000-tobecategorised

EAS Sarma says "the abrupt and somewhat inexplicable exit of Shri Goel fraises the following questions:

1.Did Shri Goel express his dissent on the way the political executive has been trying to interfere with the electoral process in several ways vitiating its sanctity?
2.Did Shri Goel express doubts about the efficacy of the use of EVMs?
3.Did he express his concern at the way the political executive has pressured the SBI not to disclose the details of the EBS?
4.Was there any proposal from Shri Goel to freeze the residual amounts received by the political parties under the EBS to prevent their use in the ensuing elections?
5.Did Shrii Goel propose that BJP's nominees from the Boards of BEL, ECIL and SBI be withdrawn to maintain the sanctity the electoral process?
6.Did Shri Goel express his dissent on any other matter that would have displeased the political executive?
7.Did the highest within the political executive force Shri Goel to tender his resignation to clear the way for the ruling party's machinations?

One Election Commissioner has recently retired and the political executive is trying to select a candidate of its choice to succeed him. Meanwhile, I find that Shri Arun Goel, the third Election Commissioner has tendered his resignation prematurely, though his term is due to expire only in 2027. Shri Goel's resignation appears to have been accepted by the government in an undue hurry on the 9th of March, 2024 and the same was notified by the Ministry of Law & Justice yesterday..."

Earlier Letter & its references: https://countercurrents.org/2024/03/letter-to-president-of-india-non-transparency-of-funding-through-electoral-bonds-appointment-of-political-nominees-on-the-boards-of-sbi-bel-ecil-and-violating-norms-of-appointment-of-election-comm/ "attempts on the part of the political executive to deviate from the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court on appointment of Election Commissioners, the contentious Electoral Bonds scheme (EBS) and its planting BJP nominees on the Boards of Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Electronics Corporation India Ltd (ECIL) and the SBI evidently to interfere at every stage of the electoral process in one way or the other, which in my view vitiates the sanctity of elections"

https://countercurrents.org/2023/11/appointment-of-chief-information-commissioner-prima-facie-violation-of-section-123-of-the-rti-act/

https://thewire.in/government/take-expert-opinion-on-evms-safety-implement-safeguards-e-a-s-sarma-to-election-commission

https://countercurrents.org/2023/03/election-commission-of-india-must-question-the-presence-political-nominees-on-bels-and-ecils-boards/

https://thewire.in/politics/fcra-reviving-lapsed-law-amending-retrospectively-trumps-ethical-legal-barriers

https://countercurrents.org/2024/03/the-eci-should-not-only-freeze-all-amounts-received-by-political-parties-through-the-electoral-bonds-scheme-but-also-force-the-sbi-to-disclose-the-details-immediately-failing-which-the-commission-sho/

https://countercurrents.org/2024/03/tapping-into-the-right-analysis-of-the-bolsonarists-and-their-right-wing-protest/ 

Social movement research has generally excluded right wing movements as a subject of its research, as Nelson Pichardo has highlighted in his critique of the ‘New’ Social Movement (NSM) paradigm and its theorists, who have been ideologically biased towards movements originating from the ‘left’ (Pichardo 1997). Recently, however, there has been some significant exploration of contemporary right-wing movements. This essay will look at the typologies of right-wing movements created by some of the scholars focusing on this area of study, and attempt to apply mainstream social movement theory to the case study of a right-wing protest in Brazil in 2023, when supporters of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Three Powers Plaza in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.

A major chunk of the scholarship on right wing movements have been geared towards American politics and contexts, although some work has been focused on India and Latin America. This paper has taken into account the discussion on movements in the United States, such as the Ku Klux Klan or the anti-abortion March for Life movement, but attempted to situate it in a more global context.

by Anika Vijapur

07/03/2024

https://www.livemint.com/politics/policy/the-bengaluru-water-crisis-and-how-the-karnataka-govt-is-tackling-it-11709690520985.html 

The water level in the Cauvery River has substantially dropped since there has not been enough rain in the region. The weakened southwest monsoon rainfalls have resulted in groundwater levels going down and decreased water reserves in the Cauvery River basin reservoirs, according to a report by Reuters . This has affected irrigation and led to a drinking water crisis in areas of the capital city of Karnataka. The crisis is also being attributed to rapid urbanisation and poor infrastructure.

In September 2023, the state had declared a drought in 195 taluks, including parts of Bengaluru. The number went up to 216 of the 236 taluks in Karnataka later. This includes Mandya and Mysuru districts, from where Bengaluru sources water.

by Gulam Jeelani

06/03/2024