THE HINDU Editorial | 15 October 2020 | Vocab
Intemperate letter: On Maharashtra Governor’s politics
The Maharashtra Governor is communalising the government response to the pandemic
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s intemperate letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in which he mocked the latter, questioned his faith and even took a jibe at secularism, a fundamental tenet of the Constitution, is disgraceful. His letter, written purportedly to seek an early reopening of temples, could have urged that without the accompanying scorn and derision. The Governor reduced himself to the level of a troll warrior, by declaring that “our gods and goddesses have been condemned to remain in lockdown” and wondering whether the CM has “suddenly turned secular”. He wrote to the CM that the latter used to be a “strong votary of Hindutva”, and cited his visits to temples as proof. This forces the conclusion that the intent, purpose and premise of the letter were all wrong. A person’s faith in Hinduism and its practice is not Hindutva. The Constitution envisages no role for a CM’s faith in his functioning. Moreover, it is not the Governor’s job to interfere in the daily functioning of an elected government. Communication between the Governor and CM must be perfectly civil and respectful besides being constitutionally appropriate. And at any rate, restrictions on gatherings at places of worship as a measure to combat a pandemic are not related to the concept of secularism.
His warped logic apart, Mr. Koshyari has a track record of privileging his political fealties over norms and propriety. In November 2019, he held a swearing-in for BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as the State’s Chief Minister, in a dubious attempt to pre-empt the formation of a Shiv Sena-led alliance government. He continued to wade into political controversies, in a manner unbecoming of his office. Mr. Thackeray rightly reminded the Governor of the fact that secularism was a “key component” of the Constitution and the need to take care of people while being sensitive to their beliefs and sentiments. Mr. Thackeray also descended into avoidable grandstanding in the letter by reiterating his own Hindutva credentials and revisiting earlier tussles with the Governor. NCP Chief Sharad Pawar on the other hand, called out the Governor’s ill-advised move in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which he expressed “shock” and “surprise” that the letter was released to the media. The Governor could convey his views to the CM, but the “kind of language” was unsuitable for someone holding a constitutional office, Mr. Pawar pointed out. Maharashtra is fighting a battle against COVID-19, and all steps in this regard must be based entirely on a proper analysis of the situation. Any political considerations can only be damaging, and a communal one will be dangerous. It is unfortunate that the Governor sought to insert himself into the situation in an extremely unhelpful manner. He must retreat and let the Council of Ministers and the Chief Minister take decisions that they consider appropriate and timely.
Vocab--
Intemperate --असंयमी--incontinent, intemperate--having or showing a lack of self-control; immoderate.
mock--दिखावटी--Fake, imitation, mock, sham,
jibe--हंसी--laugh, laughter, jibe, jest, hoax, josh
tenet --सिद्धांत--theory, principle, doctrine, maxim, law-a principle or belief, especially one of the main principles of a religion or philosophy.
purportedly--कथित रूप से--as appears or is stated to be true, though not necessarily so; allegedly.
accompanying--साथ में--provided or occurring at the same time as something else.-
scorn --घिन आना--hatred, hate, disgust, aversion, scorn, dislike
derision--उपहास--ridicule, derision, flout, jesting, taunt
votary --तरफ़दार--supporter, partisan, stickler, proponent, protagonist
a person, such as a monk or nun, who has made vows of dedication to religious service
premise--आधार--
envisages--परिकल्पना की गई है--face, encounter, confront, front, stand up, envisage
warped --विकृत--
privilege--विशेषाधिकार--privilege, charter, perquisite, privelege, faculty
propriety--justification, propriety, decency
wade--उतारा--
descended--वंशज--embodied, incarnated, descended--
reiterating --दोहराया
retreat--पीछे हटना
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITORIAL---2Unpleasant spectacle: On A.P. CM’s complaint against Supreme Court judge
The tussle between State govt. and High Court in A.P. should not be allowed to escalate
The sudden escalation of an ongoing tussle between the judiciary and the ruling YSR Congress party in Andhra Pradesh makes for an unpleasant spectacle. The limits of propriety are being stretched, as the allegations being bandied about have taken distinctly political overtones. With the CM, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, writing to the Chief Justice of India, S.A. Bobde, complaining about the allegedly hostile attitude of the Andhra Pradesh High Court against him and his government, and making public details of the letter that contains explosive allegations against a serving Supreme Court judge, the conflict is embarrassingly out in the open. Meanwhile, the High Court has directed the CBI to take over the investigation into the registry’s complaints against allegedly defamatory, inciting and derogatory social media posts against the judiciary as well as individual judges, and to examine whether these attacks were part of a larger conspiracy. The CM alleges that the High Court is being controlled by loyalists of his predecessor in office and political rival, N. Chandrababu Naidu, and has passed a slew of orders against his regime and its actions. The High Court, the petitioner on the administrative side, argues that not only is the State police reluctant to take action against those carrying on an online campaign against the court but it is actively pursuing complaints of similar offences against Mr. Jagan Mohan and arresting the perpetrators. It says many of those posting on social media against the High Court judges are from the YSR Congress.
The conflict is based on mutual accusations that the High Court is hostile to the State government, and that the latter is abetting a political campaign against the judges. It is disturbing enough that some judicial orders are seen in a political light, or lend themselves to such an interpretation. It becomes quite ominous if these charges give rise to open threats and abuse. The government has sought to ease the situation by offering no objection to the CBI inquiry. It is presumably waiting for the outcome of the CM’s unusual missive to the CJI, who in turn faces a dilemma as he cannot be seen as either ignoring a written complaint from an elected leader or giving undue credence to charges from a disgruntled litigant. The problem is that allegations of possible judicial bias, which are difficult to establish, are combined with those of misconduct, a serious charge. The right thing would probably be for the CJI to order an inquiry into the letter in accordance with the apex court’s internal procedure. Regardless of what happens, it may end the recriminations. India can ill-afford a public perception that judges have strong political loyalties. For, that will undermine faith in an independent judiciary.
Vocab--
escalation --वृद्धि--a rapid increase; a rise.
tussle ---संघर्ष--खींचतान,संघर्ष--a vigorous struggle or scuffle, typically in order to obtain or achieve something.
unpleasant--अप्रिय--unpleasant, abominable, gritty, unpopular
spectacle--तमाशा--spectacle, pageant, farce, slapstick, show, fun
stretched--बढ़ाया--
distinctly--साफ़ तौर पर--clean, distinctly, clearly
overtones--मकसद
rival-प्रतिद्वंद्वी--opponent, rival, competitor, paragon
perpetrators-अपराधियों--offender, culprit, delinquent, perpetrator, repeater, felon
hostile--hostile --शत्रुतापूर्ण
abetting--को बढ़ावा देने के
ominous--अमंगल-ominous, unlucky, Inauspicious, jinx, unfortunate
presumably --शायद--
dilemma -दुविधा-dilemma, doubt, suspense, abeyance, shilly-shally
unusual--असामान्य--
missive--राजनीतिक संदेश--undue -अनुचित
disgruntled--litigant विवादी
bias--पक्षपात
recrimination--अभियोग--
perception--अनुभूति--cognition, feeling, realization, perception, sensibility--
undermine--कमजोर
Post a Comment