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Disqualification Of MLAs - II & Viability Of Bullet Train - Today Current Affairs Topics

Disqualification Of MLAs - II


What is the issue?
The recent disqualification of 18 MLAs in Tamil Nadu by the Speaker brings to the fore certain constitutional questions on the role of the Governor and the Speaker.
What are the contentious issues?
  • Governor - The Governor in this case is showing reluctance to order a floor test, despite a request from the opposition party.
  • A Constitution Bench has earlier observed that the activities within a political party, as to any turbulence or unrest, were beyond the concern of the Governor.
  • The Governor can intervene only when a breakaway group constitutes two-thirds of a party, as stipulated in the Tenth Schedule.
  • However, notably the Bench adds that the Governor should take action during a constitutional crisis i.e. when the government is seen to have lost the confidence of or majority in the House.
  • Thus the court bars Governors only from political embroilment and not restrict their constitutional duty and responsibility.
  • Court - On petitions challenging the Speaker's order of disqualifying the MLAs, the court had extended a stay on conducting the floor test.
  • Instead, a stay on the disqualification would have addressed the fears of those disqualified as well as obviated the need for the questionable stay on the floor test to be extended.
  • The court could have then adjudicated only the constitutional question on whether the Governor ought to be directed to order a trust vote.
  • Speaker - The main question in Speaker's order is that would expressing lack of confidence in the Chief Minister amount to voluntarily giving up the party membership.
  • Disqualifying rebellious MLAs as a way of ensuring the majority of a Chief Minister is highly questionable and needs scrutiny.
What should be done?
  • The constitution holds floor test as a significant means to ascertaining the confidence and majority of the elected government.
  • The partisan element in anti-defection law and the adjudicatory power of the Speaker seem to be defeating this purpose.
  • This creates the need for transferring the power to an independent body such as the Election Commission.
  • Also, the Speaker's role should be reassessed and a law should be put in place to prevent manipulation while conducting a floor test.

Viability Of Bullet Train Project


What is the issue?
What is the project about?
  • India is considering establishing a high-speed train corridor between Ahmedabad and Mumbai based on the Japanese Shinkansen technology.
  • The project will be funded and executed by Japan.
  • The Japanese are providing a 50-year loan of Rs 88,000 crore of the total project cost of Rs 1,10,000 crore.
  • The rest will come from the central government and state governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
What is the financial viability?
  • A project viability report was done, but the details haven’t been shared with the public.
  • Projections have shown that the train service will need to carry nearly 1 lakh passengers a day to keep fares at a reasonable levels.
  • The current traffic is only about 18,000 per day.
  • This means that either fare will have to be raised well above air fares, or that the system will have to be subsidised perpetually.
Has Japanese funding been really generous?
  • Japan’s loan is claimed to be “virtually interest-free”.
  • While the interest rate of 0.10% being offered to India sounds great, according to a financial analyst, the average Indian inflation at 3%, and Japanese at 0% has serious implications.
  • The rupee will hence depreciate 3% every year vis-a-vis the yen.
  • So over 50 years, the sum to be repaid will be well over twice of Rs 88,000 crore.
  • This will be a huge burden on future generations. .
Is this advantageous for our passenger needs?
  • 95% of rail users in India do not use even the present fast trains like Shatabdi as they find the fares to be costly.
  • So, the bullet trains can address only a small population that already has the option of air travel.
  • The cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project is almost as much as the entire annual rail budget which stood at Rs 1,21,000 crore last year.  
  • The Indian railway system, with over 13,000 trains running every day, carries more than 8 billion passengers per year plus 1,000 million tonnes of freight over the whole country.
  • A big bang bullet for the few or a large, improved and safer system for all is the choice that we need to make, as finances are limited.
  • Notably, there is no mention of transfer of technology anywhere in the agreement, which is the norm for big projects.

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Location: No-2/23, 3rd Cross Street, Padmanabhanagar, Opposite to Sishya School, Adyar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600020, India

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