Empty Ujwala Cylinders
The President of India inaugurated the world’s largest cricket stadium just a few days ago. The stadium which was earlier named after Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel has been renamed after Narendra Modi and this led to heated discussions on social media. In the midst of this, the price of gas cylinder that has been increased by Rs 25 at one go did not become news and the people’s anger against this did not go viral at all. About 75 per cent of the people of the country have nothing to do with the stadium as no food can be grown on it nor can the runs scored in cricket matches be used as fuel for cooking food or as manure for growing it.
Cricket is no longer a game these days. It is a huge industry. Those who play and those who make them play are making crores of rupees. In a country where about 80 per cent of people are suffering due to malnutrition, nothing can be achieved through this cricket stadium. Moreover, developed countries such as America and China have not given any importance to cricket. Such countries nurture other sports, win gold medals in Olympics, and attract the world’s attention. It is a crude joke that India that is completely destroyed by lockdown is inaugurating the world’s biggest cricket stadium. In a way, it is appropriate that the stadium has been renamed after Modi. It is actually conveying a message to the world about what is happening in a country like India that is grappling with hunger and where a Prime Minister renames a stadium after his name and celebrates this as a huge feat.
Around the same time, the price of cooking gas (gas cylinder) increased by Rs 25. In the month of February itself, the price of cooking gas increased by over Rs 100. The government that repeatedly talks about how it is providing cylinders to the poor under the ‘Ujwala’ programme has forgotten that gas stoves can’t be lit with empty cylinders as this hike in the price of gas cylinders also applies to the beneficiaries under the ‘Ujwala’ programme. It has already been exposed by the media that the Ujwala programme is bogus. In addition, by taking away the subsidy of the beneficiaries and increasing the price of cylinders, the government has made sure that gas stoves are not lit in the houses of the poor. The country might have to view the renaming of the stadium as a celebration of this by the Prime Minister.
Modi is behaving as though he has nothing to do with the frequent increase in the price of petrol and diesel, the manifold increase of the price of cylinder, and the daily increase in the prices of vegetables and groceries. He is trying to build a separate country for the 10 per cent of people. The world’s tallest statue, the world’s biggest cricket stadium, the bullet train, a park in the name of Shivaji, Ram Mandir in the name of religion are all for this small group of people. Experts are warning that the malnutrition level has touched 80 per cent. The protein intake has reduced substantially. The hands of farmers who were engaged in dairy farming have been tied with laws such as the Sale of Cattle Act. Indians have been stopped from eating beef but beef is being exported. While farmers find themselves on the streets due to the collapse of dairy farming, extensive efforts are being made to deprive the people of meat. In the midst of this, the rising fuel price has made people’s lives hell.
The government is deaf to the people’s anguish. If a demand for the reduction in the prices of petrol is made, the Prime Minister points blames the previous UPA Government for the price rise. The government is not willing to reduce the excise tax on crude oil even though it is well aware that this levy is responsible for the increase in fuel prices despite a fall in crude oil price at the international level. So far, all political parties were reluctant to take on the middle classes. But for the first time, a government is taking policy decisions that work against the poor and middle class and is trying to hoodwink them.
But now the entire country has turned against Modi’s economic policies. As an alternative to the world’s tallest statute and world’s biggest cricket stadium, the world’s largest farmers protest has been taking place in the country. The Prime Minister should understand that the world is evaluating India not through its stadium but through these protests. In this backdrop, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has called for a Bharat Bandh on Friday (February 26) against the fuel price hike and the injustice due to GST. About 40,000 trader organizations have extended their support to the bandh. Perhaps, support on such a scale was not extended in the past to a bandh call. The Modi government should consider this also as its achievement.
The country’s economy is already in doldrums due to the lockdown and this bandh would further leave an impact on the country’s economy. Now, lorry owners have threatened to stop transportation for an indefinite period. If that were to happen, shops would have to be temporarily shut in the absence of the supply of groceries and vegetables. People cannot be cheated for long by giving false assurances. By naming a cricket stadium after him, Modi will not earn an eternity in history. That will happen only by responding to the problems of the poor and the working class. If Modi’s close confidantes don’t educate him about this, there is a danger that his name would be permanently etched in history for destroying the country.
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Woman can't be forced to undergo virginity test; violation of Article 21: Chhattisgarh High Court
Bilaspur (PTI): A woman cannot be forced to undergo a virginity test as it violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees her fundamental right to protection of life and liberty, including the right to dignity, the Chhattisgarh High Court has said.
Emphasising that Article 21 is the "heart of fundamental rights", the HC said granting permission for a virginity test would be against the "fundamental rights, cardinal principles of natural justice and secret modesty of a female".
Justice Arvind Kumar Verma made the observation in response to a criminal petition filed by a man who demanded his wife's virginity test, alleging she was in an illicit relationship with another man, challenging a family court's order dated October 15, 2024 which rejected the interim application.
The wife had alleged her husband was impotent and refused to cohabit.
The HC said if the petitioner wants to prove the allegations of impotency are baseless, he can undergo the medical test concerned or produce any other evidence.
"He cannot possibly be permitted to subject the wife to undergo her virginity test and fill up the lacuna in his evidence," said the HC order passed on January 9 which was made available recently.
The high court noted the petitioner's contention demanding a virginity test of his wife is unconstitutional as it violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which includes the right to dignity of women.
"Article 21 of the Constitution of India not only guarantees the right to life and personal liberty but also the right to live with dignity, which is crucial for women," it said.
"No woman can be forced to conduct her virginity test. It is a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21. It has to be borne in mind that Article 21 is the 'heart of fundamental rights'," the high court stated.
Justice Verma further said the virginity test is a violation of the basic right of women to be treated with decency and proper dignity.
"The right to personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 is non-derogable and cannot be tinkered with in any manner. The petitioner cannot possibly be permitted to subject the wife to undergo her virginity test and fill up the lacuna in his evidence in this regard," the HC said.
"Be that as it may, but in any case, granting the permission for virginity test of the respondent would be against her fundamental rights, the cardinal principles of natural justice and secret modesty of a female," the high court noted.
Non-derogable human rights refer to rights that are absolute and may not be subject to any derogation, even in times of war or emergency.
The HC bench further observed that the allegations made by both parties against each other are the subject matter of evidence and a conclusion can be drawn only after the evidence.
"The High Court is of the considered opinion that the order impugned is neither illegal nor perverse and there is no judicial error committed by the trial court," it said.
The couple got married on April 30, 2023, as per Hindu rites. They lived together at the man's family residence in Korba district.
The woman allegedly told her family members that her husband was impotent and she refused to establish a marital relationship or cohabit with him, the petitioner's counsel said.
She filed an interim application on July 2 last year under section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) before the family court in Raigarh district, seeking maintenance of Rs 20,000 from her husband.
In response to the maintenance claim application, the petitioner sought a virginity test of his wife, alleging she was in an illicit relationship with her brother-in-law. The man also claimed the marriage was never consummated.
On October 15, 2024, the family court in Raigarh rejected the husband's request following which he filed a criminal petition in the high court.
The case is currently at evidence stage in the family court.
