1. Kerala govt. to move SC against Governor sitting on many Bills

Faced with an unprecedented constitutional crisis following the Kerala Governor “sitting” on nine Bills passed by the State Legislature, the State government is all set to move the Supreme Court.

The government will approach the top court once it resumes functioning after the vacation. Given the unusual situation, the government is left with no other option but to move the apex court, highly placed legal sources said.

Order in Telangana plea

The recent apex court order in a petition by the Telangana government that the Governor shall return the Bills as soon as possible has come as a shot in the arm for the Kerala government.

The State would argue that the Governor holding the Bills indefinitely would lead to the collapse of the parliamentary democracy system and derail the constitutional framework laid down for the governments to function.

However, the move may further widen the divide between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the State government, it is feared.

The State government had last week sought the Advocate General’s (AG) opinion on the course of action to be followed to tide over the situation.

The government feels that the Governor’s action went against Article 200 of the Constitution, which provided him the option of giving or withholding assent to a Bill or reserving it for the President’s consideration. The Constitution also provides that the Governor may, as soon as possible after the presentation of the Bill to him for assent, return it together with a message requesting that the House reconsider the Bill itself or any of its specified provisions. However, government sources say, the Governor has not opted for any of these constitutional provisions but was inordinately delaying the decision.

2. Making it count

Including disability in the NFHS-6 will serve the government well

The significance of data in influencing policy constructs and thereon, decisions, is non-contestable. The country takes periodic stock of various parameters just to inform welfare policies better. In context, the recent decision of the Union government to drop the disability-specific question from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6 seems churlish and sends out wrong signals. After years of campaigning for the same, activists rejoiced when the government added one question on disability in the NFHS-5, and were hopeful that this would be built upon in subsequent versions of the nation-wide survey. The deletion, and reluctance to map the minutiae that will help understand their lives and needs better, leaves the question: is the government serious about its commitment to the disabled in the country, who number, as per the 2011 Census, about 2.68 crore? The Ministry of Health and Family responded that questions about disability were already asked as part of the Sample Registration Survey (SRS) 76th round, conducted between July and December 2018, and that any specific information can be tabulated from the raw data, which is also available in the public domain. It has also gone on record stating that disability data will ‘not change fast’. That might be an erroneous supposition.

While gross data on disabilities will change marginally (but still be substantial given the numbers), the count of 6.1 lakh sample households that the NFHS relies on will make the data set truly representative. The elaborate questions asked by NFHS will provide valuable specifics on the lives of the disabled; something on that scale hitherto conspicuous by its absence. While the SRS does a good job with marking the prevalence and incidence of disability, education level, living arrangements, care-givers, certificate of disability, accessibility and unemployment rate, among others, the NFHS asks more comprehensive questions. It seeks answers on health and nutrition status, access to health schemes, insurance, sexual behaviour, availability of family planning, use of contraception, domestic violence, household amenities and possessions, lifestyle indicators, and access to drinking water and toilets. There is no doubt that the latter will yield better, more robust, data on the disability sector. While Health Ministry officials claim that the sole NFHS question on disability too resulted in under-reporting, that might actually be a function of training for field staff who ask the questions. The state must employ these efforts — adding questions on disabilities, training field staff, because nothing really justifies any attempt to keep a significant section out of a massive scale count of the Indian population.

3. India, China ramp up infra on north bank of Pangong lake

There have been a number of infrastructure projects initiated around Pangong lake, since the stand-off began in 2020. File photo

India is building a black-topped road on the north bank and China is building a bridge across glacial lake; both await 19th round of Corps Commander level talks to find a resolution to dispute

Three years after the violent clash between Indian and Chinese forces in Galwan followed by tanks facing each other around the Pangong Tso — a lake spanning eastern Ladakh and western Tibet — there is hectic activity in the area from both sides. While China is rushing to complete a bridge across the Pangong Tso, connecting the north and south banks, India is also building a black-topped road on its side on the north bank.

These are among a number of infrastructure projects initiated on both sides since the stand-off, permanently altering the status quo on the ground in eastern Ladakh, even as the two sides await the 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks to find a resolution to their dispute in the region.

“Construction of black-topped road towards Finger 4 on our side is on and is expected to be completed by 2025. There is major impetus on infrastructure, road networks, advanced landing grounds and so on,” an official source said, on condition of anonymity. This was also confirmed by another official source. In addition, construction work is at an advanced stage on the alternative axis to the critical Darbuk-Skyok-Daulat Beg Oldie road through the Saser La, the source stated.

Chinese construction

On the Chinese side, the source said that work is now under way on the main bridge, while the secondary bridge has been completed. Recently, large-scale construction activity was observed on the north bank. Apart from the bridge, work on road connectivity along the south bank towards Shandong village is also under progress, another official source said, citing intelligence inputs. A Chinese air defence site is located east of the Khurnak fort.

A 22-km tunnel is under construction along the G-0177 expressway at Yuli, connecting to the very important G-216 highway in Tibet.

As over one lakh troops continue to be deployed on either side of the lake since 2020, the Corps Commander-level talks remain gridlocked over two remaining friction points at Depsang and Demchok. At both locations, the Chinese side has been blocking Indian patrols, the source said, while adding that there has been some climb-down on Chinese position during the talks.

The budgetary allocation for the Border Roads Organisation has increased sharply over the past few years; in 2023-24, for instance, BRO’s capital budget was ₹5,000 crore, 43% higher than the ₹3,500 crore allocated in 2022-23. Much of that has been spent on the India-China Border Roads (ICBR) plan.

The first source said that there has been significant progress under the second phase of the ICBR plan. It envisages the construction of over 1,400 km of strategic roads along the LAC.

The BRO is close to finishing some key infrastructure projects in the eastern sector, improving all-weather connectivity along the LAC.

4. MPs on Standing Committee given paper that says UCC is ‘not necessary or desirable’

Law and Justice panel will meet on Monday to begin deliberations on the Uniform Civil Code; 2018 consultation paper of 21st Law Commission argued for the codification of all personal laws so that they could be tested on the ‘anvil of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Constitution’

The parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, headed by Sushil Modi, BJP MP, will meet on Monday to begin deliberations on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

The panel has circulated the 2018 consultation paper of the 21st Law Commission on the subject to its members. The paper argued against the UCC, saying it is “neither necessary nor desirable”.

Representatives from the Legal Affairs Department, Legislative Department and Law Commission have been invited for the meeting.

The consultation paper, “Reform of family law”, which the committee is using as the basis for its debate while advocating against the UCC, has argued for the “codification of all personal laws so that prejudices and stereotypes in every one of them would come to light and could be tested on the anvil of Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Constitution”.

By the codification of different personal laws, the paper said, one can arrive at certain universal principles that prioritise equity rather than the imposition of a UCC.

The commission then suggested certain measures in marriage and divorce that should be uniformly accepted in the personal laws of all religions.

‘Diversionary tactic’

The Congress has also quoted this very document to draft its stand on the issue. Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh, in a statement on June 15, a day after the 22nd Law Commission announced its intention to revisit the subject, pointed to para 1.15 of the paper, which states that a UCC is “neither necessary nor desirable” at this stage. Questioning the Law Commission’s decision to revisit the issue, he had said, “This latest attempt represents the Modi government’s desperation for legitimate justification of its continuing agenda of polarisation and diversion from its glaring failures.”

The Congress does not want to wade into the UCC debate when the government, beyond rhetorical statements, has not come up with any concrete draft Bill or consultative paper on the issue.

“Nothing had happened from June 15 to July 1 over and above what the Congress said. So we stand by the statement made on June 15,” Mr. Ramesh said at a press conference after a meeting of the Congress’s Parliamentary Strategy Group.

The Congress has four members on the committee and according to sources, they will stick to the party’s June 15 position.