ED Case: Interim Bail For Chidambaram

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim protection from arrest to former Union finance minister P Chidambaram till August 26 in connection with the INX Media case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A bench of Justices R Banumathi and A S Bopanna said it will hear on August 26 the appeal filed by Chidambaram against the Delhi High Court’s order rejecting his anticipatory bail plea in the INX Media cases registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED.

After hearing the arguments from both sides, Justice Banumathi said, “In the ED matter. Chidambaram has not been arrested.”

During the proceedings, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the former Union minister, submitted, “Chidambaram’s fundamental right of access to justice has been frustrated by the way in which the plea against the Delhi High Court verdict was not heard despite moving the Supreme Court on time.”

Sibal said, “After the arguments were over, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had given a note to Justice Sunil Gaur, who was the high court judge. We were not given a chance to reply to that.”

To this, Mehta said, “Do not make false statements. I did not give it after the arguments were over.”

Sibal claimed, “The high court judgment is a verbatim copy of what is in the note. Comma for comma, full stop for full stop. Everything is a copy, so the note becomes the basis of denying bail to Chidambaram,.’

Mehta contended, “There are evidences in the form of digital documents, email exchanges. Corruption money has travelled through money laundering. He (Chidambaram) has at least 10 properties and 17 bank accounts abroad. That is what we have found out so far.”

After the order was passed, Mehta wanted to give some ED documents to the court but Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who also appeared for Chidambaram, objected, saying this had previously happened in the high court.

The apex court did not allow Mehta to submit the documents, saying everything will be taken up on Monday.

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Pulwama Revenge

Six LeT Militants In Coimbatore: Intel

Security has been beefed up here and general red alert has been sounded after the city police received information regarding six terrorists infiltrating Tamil Nadu on Friday.

“We received the information that six terrorists have come to Tamil Nadu and they are moving towards Coimbatore. And so we have increased the security at shopping malls, important temples and at important installations.

“We have also informed the army and air force to alert their defences. We have also put vehicle checking points all over the city. As of now, a general red alert is maintained. There is no need to worry and no need to panic,” said Sumeet Saran, Coimbatore Police Commissioner.

The police have deployed 10 Quick Reaction Teams (QRT) at strategic locations as a precautionary measure. And almost 2,000 police personnel have been deployed for securing the city.

Further search operations are underway for the suspects. (ANI)

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Modi's Roadshow: Roads Closed, Traffic Diversions

Indian Automobile Sector – Stuck In A Jam?

A formidable lobby is looking for a bailout to come out of the current slump in the auto industry. Amidst a general economic slowdown, the Centre would have to think hard before obliging

“What is good for General Motors is good for the United States,” US Secretary of Defence Charles Wilson, incidentally a former CEO of the automobile giant, once said. Can such hype work for India’s automobile industry?  

From boost in the mid-1980s thanks to the “Maruti revolution” to a boom as the century closed amidst economic reforms that brought in many domestic and foreign players and lasted over 25 years, to an unprecedented bust now, is its latest story.

Its formidable lobby with any government is desperately looking for a bailout. Amidst a general economic slowdown, the Narendra Modi Government would have to think hard before obliging.

Forget the ‘B’ alliterations – the passenger cars sales alone have plummeted by 36 percent and 350,000 jobs are lost. The fall could rise to 40 percent with a million jobs at stake in the coming months.

As recently as March this year, India was ranked the world’s fourth largest automobile market after China, the USA and Japan, surpassing Germany in terms of sales. New car models were being announced every month.

Any warning or words of caution were lost in the cacophony of the elections whose outcome was decided on ‘nationalism’ platform, despite the economic slowdown and rising unemployment.

Last month, however, the sale of vehicles across categories in the country slumped 18.71 percent to about 1.82 million units, down from about 2.24 million units in July 2018. This has been the steepest fall in nearly 19 years.

The combined vehicle dispatches across all categories, from factories to dealers, fell by about a fifth. Dispatches of passenger vehicles fell by almost a third with passenger cars declining by a steep 36 percent or by over a third compared to the same month 2018. Dispatches of motorcycles fell by almost a fifth and scooters by more than 12 percent, while dispatches of trucks, buses and light commercial vehicles were down by over 37 percent.

Auto industry contributes over seven percent of India’s GDP. Its honchos say this is the worst-ever crisis. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data shows that the sector also accounts for 14 percent of India’s total GST collections. Now, the government’s revenue is also hit.

The industry found some solace in the fact that historically, vehicle sales decline in the months preceding elections, and expressed the hope that demand following the elections would pick up. But like the overall economy, this did not happen.

Polls’ uncertainties drove people to postpone vehicle purchases. Ownership costs, an overall weak economy affecting demand and floods thanks to climate change in many parts of the country last year, as also this monsoon, combined to squeeze auto demand.

Government policies contributed to the confusion. It imposed deadline of mandatory transition to the Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) emission norms. It pushed another simultaneously to convert some vehicle categories to electric from the present internal combustion engine (ICE) technology that drives three of the four vehicles on the road. It proposes to ban all ICE-driven vehicles under 150cc in six years and all three-wheelers within four.

The automobile industry has mounted a quiet resistance to the technology-switch and now, it is the first major producer/employer to loudly protest the government’s economic policies. After a gap of over five years, one hears again the accusation of “policy paralysis.”

The entire auto industry is hit. To cope with slow demand, 15 auto makers including Honda, Maruti Suzuki, Nissan, Datsun, Mercedez and Indian ones like Tata and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) have reduced seven percent workforce as they stagger production. Some have declared two weekly holidays.

This extends to ancillary units like Japanese motorcycle maker Yamaha Motor and auto components makers including France’s Valeo and Subros. They add up to 100,000 jobs lost, according to a Reuters report.

India’s jobless rate rose to 7.51 percent in July 2019 from 5.66 percent in July 2018, according to private data group CMIE whose data is more up-to-date than government figures and regarded in financial markets as more credible.

Seven percent of those in temporary jobs are sacked. Swank car sales outlets have closed down enforcing more job-cuts. There is also fall in insurance that is mandatory before a vehicle touches the road.

Auto-makers are concentrated in and around Mumbai, Pune, besides Gujarat, Modi’s home state. Chennai accounts for 35 to 40 percent of all car manufacture.  At Gurugram and Manesar, the Maruti Suzuki hub in Haryana, 40,000 to 50,000 workers have already been laid off.

If that is any consolation to India, layoffs in global auto industry have hit Mexico, China and the US as well. While all are hit by a general slowdown, Edelweiss Research says India’s auto slump is different from others, differs from the ones it suffered in the past and is driven by domestic factors. Much of rural India’s auto aspiration was driven by non-banking financial institutions. But they were hit by November 2016 demonetization of 83 percent of currency in circulation.

Changing social mores are contributing to the slump. While owning a car and one’s own house remain symbols of social status, the urban youth, at least, want to utilize their disposable incomes differently. They increasingly prefer a rented house and travel by app-based vehicles to escape repaying heavy loans on both and to avoid maintenance hassles. This partly explains the glut in unsold city houses and cars, two major producers/employers.

Sadly, the car/housing bust is unlikely to change the attitude of the politicians who failed to widen the roads enough and promote public transport. Among the car owners, the rich want to park vehicles free on public roads. On the other hand, the harried car owner rues traffic jams and delays at work, occasionally causing accidents or getting into road rage.      

Analysts say there are better ways of boosting and measuring the economy than car production. It is sad that many jobs are being lost in the automobile sector. But the way out is not to bail out the automobile sector but to create jobs in more socially useful sectors.

The crisis is expected to last two to three years. Perhaps, longer due to expected rise in costs  estimated at 13 to 30 percent due to safety, insurance and emission-related compliance. As for the fuel costs, with rising tensions in West Asia, it is anybody’s guess.

The writer can be reached at mahendraved07@gmail.com

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‘Unnao Case Shows Our Regression’

Ritu Narang, 45 is a social worker based in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, shudders at the trauma faced by the Unnao rape survivor. She feels such cases expose the hollowness of cosmetic campaigns like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.

The government often gloats about ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ and empowerment of women. It introduces schemes and policies towards these ends. Celebrities endorse the cause. Then a case like the Unnao rape surfaces and shakes us all. And that makes me wonder, if the society has taken one step forward and two steps backwards. 

When I think about just how much this teenager from Unnao has suffered over the past two years, I shudder. Her case just proves that in small towns and villages, girls, who show the courage to speak up about sexual harassment, rape etc., are silenced by means direct and indirect. What use are laws if lawmakers themselves twist it and use it against victims? What use are laws if the victim is no more alive to see justice? 

The Unnao victim was raped when she went seeking a job. Now, knowing that her father is no more and even her uncle is in jail, I wonder how her family must have survived for the last two years. In small towns, rape isn’t just a physical and mental crisis for the victim, it becomes an existential crisis for the entire family, battling stigma and poverty. 

If families of rape and abuse victims are supportive, this battle with the rest of the society becomes a little easier. But in my career, I have come up with several cases where the abuse is happening within the family.  

As a social worker working extensively towards women empowerment, I come across cases where the girls are being abused by their fathers and are being silenced by their mothers and elder siblings. There are cases, where more than one sibling is being abused. Even if we want to help in such cases, these young girls refuse to speak up or receive any kind of help. Living in fractured families, they find it difficult to trust anyone within their homes. With major trust issues, they do not trust any outsiders (social workers like me, who genuinely want to help) either. I am happy that I have helped these girls open up after working with them over a period of time. 

I strongly believe that all students, regardless of gender must be sensitised at school on various topics, which must include sex education. They need to be taught how to communicate well with the opposite gender. 

I have met many boys who have no idea how to speak to girls. They feel awkward around girls, even their sisters! Many a times, boys are just randomly beaten up for the mere act of walking with a girl. Is fear the foundation stone, on which a society is built or is it love?

Young boys in small towns and villages often fall victims to sexual harassment. Recently as part of the Balika Suraksha Abhiyan programme, when I went to a small town to make girls aware about women helpline number (1090), the girls asked me why the training was only meant for girls. Why aren’t there enough programmes to make men aware about just how their behaviours affect women? 

I have suggested principals at various schools to run awareness programmes for both boys and girls, every week. If schools can put so much dedication into preparing for annual day, sports day etc., they can very well earmark a day for social awareness programmes too.

Chidambaram Sent To Custody Till Aug 26

A special CBI court on Thursday sent former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram to CBI custody till August 26 in the INX Media corruption case. His plea for anticipatory bail comes before Supreme Court on Friday.

The former union minister was arrested by the CBI from his residence in New Delhi late on Wednesday.

The court said family members and lawyers are permitted to meet Chidambaram for 30 minutes a day.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who argued for the CBI, had moved an application seeking 5-day custody of Chidambaram.

Mehta argued that custodial interrogation of the Congress leader was required as the former Finance Minister was “evasive” and “non-cooperative” in the investigation.

Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar heard the arguments of the CBI and Chidambaram’s counsels. Mehta said that the case, which is a classic example of money laundering, is in the pre-charge sheet stage.

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi defended Chidambaram saying he had appeared before the media on Wednesday even when he was not required to.

“The man was exercising his legal rights. He had no reason to address the nation in a press conference. Yet he walked in with his head held high and addressed the press conference and the media still calls him an absconder. That is very unfair and disrespectful,” Singhvi told reporters before leaving for the Rouse Avenue Court here.

Singhvi is also one of the counsels for Chidambaram along with Kapil Sibal said the media was unnecessarily trying to sensationalize the issue.

“The media is sensationalizing it. The man (Chidambaram) was having a legal conference with me till 7 pm yesterday evening and addressed the press conference after that,” Singhvi said.

(ANI)

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BJP Plans Awareness Drive On Art 370

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to begin Jan Jagaran Abhiyan-public awareness campaign and Sampark Abhiyan on Article 370 from September 1. The organisers have spotted 370 places for such meetings.

BJP President Amit Shah, working President JP Nadda, senior ministers, chief ministers and others will participate in this program. This program will run from September 1 to 30. The campaign will be organized in 370 places and the big meeting will be conducted in 35 big cities.

Two committees have been formed for the preparation of the program which will be headed by Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

In the Sampark Abhiyan, two highly prominent people from different regions across the country will explain why Article 370 was abrogated and what will be the result, for this Amit Shah and JP Nadda and big leaders will meet the prominent personalities.

Under the Jan Jagaran Abhiyan, there will be public awareness in 370 places across the country, small gatherings will be rallies and many campaigns will be carried out. (ANI)

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Students Throng Schools In J&K

A large number of students on Thursday thronged their schools, which have reopened after a fortnight of their closure in view of the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A in Jammu & Kashmir.

“We are happy to be back. Due to holidays, our teaching was badly affected. Our teachers are making efforts to complete the syllabus. More friends are expected to join us this week,” said Amjif Hussain, a student while speaking to ANI.

“Now the atmosphere here is okay. We will now regularly attend school. Exams are just around the corner. We will put in more efforts to complete the syllabus,” said Muhammad Hussain, another school student.

“It is a matter of happiness that schools have been reopened. Today, around 300 students have come to attend the classes. More students are expected to join within a few days,” said a senior staff member of the Government Hari Singh Higher Secondary School, Jammu.

After the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, the local authorities had ordered the closure of schools, colleges, and shops in the wake of security concerns.

Earlier this month, Parliament had revoked Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and also passed the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill 2019, reorganising the state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir with Assembly and Ladakh without legislature. (ANI)

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CBI Arrests Chidambaram Amid High Drama

After over an hour-long high voltage drama, officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday took former Union minister P Chidambaram into custody and took him to the CBI headquarters.

He will be produced before a special CBI court on Thursday.

He was taken away by probe agency officials even as supporters of the former union finance minister raised slogans and tried to stop the officials from taking him away.

A team of CBI and ED officials this night reached the residence of former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaramapparently in a bid to arrest him. They even resorted to scaling the wall to get inside the premises of Chidambaram’s house in Jor Bagh, south Delhi.

Chidamabaram had rushed to his residence after a short and crisp address to the media at the AICC headquarters where he said that he believed in the wisdom of judges.

CBI and ED had earlier today issued a look out circular against him. Prior to that, the teams visited his residence, apparently to arrest him, but returned empty-handed after they failed to find him there.

Chidambaram faced a major setback on Tuesday when the Delhi High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea in corruption and money laundering case related to alleged INX Media scam.

Also today he failed to get relief from Supreme Court in the INX Media case as the matter was not heard by the court despite repeated efforts of his lawyers.

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Bhim Sena Protests Ravidas Temple Demolition

Thousands of activists of Bhim Sena led by Chandrashekhar Azad protest against the demolition of Guru Ravidas Temple in the Tughlaqabad area in New Delhi on Wednesday. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had demolished the temple on August 10 on the orders of the Supreme Court. ]]>

CBI Notice On Chidambaram House

CBI pasted a notice at Congress leader P.Chidambaram’s house regarding the INX media case, in New Delhi on Wednesday. The notice says that Chidambaram has to present before the investigation officer within two hours of the notice. ]]>