THE UNREST News Magazine October 16-31, 2022

THE UNREST

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CONFLICTS | ELECTIONS | HUMAN RIGHTS | PROTESTS | TERRORISM

A delegation led by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Manpreet Ayali urged Punjab Governor on September 30, 2022 to stop AAP from squandering public funds on a PR (public relations) exercise aimed at furthering its party agenda at the cost of Punjabis. Photo: SAD

Punjab Crisis

Sidhana Leads

Sonia Gandhi Joins Bharat Jodo Yatra Dates for Himachal Election Announced

Sonia Gandhi Joins Rahul Gandhi in Bharat Jodo Yatra

While Congress is trying to leverage this campaign to defeat Modi and his party in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, it is difficult to defeat him.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra or “Unite India March” on October 6 in Karnataka where she walked some distance along with her son Rahul Gandhi and thousands of supporters.

Although the Yatra began last month (September), Sonia Gandhi could not participate in it because she was unwell. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi - who is very popular in India is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra and travelling across the country on foot. He is getting tremendous support from people everywhere.

The Yatra began on September 7 from Kanyakumari and will culminate in Kashmir after about 5 months and after covering over 3,500 kilometers. Rahul Gandhi and his supporters walk about 25 kilometers everyday.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra or “Unite India March” in Karnataka on October 6, 2022. Photo: Congress

While Congress mainly operates from Twitter, this is the first major field campaign by Congress after many years. The objective of this campaign is to engage with the voters and inform them about the divisive actions of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi and his government, although Modi operates as a one-man regime.

Congress complains that Modi is attacking democratic institutions in the country and running hate campaigns to divide people on religious lines to gain undue electoral advantages.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra will also make people aware of the fact that because of the anti-people policies of the Modi regime, the country is facing unprecedented inflation, corruption, unemployment, and civil unrest.

While Congress is trying to leverage this campaign to defeat Modi and his party in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, it is difficult to defeat him because Modi knows how to win elections and how to form governments where he loses elections.

The main factors that will influence the 2024 Lok Sabha election results are selective manipulation of electronic voting machines (EVMs), managed violence such as Pulwama terror attack, anti-Pakistan rhetoric, false pre-poll promises, bribes to voters, expensive advertisements to deceive the voters, corrupt media manipulation, and communal hate campaigns.

Congress has launched an exclusive website for its Bharat Jodo Yatra initiative.

U.S. Extends Support to Ukraine in the Face of Russian Strikes

There is one person who can stop this war now and withdraw Russia’s forces: Vladimir Putin.

The U.S. Department of State said in a statement released on October 10 that the Kremlin’s strikes against Ukraine again place the stakes of Russia’s brutal war into stark relief. The statement adds that Russian bombs hit children’s playgrounds and

public parks in Kyiv; wave after wave of missiles struck Kyiv’s city streets and damaged heating and targets without military purpose throughout Ukraine.

“I extend my deepest sympathies to the people of Ukraine who have lost loved ones today. The United States stands with you,” said the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

According to the U.S. statement, Russia’s attacks are yet another reminder that its war against Ukraine presents a profound moral issue. No person of conscience and no country of principle – could be unmoved by the devastation of these horrors. Ukraine, like every other country around the world, has the right to choose its own future and live peacefully inside its own internationally recognized borders.

“These strikes can break neither Ukraine’s spirit nor our resolve to support Ukraine,” Blinken said, adding that the United States will continue to provide vital economic, humanitarian, and security assistance so Ukraine can defend itself and take care of its people.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin. Photo: Kremlin (file photo)

The international community has a responsibility to make clear that President Putin’s actions are completely unacceptable. Now is the time to speak out in support for Ukraine; it is not the time for abstentions, placating words, or equivocations under claims of neutrality. The core principles of the UN Charter are at stake, the U.S. said

The statement further said that there is one aggressor in this war: Russia. There is only one country escalating this war through its attempted annexations of Ukraine’s land and its repeated assaults on civilians: Russia. There is one person who can stop this war now and withdraw Russia’s forces: Vladimir Putin.

Punjab Akali Leaders Demand Check on Ad Spending by AAP Govt

Bhagwant Mann who used to work in cheap comedy shows is a totally incompetent and illiterate politician.

The leaders of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have urged the Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit to hold the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government accountable for splurging public money on extravagant advertisements.

Reports suggest that the AAP government led by chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann is spending lavishly on ads and in just 2 months ending May 2022 paid a whopping Rs. 37 crore for avoidable publicity.

A delegation led by SAD leader Manpreet Ayali urged the governor to stop AAP from squandering public funds on a PR (public relations) exercise aimed at furthering its party agenda at the cost of Punjabis.

Bhagwant Mann who used to work in cheap comedy shows is a totally incompetent and illiterate politician. He is trying to draw public attention by giving his photographs in the ads while Punjab is facing a severe socio-economic crisis under his leadership.

Currently, Punjab is under a debt of Rs. 2.63 lakh crore, but Bhagwant Mann is carelessly spending huge money on his personal promotion. Surprisingly, an uneducated Bhagwant Mann moves with a 42-car convoy while the people of Punjab are suffering under unprecedented inflation, religious animosity, drug addiction, joblessness, and lawlessness.

While Bhagwant Mann because of his illiteracy and naivety works as a puppet under AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, both are spending enormous public money to promote themselves in other states such as Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh where elections are going to take place.

The Right to Information (RTI) replies by the Directorate of Information and Publicity reveal that the Delhi Government’s spending on advertisements increased by a whopping 4,273% over 10 financial years ending with 2021-2022, particularly under Kejriwal’s rule.

A delegation led by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Manpreet Ayali urged Punjab Governor on September 30, 2022 to stop AAP from squandering public funds on a PR (public relations) exercise aimed at furthering its party agenda at the cost of Punjabis. Photo: SAD

After getting advertisements from Kejriwal, most corrupt media outlets do not question AAP’s wrongdoings and the TV anchors particularly do not interject when AAP leaders divert the issues or tell flagrant lies in TV shows to evade crucial questions about their alleged corruption cases and misgovernance.

While the AAP is controlling the traditional media companies with the power of public money, it is being observed that there are also attempts to suppress or remove information related to AAP’s corruption cases from new-media sites such as Wikipedia, which is a free online encyclopedia.

Human Rights Prize Awarded to Imprisoned Russian Opposition Leader

Mr Kara-Murza, who has faced two attempts to poison him, was arrested and jailed in April 2022.

The tenth (2022) Václav Havel Human Rights Prize which honours outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights has been awarded to imprisoned Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza.

The 60,000-euro prize was presented at a special ceremony on the opening day of the autumn plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg.

Vladimir Kara-Murza is a Russian politician, writer and historian. He is one of the opposition leaders in the Russian Federation, a consistent critic of the Russian government, and co-founder of the Russian Anti-War Committee established to oppose Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Kara-Murza, who has faced two attempts to poison him, was arrested and jailed in April 2022 and has been charged with treason, as well as other charges, which could keep him behind bars for many years. Accepting the award on his behalf, Mr Kara-Murza’s wife Yevgeniya said she “couldn’t be prouder” of her husband. She

read out a statement by him in which he dedicated his win to the thousands of Russians who had voiced their opposition to the war in Ukraine, and pledged that “a peaceful, democratic and Putin-free Russia” would one day return to the Council of Europe.

Photo: Council of Europe

Presenting the award, PACE President Tiny Kox, who chaired the selection panel, said: “Despite the risks, Vladimir Kara-Murza had the courage to return to his country to continue his fight, even while having the possibility to stay safe. […] It takes incredible courage in today’s Russia to stand against the power in place. Today, Mr Kara-Murza is showing this courage, from his prison cell.”

The two other shortlisted nominees were the Rainbow Coalition/Invalid Campaign for LGBTQIA+ rights, a coalition of human rights organizations, LGBTQIA+ rights groups and other civic movements in Hungary, and the Ukraine 5 AM Coalition, a group of Ukrainian human rights organisations whose aim is to uncover, document, collect and preserve evidence, while raising awareness of alleged war crimes and

crimes against humanity committed during the ongoing war. Both were awarded diplomas.

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize is awarded each year by PACE, in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the Charta 77 Foundation, “to honour outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights in Europe and beyond”. It consists of a sum of 60,000 euros, a trophy and a diploma.

Since its creation, the Prize has been awarded in turn to Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava (2021), Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain Alhathloul (2020), jointly to Ilham Tohti and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (2019), Oyub Titiev (2018), Murat Arslan (2017), Nadia Murad (2016), Ludmilla Alexeeva (2015), Anar Mammadli (2014) and Ales Bialiatski (2013).

Courtesy: Council of Europe

Corruption in India Research Report 2022 Released

The India Corruption Research Report 2022 (ICRR 2022) carries information on the extent of corruption in India.

India Corruption Research Report 2022 (ICRR 2022) aims to strengthen the anti-corruption efforts of the government agencies such as the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), anti-corruption authority Lokpal, anti-corruption ombudsman organizations Lokayukta in different Indian States, the anti-corruption wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and other departments run by traditional bureaucrats.

Among its other objectives, the report will provide necessary inputs to the business community including industry associations such as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and foreign business associations that operate in India.

With its international coverage, the report released in October 2022 will enable the global anti-corruption organizations particularly under the UN umbrella to understand the reasons and scope of corruption in India so that they could strategize their relationship with this poor country of nearly 1.4 billion people in order to focus on the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A YouTube video explains the topics covered in this report. You can click here to watch the video.

The India Corruption Research Report 2022 (ICRR 2022) carries information on the extent of corruption in India, corruption-prevention laws, complicity of government organs in major corruption cases, findings of a perception survey, case studies of major scandals, flawed investigation processes, weak government-to-citizen (G2C) interfaces, limitations of the anti-corruption authorities, and so on.

It is an editorial initiative of Raman Media Network (RMN), which has been working in diversified content creation, management, and distribution businesses on a global scale for the past 12 years.

You can click here to read the report in e-book format and share it with your friends and colleagues through email, WhatsApp, or other social media channels so that they could support this anti-corruption initiative.

Lakha Sidhana Leads Revolt Against Bhagwant Mann Govt in Punjab

Sidhana and his supporters said that they will intensify their agitation against the Bhagwant Mann government which is being controlled remotely from Delhi by Kejriwal.

A massive public rally took place on October 9 in support of social activist Lakha Sidhana at the Mehraj town of Bathinda in Punjab. The rally was organized by the

public against the tyranny of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government which had filed a fabricated case of extortion and drugs smuggling against Sidhana who has been raising his voice against the corruption and misgovernance of the government.

With the evil aim to suppress Sidhana’s voice, the AAP government in Punjab headed by chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann tried to implicate the social activist in a false case.

However, when the Punjab Government came to know about the scheduled protest at Mehraj to support Sidhana, the government removed his name from the police case a day before the protest. But the public protest event in which thousands of people participated took place as scheduled. [ You can click here to watch a related video. ] According to a report of October 9 in the Hindustan Times, the Tarn Taran police on October 8 declared Lakhwinder Singh, alias Lakha Sidhana, innocent in the case registered at the Harike police station about a month ago.

Lakha Sidhana addressing a rally in Punjab’s Mehraj town on February 23, 2021. Photo: Screengrab (file photo)

Today, with multiple protests by different sections of society, Punjab is witnessing a state of complete unrest while Bhagwant Mann an illiterate politician who used to work in vulgar comedy shows - has completely failed in running the government.

The protesters at the Mehraj rally accused Bhagwant Mann of working as a puppet of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP politicians in Delhi. They also said that they will not wait for 5 years until the next state election and will get the AAP government removed before the election if it fails to work honestly.

Bhagwant Mann and Kejriwal are squandering huge public money of Punjab Government on advertisements in Punjab and other states to promote their party and their own images with fake publicity campaigns.

But the people of Punjab are suffering under unprecedented political corruption, lawlessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mafia culture, youth exodus, religious fundamentalism, and state oppression.

Therefore, Sidhana and his supporters said that they will intensify their agitation against the Bhagwant Mann government which is being controlled remotely from Delhi by Kejriwal.

Egypt to Host Global Conference on Climate Action

The COP27 will build on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency.

The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), to be held in Egypt from 6 to 18 November 2022, seeks renewed solidarity between countries to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement, for people and the planet.

The Heads of State, ministers and negotiators, along with climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives and CEOs will meet in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh for the annual gathering on climate action.

The COP27 will build on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency from urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience and adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change, to delivering on the commitments to finance climate action in developing countries.

Photo: COP27

Faced with a growing energy crisis, record greenhouse gas concentrations, and increasing extreme weather events, COP27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries, to deliver on the Paris Agreement, for people and the planet.

ED Conducts Raids in Manish Sisodia-Linked Liquor Scam Case

Since Sisodia and his accomplices in AAP are not answering the questions and confusing the whole liquor scam case with their false rhetoric, the CBI should immediately arrest and interrogate Sisodia and others so that people could know the truth.

After the August 19 raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the residence of Delhi politician Manish Sisodia, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted fresh raids on October 7 at about 35 locations in Delhi, Punjab, and Hyderabad in the alleged liquor scam case. According to an NDTV report, the ED which investigates serious financial crime cases is conducting searches at around 35 premises linked to liquor companies, distributors, and supply chain networks.

Sisodia who is a deputy chief minister (CM) under Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and member of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is facing serious allegations of corruption, criminal conspiracy, and falsification of government accounts, while the CBI has filed an FIR in which Sisodia’s name is at the top of a list of 15 accused in this case.

Since the AAP is also running the Punjab Government, Kejriwal and Sisodia are trying to implement the dubious Delhi liquor policy in Punjab also.

Last month (September 2022), the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Sukhbir Singh Badal had urged the Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit to hold a probe into the alleged Rs. 500-crore liquor policy scam committed by the AAP Government in the state.

In July, the Lt. Governor (LG) Vinai Saxena who is the administrative head of Delhi had asked the CBI to probe Sisodia’s surreptitious links with the liquor mafia that led to massive corruption in the sale of liquor shop licences in the city.

Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal with Delhi Lt Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena on May 27, 2022 Photo: LG Office

An August 22 article in The New Indian Express details different aspects of the case along with the names of the accused who allegedly colluded with Sisodia to run the criminal liquor network involved in an estimated corruption of hundreds of crores of rupees.

Now, instead of answering the media questions related to Delhi liquor scam in which Sisodia is allegedly involved, the AAP members are unsuccessfully trying to divert the case to unrelated issues such as Delhi school education that Sisodia handles.

In their media interactions on Sisodia’s liquor scam case, the AAP spokespersons had been unnecessarily flaunting a New York Times (NYT) school education article which looks like an advertorial (advertisement or paid article) arranged by AAP’s publicity department.

It is alleged that the NYT staffer Karan Deep Singh – who wrote the dubious article to praise Sisodia and AAP has conflict of interest, as he enjoys benefits offered by Kejriwal’s AAP government.

An attempt to take Karan Deep Singh’s response on the said article failed, as he did not reply to my email. [ You can click here to read my email sent to Karan Deep Singh / NYT on August 19, 2022. ]

It is being increasingly observed that Kejriwal is splurging huge public money on media advertisements to gain false publicity for himself and his party. The Right to Information (RTI) replies by the Directorate of Information and Publicity reveal that the Delhi Government’s spending on advertisements increased by a whopping 4,273% over 10 financial years ending with 2021-2022, particularly under Kejriwal’s government. As a result, most corrupt media outlets do not question AAP’s wrongdoings and the TV anchors particularly do not interject when AAP leaders divert the issues or tell flagrant lies in TV shows to evade crucial questions.

While the Kejriwal government is controlling the traditional media companies with the power of public money, it is being observed that there are attempts to suppress or remove information related to AAP’s corruption cases from new-media sites such as Wikipedia which is a free online encyclopedia.

While AAP politicians are trying to build a false school education narrative to cover up Sisodia’s alleged involvement in liquor corruption scandal, they are using Mohalla Clinics story to skirt questions related to the financial crimes of Satyendar Jain, another minister in the Kejriwal government.

Jain who is a minister without portfolio in the Kejriwal government was sent to jail on June 13, as the ED is questioning him in a massive money laundering case.

With the help of corrupt journalists, Kejriwal and other AAP leaders are spreading falsehood about Delhi school education which has gone from bad to worse and defunct Mohalla Clinics which are not providing healthcare to people.

Since Sisodia and his accomplices in AAP are not answering the questions and confusing the whole liquor scam case with their false rhetoric, the CBI should immediately arrest and interrogate Sisodia and others so that people could know the truth.

Report Reveals Complicity of Delhi Police in 2020 Communal Riots

The probe committee reveals that the investigations into the riots have been blatantly communal in favour of the BJP and its supporters.

A fact-finding committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge Madan B. Lokur has concluded in its report that Delhi Police colluded with criminal elements to commit a pogrom against Muslims in 2020. The report, “Uncertain Justice: A Citizens Committee Report on the North East Delhi Violence 2020” released in October

2022 states that Delhi Police was complicit in violence against Muslims and behaved as an active party in the riots.

The report adds that due to lack of professionalism, Delhi Police advanced the political narrative of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of prime minister

Narendra Modi to attack anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protesters.

In its multiple chargesheets, the police, according to the report, echoed without commensurate evidence the prejudices of Hindu majoritarian forces of BJP that were at play during the riots.

Earlier, in 2021, a local court in Delhi had found that the standard of investigation into a large number of 2020 northeast Delhi riots cases was “very poor” as the police did not bother to take the investigation to a logical end after filing half-baked chargesheets. The probe committee further reveals that the investigations into the riots have been blatantly communal in favour of the BJP and its supporters. It also accuses the Union home ministry headed by minister Amit Shah of deliberately

CPI(M) leader Ms Brinda Karat meeting people affected by Delhi communal violence in 2020 Photo: CPI(M) Representational Image

delaying the deployment of additional forces in the violence-hit areas, even as the communal riots continued unabated between February 23 and 26, 2020.

The violence in Delhi took place when the Modi government failed to stop the peaceful protests by citizens who were demanding the revocation of discriminatory citizenship laws (such as the Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA) introduced by the government.

Crime, Corruption, and Impunity in India

Politicians, bureaucrats, police, and judges have formed a criminal gang in India. The following cases depict how they collude with criminals and commit crimes and corruption with impunity while the ordinary citizens are suffering. Click the following links for details.

Cabinet Secretariat Case

Ministry of HomeAffairs (MHA) Case

Prime Minister Office (PMO) Case Delhi Lokayukta Case

DoPTCase CBI Case

Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Case

Supreme Court Case

Delhi Govt Case Delhi Petitions Committee / CVC Case

NHRC Case School Education Case

Environmental Crime Case Lokpal Removal Case

Judicial Corruption Case

RCS Corruption Case

AAPCorruption Case Widehouse Scandal

NHRC Case at UN HRC IAS Group Corruption Case

CPGRAMS Cases

PGMS Cases

IAS Corruption Record UNCAC Petition

Delhi Police Case DoPTProcesses

Petitions and Representations by Rakesh Raman. Up to September 2022

Short Stories of Politics and Unrest in the World

The global economy faces steep challenges as the world’s three-largest economies continue to stall and the worst is yet to come, the IMF’s chief economist told a press conference on the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO). Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said inflation pressures were proving more persistent than anticipated and rapidly rising prices are causing serious hardship for households almost everywhere, particularly the poor. The IMF left its global growth forecast for 2023 unchanged at 3.2%, but lowered next year’s projection by 0.2 percentage points from July’s outlook to 2.7%. Read More

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution on October 12, calling on countries not to recognise the four regions of Ukraine which Russia has claimed, following so-called referendums held late last month, and demanding that Moscow reverse course on its "attempted illegal annexation". The results were 143 Member States in favour, with five voting against, and 35 abstentions. The countries who voted against were Belarus, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria. A majority of those countries abstaining were African nations, alongside China and India. Read More

The Swiss government has sent a draft law to parliament, seeking to fine people who violate a national ban on face coverings up to 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,000). The draft law, which was sent on October 12, follows last year’s referendum on banning face coverings. The proposed ban, also known as the “burqa ban”, was supported by 51.2 percent of voters, but was criticised at the time as Islamophobic and sexist. Read More

The admission of Ukraine to NATO could result in a third world war, the deputy secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Alexander Venediktov, told the state TASS news agency in an interview on October 13. Venediktov also repeated a Russian position that the West, by helping Ukraine, indicated that "they are a direct party to the conflict". Read More

There are about 45,000 people in correctional facilities in Germany, and they have been particularly hard hit by inflation. Inmates can't check out special offers at the supermarket to get the latest bargains on bread, margarine, or sunflower oil. Nor can they go to one of the 1,000 food banks in this country, where people in poverty can get free food. Read More

Justice Demanded for Murdered Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia

Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese journalist, blogger, and anti-corruption activist.

An international press freedom mission will visit Malta between 13 and 17 October 2022, five years after the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia on 16 October 2017. According to the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the country visit follows up on similar missions held in previous years.

Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese journalist, blogger, and anti-corruption activist who reported extensively on corruption, money laundering, organized crime, sale of citizenship, and the Maltese government’s links to the Panama Papers. Following harassment and threats, she was murdered in a car bomb explosion.

Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered in a car bomb explosion in October 2017. Photo: European Parliament

Representatives of ARTICLE 19 Europe, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), ECPMF, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Press Institute (IPI) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have requested a meeting with the Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela and relevant ministers in an attempt to continue the dialogue with the Maltese government. In addition, they will be meeting with civil society representatives, journalists and other key stakeholders.

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Despite a broad outcry, including by the organizations represented in the delegation, for full justice and accountability for Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, judicial proceedings have so far made very limited progress.

Additionally, the Government has been slow to implement press freedom reforms recommended by the landmark Public Inquiry, and it has failed to organize proper public consultations on legislative proposals.

Accordingly, as in previous years, the continued need for justice and accountability for Caruana Galizia’s assassination will feature prominently on the delegation’s agenda. Additionally, according to ECPMF, representatives will also focus on the other systemic failings that continue to negatively affect Malta’s press freedom climate. They will also support Caruana Galizia’s family and national civil society as part of local commemoration events.

How Delhi Government Violates Right to Information Act

In their attempt to hide corruption and other irregularities in the government departments, the bureaucrats under different pretexts refuse to provide information to citizens requested through RTI applications.

In response to a complaint by the Central Information Commission (CIC) office, the Lt. Governor (LG) of Delhi Vinai Saxena has directed the chief secretary to take action to ensure the implementation of Right to Information (RTI) Act in the state. A report in the Hindustan Times newspaper on October 11 quotes a CIC letter to Delhi LG which accuses the Delhi Government of failing to implement the Right to Information Act, 2005, and reducing it to a “lame duck” legislation.

Although the Delhi Government of chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal has refuted the CIC allegations, the central authority in its letter of September 22 has listed a number of RTI violations that the government functionaries are committing.

The Commission alleges that the Kejriwal government has shown lack of transparency and accountability in issues of governance involving public interest, and levelled charges of corruption and nepotism against the government officials. According to a report of October 11 in The Times of India, the CIC letter says that

various Delhi Government departments such as public works, revenue, health, power, and others are frequent violators of the RTI Act.

In their attempt to hide corruption and other irregularities in the government departments, the bureaucrats under different pretexts refuse to provide information to citizens requested through RTI applications.

RTI ACT VIOLATIONS AT RCS OFFICE

The office of the Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) which is one of the most corrupt departments of Delhi Government - violates the RTI Act blatantly.

The RCS office deliberately gives wrong email addresses such as rcoop@gmail.com and ositdelhi@nic.in and faulty phone numbers to RTI applicants so that it could block the information requested by them. Also, in order to harass the RTI applicants, the RCS office flouts the rule for making additional payment, as it does not give an option to applicants to make payment online as described on page 20 of the RTI "User Manual".

Vinai Kumar Saxena, Lt. Governor (LG) of Delhi. Photo: LG Office (file photo)

While the RCS office never replies to public emails sent to its official email rcoop@nic.in, the particulars of Public Information Officers (PIOs) under RTI Act mentioned in its Manual-16 are wrong and the RCS PIOs are so careless that they do not bother to take public calls.

Since massive corruption amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees is happening at the RCS office, the RCS bureaucrats are not willing to share information with the public under the RTI Act. They also openly violate the Delhi Cooperative Societies Act (DCS Act) to commit corruption crimes.

A number of RCS bureaucrats have been jailed for corruption and some senior RCS bureaucrats (IAS officers) are under investigations for their corrupt practices.

These investigations have been ordered by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India to be carried out by the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India. But corruption has not stopped and is only increasing at the RCS office.

NEED TO REVAMP RTI PROCESSES

In its letter to Delhi LG, the CIC office complains that the PIOs do not come for legal hearings in RTI cases and there is a criminal nexus between government officials and private contractors. As a result, huge corruption is happening in the Kejriwal government.

In order to check corruption, the RTI processes need to be revamped. For example, the RTI officers / PIOs should never call the applicants for physical hearings and to visit their offices to search files. It is the responsibility of the RTI officers / PIOs to deliver information at the applicant’s address.

It will be better if the information requested by the RTI applicants is stored digitally on a cloud platform and just the hyperlink / weblink is shared with the applicants

instead of sending the paper documents to them. This is essential to reduce cost, save paper, and protect the environment.

Moreover, if there is a need for hearings in appeals, etc., the RTI officers / PIOs should give the option to the applicants to join online / virtual meetings. And it should be registered as a cognizable offence of destroying the evidence against the RTI officers / PIOs if they say that the documents sought by the RTI applicant are not traceable.

The RTI Act is being grossly violated by the RTI officers / PIOs to neglect their official duties and suppress information for which they must face legal action.

Dates for Himachal Assembly Election Announced with Voting on EVMs

Since the election is again going to be held on electronic voting machines (EVMs), the BJP is expected to win.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on October 14 announced the dates for the Legislative Assembly election in Himachal Pradesh.

The election will be held on November 12, 2022 and the counting of votes will take place on December 8. The present term of the 68-seat Himachal Assembly ends on January 8, 2023.

The last Himachal election was won in 2017 by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi. Now, BJP has 45 seats and Congress only 20 while 3 are held by others.

Since the election is again going to be held on electronic voting machines (EVMs), the BJP is expected to win because Modi’s party knows the art of winning elections on EVMs.

In the past, at least 17 opposition political parties have demanded elections on ballot papers. They include Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bahujan Samaj

Party (BSP), Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Samajwadi Party, CPI-M, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), DMK, CPI, YSR Congress, Kerala Congress Mani (KCM), and AIUDF.

Although the ruling party BJP of PM Modi is in favour of EVMs, the opposition parties have raised serious doubts about the security of these machines.

Dystopian State

Editor’s Note: It is not possible to survive and thrive in Indian politics if you are not corrupt. You can leapfrog in the dirty political arena if you are a history-sheeter with a solid criminal record which must include dacoity, vandalism, murders, rapes, and robbery. Today, the majority of the successful Indian politicians have such a distinguished criminal record.

While ordinary citizens are suffering under their atrocities, the Indian bureaucrats, court judges, police, and security forces behave as the slaves of the criminal politicians and never try to protect citizens and their rights. ~ Editor

Major political parties in India have repeatedly complained about the vulnerability of EVMs. It is also being observed that when EVMs malfunction, they vote only in favour of Modi’s BJP which runs with Lotus election symbol.

Electoral officials carrying Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for counting, at a Counting Centre of General Election 2019, at CWG Village, Sports Complex, in Delhi on May 23, 2019. Photo: PIB (file photo)

Since the Election Commission is totally controlled by the government, it rejects the demands of opposition parties to discard EVMs and use ballot papers. Thus, with selective manipulation of EVMs in crucial elections, BJP wins effortlessly.

Besides EVMs, the main factors that influence election results are managed violence such as Pulwama terror attack, anti-Pakistan rhetoric, false pre-poll promises, bribes to voters, expensive advertisements to deceive the voters, corrupt media manipulation, and communal hate campaigns.

About the Editor

The editor of The Unrest news magazine Rakesh Raman is a national award-winning journalist and founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation. Besides working at senior editorial positions with leading media companies, he was writing an exclusive edit-page column regularly for The Financial Express (a daily business newspaper of The Indian Express Group).

Nowadays, for the past 12 years, he has been running his own global news services on multiple news sites. He runs various environment protection, education awareness, and anti-corruption campaigns, and publishes digital magazines and research reports on different subjects.

Earlier, he had been associated with the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as a digital media expert to help businesses use technology for brand marketing and business development.

At present, Rakesh is associated with the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project as a Country Expert for India to provide expert research inputs on multiple topics pertaining to democracy and governance. The V-Dem Project is managed by V-Dem

Donate: You can click here to donate to RMN News Service.

Institute under the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Currently, he is also working as an editor for Wikipedia, which is a free online global encyclopedia.

In order to inform the Indian citizens and the global community about the extent of corruption in India, he compiled and released in October 2022 a comprehensive report on corruption in the country. Under the title “India Corruption Research Report 2022 (ICRR 2022),” the research report covers diverse aspects of corruption in India.

He has launched a nationwide campaign to introduce social democracy in India in order to build an egalitarian society in which all citizens could enjoy equal rights, opportunities, freedoms, and access to justice. He is running an editorial section / microsite “Power Play: Lok Sabha Election 2024 in India” to cover the election news, events, and political campaigns.

In his anti-corruption activities, he participated in a global petition led by Germany-based international organization Transparency International to call for the UN General Assembly Special Session against Corruption, UNGASS 2021, to direct all countries to set up central, public registers of beneficial ownership.

He runs a community-driven anti-corruption social service “Clean House” to help the residents of Delhi raise their voice against the growing corruption and injustice in housing societies where millions of people suffer because of rampant corruption and lawlessness. He has also formed an environment protection group called Green Group in New Delhi, which is the most polluted national capital in the world.

As Rakesh has been facing constant threats including death threats for his editorial and anti-corruption work, the Paris-based international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) that defends freedom of journalists has urged the Indian government to save him from threats and persecution. You can click here to download and read his full profile.

Collaboration with the Project

THE UNREST news magazine is being published by RMN Foundation, which is the humanitarian initiative of RMN News Service. It is being circulated among different UN agencies, government departments, leading global politicians, international political organizations, colleges / universities, law-enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, social activists, and others in India and abroad.

As the founder of RMN Foundation and editor of RMN News Service, I am managing this project independently without any financial or other support. RMN News Service is looking for sponsors and collaborators across the world who can help it expand the content creation activity around this editorial initiative.

Contact Rakesh Raman Founder

RMN Foundation

463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4 Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078, INDIA

Call: 9810319059 | Contact by email