G20 Collectivism; Freeing EC; Bullying Thinkers
Opinion Watch
G20 Collectivism
The Asian Age has lamented in its Editorial that the world is now faced with East versus West blame game, as the G20 turns out to be a lost opportunity to address global challenges. The daily commented in the backdrop of the G20 Foreign Ministers failing to issue even a joint communique. The G20 Finance Ministers meeting also had met the same fate. The daily said that the G20 members ignored Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advice that the group should focus on issues which can be dealt and those which can be solved by it. From Bali to New Delhi, the G20, accounting for two-third of the global GDP, remains hijacked by the bickering between the US-led western block and Russia over the Ukraine War.
The G20 members also paid no heed to Modi’s call to think about “150 nations who are not in the room”. From the Covid pandemic to the Ukraine War, the industrialised nations have shown least concerns for the poor and the developing nations. The G20, thus, risks becoming another block of furthering myopic vision of the developed world.
Freeing EC
The Supreme Court has decided that a panel consisting of the prime minister, leader of the largest party in the Opposition and the chief justice of India will advice President on appoint of Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners. The Hindu said that Parliament till now failed to act on Article 324, which called for a law on appointment of the members of the poll body. The Chennai-based daily said that the judgment came on the back of inertia of the legislature. The daily stated that the government’s argument before the apex court that the current system of the Election Commission was very weak.
The Election Commission is desired to be above any shred of suspicion. But it has been acting in manner as seen in announcement of dates of elections in states to suggest executive interference. Yet, it’s to be seen if Parliament can really work out a mechanism for a free poll body. A powerful executive seeks to hold both legislature and judiciary hostage to its worldview.
Bullying Thinkers
The Indian Express in an Editorial has called for a “pushback to bullying of the think tanks”. The Noida-based daily made the comment in the backdrop of the tax notice to the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), a new Delhi-based think tank. The daily said that CPR is India’s most respected think tank. The daily expressed anguish that the think tank is being bullied for acts such as its peon not filing income tax returns. The daily claimed that the “current establishment is weaponizing the rule-book’s small print to shrink space for free thinking”.
India is without internationally acclaimed think tanks even while their peers set global narrative and world agenda. Think tanks patronized by the government inherently turn into public relations outlets for dispensations. Independent critical thinking is incumbent to free the country from the clutches of the babus.
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