A five-judge Constitution Bench on Wednesday flagged how the ‘selective anonymity’ of the electoral bonds scheme makes it easier for the ruling party to obtain information about the donors of the opposition parties qua law enforcement agencies.
“The problem with the scheme is that it provides selective anonymity. It is not completely anonymous. It is not confidential qua the SBI. It is not confidential qua the law enforcement agency”, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, heading the Bench observed orally.
The Chief Justice also observed that the scheme in its attempt to bring white money into the political funding process is creating a “complete information hole”. While the motive is laudable, he questioned if the scheme has adopted proportional means to achieve it.
Defending the scheme, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that anonymity is required in donations made through electoral bonds to ensure that there is no apprehension of retribution from other political parties. He highlighted how prior government initiatives aimed at addressing the use of unaccounted cash for political donations had proven unsuccessful because donors were insistent on maintaining their confidentiality.
The Constitution Bench is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the electoral bonds scheme. The scheme, which was notified on January 2, 2018, introduced money instruments through which companies and individuals in India can donate to political parties anonymously.
Earlier, the court raised concerns about influential entities covertly setting up persons with verified accounts to purchase electoral bonds for them through the regular banking route in order to curry favours or anonymously enter into a quid pro quo with ruling political parties.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing on behalf of ADR submitted that there is substantial evidence to believe that money is being given through electoral bonds as kickbacks in lieu of favourable government policies. He pointed out that whether at the Centre or in states, it is the ruling parties that receive the maximum share of the funds.
Maharashtra government in favour of Maratha quota, says CM Shinde; pro-quota campaigner urged to call off indefinite fast
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on November 1 confirmed the State government’s support for Maratha reservation and urged the pro-quota campaigner Manoj Jarange Patil to terminate his indefinite fast.
Emphasising the necessity for Patil’s cooperation in securing reservation for the community, Shinde also underscored the call for restraint among the Maratha populace.
During an all-party meeting on the quota issue spearheaded by the Chief Minister in Mumbai on Wednesday, a collective resolution was passed by all leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, urging 40-year-old Patil, the new poster boy of Maratha agitation, to call off his indefinite fast.
“Maratha should observe restraint. We are in favour of the Maratha quota, but the government needs time for legal modalities to implement the reservation,” Shinde said.
The resolution also bore the signatures of prominent leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab, leader of opposition in the State Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nana Patole, LoP in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve, among others.
Notably, Shinde did not invite his nemesis and former CM Uddhav Thackeray for the meeting. For the past couple of days, the western State has witnessed outbreaks of violence, leading to the complete suspension of State-run bus services in five Marathwada districts and the imposition of curfews and internet shutdowns in parts of Beed, where the residences of two MLAs became targets for protesters.
DGP Rajnish Seth said on Wednesday that so far police registered 141 cases and arrested 168 persons in connection with the violence during the quota agitation.
Meanwhile, the agitators vandalised NCP leader and minister Hasan Mushrif’s car parked in south Mumbai. The Marine Drive police detained three persons in connection with the incident.
Shinde, urging against violence, appealed to the Maratha community while also advising political parties to refrain from any activities that might exacerbate the situation.
Moreover, the Maharashtra government issued an order directing officials to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, enabling their access to reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
A government resolution asked officials to translate old documents, having references of Kunbis and written in Urdu and ‘Modi’ script. These documents are to be digitised, attested, and then put in public domain.
The activist recently brought the Maratha quota issue to the forefront in the State by staging a hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati on August 29. The situation escalated when police took action at the hunger strike site on September 1, resulting in injuries to several individuals.
The 14-day-long fast was observed by him in the same village ended on September 14 after getting assurances from Shinde. Accusing the Eknath Shinde-led government of “not being serious” on the reservation issue and “misleading” people, Patil began his second phase of hunger strike on October 25, a day after an ‘ultimatum’ given by him to the State government to announce reservation for Marathas under OBC category ended.
He stressed the Maratha community’s refusal to accept an “incomplete reservation” and demanded a special legislative session on the matter and even threatened to cease drinking water if the “complete” quota was not granted to the community starting Wednesday evening.
Apple iPhone alert: Chidambaram says after Pegasus mystery, finger of suspicion points to a govt. agency
After the Pegasus mystery, the finger of suspicion points to a government agency, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram said on November 1, a day after several opposition leaders claimed they were alerted by Apple about a “state-sponsored” attack on their iPhones.
At the moment, it is only a suspicion, Chidambaram said. “It is undeniable that hundreds of Opposition leaders got an alert from Apple of a state-sponsored attempt to compromise their phones. Why only Opposition leaders? Who will be interested in compromising the phones of Opposition leaders,” the former Union Home Minister said.
“After the Pegasus mystery [not resolved until this date], the finger of suspicion points to a government agency. At the moment it is only a suspicion,” the Congress leader said.
Several opposition leaders on Tuesday claimed they received an alert from Apple warning them of “state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise” their iPhones and alleged hacking by the government, a charge rejected by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The Minister assured a thorough probe into the matter.
Those who received such notifications include Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, party leaders Shashi Tharoor, Pawan Khera, K.C. Venugopal, Supriya Shrinate, T.S. Singh Deo and Bhupinder S Hooda; Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra; CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, AAP’s Raghav Chadha, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and some aides of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi also received the notification.
Yechury and Chaturvedi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi while Moitra sent a missive to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, raising concerns over the issue and demanding action.
Reacting to Opposition leaders claims, iPhone-maker Apple Inc said it is possible that some threat notifications may be false alarms and some attacks may not be detected. It, however, refused to say what triggered warnings received by the Opposition leaders.
Bolivia cuts ties with Israel over Gaza strikes
Bolivia said on Tuesday it was severing diplomatic ties with Israel over its “disproportionate” attacks in Gaza, as two other Latin American countries recalled their ambassadors over the mounting humanitarian crisis.
Bolivia “has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the State of Israel, in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive being carried out in the Gaza Strip,” deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani told a press conference.
Minister of the Presidency Maria Nela Prada also announced the country was sending humanitarian aid to Gaza. “We demand an end to the attacks” in the Gaza Strip “which have so far caused thousands of civilian deaths and the forced displacement of Palestinians,” she said at the same press conference.
The government of leftist Luis Arce is the first in Latin America to cut ties with Israel since the divisive conflict erupted with the Hamas attacks on October 7, which Israeli authorities say killed more than 1,400 people. Israel responded on Wednesday by slamming Bolivia’s move as “a surrender to terrorism”.
“By taking this step, the Bolivian government is aligning itself with the Hamas terrorist organisation,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said in a statement. Bolivia only announced it was restoring ties with Israel in 2019, a decade after they were cut over previous attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Hamas hailed Bolivia’s decision on Tuesday, saying it “holds it in high esteem” while urging Arab countries who have normalised their relations with Israel to do the same. The leaders of both Colombia and Chile also spoke out Tuesday against the Israeli offensive on Gaza, which the Hamas-controlled health ministry says has now killed more than 8,500 Palestinians -- two-thirds of them women and children.
“I have decided to recall our ambassador to Israel (Margarita Manjarrez) for consultation. If Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people, we cannot be there,” Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Chile, which has the largest Palestinian population outside the Arab world, said Tuesday it was recalling its ambassador to Israel in protest against Israel’s “unacceptable violations of international humanitarian law”.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, has urged a ceasefire. He said the “terrorist attack” by Palestinian militants against Israel did not justify killing “millions of innocents” in Gaza. “Just because Hamas committed a terrorist attack against Israel doesn’t mean Israel has to kill millions of innocents,” he said in a live address on social media.
In Brief:
Saima Wazed, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s daughter, nominated Regional Director of WHO
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s daughter, Saima Wazed, was on Wednesday nominated as the next Regional Director for the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia region. She defeated Shambu Acharya, a public health veteran from Nepal, in a vote held here during the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia Region. Bangladesh, Bhutan, DPR (North) Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste — 10 of the 11 member countries — took part in the vote. Myanmar did not send a delegation to the meeting. The newly appointed Regional Director will take over from the present incumbent, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, on February 1.
ED attaches assets worth ₹538.05 crore in Jet Airways case
The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached assets worth ₹538.05 crore in connection with the money laundering probe against Jet Airways (India) Limited (JIL). The attached properties include 17 residential flats, bungalows and commercial premises in the name of various companies and persons, including Jetair Private Limited, Jet Enterprises Private Limited, JIL’s founder chairman Naresh Goyal, his wife Anita Goyal and son Nivaan Goyal. They are located in London, Dubai and various States in India.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
