Opinion Parliament’s job

Holding that the concept of a Lokpal was revived in the 1990s on the insistence of Left parties after the Bofors scandal,the editorial says that the reason the bill was not passed in 1997 was the same arguments on whether the PM and his office should be brought under the purview of the office.

Slamming the government for delaying the bill even after the Left parties forced a commitment on the issue in 2004,the CPM has said that the government cannot escape its duty to bring the bill before parliament. “It must be borne in mind that in our constitutional scheme of things,irrespective of the consultations whatever may be their level,an Act can only be promulgated by the parliament. The government therefore,despite all these efforts,cannot escape from bringing the Lokpal Bill before the parliament,”the editorial says.

A request to Moily

Peoples Democracy carries a letter by Brinda Karat to Law Minister Veerappa Moily,on the compulsory retirement of 18 district-level judges in Chhattisgarh. The MP says the three-judge screening committee set up by the high court submitted a report on the basis of annual confidential reports and the action was taken. The MP has said that those punished have not been heard by the screening committee or the high court and have not even been given copies of the report. “This is entirely against the principles of natural justice but even more significantly it also points to the weakness of the rules,which permit such arbitrary and unacceptable socially unjust actions,” Karat has written. While holding that corrupt or incompetent judges should be removed,the MP has argued that in this case the decision seems to be “contaminated with blatant prejudice and discrimination.” She adds: “I am writing to request you to intervene in this matter to erase this black mark not only on the dignity of ST and SC judges in Chattisgarh,a state with a predominantly tribal population but also on the constitution of India.

Nuclear dealings

People’s Democracy criticises Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh for “unwittingly” spilling the beans,by “reportedly admitting” that he “can’t stop the [Jaitapur project. It is going to come up because it is not just about energy but also about strategic and foreign policy.”

Holding that the project is coming up at the “cost of our sovereignty and independent foreign policy”,the article says that the lives and livelihoods of millions of people are at risk: “Fisheries [in Ratnagiri district will be affected since the plant will release 52,000 million litres of hot water into the sea every day. Water discharged from the plant will be around 5 °C hotter than the ambient sea temperature. And even a 0.5 °C of a rise in temperature will lead to the killing of marine species,like the prawn,mollusc and fish resources.”

It also says that the construction of the jetty for the plant will destroy mangrove forests in the area and restrictions will be placed on the movement of boats and fishing vessels. It also reminds the reader of the Fukushima disaster,raising questions about the long-term consequences of harnessing nuclear power.

Compiled by Manu Pubby