in this section, we are presenting our readers/aspirants compilation of selected editorials of national daily viz. The Hindu, The live mint,The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Economic Times, PIB etc. This section caters the requirement of Civil Services Mains (GS + Essay) , PCS, HAS Mains (GS + Essay) & others essay writing competitions
1.NEET and States: On Tamil Nadu Assembly re-adopting the anti-NEET bill
Governor should not delay assent to T.N.’s Bill for exemption from mandatory admission test
With the Tamil Nadu Assembly passing once again its earlier Bill seeking to exempt government seats in undergraduate medical and dental courses from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), the ball is once again in the court of Governor R.N. Ravi. The Governor had chosen to return to the House for reconsideration the Bill that was passed in September 2021, questioning the tenability of the Justice A.K. Rajan Committee Report that had given its findings in favour of the the passage of such a law. The DMK regime has thrown down the gauntlet as the Constitution is clear as far as the Governor’s course of action is concerned. If the Bill is presented to him again, Mr. Ravi is constitutionally bound to grant assent. It is a matter of speculation whether the Bill will obtain presidential nod, but the episode raises a question whether the Governor could not have avoided the current situation by reserving the Bill for the President instead of returning it. After all, this is clearly a Bill that requires the President’s acceptance — the exemption from NEET is in conflict with the central law that makes it mandatory and, therefore, can only be saved by the President’s assent. Regardless of the Bill’s merits, the Governor should delay the matter no further. The original intent of the Constitution makers was that the Governor, under Article 200, ought to have no discretion, save in the case of a law that undermines the position of the High Court, which he is bound to reserve for the President’s consideration. However, the Governor’s rare use of discretion to question the desirability or validity of a Bill, and ask for reconsideration is now a matter of constitutional practice.
Some parts of the Governor’s communication to the Legislative Assembly Speaker seem to suggest that Mr. Ravi disagrees with the basis for the Bill, even though he is not wrong in highlighting a Supreme Court decision in favour of NEET. It is not generally desirable for the Governor to seek to match wits with the legislature’s wisdom on social inputs that inform policy. It will be useful to recall that the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations observed that the Governor should not act contrary to the advice of the Council of Ministers merely because he did not like the policy embodied in the Bill. The attention will now be on whether the NEET Exemption Bill will pass muster. For one thing, the exemption may not be a solution to the problem of government school students not making it to MBBS courses in sufficient numbers. The situation prior to the introduction of NEET was no better. However, the issue of NEET being a barrier to access is genuine. There is no doubt that the mandatory nature of NEET on a pan-India basis undermines the role of State governments in medical education. As the main deliverers of public health, the States cannot be denied a say in who joins medical courses in government colleges.
2.Football and nations: On Africa Cup of Nations
The best football is seen between heavyweight European clubs, but nationalism adds an edge
Senegal holding its nerve to beat Egypt via a penalty shoot-out (4-2) on Sunday at the Stade d’Olembe in Yaounde, Cameroon, to clinch its maiden Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) brought the curtains down on a drama-filled, and at the same time tumultuous, tournament. Egypt, led by the Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah, came into the final with big-match pedigree, having won the title a record seven times. The North African heavyweight had also won its last six shoot-outs and had seen off fancied sides such as Ivory Coast, Morocco and the host Cameroon earlier in the competition. Senegal, on the other hand, had lost twice in the final, but found a hero in Sadio Mane, another of Liverpool’s effervescent stars, who scored the decisive penalty. It was a redemption of sorts for the 29-year-old, for he had fluffed a spot-kick as early as the sixth minute. But the night ended in glory, capped by a celebratory lap of honour with his nation’s flag draped around his shoulders. So it did for coach Aliou Cisse, who had missed the all-important penalty when Senegal first reached the final in 2002 and was the coach during the 2019 final defeat to Algeria. The quality of football in the final was largely dire and was marked by incessant fouling. But the lasting impression will be that of delirious Senegalese fans celebrating the moment their nation’s name was etched in the history book.
But the tournament will forever be punctuated by unsavoury happenings off the field. The most tragic of these was the trampling to death of at least eight Cameroonians on January 24 at the Stade d’Olembe. COVID-19, which had already led to the postponement of the event by a year, played spoilsport again, scuppering many a side’s best-laid plans and preparation time. It also did not help that certain European clubs and coaches were reluctant to release their players in the middle of their club seasons, with Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp even terming AFCON a “little tournament”. It is true that European football currently occupies an exalted position, with its crown jewel, the quadrennial tournament Euros, next only to the FIFA World Cup. But to deny other continental competitions their due would be a severe disservice. One just needs to look at what last year’s Copa America win meant to Lionel Messi. Despite having won every trophy and every award at club level, the Argentine legend coveted success with the national team the most. It was a similar quest for Mane and Senegal, of overcoming doubts and barriers, to experience the purest form of sporting joy there is. Mane called it the best day of his life and it is impossible to disagree.
3.Economy suffers: As GoI’s position in SC on Hindustan Zinc shows, agency actions often extract great costs
India’s low-trust environment and ill-equipped investigation mechanism, both of which straitjacket economic policymaking, was the focus of attention on Monday in the Supreme Court. GoI plans to move a review petition of an apex court judgment of November 2021 directing CBI to file an FIR in the 2002 privatisation of Hindustan Zinc. What made it unusual was that GoI’s line of argument claimed that foundational facts presented by CBI were factually incorrect and this was the result of “intricate commercial processes” being examined by investigating officers.
This development encapsulates a core problem holding back policy that major political parties in office tend to support. In an independent development, but one that is relevant to this issue, on Monday GoI informed Parliament that it is yet to come out with a mechanism to sell its stake in two public sector banks. Over a year ago, the 2021 Budget said two banks would be sold. The quality of work in agencies such as CBI, CVC and CAG have sometimes led to delays and substantial economic costs. The price for it is borne largely by citizens in terms of lost opportunities.
It’s not just privatisation that is affected by this environment. Almost six years after the Supreme Court cancelled 122 telecom licences in the wake of controversies, a CBI court acquitted all the accused and said matters were “conjectured”. The reverberations of those events in the telecom sector are still being felt. Hopefully, GoI’s position on Hindustan Zinc privatisation will be followed by a decision to sell its residual stake of 29.6% soon. It’s almost a decade since a decision to sell it was taken. It’s an example of an all too common delay that imposes costs on the exchequer.
GoI continues to have a stake in two conflicting roles, commercial operations in different sectors and policy making for the same. To ensure a sharp focus on right policies, it’s important to retreat from commercial operations. However, that process is made unduly controversial and the ineptitude of institutions meant to oversee things lead to endless delays. We need to move away from this system if we are to make a durable return to a trend of at least 8% annual economic growth. As GoI’s position on HZL privatisation teaches us, these commercial processes can’t be subject to ham-fisted scrutiny by ill-equipped investigators. Even foundational facts are at times misrepresented.
4.21-Day Injustice: Haryana’s grant of long furlough to Ram Rahim utterly improper. And what does it say about politics?
Haryana CM ML Khattar has denied politics influenced his government’s grant of a 21-day furlough to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, just as Punjab elections are set to begin. Keeping that aside for a moment, let’s look at the law. Ram Rahim was convicted for two murders and two rapes and is serving multiple life terms. His conviction for raping two women disciples in 2017 was followed by convictions in 2019 and 2021 for murder of two whistleblowers. Khattar’s point that the convict was eligible for furlough having served three years in prison should be seen in the context of the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1988.
This law says a “hardcore prisoner” – those convicted of dacoity, robbery, murder with rape, murder or attempt to murder for ransom or extortion, rape of minor, etc – are not to be released on furlough. Such prisoners are allowed only 48-hour freedom for marriage or death in the immediate family. Surely, Ram Rahim, with two murder and two rape convictions, is a good candidate for a “hardcore” prisoner? Equally clearly, just as emergency one-day paroles in 2020 and 2021 granted to him to visit his ailing mother were proper, his 21-day furlough is egregiously improper. It sets a terrible administrative precedence in a country where terrible precedents are often copied enthusiastically.
Then there’s the question of the already volatile Punjab elections. Political temperatures are running high in a multi-cornered, high stakes contest framed by farmers’ agitation, controversies of alleged sacrilege incidents. Thanks to the furloughed convict’s still-existent popularity, most political parties are silent on Khattar’s decision, fearing vote loss. But the potential for disturbance as Ram Rahim is set free amidst polls cannot be discounted. And what does it say about our politics that a two-time rapist and murderer is thought to be a vote influencer?