Bibi Is Not Welcome

ISRAELI prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, or Bibi, as Modi fondly calls him, is scheduled to visit our country from January 14-18, 2018. This visit, coming in the background of deepening Indo-Israel ties, notwithstanding the occasional hiccups like the recent vote on Jerusalem, is intended to further cement the blossoming relationship.Our country never had historic relations with Israel, though both the countries were ‘born’ only a year apart.

NPRD Delegation Meets Minority Affairs Minister

A DELEGATION from the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) met the minister of minority affairs, Mukthar Abbas Naqvi on January 5.They submitted a memorandum seeking the removal of certain provisions contained in the guidelines issued by the Haj Committee of India that virtually bar persons with disabilities from undertaking the Haj pilgrimage.The minister assured that he would issue an advisory to the Haj Committee of India to review the guidelines and “bring it in conformity” with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

CPI(M) Karnataka Conference Calls for Building Pro-People Alternative

THE 22nd Karnataka state conference of the CPI(M) was held at Moodabidri from January 2-5.

Why Shoot the Messenger?

THE National Alliance of Journalists and Delhi Union of Journalists, in a statement issued on January 8, have jointly condemned the registering of an FIR against Tribune reporter Rachna Khaira and her sources for her expose of leaks in the Aadhar system. We believe the reporter should be commended for investigating and bringing to light the easy access that touts and hackers have to the UIDAI’s allegedly impenetrable data site and its availability for as little as Rs 500 to anyone who wants it.

CITU Denounces Govt’s Move on Limitless FDI in Air-India & Retail Trade

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in a statement issued on January 11, has denounced the government’s announcement of allowing 49 per cent FDI in the country’s national carrier – Air India. Modi government had already decided to push Air India for wholesale privatisation. And to expedite such move for privatization, the government has now made this announcement of permitting 49 per cent FDI.

CITU Denounces Vindictive Action on Journalist for Exposing Systemic Fault in Aadhar

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions, in a statement issued on January 10, has denounced the government’s move in registering FIR against the journalist of Tribune, Rachna Khaira and her sources for exposing the leakage-prone systemic fault in Aadhar administration.

BJP’s Jumla Will Not Pass Muster in Tripura

THE people of Tripura, forged in the fire of prolonged mass movement against the British-like ‘divide and rule’ policy of the Centre, will never budge an inch from their strong stand in favour of the Left Front government, leading them to comprehensive development based on the unity and integrity of the state’s mixed population of tribals and non-tribals including the minority communities.

INCREASING INCIDENTS OF LYNCHINGS: Bhumi Adhikar Andolan Fact-Finding Team Visits Rajasthan

A FACT-FINDING team under the banner of Bhumi Adhikar Andolan visited Bharatpur, Alwar, Rajsamand and Udaipur in Rajasthan on January 6-7, 2018 to look into the increasing incidents of lynching and attacks in the name of gau-raksha, encounter killings, deliberate communal polarisation and attacks on Muslims in the state.

Arun Jaitley on Electoral Bonds

ARUN Jaitley had outlined a scheme of electoral bonds in his budget speech on February 2, 2017. Now, exactly 11 months later, the notification of the scheme and some details of it have finally been announced in a Press Information Bureau release on January 2, 2018. Along with this release, Jaitley himself has also written an explanation-cum-defence of the scheme, from which it is clear that the scheme, far from countering the threat to democracy arising from large-scale corporate funding of elections, does not even address this issue.

Why the 2G Judgement is Wrong

THE Special Court judge Saini in his judgements running into thousands of pages on the 2G spectrum issue, seems to believe that let alone criminality, there was nothing wrong with the procedures that A Raja and his cronies adopted. His world, in which the allotment of 2G licenses or spectrum occurred, appears to be in a parallel universe from that in which the Controller of Auditor General (CAG), the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court operated. All of them found A Raja and his close associates guilty of arbitrary changing of rules to help certain favoured companies.

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