Above the Fold: Top stories of the day
1. In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court ruled that an unwed Hindu mother could apply for guardianship of her child without the father’s consent and without having to reveal his name.
2. After 61% voted “no” to austerity in exchange for aid, Greece’s “erratic Marxist” finance minister resigned as the country races against time to find a new bailout deal that could stall a Grexit. The Centre said that India was insulated from the crisis but warned that the rupee may be hit.
3. Former IPL chief Lalit Modi has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate. He has two weeks to appear before the ED and record his statement.
The Big Story: Who's afraid of the CBI?
As the death count climbs, there is a renewed urgency in demands for the Central Bureau of Investigation to step into the Vyapam investigation, involving the rigging of professional examinations in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress and the AAP are now pressing for a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe. On Monday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh parried these demands by saying the investigating agency could not get involved unless the Supreme Court expressly ordered it. Question is, why is the BJP afraid of a CBI investigation?
Announcing a CBI probe would be the simplest way for the embattled BJP to salvage its credibility and signal that it is serious about solving the Vyapam mystery. There is a growing loss of confidence in the investigation headed by the special task force of the Madhya Pradesh police and monitored by an SIT appointed by the state high court. Earlier this year, one of the whistleblowers in the case had fled to Delhi alleging harassment by the Madhya Pradesh police and it is felt that a probe at the state level is compromised when accusations have been levelled at the chief minister himself. Moreover, Vyapam now threatens more than the state BJP leadership. The BJP’s claim to be a party of clean governance, already weakened by Lalitgate, has taken a massive hit with this scam. If it is to prevent a further erosion of this image, the party’s central leadership must step in and be seen to be acting decisively against charges of corruption.
Let’s take a reality check: a CBI probe might not be the magic wand many expect it to be. The investigating agency hasn’t exactly been a byword for neutrality in the past. The Supreme Court once called it “a caged parrot”, at the mercy of its political masters, used to protect the party in power and target its opponents. This impression was reinforced during investigations into high-profile cases such as 2G and coal allocations. But at this moment, a probe could at least begin to pierce the impunity with which those guilty of the colossal admissions and recruitment scam have acted so far.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day’s biggest story
Two more deaths in Vyapam scam put the Madhya Pradesh chief minister on the back foot. Deaths of journalist and doctor could point to a frightening cover-up in the Vyapam scam.
Politicking & Policying
1. The AAP government in Delhi has written to the ministry of home affairs in an attempt to resolve the dispute over the appointment of a home secretary. The party has proposed the names of three IAS officers as candidates for the post. Could this be the first sign of a thaw between the Centre and the Delhi government?
2. A joint committee of Parliament is to take up the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill clause by clause and submit its report on the first day of the second week of the monsoon session.
3. The standoff over the Film and Television Institute of India continued as actor Pallavi Joshi and filmmaker Jahnu Barua left the FTII society in solidarity with the striking students. The protests had been sparked off by the I&B ministry’s appointment of BJP leader Gajendra Chauhan as chairperson of the society. Students viewed it as a “political” choice.
Punditry
1. Rohit Dhankar in the Hindu weighs in on the controversy surrounding Maharashtra’s alleged bid to derecognise madrasas. If the state government is trying to identify “non-school going children”, as qualified by the RTE, it must include all those who do not study the core subjects, be it in a madrasa or a Vedic school.
2. Vasundhara Raje in the Indian Express argues that Make in India thrives on cooperative federalism and fierce competition between states.
3. Omkar Goswami in the Business Standard says a Grexit was inevitable, right from the moment Greece joined the eurozone in 2001.
Don't Miss
Maria Kastrinou’s account of how Israel, the Syrian regime and al-Qaeda-affiliated rebels compete to protect the esoteric Druze community.
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1. In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court ruled that an unwed Hindu mother could apply for guardianship of her child without the father’s consent and without having to reveal his name.
2. After 61% voted “no” to austerity in exchange for aid, Greece’s “erratic Marxist” finance minister resigned as the country races against time to find a new bailout deal that could stall a Grexit. The Centre said that India was insulated from the crisis but warned that the rupee may be hit.
3. Former IPL chief Lalit Modi has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate. He has two weeks to appear before the ED and record his statement.
The Big Story: Who's afraid of the CBI?
As the death count climbs, there is a renewed urgency in demands for the Central Bureau of Investigation to step into the Vyapam investigation, involving the rigging of professional examinations in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress and the AAP are now pressing for a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe. On Monday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh parried these demands by saying the investigating agency could not get involved unless the Supreme Court expressly ordered it. Question is, why is the BJP afraid of a CBI investigation?
Announcing a CBI probe would be the simplest way for the embattled BJP to salvage its credibility and signal that it is serious about solving the Vyapam mystery. There is a growing loss of confidence in the investigation headed by the special task force of the Madhya Pradesh police and monitored by an SIT appointed by the state high court. Earlier this year, one of the whistleblowers in the case had fled to Delhi alleging harassment by the Madhya Pradesh police and it is felt that a probe at the state level is compromised when accusations have been levelled at the chief minister himself. Moreover, Vyapam now threatens more than the state BJP leadership. The BJP’s claim to be a party of clean governance, already weakened by Lalitgate, has taken a massive hit with this scam. If it is to prevent a further erosion of this image, the party’s central leadership must step in and be seen to be acting decisively against charges of corruption.
Let’s take a reality check: a CBI probe might not be the magic wand many expect it to be. The investigating agency hasn’t exactly been a byword for neutrality in the past. The Supreme Court once called it “a caged parrot”, at the mercy of its political masters, used to protect the party in power and target its opponents. This impression was reinforced during investigations into high-profile cases such as 2G and coal allocations. But at this moment, a probe could at least begin to pierce the impunity with which those guilty of the colossal admissions and recruitment scam have acted so far.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day’s biggest story
Two more deaths in Vyapam scam put the Madhya Pradesh chief minister on the back foot. Deaths of journalist and doctor could point to a frightening cover-up in the Vyapam scam.
Politicking & Policying
1. The AAP government in Delhi has written to the ministry of home affairs in an attempt to resolve the dispute over the appointment of a home secretary. The party has proposed the names of three IAS officers as candidates for the post. Could this be the first sign of a thaw between the Centre and the Delhi government?
2. A joint committee of Parliament is to take up the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill clause by clause and submit its report on the first day of the second week of the monsoon session.
3. The standoff over the Film and Television Institute of India continued as actor Pallavi Joshi and filmmaker Jahnu Barua left the FTII society in solidarity with the striking students. The protests had been sparked off by the I&B ministry’s appointment of BJP leader Gajendra Chauhan as chairperson of the society. Students viewed it as a “political” choice.
Punditry
1. Rohit Dhankar in the Hindu weighs in on the controversy surrounding Maharashtra’s alleged bid to derecognise madrasas. If the state government is trying to identify “non-school going children”, as qualified by the RTE, it must include all those who do not study the core subjects, be it in a madrasa or a Vedic school.
2. Vasundhara Raje in the Indian Express argues that Make in India thrives on cooperative federalism and fierce competition between states.
3. Omkar Goswami in the Business Standard says a Grexit was inevitable, right from the moment Greece joined the eurozone in 2001.
Don't Miss
Maria Kastrinou’s account of how Israel, the Syrian regime and al-Qaeda-affiliated rebels compete to protect the esoteric Druze community.
“This is nothing new. Since Ottoman times, external powers and local elites have played minorities for their own geopolitical goals. Indeed, defining populations as minorities and majorities and “protecting” them has always been part of colonial governance, imperialist intervention, and the geopolitics of states and sovereignty in the Middle East.”
