LAW MINISTER UNRELENTING, ON ISSUE OF JUDGES’ APPOINTMENTS

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday sought to support the views of a retired high court judge, who said the Supreme Court "hijacked" the Constitution by deciding to appoint judges itself.

The government and the judiciary have been at loggerheads over the process of appointment of judges to the higher judiciary, when Rijiju shared the video of an interview of Justice RS Sodhi (retd), a former judge of the Delhi court, saying it is "voice of a judge" and that majority of people have similar "sane views". “It's only those people who disregard the provisions of the Constitution and mandate of the people think that they are above the Constitution of India…..Real beauty of Indian democracy is its success. People rule themselves through their representatives. Elected representatives represent the interests of the people & make laws. Our judiciary is independent and our Constitution is supreme," the minister tweeted.

In the interview, Justice Sodhi also said the apex court cannot frame laws as it does not have the right to do so. The right to frame laws belongs to Parliament, he said.

"... Whether you can amend the Constitution? Only Parliament will amend Constitution. But here I feel the Supreme Court for the first time 'hijacked' the Constitution. After 'hijacking' they (SC) said that we will appoint (judges) ourselves and the government will have no role in it," Justice Sodhi said in Hindi.

The appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the high courts has become a major flashpoint between the Executive and the Judiciary. While Rijiju has described the collegium system to appoint judges as something "alien" to the Indian Constitution, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has questioned the top court for striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act and a related constitution amendment.

Also the chairman of Rajya Sabha, Dhankar had said a law passed by Parliament, which reflects the will of the people, was "undone" by the Supreme Court and "the world does not know of any such instance".

'NARI SHAKTI' AS MAIN THEME IN THIS YEAR'S R-DAY PARADE

Colourful tableaux from Assam, Maharshatra, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gujarat, West Bengal and several other states and Union Territories will roll down the revamped Kartavya Path during the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, with 'Nari Shakti' being the theme for majority of the floats.

A total of 23 tableaux -- 17 from states and Union Territories, and six from various ministries and departments -- depicting India's vibrant cultural heritage, economic and social progress will be part of the ceremonial parade, Defence Ministry officials said on Sunday.

Among the Union ministries and central government agencies, the ministry of home affairs will display two tableaux -- one each by the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Central Armed Police Forces, while one each will be exhibited by the ministry of agriculture, ministry of tribal affairs, ministry of culture and the Central Public Works Department that falls under the ministry of housing and urban affairs, a senior official told reporters in New Delhi.

“Besides, there will be floats by the Army, Navy and the Air Force, and a vehicle will be displayed by the DRDO," the official said.

The theme adopted this year by various states is largely 'Nari Shakti', besides cultural heritage and other themes, the official said.

The 74th Republic Day celebrations will take place on the revamped Central Vista avenue, and the government has put 32,000 tickets on sale online for the masses, defence ministry officials had earlier said.’

BJP PLANS MEGA MINORITY OUTREACH: 60 LOK SABHA SEATS IN FOCUS

To take Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to marginalised and minority communities, the BJP Minority Morcha has identified around 60 Lok Sabha constituencies, in 10 states and a Union Territory, where minorities comprise more than 30 per cent of the population. The party will launch a four-month outreach programme in these seats, among which is Congress leader’s Rahul Gandhi constituency Wayanad.

The BJP workers will identify 5,000 people from each of these constituencies who appreciate Prime Minister Modi or his welfare programmes and use them as ambassadors to reach out to the community. As part of the initiative, the party will organise a scooter yatra and a sneh yatra in March-April and the outreach will culminate with a public rally in Delhi in May addressed by PM Modi. All the ambassadors from the 60 seats will attend the event.

“We have chalked out this plan to carry out the message given by Modi ji in the national executive meet. The prime minister has said we have to reach out to more people and that as long as every section is not developed, India will not be developed. He said we have to take everyone along, so we have to strengthen our outreach,” said BJP Minority Morcha national president Jamal Siddiqui.

“Although Modi ji said that we should not do this for votes, we are a political party and we need to win elections. So our work will be keeping both factors in mind – to ensure the government’s programmes have reached every section and also to expand the BJP’s reach to every society,” Siddiqui said.

RAHUL OUT TO TARNISH INDIA’S IMAGE: RAJNATH SINGH

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that in the recent clash with the Chinese troops near Tawang, Indian soldiers did a “charismatic job” and displayed bravery, slamming the Congress for questioning the valour of the country’s jawans.

The minister went on to accuse Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of creating hatred among people to regain power, and alleged he was tarnishing India’s image on international platforms.

Addressing a programme organised by the Madhya Pradesh Government in Singrauli district, Singh asked Gandhi not to play with India’s “prestige and pride”.

“Rahul is going around saying in his Bharat Jodo Yatra that there is hatred everywhere in India. Rahulji, what has happened to you? You want to regain power by creating hatred. Power cannot be regained by spreading hatred. It can be achieved only by earning public’s trust and love,” the minister said. “I want to ask him (Rahul) who is creating hatred in India? Is Modiji creating hatred in the whole country? Is (MP Chief Minister) Shivraj Singh (Chouhan) doing the work of creating hatred in Madhya Pradesh? Are these leaders creating hatred among people? Where did he see it?” he said.

He also accused the Congress of trying to defame India and tarnish its image by saying that only hatred prevailed in India, although the country had earned great respect in the world now. “India has never discriminated on the basis of caste, creed or religion as those born on Indian soil are brothers as all have sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence,” Singh noted.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

SWEDISH FAR-RIGHT LEADER BURNS QURAN DURING PROTESTS

Protests in Stockholm on Saturday, which included the burning of Quran by an anti-Islamic extremist, drew international condemnation and heightened tensions with Turkey. Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for Turkey’s president, called it a hateful crime against humanity.

Turkey on Saturday cancelled a planned visit by the Swedish defense minister over the demonstration. Turkish officials also condemned the permission granted to Rasmus Paludan, a right-wing Swedish-Danish politician, to stage a protest Saturday in front of its embassy in the Swedish capital.

After a diatribe of almost an hour in which he attacked Islam and immigration in Sweden, Paludan set fire to the Koran with a lighter.

“If you don’t think there should be freedom of expression, you have to live somewhere else," he told the crowd.

In Sweden, freedom of expression is guaranteed by the constitution and gives people extensive rights to express their views publicly, though incitement to violence or hate speech is not allowed. Last year, Paludan’s announcement of a Koran-burning “tour" during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan sparked riots across Sweden.

CHINA RECORDS NEARLY 13,000 COVID DEATHS IN HOSPITALS OVER LAST WEEK

China reported nearly 13,000 Covid-related deaths in hospitals between January 13 and 19, after a top health official said the vast majority of the population has already been infected by the virus.

China a week earlier said nearly 60,000 people had died with Covid in hospitals as of January 12, but there has been widespread scepticism over official data since Beijing abruptly axed anti-virus controls last month.

China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Saturday that 681 hospitalised patients had died of respiratory failure caused by coronavirus infection, and 11,977 had died of other diseases combined with an infection over the period.

The figures do not include those who died from the virus at home.

Airfinity, an independent forecasting firm, has estimated daily Covid deaths in China will peak at around 36,000 over the Lunar New Year holiday.

The firm also estimated that more than 600,000 people have died from the disease since China abandoned the zero-Covid policy in December.

THE REST

=========

JAIRAM RAMESH DISMISSES UNION MINSTER'S 'PUSHING FOR FOREIGN VACCINE' CLAIMS

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday refuted Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar's earlier claim that certain opposition leaders tried to “bully” the Centre into giving approval for a foreign vaccine against Covid-19, that is now marred by controversy for allegedly not being able to contain the spread of the virus and leading to other health complications. The senior Congress leader dismissed claims made in a Twitter post shared by the Union minister saying Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, P Chidambaram and Ramesh pushing for Pfizer vaccine at a time when the pharmaceutical company was “bullying” the Centre for its acceptance.

“We can understand that for a regime built and sustained through propaganda, why you would feel compelled to make such a distorted and malicious statement. Thus, on the merits of claim, there is little to say other than it is a complete falsehood,” Ramesh said in a letter to Chandrasekhar.

The Congress MP said that the Union minister's post “undermines the most basic principles of democracy and fairness”. He further said that such actions are expected of online trolls and not of Ministers of the Government who are supposed to held to a higher standard of conduct.

KASHMIR HAS ALMOST TOTALLY MAINSTREAMED: FORMER RAW CHIEF AS DULAT

Kashmir has “almost totally mainstreamed”, with Pakistan out of Kashmiri minds and separatism and the Hurriyat “all finished”, former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief  AS Dulat said on Sunday.

Dulat was speaking at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival. He was also of the view that militancy will continue to come down but "terrorism will stay unless we sort it out with Pakistan" and batted for dialogue with the neighbouring country.

“Since 1947, what the government of India has been trying to do is to mainstream Kashmir and get Pakistan out of the Kashmiri minds. And I think we've succeeded to a very large extent. Today, Kashmir has almost totally mainstreamed. The separatism, the Hurriyat that we talk about is all finished," said Dulat who headed the intelligence agency during 1999-2000.”

He was in conversation with senior journalist Mandira Nayar about his latest book "A Life in the Shadows: A Memoir", published by HarperCollins India.

"I had argued that we didn't have to do away with Article 370 because there was nothing left in it. It was only a fig leaf which had provided a Kashmiri a little bit of dignity...," Dulat said.

TMC MPs SHARE LINK TO CONTROVERSIAL BBC DOCUMENTARY ON PM MODI

Lashing out at the Centre, Trinamool Congress MPs Mahua Moitra and Derek O'Brien on Sunday shared the link to the controversial BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and vowed to fight against "censorship".

The government had on Friday directed social media platforms Twitter and YouTube to block links to the documentary titled "India: The Modi Question". The Ministry of External Affairs has trashed the documentary as a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.

Moitra said she will not accept "censorship". She posted a link to the documentary on her official handle stating -"Sorry, Haven't been elected to represent world's largest democracy to accept censorship. Here's the link. Watch it while you can." "Govt on war footing to ensure no one in India can watch a mere @BBC show. Shame that the emperor & courtiers of the world's largest democracy are so insecure," she tweeted.

SP LEADER CRITICISES RAMCHARITMANAS, SAYS IT’S ABUSIVE TO DALITS, TRIBALS, OBCs

Former minister and Samajwadi Party MLC Swami Prasad Maurya on Sunday kicked off a row, saying epic Ramcharitmanas, written by Goswami Tuslidas, has “objectionable language” for Dalits, tribals and backward class.

Speaking to news channel Aaj Tak, Maurya said, “It is a lie that crores of people read it. It was written by Tulsidas for self-praise and his own happiness. We welcome religion. But why abuses in the name of religion? Abuses to Dalits, tribals, Backwards. By naming their castes, and calling them shudra. Is abusing someone religious?”

The remarks made by Maurya, an OBC leader, come in the wake of similar comments made by Bihar education minister and RJD leader Chandra Shekhar. “I respect all religions. But if in the name of religion, a community or caste is humiliated then it is objectionable,” said Maurya, who had switched to the SP from the BJP ahead of the UP polls last year.

The BJP reacted strongly to Maurya’s remarks. “When Swami Prasad Maurya was in the BJP, we never heard such statements from him. Since he has been in the SP, he has started disrespecting Hindus which is part of the SP’s agenda. He is opposing the Ramcharitmanas to divide society….The SP will have to face the consequences for this,” said BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi.

ITS CEMENT UNITS SHUT, ADANI CEO TELLS HIMACHAL TO HELP WITH TRUCK UNIONS

Having closed its two cement plants in Himachal on December 15 due to differences with truckers, the Adani Group has said the unions must leave all operational decisions to the company, for it to restart production.

In a January 19 letter to the Chairman of the Permanent Standing Committee of Himachal Pradesh and copied to state’s Chief Secretary, the CEO of Adani Cement Ajay Kapur, wrote, “It is a very alarming situation as unions are effectively controlling and making all transport related operational decisions that belong in the domain of companies… Since the freight rate is controlled by the unions, they have artificially kept it at a very high level.”

The two parties have been negotiating for over a month, with the latest meeting on Friday – in which Himachal Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan too participated – remaining inconclusive. This is the first big test for CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu  in the state with more than 20,000 families impacted due to the closure of the two cement plants.

At the heart of the dispute is the cost per ton per km or the freight rate proposed by the Adani Group.

The Adani Group is learnt to have offered Rs 6 per tonne per km (PTPK) against the existing rate of Rs 10.58 to Rs 11.41.

10 KILLED, 10 HURT IN MASS SHOOTING AT DANCE STUDIO IN US

At least 10 people have been killed and another 10 injured in a mass shooting in the city of Monterey Park in the US state of California. A man had opened fire at a local dance studio around 10 pm on Saturday.

The incident reportedly took place near the downtown area where tens of thousands of people gathered on Saturday for the start of Chinese New Year festivities, one of the largest events in the region.

"The Monterey Park Police Fire Department responded to the scene, treated the injured and pronounced 10 of the victims deceased at the scene. There were at least 10 additional victims that were transported to numerous local hospitals and are listed in various conditions from stable to critical," a city official said in a statement. The suspect fled the scene.

Authorities say the suspect later shot and killed himself. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday the man killed himself as police officers closed in on the van he used to flee the scene of an attempted second shooting.

Luna identified the suspect at 72-year-old Huu Can Tran.

INDIA LOSE TO NEW ZEALAND; CRASH OUT OF HOCKEY WORLD CUP

Hosts India made a shock exit from the FIH Men's World Cup after losing to New Zealand in sudden death in their must-win crossover match in front of a relentlessly cheering 15000 home crowd in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

The loss ended India's hopes of a World Cup medal after 48 years.

Despite vociferous support from the jampacked Kalinga Stadium crowd, India allowed New Zealand to come back from two-goal deficit in the regulation time as the match ended at 3-3 in the regulation time.

In the penalty shootout, the scores were also tied 3-3 after the first five set of strikes, and the match was finally decided via sudden death.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh had the golden chance to take India to victory in sudden death but he failed to do that as he missed the target.

Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh made two saves in the shootout to rescue India after they were 2-3 down. He saved another one during the sudden death and got himself injured and Krishan Pathak replaced him in the next three rounds of  strikes. But Shamsher Singh missed and Sam Lane scored to hand New Zealand the win. 

In the other match yesterday, Malaysia lost to Spain, also in shoot-outs, after the teams were tied 2-2 in full time. In the shoot-outs Spain won 4-3.

Spain will now take on Australia in the quarterfinals, while New Zealand will face Belgium. Malaysia and India head into the 9-16 classification matches.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I will not deny that it is profitable to contemplate from time to time in the mind, as in a picture, the idea of a larger and better world; lest the mind, becoming wonted to the little things of everyday life, grow narrow and settle down altogether to mean businesses. - Thomas Burnet

OFF TRACK

The judge was instructing the jury that a witness was not necessarily to be regarded as untruthful because he changed his statement from one which he had previously made to the police.

For example, he said, when I entered my chambers today, I was sure I had my gold watch in my pocket. But then I remembered that I left in on my nightstand in my bedroom.

When the judge returned home, his wife asked him, Why so much urgency for your watch? Isn’t sending three men to get it a bit extreme?

What? said the judge, I didn't send anyone for my watch, let alone three people; what did you do?

I gave it to the first one, said the wife. He knew exactly where it was.