The Evening Wrap: No-trust motion against Modi government defeated

The Lok Sabha witnessed the defeat of the no-confidence motion brought by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi after the Opposition walked out of the House during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the debate on the motion. Proceedings of the House ended with the suspension of Leader of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. PM Modi, in his reply, said that the Opposition didn’t participate in the discussion on several key Bills in Parliament as they considered politics over the legislations. He also criticised the Opposition alliance INDIA and said it was a “guarantee” for India’s bankruptcy, policy paralysis, imbalance, corruption, dynasty politics and employment and said that he would position India among the world’s top-three economies, which he said was not possible with the Opposition alliance. Meanwhile, the Opposition members demanded PM Modi’s remarks on Manipur and staged a walkout. Speaking on Manipur, PM Modi said that the House was with the people of Manipur. “We will together find a solution and peace will prevail again. And we will leave no stone unturned to expedite the pace of development of Manipur,” he said. He also expressed his displeasure over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks against Bharat Mata on August 9 in the Lok Sabha. Further, he said that the situation in Manipur has been presented to have originated in the past few days. “If there is any source of all turbulence in the Northeast, it is not the people of Northeast, but Congress’ politics,” he said. He alleged Manipur’s rich heritage was compromised because of extremism that was inefficiently handled by the Congress. Gogoi was not present in the House to question PM Modi after his reply. The no-confidence motion was defeated in the House by a voice vote. Before adjourning the House, Speaker Om Birla called out Chowdhury and BJP MP Virendra Singh for their unruly behaviour. While the BJP MP defended himself, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi introduced a motion to suspend Chowdhury that was eventually passed. Bill moved to remove CJI from panel to select Election Commissioners In a controversial move, the Union government on August 10 introduced a Bill removing the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the panel to select the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. Instead of the CJI, the three-member panel would now consist of a Cabinet Minister besides the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Prime Minister who would head it. The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, was introduced by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Rajya Sabha amid din over protests on Manipur. The Opposition was quick to point out that this will put a question mark on the neutrality of the Election Commission (EC) as the selection panel would effectively have two members of the BJP – the Prime Minister and a Cabinet Minister. Earlier this year in March, the Supreme Court had ruled that the selection panel should comprise the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and the CJI. The court had said the order would hold good until a law was made by Parliament. The Opposition seized the opportunity and accused the government of diluting a Constitution Bench order. Congress’ K.C. Venugopal called the Bill “a blatant attempt at making the Election Commission a total puppet in the hands of the prime minister“. Several other leaders of the Congress party and the Opposition also criticised the Bill. J&K’s surrender of sovereignty to India was ‘absolutely complete’, says Supreme Court Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, heading a Constitution Bench hearing petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370, on August 10 said Jammu and Kashmir ceded its sovereignty to the Dominion of India “absolutely and completely”. “It was no conditional surrender of sovereignty to the Dominion of India. The surrender of sovereignty was absolutely complete,” Chief Justice Chandrachud observed orally. The restraint on Parliament to enact certain laws in Jammu and Kashmir was akin to limitations on enacting laws on subjects in the State List of the Indian Constitution. Limitations placed on the legislative power of the Parliament cannot be construed to mean that Jammu and Kashmir, unlike other princely states which ceded to the Dominion and became full-fledged States under the Constitution, retained its sovereignty, the Chief Justice noted. The court was reacting to arguments that the “special autonomous status” granted to Jammu and Kashmir and retention of “residuary legislative powers” in the State were clear indications that Jammu and Kashmir retained an element of sovereignty even after the Instrument of Accession was entered into between the erstwhile ruler and the Indian government in October 1947. However, the Chief Justice referred to the Constitution (Application) Order of 1972 in which the Parliament was granted exclusive powers to make laws to prevent activities threatening sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. But senior advocate Zaffar A. Shah, appearing for one of the petitioners, persisted that the view would have been acceptable, except that Article 370 had given “residuary legislative powers” to Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Justice said restraints on the power of the Parliament to enact legislation were implicit in the frame or scheme of the Constitution. “We are not a unitary state... Fetters on the Parliament does not dilute its sovereignty,” Chief Justice Chandrachud noted. Justice Sanjay Khanna, on the Bench, asked Shah what was supreme — the Constitution of India or the accession instrument. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the integration of Jammu and Kashmir was “complete”. Justice Kaul said the “effectiveness” of Article 370 was “chipped away over time”. Listen to today’s episode of the In Focus podcast Decoding the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 has been passed in both houses of the Parliament. The Bill has gone through many versions. Despite this, the version that has been passed has left most independent data privacy experts disappointed. It has come in for even more criticism from Right to Information (RTI) activists, who have charged that the Bill amends the RTI Act, 2005 and weakens it. So, how well does the Bill really fare on the basic metric of protecting a user’s personal data? And where does it fall short? Is there a danger of democratic backsliding with this Bill, like many are saying, or is that an overblown criticism? Woman files police complaint alleging rape in Manipur’s Churachandpur on May 3 A 37-year-old woman approached the police in Manipur’s Bishnupur on August 9 with a complaint that she was sexually assaulted on May 3 in Churachandpur district. Following the complaint, a Zero FIR was registered at the Bishnupur police station and transferred to the Churachandpur police station the same day. The FIR has been filed pseudonymously and the complaint does not bear the survivor’s signature. The police have registered a case of gangrape, assault or criminal force to outrage the modesty of a woman with common intention against “unknown Kuki miscreants”. According to the complaint, the incident took place at 6.30 p.m. on May 3, the day ethnic clashes erupted in Manipur following a tribal solidarity march. She said she did not disclose the incident to save the family’s honour and dignity and to avoid social ostracism. RBI holds rates, raises FY24 inflation forecast to 5.4%; retains GDP growth projection at 6.5% The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India on August 10 decided unanimously to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5% even as it raised the projection for retail inflation in the current fiscal year by 30 basis points to 5.4%. The MPC also decided by a majority of 5 out of 6 members to stay with its policy stance of remaining focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns with the target, while supporting growth. “Headline inflation, after reaching a low of 4.3% in May 2023, rose in June and is expected to surge during July-August led by vegetable prices,” observed RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, explaining the MPC’s rationale for its decisions. Stressing that the MPC remained resolute in its commitment to aligning inflation to the 4% target and anchoring inflation expectations, the RBI Governor asserted that India could withstand external headwinds far better than other countries, with the momentum of overall economic activity continuing to be positive. The CPI inflation projection for 2023-24, assuming a normal monsoon, was revised upwards to 5.4% from the 5.1% forecast in June, with Q2 at 6.2%, Q3 at 5.7%, and Q4 at 5.2%. For Q1 FY25 price gains were projected at 5.2%, the MPC said, adding “the risks are evenly balanced”. To address the problem of excess liquidity with banks, the RBI decided that with effect from the fortnight beginning August 12, 2023, scheduled banks would maintain an incremental cash reserve ratio (I-CRR) of 10% on the increase in their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) between May 19, 2023 and July 28, 2023. In Brief: The Delhi High Court on August 10 sought the stand of the ED on a plea by businessman and Aam Aadmi Party’s communication in-charge Vijay Nair seeking default bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice on the bail application and granted time to the investigation agency to file its reply. Nair, who was arrested on November 13, 2022, was refused default bail in the case by the trial court on July 29. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 10 August 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( No-confidence motion defeated; PM Modi slams Congress in reply; Lok Sabha suspends Adhir Chowdhury The [Lok Sabha witnessed the defeat of the no-confidence motion brought by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi]( after the Opposition walked out of the House during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the debate on the motion. Proceedings of the House ended with the suspension of Leader of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. PM Modi, in his reply, said that the Opposition didn’t participate in the discussion on several key Bills in Parliament as they considered politics over the legislations. He also criticised the Opposition alliance INDIA and said it was a “guarantee” for India’s bankruptcy, policy paralysis, imbalance, corruption, dynasty politics and employment and said that he would position India among the world’s top-three economies, which he said was not possible with the Opposition alliance. Meanwhile, the Opposition members demanded PM Modi’s remarks on Manipur and staged a walkout. Speaking on Manipur, PM Modi said that the House was with the people of Manipur. “We will together find a solution and peace will prevail again. And we will leave no stone unturned to expedite the pace of development of Manipur,” he said. He also expressed his displeasure over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks against Bharat Mata on August 9 in the Lok Sabha. Further, he said that the situation in Manipur has been presented to have originated in the past few days. “If there is any source of all turbulence in the Northeast, it is not the people of Northeast, but Congress’ politics,” he said. He alleged Manipur’s rich heritage was compromised because of extremism that was inefficiently handled by the Congress. Gogoi was not present in the House to question PM Modi after his reply. The no-confidence motion was defeated in the House by a voice vote. Before adjourning the House, Speaker Om Birla called out Chowdhury and BJP MP Virendra Singh for their unruly behaviour. While the BJP MP defended himself, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi introduced a motion to suspend Chowdhury that was eventually passed. Bill moved to remove CJI from panel to select Election Commissioners [In a controversial move, the Union government on August 10 introduced a Bill removing the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the panel to select the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.]( Instead of the CJI, the three-member panel would now consist of a Cabinet Minister besides the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Prime Minister who would head it. The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, was introduced by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Rajya Sabha amid din over protests on Manipur. The Opposition was quick to point out that this will put a question mark on the neutrality of the Election Commission (EC) as the selection panel would effectively have two members of the BJP – the Prime Minister and a Cabinet Minister. Earlier this year in March, the Supreme Court had ruled that the selection panel should comprise the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and the CJI. The court had said the order would hold good until a law was made by Parliament. The Opposition seized the opportunity and accused the government of diluting a Constitution Bench order. Congress’ K.C. Venugopal called the Bill “a blatant attempt at making the Election Commission a total puppet in the hands of the prime minister“. Several other leaders of the Congress party and the Opposition also criticised the Bill. J&K’s surrender of sovereignty to India was ‘absolutely complete’, says Supreme Court Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, heading a Constitution Bench hearing petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370, on August 10 said [Jammu and Kashmir ceded its sovereignty to the Dominion of India “absolutely and completely”](. “It was no conditional surrender of sovereignty to the Dominion of India. The surrender of sovereignty was absolutely complete,” Chief Justice Chandrachud observed orally. The restraint on Parliament to enact certain laws in Jammu and Kashmir was akin to limitations on enacting laws on subjects in the State List of the Indian Constitution. Limitations placed on the legislative power of the Parliament cannot be construed to mean that Jammu and Kashmir, unlike other princely states which ceded to the Dominion and became full-fledged States under the Constitution, retained its sovereignty, the Chief Justice noted. The court was reacting to arguments that the “special autonomous status” granted to Jammu and Kashmir and retention of “residuary legislative powers” in the State were clear indications that Jammu and Kashmir retained an element of sovereignty even after the Instrument of Accession was entered into between the erstwhile ruler and the Indian government in October 1947. However, the Chief Justice referred to the Constitution (Application) Order of 1972 in which the Parliament was granted exclusive powers to make laws to prevent activities threatening sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. But senior advocate Zaffar A. Shah, appearing for one of the petitioners, persisted that the view would have been acceptable, except that Article 370 had given “residuary legislative powers” to Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Justice said restraints on the power of the Parliament to enact legislation were implicit in the frame or scheme of the Constitution. “We are not a unitary state... Fetters on the Parliament does not dilute its sovereignty,” Chief Justice Chandrachud noted. Justice Sanjay Khanna, on the Bench, asked Shah what was supreme — the Constitution of India or the accession instrument. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the integration of Jammu and Kashmir was “complete”. Justice Kaul said the “effectiveness” of Article 370 was “chipped away over time”. Listen to today’s episode of the In Focus podcast Decoding the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 The [Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023]( has been passed in both houses of the Parliament. The Bill has gone through many versions. Despite this, the version that has been passed has left most independent data privacy experts disappointed. It has come in for even more criticism from Right to Information (RTI) activists, who have charged that the Bill amends the RTI Act, 2005 and weakens it. So, how well does the Bill really fare on the basic metric of protecting a user’s personal data? And where does it fall short? Is there a danger of democratic backsliding with this Bill, like many are saying, or is that an overblown criticism? Woman files police complaint alleging rape in Manipur’s Churachandpur on May 3 [A 37-year-old woman approached the police in Manipur’s Bishnupur on August 9 with a complaint that she was sexually assaulted on May 3]( in Churachandpur district. Following the complaint, a Zero FIR was registered at the Bishnupur police station and transferred to the Churachandpur police station the same day. The FIR has been filed pseudonymously and the complaint does not bear the survivor’s signature. The police have registered a case of gangrape, assault or criminal force to outrage the modesty of a woman with common intention against “unknown Kuki miscreants”. According to the complaint, the incident took place at 6.30 p.m. on May 3, the day ethnic clashes erupted in Manipur following a tribal solidarity march. She said she did not disclose the incident to save the family’s honour and dignity and to avoid social ostracism. RBI holds rates, raises FY24 inflation forecast to 5.4%; retains GDP growth projection at 6.5% The [Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India on August 10 decided unanimously to keep the policy repo rate unchanged]( at 6.5% even as it raised the projection for retail inflation in the current fiscal year by 30 basis points to 5.4%. The MPC also decided by a majority of 5 out of 6 members to stay with its policy stance of remaining focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns with the target, while supporting growth. “Headline inflation, after reaching a low of 4.3% in May 2023, rose in June and is expected to surge during July-August led by vegetable prices,” observed RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, explaining the MPC’s rationale for its decisions. Stressing that the MPC remained resolute in its commitment to aligning inflation to the 4% target and anchoring inflation expectations, the RBI Governor asserted that India could withstand external headwinds far better than other countries, with the momentum of overall economic activity continuing to be positive. The CPI inflation projection for 2023-24, assuming a normal monsoon, was revised upwards to 5.4% from the 5.1% forecast in June, with Q2 at 6.2%, Q3 at 5.7%, and Q4 at 5.2%. For Q1 FY25 price gains were projected at 5.2%, the MPC said, adding “the risks are evenly balanced”. To address the problem of excess liquidity with banks, the RBI decided that with effect from the fortnight beginning August 12, 2023, scheduled banks would maintain an incremental cash reserve ratio (I-CRR) of 10% on the increase in their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) between May 19, 2023 and July 28, 2023. In Brief: The [Delhi High Court on August 10 sought the stand of the ED on a plea by businessman and Aam Aadmi Party’s communication in-charge Vijay Nair seeking default bail]( in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice on the bail application and granted time to the investigation agency to file its reply. Nair, who was arrested on November 13, 2022, was refused default bail in the case by the trial court on July 29. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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