overhaul of the criminal justice system.

“I am afraid this [executive order] has very little credibility because what is required is certainty of punishment,” the leader of Communist Party of India (Marxist), Brinda Karat, told reporters.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau data from 2016, in 94.6% of cases, the perpetrator is known to the victim – usually a brother, father or someone from the family’s social circle. Reporting rape in India’s patriarchal family structure is often fraught with victim shaming and further alienation.

Child rights activists fear the introduction of the death penalty will make families more likely to cover up sexual crimes, and that rapists might kill their victims to avoid detection.

Critics are also concerned that the order, which was approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet on Saturday, makes no mention of boys. In a country where male children often grow up in an atmosphere that discourages them from showing vulnerability, experts say such a discriminatory legal provision will fail boys who have been sexually assaulted.

Unlike the current Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) 2012, which is gender-neutral and defines any person under 18 as a child, the new ordinance will stop boys who have been sexually abused from seeking the same justice accorded to a girl of their age, says gay rights activist Harish Iyer.

“I principally stand against the death penalty. This discriminatory legislation implies what boys are taught growing up – that they have to be the protector and not the protected. Children are vulnerable to sexual assault, irrespective of gender,” Iyer said.

A nationwide survey of crimes against children conducted by the ministry of women and child development in 2007 found that half of India’s children had been sexually abused.

Iyer said the new executive order was a shortcut for an overhaul of a criminal justice system that often discriminates against the poor. “This is sexism of a different nature, it favours one gender. What about protection of intersex children? Unless the crime is female foeticide, which is specifically gender-oriented, this is a shortcut for real measures.”

A man beats an effigy of one of the rapists at a protest against three rapes of girls, in Ahmedabad, India.
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A man beats an effigy of one of the rapists at a protest against three rapes of girls, in Ahmedabad, India.

He said the government should prioritise fast-track courts, child-friendly police stations, and a national registry of sex offenders. The new law proposes stricter punishment for convicted rapists of children under 16 years of age. Its definition of the victims and proposed age limit has triggered a debate about categorising victims of the same crime.

“What’s the explanation for death penalty for ‘gang rape of children below 12 years’? The state is a man. Why else would the reproductive age of a girl be the determining factor for the kind of punishment meted out to the rapists?” journalist Kota Neelima wrote in a Facebook post.

In 2016 India recorded an alarmingly low conviction rate (18.9%) for crimes against women. In that year, of all the child rape cases that came before the courts under the Pocso, less than 3% ended in convictions.

An issue of such a grave nature should have had a public discourse with participation from civil society stakeholders. By its nature, an executive order can be announced by the president of India on recommendation from the federal cabinet and does not require consultation.

After the gang rape of in Delhi in 2012, India introduced and launched fast-track courts, but the measures have not deterred violent sexual crimes.

In addition, homelessness and poverty increase the vulnerability of children to sexual predators as parents have to leave them on their own to go to work, making them easy targets.

In an election year, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to be seen as proactive in taking strong steps to make India safer for women. However, it is implementation, the real challenge in India, that will determine its true intention.

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