Tushar Mehta’s remarks calling public interest litigations “self-employment generating petitions” sound like a complete and summary rejection of the concept and reek of contempt. One of the Indian government’s senior-most legal officers, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said in the Supreme Court on April 3, 2020, that “’professional PIL shops’ must be locked down.” This has created […]
There are five reasons why the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme must be abolished All Opposition parties have been unanimous in their criticism of the government’s recent move to suspend the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for two years, approved by the Cabinet. The government’s reason is this: to use these funds […]
It is not easy to get down to writing when the country, indeed the world, faces an uncertain future due to the coronavirus pandemic. But this is perhaps a good time to try and explore the impact of the coronavirus on democracy. It is well known that crises bring out the best and worst in […]
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were first conceived by the Election Commission of India (ECI) as a replacement for the ballot paper and the ballot box in 1977. The design and development of the machine was entrusted to a public sector undertaking, the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) in Hyderabad which developed a prototype by […]
प्रत्येक संसद सदस्य को अपने क्षेत्र के विकास के लिए सांसद निधि के तहत हर साल पांच करोड़ रुपये दिये जाते हैं. सदस्य के सुझाव के आधार पर इस राशि से क्षेत्र में विकास कार्य कराये जाते हैं. हालांकि, इस प्रक्रिया पर सवाल हैं. स्थानीय क्षेत्र विकास के लिए सांसदों को दिया जानेवाला यह फंड […]
The phrase ‘criminalisation of politics’ entered the Indian lexicon in 1993 when it was used by the Vohra Committee which had been set up “to take stock of all available information about the activities of crime syndicates/mafia organisations which had developed links with and were being protected by government functionaries and political personalities”. This high-powered […]
हैदराबाद में एक पशु चिकित्सक युवती के साथ सामूहिक दुष्कर्म और उसकी हत्या कर उसके शव को जलाने की जो नृशंस घटना घटी उससे पूरे देश में गम और गुस्सा दिखाई दिया। देश भर के लोगों का रोष स्वाभाविक भी था, लेकिन जो आक्रोश संसद में और संसद के बाहर विभिन्न दलों के नेताओं ने […]
The heading of my column is, obviously, an adaptation of a famous sentence written by Ian Fleming, creator of the iconic spy, James Bond. The same series had one more film titled Licence to Kill. It is a strange coincidence that while James Bond supposedly had the licence to kill the bad guys, it may […]
Three of the members of the Lok Sabha, where shouts to lynch rapists rang loud, have rape charges pending against them. The rape and burning of the victim in Hyderabad are indeed a matter of shame for the whole country. However, the outrage expressed in the parliament about a week ago seemed surprising. The honourable MPs […]
The government decided to issue electoral bonds as a money bill. This was unconstitutional because electoral bonds are not covered by the definition of ‘money bill’ in the Constitution. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the sole authority to issue currency under Section 31 of the RBI Act, was approached four days before the announcement […]