Impeachment Of Trump?

Right from the day one, Donald Trump entered White House, he has been involved in one controversy or the other. He was accused of clandestinely seeking Russia help in 2016 election campaign to influence the results. He was investigated for his alleged ties with Russia but the probe could not establish any criminal conspiracy.However, it also did not exonerate the Trump from obstructing justice.

Now, president Trump is the subject of an impeachment inquiry over allegations that he improperly sought help from Ukraine to boost his chances of re-election. He is accused of breaking the law by pressuring Ukraine's leader to dig up damaging information on a political rival.

In July, Trump sought Ukrainian counterpart help to investigate Joe Biden, one of the front runners to take him on in next year's presidential election. This matters because it is illegal to ask foreign entities for help in winning a US election.

There is a fierce debate as to whether Mr Trump broke the law or committed an impeachable offence. Trump says he has done nothing wrong.

At the heart of this story is a complaint from an unknown whistle blower.In August, an anonymous intelligence official wrote a letter expressing concern over Mr Trump's 25 July call with the Ukrainian president.

The letter said they had an "urgent concern" that Mr Trump had used his office to "solicit interference from a foreign country" in the 2020 presidential election. A rough transcript of the call revealed that Mr Trump had urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former US Vice-President Joe Biden as well as Mr Biden's son. The call came shortly after Mr Trump had blocked the release of millions in military aid to Ukraine.

An impeachment inquiry that could see the president eventually removed from office is under way. As per US law, the first part of the impeachment process is framing of the charges and then political process by which Congress can remove a president from office. If the House votes to pass articles of impeachment, the Senate is forced to hold a trial.

A Senate vote requires a two-thirds majority to convict. As of now this is unlikely given that Mr Trump's party controls the chamber.

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Enough Is Enough

With the completion of daily hearings in one of the thorniest Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute, the country has heaved a sigh of relief. The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict in the case and final verdict is expected to be delivered on or before November 17 when Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi retires. The top court on Wednesday rejected the call for more time observing "Enough is enough".

A five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi heard appeals and cross appeals filed by the Sunni Central Wakf Board and the saffron side against a 2010 Allahabad High Court ruling that had partitioned the land among the three stack-holders- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

On 30 September 2010, the three judges of the Allahabad High Court had ruled that the 2.77 acres (approx. 1.12 ha) of Ayodhya land be divided into three parts, with ​one-third going to the Ram Lalla or Infant Rama represented by the Hindu Maha Sabha, ​one-third to the Sunni Waqf Board and the remaining ​one-third to Nirmohi Akhara.

While the three-judge bench was not unanimous that the disputed structure was constructed after demolition of a temple, it did agree that a temple or a temple structure predated the mosque at the same site. The ruling was later stayed by the apex court.

In another interesting development, the Sunni Waqf Board has offered to drop its claim to the disputed temple-mosque site in Ayodhya and has no objection to the land being taken over by the government for a Ram Temple, says mediation panel of the Supreme Court in its report.

Besides agreeing to give up its claim to the site of the razed Babri mosque, the Waqf Board wants that existing mosques in Ayodhya be renovated by the government. The Waqf board has offered to build a mosque at any other suitable place, sources have revealed on the report that could lead to a breakthrough in the 134-year-old Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.

As all stakeholders have agreed to abide by top court ruling, all decks fpr the construction of Ram Temple look cleared. So far so good. The call for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya from saffron party's MPs, ministers and leaders have been growing louder and louder ever since BJP came to power in 2014. It was taken to feverish pitch during May Lok Sabha elections.

Religious division, to be more honest religious oppression has been on the rise in India since 2014. The cows vigilante killings, mostly Muslims transporting cattle, mob lynching and an uninhibited display of muscular saffron nationalism, have led to religious tension. Hate speeches proliferated internet trolls were used to shut down critics. So much so that history books were rewritten, changing official place names to Hindu from Muslim, and more aggressively contesting holy sites. They also began pushing extremist Hindu priorities, including an effort to locate a mystical river that features prominently in Hindu scriptures. Critics called it pseudoscience and said the search was akin to using public dollars to study mermaids (sic).Earlier if Indian politics has, by and large, centered around appeasement. Earlier, it was appeasement of minorities, and minorities were dominating the majority. Now it is otherwise- appeasement of majority. Majoritarianism has hit a higher crest than ever before.

We must see a ray of hope as now hardcore Muslim body Sunni Wakf Board has softened its stand on Ayodhya dispute. Shia sect was already support saffron stand. It can help in easing the religious tension. India is a plural, vibrant society and it can'r grow fast under rabid communalism. In a fast growing economy, every productive hand matters and contribute its mite.

The hard-line saffron issues have dominated Indian political scenario as people of different political shades were so fed up with the corruption and dynastic politics of the political parties, particularly the Indian National Congress, that they have thrown their weight behind PM Modi even ignoring burning economic issues. Final settlement of politically sensitive Ayodhya vase will be good for India. After the construction of Ram Temple, the emotive issue will loose the sheen."Enough is enough".

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Attempt To Muzzle Freedom Of Expression

There seems to be no space for plural opinion under present dispensation .You can't even express your voice against misdeeds of the rulers. If ever dare, you will be booked. Some Modi "bhakt" will take u to the court and the "obedient judiciary" will order an FIR averring that your free voice amounts to sedition.

In the latest case, an FIR was lodged in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Thursday against nearly 50 celebrities for writing an open letter to Prime Minister Modi over growing incidents of mob lynching. The FIR was lodged after an order was passed by a court two months ago on a petition filed by a Modi bhakt. The order was passed on August 20. However, FIR was lodged last Thursday (October 3). Obviously, as the matter was sensitive, it required sanction from the top.

In July this year, 49 eminent persons, including historian Ramachandra Guha, filmmakers Aparna Sen,Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap, Shyam Benegal, actor Soumitra Chatterjee as well as vocalist Shubha Mudgal in an open letter to Prime Minister Modi expressed their deep concern over the growing incidents of mob lynching.

The FIR was lodged under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those relating to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace.

The Constitution of India and even international law recognize the right to freedom of expression, and this right extends to speech that offends or disturbs the peace. It defines act of sedition expressively The sedition law doesn't apply for voicing concern over an incident peacefully. And writing an open letter to PM , in no way. is an violent act. But in India, even after independence the laws are arms-twisted and the archaic sedition law is often used to harass and persecute activists and others for their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression.

As the section 124A of the IPC defines sedition as any act or attempt “to bring into hatred or contempt, or…excite disaffection towards the government, authorities freely take refuse under this provision. Mahatma Gandhi had called the law “the prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen.”

The sedition law in India is, basically, a hangover from colonial past. Drafted by Thomas Babington Macaulay. it became a part of the Indian Penal Code in 1870. The main purpose of this section then was to oppress the freedom movement and suppress all forms of dissent by Indians against the British rule. Mahatma Gandhi had called the law “the prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen.

As a matter of fact, all colonial hangover laws should have been scraped soon after independence. But instead of scrapping, Indian govt criminalizes acts including sending information that is “grossly offensive” or causes “annoyance” and “inconvenience” under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act This law is also being used to violate legitimate exercise of the right to free speech, It often leads to arbitrary arrests.

Ironically, Britain- the country that introduced the law in India -repealed sedition as a crime long ago for being violative of the right to free speech. The Britishers acknowledge that sedition has no place in modern society. India, being the world largest democracy should shed its colonial mindset. Sedition law is more misused and spreads darkness, And we know, democracy dies in darkness.

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_Onion-ing India

Every alternative year, India face onion crisis with prices of the red bulb sky-rocketing. Within a week, the price of onion have more than doubled in many cities. As the situation becomes alarming, union govt had to curb the export to augment domestic supply. After this, prices have somewhat cooled down.

As two BJP-ruled sates- Haryana and Maharashtra go to the polls on October 21, union govt went overdrive to arrest the spiraling prices as saffron party didn't want to face voters' backless. In 1998, the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Delhi lost the assembly election because of sky-rocketing onion prices. Onion is a common base ingredient of most Indian dishes and as such widely consumed. Its spartan diet of the poorest as they often eat raw onion, along with chapatis

So "once bitten, twice shy", Modi govt moved fast and immediately banned export of onion. Perhaps, govt had anticipated the crisis in view of heavy rain and flooding. On September 13, it had put the countrywide stock limit of 100 quintals per retailer and 500 quintals per wholesaler, imposed directly by the central govt , is aimed at ending the hoarding of onions. Earlier, on September 3, the government had set the minimum export price for onions at $850 (freight on board) per tonne, but exports had continued at a reduced level.

Country is witnessing a familiar pattern in onion-price spirals usually at this time of the year. At times, prices of onion crash. Remember, when in the first half of 2017, wholesale onion prices plunged, farmers in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, came on road and agitating cultivators were fatally shot by the police. And when in second half of that year, government intervened in the markets to buy out excess stocks, prices started rising.

I remember, some tears ago, how Congressmen used to blame BJP supporter traders to manipulate the prices but did nothing to stem the rot, The harsh reality is that onion trade in the country suffers from price volatility. It is caused mainly because of supply-disrupting factors like extreme weather, high losses from inadequate or improper storage or frequently shifting production levels. All we need is to remove these irritants.

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