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Letters to the Editor: 25 July, 2019

July 25, 2019

Parents should monitor online activities of their children

TikTok is a social media platform for creating and sharing music and videos. The videos have been the most downloaded App till date. It is known as Douyin and was launched in China in September 2016 and owned by Beijing byte dance technology, which later on changed its name to TikTok. According to research, it has been downloaded around 800 million times and is available in over 80 languages.

Most of the people who watch TikTok belong to India. In April 2019, the Government of India banned the App, because it “encourages pornography”. But the ban was lifted after the court annulled the Government Order of prohibiting downloads of the App, following a plea from TikTok developers byte dance technology.

The App is very risky for children who spend most of their time watching these videos. Hence, parents must keep an eye on their children on what kind of videos they keep watching because most of the videos on TiKTok are bad for children to watch. On some of the videos even bad language is used. Hence, it is better to take precautions now than feel sorry later on.

Jubel D’Cruz

MS Dhoni should hang his boots

MS Dhoni is past his prime and should retire with grace. He is perhaps the greatest wicket keeper-batsman the world of cricket has even witnessed apart from being a successful captain. I am not sure why he has taken two-month sabbatical break and delaying his retirement plans at a time when the selectors are already looking for his replacement. Dhoni should hang his boots with grace as well as pride before being forced to do so by the selectors.

MS Dhoni’s decision though to serve his paramilitary regiment in the sabbatical break deserves applause and shows his commitment for the armed forces. I am sure he is planning his post retirement profession already and we will hear from him soon. Cricket runs in his blood and a cricket academy apart from paramilitary training centre for the armed forces would be very much in his scheme of things. Wishing Dhoni good health and success in whatever he decides to do post retirement from cricket!

S.N. Kabra

Start US consulate in Bengaluru

Bengaluru has a growing demand of visitors to United States of America and presently one is compelled to visit US Consulate Chennai to obtain various types of visas. The move to travel to Chennai every time causes an inconvenience to many visa applicants resulting in administrative hardships to obtain a visa. It should be otherwise noted that the facility to travel to almost all the other nations including Canada,Mexico,Peru,Japan,UK etc. exists in Bengaluru through the presence of Honorary Consulates which issue visas to visitors.

Further an effort should be now made jointly by both India and US diplomatic patrons to establish a new full-fledged US consulate at Bengaluru. Of late Bengaluru has witnessed a robust infusion of skilled IT professionals from many US companies based in the city and also witnesses high visitors demand to USA. A new US consulate now at Bengaluru will largely benefit many professionals, visitors and students who otherwise face logistical hardships to obtain a US visa from its existing Chennai office.

Also a new US consulate in Bangalore will help to promote its current activities related to cultural and educational exchange programs at Bengaluru , as currently launched in other five US consulates across India. Hence the Hon’ble Ministry of External Affairs is kindly requested to look into the feasibility of opening a new U.S. Consulate in Bengaluru for the benefit of Indian visitors to US from this region.

Varun Dambal

Two political deaths in Delhi set trend for cremation

Recently Delhi witnessed death of two political icons, one from BJP and the other from Congress, whose body-donation and environment-friendly CNG-cremation have set welcome trends to be followed by others especially for those entitled for state-cremation.

Body of former Delhi BJP President Mangreram Garg was donated for education and research in medical science. It is not the first such case of a political icon. Earlier also body of former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chaterjee was likewise donated to a medical college.

Cremation of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was done through environmental-friendly CNG. Earlier also cremation of many dignitaries including even Christians and Muslims was done through electricity rather than burial. China has already banned burial of dead bodies for people of all religions to save land being converted into grave-yards.

Since people follow political leaders as their role-models, rule should be made that state-honour may be given only to those who are cremated through electricity or CNG or their bodies are donated. System will automatically eliminate demand for making samadhis or graves for departed leaders which unfortunately become a craze for family-members of deceased leaders like in case of short-term Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral. Once the phenomenon becomes popular, wood-fired cremation or burial will become a forgotten phenomenon of past.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Will new Police Commissionerate check Crime in Mira Rd-Virar?

Rajesh Choudhary

July 24, 2019

Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai-Virar is the fast-growing industrial region on the outskirts of Mumbai. At the same time, heavy growth in population, rising crime rates and insufficiency of policemen have increased the safety concerns for the residents of the region. Mira-Bhayandar falls under the jurisdiction of Thane-Rural Police and Vasai-Virar comes under the jurisdiction of Palghar district Police. So, proper policing is lacking in both townships. In this scenario, Fadnavis government’s decision to open a separate police commissionerate for the region will be proved a boon. It will help in controlling the crime in the region. The new commissionerate has been created by bifurcating the jurisdictions of Thane (Rural) superintendent of police and Palghar superintendent of police.

As per an official of the Home department, MBVV (Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar) commissionerate is likely to be inaugurated on Independence Day. Therefore, several IPS officers have started lobbying for the post. It is remarkable that population of the region is increasing due to cheap housing rates and low standard of living in both townships. It attracts Mumbaikars and migrants from various states in the area.

According to CMO, the population in Vasai-Virar and Mira-Bhayandar is more than 44 lakh, approximately and that both the townships have seen a rise in residential population as well as in small and medium business units in both rural and urban areas. The need of the hour is to have elaborate police strength to tackle crime and security needs.

As per reports, setting up the new police commissionerate will create 4708 new posts. Out of these, 1006 will come from Thane rural and 1,135 will come from Palghar. The remaining posts will be filled by fresh recruitment. According to PTI, the commissionerate will have six police stations from Thane rural and 13 from Palghar. The police commissioner will be the officer of Additional Director General (ADG) rank. The post of MBVV commissioner is seen as a favourable posting.

It is worth mentioning that a proposal in this connection had been tabled three years ago. Now, the proposal was cleared in the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Chief Minister also holds Home ministry. During the monsoon session of the state legislature, CM Fadnavis had assured legislators in the Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai-Virar region, the new commissionerate will be functional before the upcoming state elections. The Assembly elections in the state are due in October. By creation of new police commissionerate, criminals in the region can be externed from the belt by the police. In a district the Superintendent of Police has to consult the Collector.

Ketan Desai, a resident of Mira Road said, “The proposal to establish new police commissionerate is a right step towards curtailing crime in Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai-Virar. Since the population of these areas have been increasing it was necessary to keep a vigil over anti-social elements. The lack of police presence on streets and secluded spots continues to scare women. After committing the crime, criminals flee the city.”

As per senior police officials, the force is overburdened. Politicians too agree more policemen should be deployed in the region. Officials of both districts Palghar and Thane (rural) are of view that new police commissionerate would relieve an overstretched police force. At present, both Thane Rural and Palghar districts have 2,100 and 2,200 personnel respectively. Manpower for new commissionerate will be diverted from existing forces of both districts and through fresh recruitment.

Ramanand Prasad, a resident of Virar said, “Thefts, chain-snatching and robberies continue unabated in the region. Serious crime like land grabbing, illegal construction and money extortion are also happening. Apart from these, incidents of rape and molestation are also a cause of concern for women in the region. Drug addicts and prostitutes walk freely in certain areas and police are not seen anywhere.”

In Maharashtra it is seen, compared to districts, a commissionerate is allotted better manpower and infrastructure in the form of police vehicles and other policing tools. As per some reports, new commissionerate will have 20 police stations that will be divided into three zones. Out of these 20 police stations, five police stations falling under Thane (rural) will be moved to the commissionerate, while Palghar police will let go jurisdictions of eight police stations. Seven new police stations will be created.

Implementation of anti-dowry law needs humane approach

Vaidehi Taman

July 24, 2019

The Supreme Court in the recent past proclaimed that the false complaints under Section 498A of Indian Penal Code against innocent were increasingly making the husband a victim. The Supreme Court also said that women were increasingly using the anti-dowry law to harass and create pressure against the husband and his relatives on mere lodging of a complaint. Citing very low conviction rate in such cases, it directed the state governments to instruct police “not to automatically arrest when a case under Section 498A of IPC is registered but to satisfy themselves about the necessity for arrest under the parameters provided under Section 41 of criminal procedure code”.

Section 41 lays down a 9-point checklist police to weigh the need to arrest after examining the conduct of the accused, including the possibility of his absconding. It also said that this check-list for arrest and detention would apply to all offences, which are punished with a prison term less than seven years. Punishment under Section 498A is a maximum of three years but it had been made a cognizable and non-bailable offence, which made a grant of bail to the accused a rarity in courts. It said that the police officer shall furnish the reasons and materials which necessitated the arrest before the magistrate. Section 498-A of the IPC was introduced with avowed object to combat the menace of harassment to a woman at the hands of her husband and his relatives.

The fact that Section 498-A is a cognisable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives. The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision. In quite a number of cases, bed-ridden grand-fathers and grand-mothers of the husbands, their sisters living abroad for decades are arrested. The bench said the arrest curtails freedom, brings humiliation and casts scars forever and no arrest should be made only because the offence is non-bailable and cognisable. No arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent and wise for a police officer that no arrest is made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness of the allegation.

In July 2005, the Supreme Court admitted that in many instances, the complaints under the Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code are not bonafide and have oblique motives. The court added that acquittal in such cases doesn’t erase the suffering the defendant has to go through, which is compounded by adverse media coverage. Then, the court also directed the legislature to find ways to check such false cases. In August 2010, the Supreme Court directed the government to amend Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code in view of the rising numbers of false or exaggerated complaints against husbands and their relatives by women. It further added that such complaints result in the husband and his relatives remaining in custody until trial or bail, which kills all chances of an amicable settlement. In January 2012, the Law Commission of India recommended that Section 498A should be made a compoundable offense. However, the court will decide if the particular case is compoundable or not, a married man commits suicide every nine minutes in India due to the alleged misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code against them.

To prevent dowry deaths and cruelty to married women, anti-dowry laws were implemented but mostly these laws are used as revenge against men and their families. The payment of a dowry gift, often financial, has a long history in many parts of the world. In India, the payment of a dowry has been prohibited since 1961 under Indian civil law. Subsequently, Sections 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code were enacted, making it easier for the wife to seek redress from harassment by the husband’s family.

Delhi alone accounts for 18.7 per cent of dowry death cases and 17.1 per cent of cruelty by husbands and relatives, according to a 2006 report by the National Crime Records Bureau. Domestic violence is a two-way road and need not always refer to wife-bashing as per popular perception. If you are a married man, you know the deadly effects of silent treatment, constant nagging or sulking for days. However, actual cases of male victimisation are far less compared to the abuse and domestic violence women endure every day across the country. Delhi High Court judge who observed that laws were made to protect hundreds of women tortured and killed for dowry every year but have become a tool for urban middle or upper-middle-class women looking to make a quick buck through a divorce.

Anti-dowry laws are meant to give voice to silent victims of social abuse — a Herculean task in a country where family pride, fear of retribution and illiteracy pose stumbling blocks. The National Commission for Women is campaigning for stricter punishment for offenders and demanding that the scope of the Act be increased. A reality check in largely illiterate rural India, where women fight poverty and domestic violence every day, throws up questions whether anti-dowry laws can be effectively implemented. However, the cases are quite different in urban areas.

Time has come to introspect on the far-reaching impact anti-dowry laws have on the lives of men and women and the burden on the judiciary with every false claim of harassment? Often police fail to conduct proper investigations before hauling off an elderly family member to jail based on a complaint by a woman. At the same time, hundreds of complaints of abuse at the hands of in-laws go unnoticed in rural India. Laws are necessary to protect women against abuse. Laws that will deter repeat offenders should be implemented through an unbiased and transparent police system with a wider reach and humane approach.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Iranian regime must tell what they are doing with rights activists – Part 1

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

July 24, 2019

According to the Amnesty International (AI), Iranian authorities are using incommunicado detention, prolonged solitary confinement and threats against family members, in order to extract forced video “confessions” from women’s rights defenders detained for campaigning against the country’s discriminatory, forced veiling (Hijab) laws.

Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International said, “Threatened by the momentum behind a growing women’s rights movement against Iran’s forced veiling laws, the Iranian authorities are employing crude tactics to discredit activists campaigning against forced veiling, dissuade others from joining the movement and instill fear in society.”

He further said, “These women should not even be detained in the first place. It is outrageous that they are now being tortured or otherwise ill-treated to compel their participation in state propaganda videos in which they ‘confess’ their ‘guilt’ and renounce the anti-forced veiling campaign. The authorities should release them immediately and unconditionally, drop all the charges against them and refrain from broadcasting their forced ‘confessions’ on state media outlets”.

Intelligence and security officials orchestrating the production of the propaganda videos are ordering the women’s rights defenders to retract their opposition to forced veiling, denounce the ‘White Wednesdays’ campaign against compulsory veiling laws and express “regret” for allowing themselves to be “incited” by “anti-revolutionary opposition agents” outside the country.

The most recent case documented is that of women’s rights defender Saba Kordafshari, aged 22, who was arrested on June 1, 2019. According to her mother, Raheleh Ahmadi, following her arrest, Saba Kordafshari was held in prolonged solitary confinement for 11 days in Vozara detention center in Tehran until June 11, 2019, when she was transferred to Shahr-e Ray prison.

During her time in solitary confinement, she was put under constant pressure to appear before a camera and denounce the ‘White Wednesday’ campaign.

On 10 July, the authorities carried out their threat and arrested Raheleh Ahmadi.

On July 2, 2019, the authorities transferred Saba Kordafshari to another location and concealed her fate and whereabouts from her family until they returned her to Shahr-e Rey prison on July 13, 2019, so subjecting her to enforced disappearance for 12 days. She subsequently informed her family that she had been held in section 2-A of infamous Evin prison, which is under the control of the Revolutionary Guards, and put under renewed pressure to give forced “confessions”.

In another case, women’s rights defender Yasaman Aryani, aged 24, was arrested by security forces on April 10, 2019, at her home in Tehran. Her mother, Monireh Arabshahi, was arrested the next day after enquiring about her daughter’s whereabouts at the Vozara detention center in Tehran.

While held in solitary confinement for nine days, members of the security forces threatened Yasaman Aryani with, among other things, the arrest of her younger sibling and father unless she appeared before a camera expressing “repentance” for sending videos to the White Wednesdays campaign. She was also taunted with claims that her case had been forgotten by the outside world.

On April 18, 2019, Yasaman Aryani and Monireh Arabshahi were shifted from the Vozara detention center, put into a van and driven to an unidentified location in Tehran, without being given an explanation. As soon as they were taken out of the van, they were confronted with camera crews from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) corporation, who filmed them without their consent. They were then taken to a room to be “interviewed” by the IRIB and, when they objected, were told that they had no choice but to answer the questions.

In March 2019, the authorities also summoned Zarrin Badpa, the elderly mother of Masih Alinejad, a US-based Iranian journalist and founder of the ‘White Wednesday’ campaign, for interrogation. She was questioned for two hours about her daughter’s activities while being filmed. Amnesty International is concerned that the authorities may feature statements she gave under duress in future propaganda videos, given their long-standing record of engaging in such abusive practices.

Amnesty International’s Philip Luther said, “The Iranian authorities should be under no illusion that the coercive and cruel nature of the video ‘confessions’ extracted from women’s rights defenders and their families will go unnoticed. Any state-controlled bodies involved in the production and broadcasting of these ‘confession’ videos share responsibility for the human rights violations committed against the women and their families”.

He added, “By resorting to crude propaganda tactics, the authorities cannot mask the truth that women in Iran are increasingly standing up for their right to choose whether or not to wear a headscarf in public. They must stop treating women’s rights defenders like criminals and abolish forced veiling laws”.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)

It is high time to amend Anti-Defection Law

Web Team

July 24, 2019

The year, 2019, being an election year, has some high voltage drama falling in the defection sphere. Defections are usually accompanied by political mayhem.

The art of defections initiated in 1967, there was a different ball game in the life a Haryana based politician namely Gaya Lal. It was the year in which he changed his political parties twice. What was more surprising is that he made all the changes in one day as he changed his party thrice over the period of one fortnight. These defections helped him stay on the side of power in a nascent Haryana government, which was less than a year old. In that backdrop, Aya Ram Gaya, a phrase was coined.

The anti-defection law was added to the Constitution during the Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as the Prime Minister in 1985. It was passed as the 52^nd Amendment Act and it added the law as the 10^th Schedule of the Constitution. The Statement of Objectives and reasons of the Fifty-second Constitution Amendment Bill read: “The evil political defection has been a matter of national concern. If it is not combated, it is likely to undermine the very foundations of our democracy and the principles which sustain it.”

The anti-defection law sought to prevent such political defections which may be due to the reward of office or similar consideration. But this law has some exceptions since politicians avail them and do not hesitate to defect their party to another party.

Once more it has become a matter of great concern and a lot of questions are being raised over the law that it does not seem to serve any purpose.

It all had happened after the concurrent upheavals in the Goa Assembly where 10 of the 15 Congress Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) switched over to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, and within 48 hours, three of them were made ministers, and in Karnataka Assembly where several MLAs of Janta Dal (Secular) and Congress have submitted their resignations. Since the MLAs constituted two-thirds of the 15-member Congress Legislative Party in Goa, the anti-defection law did not apply. For it is an exceptional case in the bill aforesaid.

It is not the story of two states, rather it is becoming a concerning matter in the state after state that key opposition leaders in every state either actively encouraged or tacitly induced to break away. Most of them have a questionable background. They are accused of being involved in corruption and scams, but the moment they join BJP the accusations and probe campaign into their involvement surprisingly slow down.

The defectors neither think about the common people who elect them nor do they care about their sentiments related to a particular party. And sometimes a man trusts a particular party more than he trusts an individual MLA/MP and casts his vote for the party not the MLA/MP.

So, it is high time to consider some amendments to anti-defection law that any MLAs or MPs, who defects during their five-year tenure, cannot be given any special post in the party to which they defect nor any ministry as long as their duration of that assembly or Parliament ends. Otherwise, the increase in defections will bring some serious consequences to our democracy.

By Faheem Usmani Qasmi

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 24 July, 2019

Web Team

July 24, 2019

Rise and fall of Kumaraswamy

The fall of the Karnataka government was imminent. The collapse was expected at any time and it was proverbial hook and the impending fall made Kumaraswamy to weep in front of the people and the government was having wafer thin majority. Now the show came to an end in the floor of the house and Kumaraswamy had no option but to quit accepting defeat.

Nickhil Mani

Is the BMC alone responsible for building collapse incidents?

BMC and the government alone cannot be held responsible for building collapses in the city. Citizens too have to be careful and alert when they buy properties in illegal structures that are in depleted state. They are risking their own lives by staying in dilapidated buildings just to save money by buying such properties because they are cheap. You cannot clap with a single hand and both the government and citizens are equally responsible for illegal structures in the city as they are in place because there is demand for such buildings.

A stitch in time saves nine and old buildings should be regularly repaired to prevent such mishaps. Corruption rules roost and BMC too should take action against their people who allow such contraction by accepting bribes. Cluster development in Mumbai is the need of the hour and rules for redevelopment should be relaxed for very old depleted buildings that need urgent attention!

S.N. Kabra.

Silver-alloy commemorative-coins should be issued on face-value

Silver-alloy commemorative coins for first time after independence issued on October 2, 1969 to commemorate Gandhi Birth Centenary at face-value of rupees ten at a time when value of silver-content in the coin was much lower than face-value of rupees ten. Moreover these coins and their coin-sets were issued to general public right from date of issue on October 2, 1969. But system has now been changed when face-value of silver-alloy coins is much-much less than the silver-content of the coin, evidently doing away with system of providing commemorative coins at face-value to general public.

Now only coin-sets in plastic-packs in two different categories of Proof and Uncirculated categories are sold at much exorbitant price through a cumbersome booking-procedure making these reach to those having booked several months after advance-booking thus killing the very purpose of commemorating an occasion through issue of coins.

Face-value of silver-alloy coin should be kept at about double the then prevailing market-value of silver content, and these should be issued to general public right from date of issue from scattered distribution centres like all RBI offices, selected branches of public and private sector banks, and all philately-centres of Department of posts. There should be only one costlier Proof category of coin-sets with all denominations of coins issued on the occasion, and these should also be available at suggested distribution-centres right from date of issue.

Madhu Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Bandra Pipeline Burst: Woman cries for compensation

Suraj Chandran

July 23, 2019

Poonam Doipode, a poor woman, is running from pillar to post for claiming the compensation amount from Suburban Collector office, Bandra. Poonam’s two children – Priyanka (9) and six-month-old Swapnil – died due to the pipeline burst at Bandra Terminus three years back. Being a single mother she is struggling to make both ends meet to support her two children. Officials from Suburban Collector office, Bandra had sent officials to gather information about the hardships faced by Poonam in the aftermath of the pipeline blast incident. They had prepared all the documents pertaining to the pipeline burst incident. However, they refused to pay compensation to Poonam.

Already three years have passed and Poonam continues to wait for the compensation amount. Poonam said, “The officials from Suburban Collector office had themselves come to meet me for carrying out the survey relating to the pipeline burst incident. Whenever I try to contact them for the compensation they use foul language against me.” Poonam is surviving with her two children. Many officials from media are approaching Poonam to cover the story. She does household work like cleaning utensils to support her children.

Poonam’s husband also abandoned her on the same day when the pipeline blast incident occurred. “I am not educated and have to perform household duties to support my family. I am demanding justice for my children who have passed away in the pipeline burst incident. The government must support my two children who are surviving,” she added.

The younger son Vignesh is five years old and the 15-year-old daughter Neha is not studying and she is mentally disabled. She discontinued her studies after the seventh standard. The slum where Poonam is residing is close to the water pipeline. Poonam was unaware that the pipeline existed beneath her slum. Her children Priyanka and Swapnil passed away due to the pipeline burst incident. Due to water pressure, the cover of the pipeline had come out. She said that her family is very poor and are finding it difficult to sustain. Allegations have been made against Poonam for illegally staying in the slum areas. However, she defends herself and stated that she has both Aadhaar and Ration card as proof of identity and residence. She also possesses children’s birth certificate and they are studying in school. Poonam is staying in her home without water and electricity supply. She alleged, “The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials are troubling me. They had demolished my slum as I rebuilt my home using plastic sheets. The government is not providing any assistance to me. I had gone to suburban collector office but I was harassed by officials and told to go home.”

They asked her why she is demanding compensation for her deceased children. Officials asked her to visit Mantralaya with her grievances. They also demanded proof from Poonam for claiming compensation. Poonam is in possession of the documents offered by the officials of Suburban Collector office. She also possesses death certificates of her children. She only wants the government to provide compensation to her children.

Krishna Hegde, BJP Mumbai Vice President said, “A water pipeline had burst in Kherwadi (E), Bandra three years ago which claimed the lives of two children. BMC washed its hands over the incident and passed the buck on Collectors office to pay compensation to the victim. The civic body stated that it is not a natural death. Poonam has been seeking compensation since last three years and injustice has been meted against her.”

“She is a single parent taking care of her children. The Collector is saying that they are not responsible. Poonam had approached the collector’s office and a letter has arrived from the Chief Minister’s office to look into the matter. However, the collector is calling it an unnatural cause. The Collector office should provide compensation to the woman. They should consider this case on humanitarian grounds,” he added.

By Akshay Redij

India expresses anger over Trump’s lies to the world

Vaidehi Taman

July 23, 2019

Republican candidate and US President Donald Trump is known for speaking whatever comes to his mind, even when it gets him in trouble. As the President, Trump has frequently made false statements in his public speeches and remarks. The statements have been documented by fact-checkers; academics and the media have widely described the phenomenon as unprecedented in American politics. This trait of his was similarly observed when he was a presidential candidate. His falsehoods have also become a distinctive part of his political identity.

Trump uttered “at least one false or misleading claim per day on 91 of his first 99 days” in office, according to The New York Times and 1,318 total in his first 263 days in office, according to the “Fact Checker” political analysis column of The Washington Post. By the Post’s tally, it took Trump 601 days to reach 5,000 false or misleading statements and another 226 days to reach the 10,000 mark. For the seven weeks leading up to the midterm elections, it rose to an average of 30 per day [330] from 4.9 during his first 100 days in office. The Post’s latest tally is 10,796 as of June 7, 2019. Trump communicated heavily on Twitter during the 2016 election campaign and has continued to use this channel during his presidency. The attention on Trump’s Twitter activity has significantly increased since he was sworn in as the President. As of May 2019, he is in the top 15 for most Twitter followers at over 60 million. Trump has frequently used Twitter as a direct means of communication with the public, sidelining the press. Many of the assertions he tweeted have been proven false so far. So, whatever Trump says is not necessarily true and correct.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told an American news outlet that there will never be a resolution to the Kashmir issue bilaterally and asserted that the US and President Trump can play a “big part” in mediation. He told the Fox News after his meeting with US President Donald Trump during which Trump had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to mediate the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan. Donald Trump’s claim has been strongly refuted by India. Imran Khan also claimed that Kashmir is the only reason why India and Pakistan “have not been able to live like “civilised neighbours” since the last 70 years.

Donald Trump’s claim that PM Modi asked him to mediate on Kashmir may hit India-US ties. An influential Democratic Congressman apologised to India’s US envoy for President Donald Trump’s “embarrassing” remarks on Kashmir, while several others came out in support of New Delhi’s established stand against any third-party role on the issue.

For the past 70 years, India has consistently resisted any third-party mediation proposal, and for over a decade now, the US has been reiterating that Kashmir is a bilateral issue. Everyone who knows anything about foreign policy in South Asia knows that India consistently opposes third-party mediation for Kashmir. Everyone knows PM Modi would never suggest such a thing. Trump’s statement was sloppy, delusional, and awkward.

Later in the Tuesday evening, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Alice Wells in a tweet said that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. “While Kashmir is a bilateral issue for both parties to discuss, the Trump administration welcomes Pakistan and India sitting down and the United States stands ready to assist,” she tweeted. Meanwhile, Congressman Eliot L Engel, the Chairman of the powerful House Committee on Foreign Affairs, spoke with Indian Ambassador Harsh Shringla after Donald Trump’s remarks. During the call, Engel “reaffirmed that in order for dialogue to be meaningful, Pakistan must first take concrete and irreversible steps to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure” on its soil, the statement said.

In a joint statement, Congressman George Holding and Congressman Brad Sherman, who are Co-Chairs of Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, asserted that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. The Democratic-controlled House Foreign Affairs Committee also issued a fact check. “The Indians confirm they never asked Trump to mediate on Kashmir,” the powerful Congressional committee tweeted. I personally feel that Trump needs to mind his statements. He is in controversies time and again.

Meanwhile, India has not been engaging with Pakistan since an attack on the Air Force base at Pathankot in January of 2016 by Pakistan-based terrorists, maintaining that talks and terror cannot go together. Early this year, tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. Since then India and Prime Minister Modi are not in a mood to buy any lies or pardon Pakistan for its terror attacks. In such a scenario, the President of the most powerful country should maintain his dignity and his country’s pride.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Sheila Dikshit – An unforgettable leader

Vinod Dixit

July 23, 2019

The passing away of a veteran Congress leader and three-time Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit – an affectionate and accessible leader – has left behind a rich legacy. India can never forget her contribution to the transformation National capital. Her demise is a great loss to the Congress party. She is a great daughter of India and had done a lot for the improvement and modernisation of Delhi.

Our country has lost a great administrator and an outstanding leader who contributed enormously to the all-round development of Delhi. She became the Chief Minister in 1998 when the Congress was in the political wilderness and the organization in utter disarray. During her 15-year tenure, Sheila Dikshit is credited for transforming Delhi, despite its complex matrix of governance, into a “world-class city”.

As CM, she changed Delhi’s landscape. While the Congress at the national level was implementing NREGA and other populist schemes, she quietly ushered in reforms like handing over the distribution of power to private players. She was India’s longest-serving woman Chief Minister, ruling for three consecutive terms in 1998, 2003, and 2008. However, her political stature and success almost destroyed the party organisation in Delhi and resulted in her suffering the most humiliating defeat in the national capital in 2013. Her ability to bridge apparent contradictions helped her become one of the most successful CMs of her time. She was popular across party lines. She treated everyone equally. She ushered in an era of all-round development that transformed Delhi into a world-class capital. In fact, she was the sculptor who changed the face of India’s capital. Her administrative skills and political maturity can be gauged by her success in managing complicated issues with the Centre. It is reported that she was the best that Delhi got when it comes to public transport. Not a single bus has been added by the Delhi government after her tenure. In fact, she was the one who introduced the cluster bus scheme.

During her tenure, Delhi’s power supply situation improved significantly after she allowed private companies to distribute power. She also initiated green reforms in the public transport sector successfully accomplishing the shift from polluting vehicles to a CNG based fleet. Even her critics acknowledge that she was a Chief Minister who delivered. She used to meet hundreds of people daily, maintaining direct connect with the voters even after she lost power.

In 2010, Dikshit’s government faced allegations for alleged irregularities in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games. Hailing from a Punjabi Khatri household settled in Delhi, she married into a Brahmin family of Uttar Pradesh, was one of the first to understand the demographic change that had taken place in Delhi, that it was no longer a Punjabi-Baniya city, but had come to belong equally to the large numbers of migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Sonia Gandhi has rightly said that “She brought grace, humanity, wisdom, and excellence to everything she did. And with what courage and loyalty she served the Congress Party, till the end.” She is also probably the only leader who was projected as chief minister candidate of two states — the Congress had presented her as the panacea for the development crisis in Uttar Pradesh in the 2017 Assembly elections before finalizing the alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

She worked with three generations of Gandhi’s, earning their trust, eventually becoming one of Sonia’s closest confidantes, particularly during Rao’s tenure as Prime Minister. She fought until the end. At age 80, she took over as the President of the Delhi Congress to fight an uphill Lok Sabha poll battle earlier this year. She was a woman of multiple interests; she could discuss films, art, music, and food with connoisseurs even while addressing political complexities with admirable calm. There is no doubt that it will be very difficult for Delhi to erase her legacy from the national capital’s collective memory as well as its everyday life.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

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