Bengaluru: IISC faces backlash for hosting India-Israel business summit
A protest was held against the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) on Monday, September 23, condemning the institution for hosting the India-Israel Business Summit amid ongoing violence by Israel in Palestine and Lebanon. The protest was organised by the Bengaluru Palestine Solidarity (BPS).
The protesters, who included activists and academicians, expressed their objections to the involvement of IISC, along with other institutions such as IIM Bangalore, IIIT Bangalore, NIAS, and the Government of Karnataka, in supporting the summit during a time of heightened conflict.
The summit, organised by Think India, the Indian Chamber of International Business, and the Mysore Lancers Heritage Foundation, is set to discuss bilateral trade and investments between India and Israel, with specific focus areas including defence and cybersecurity, startups and venture capital, and sustainable technology.
The protesters opposed IISC’s decision to host the event, particularly given Israel’s ongoing military actions in Gaza and Lebanon, which have resulted in the deaths and injuries of thousands. They said that by hosting the summit, IISC and other participating institutions were ignoring global calls for a boycott and arms embargo against Israel, and undermining international principles of justice and human rights.
BPS also condemned the Bengaluru police who allegedly threatened to disrupt the event. The police allowed the protest to continue, only after seizing the Palestine flag from them.
“When Aishwarya from Bangalore for Justice and Peace, started to address the media, the police interrupted the event. They insisted that the Palestinian flag be removed, and attempted to shut down the press conference. The flag was snatched from one of the protesters' hands. Only after it, the press conference was allowed to be continued,” the one of the protesters told TNM.
Condemning IISC’s association with Israel, amid accusations of its human rights violations, Clifton D’ Rozario, General Secretary of All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ), said, “We are witnessing a genocide in Palestine, with women and children being killed, and yet our institutions are partnering with Israel for business. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has directed states not to engage with Israel on these grounds, and it's deeply troubling that IISC continues to facilitate such events.”
"Today, Palestine has become a testing ground for Israel's weapons. Do we not have a moral spine? Palestinian people have the right to exist. This is not business as usual; it's about the future of our young minds, and we are deeply pained by this and stand firmly against this,” said Madhu Bhushan, a feminist activist.
Earlier, a group of over 1,600 students and faculty members from universities across India and abroad had also urged the IISC in Bengaluru to cancel the India-Israel Business Summit. The letter, addressed to IISC Director Govindan Rangarajan, expressed strong opposition to the event, arguing that hosting it would equate to "direct support for Israel's genocide in Palestine and its aggressive actions against its neighbors."
The letter spoke of the devastating impact of Israel's ongoing genocidal war in Gaza. “As you know, Israel is currently engaged in a brutal war. In this campaign, Israel has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children. A report in the Lancet suggested that the true casualties might be four times higher, which would amount to about 10% of Gaza's total population. Israel has destroyed every University in Gaza. It has also destroyed healthcare facilities, leading to the resurgence of diseases such as polio. The World Food Agency estimates that 96% of Gazans are facing food insecurity. Alongside, Israel has also launched brutal raids on the West Bank and just this last week, Israel engaged in terrorist attacks in Lebanon by remotely detonating electronic devices, many of which were in civilian areas,” the letter said.
The students and faculty members further referred to a July ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which determined that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is in violation of international law and must end as soon as possible. The letter expressed particular concern over the summit's planned focus on defense and cybersecurity, which, according to the signatories, would provide a platform to "legitimize genocide and colonialism."
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TVK falls short within touching distance; what next to ensure majority
Chennai (PIT): With TVK falling 10 short of a majority, its leader Vijay has the option of forming a minority government in Tamil Nadu without any outside support, analysts said on Tuesday.
Senior political analyst Sumanth Raman told PTI that the TVK is likely to opt to be a minority government with outside support.
"Since it is the single largest party, TVK has the option to go for that. I don't think he (Vijay) will opt for official support from other political party's MLAs", he said.
"If he opts for minority government, the only thing is that, Vijay will have to prove the support once again after six months".
Raman also pointed out that in 2006 when DMK won only 92 seats, the then party president, the late M Karunanidhi formed a minority government with outside support.
In a completely unexpected turn of events in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the TVK has emerged victorious, putting an end to the almost six decade-long dominance of the two major Dravidian parties--DMK and AIADMK.
By clinching victory in its debut electoral contest, the party has elevated its status to that of a recognised political entity. However, the Vijay-led TVK did not secure a mandate large enough to form a government with an absolute majority on its own, requiring another 10 to cross the finish line. Experts have varied opinions.
Specifically, to attain a simple majority, a political party must win at least 118 out of the total 234 constituencies. The TVK, however, secured victory in 108 constituencies. Given that the TVK fell short of the majority mark, what might unfold next?
TVK leader Vijay has won in both constituencies he contested--Perambur in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli East. As per the election commission rule, he will have to resign from one of these seats. TVK sources said that the leader is likely to surrender the Tiruchirappalli assembly seat.
If Vijay does so, the party's total tally of seats will decrease by one. Then it will be 107. Adding to the number games, TVK appointed Speaker of the Assembly will be ineligible to cast a vote during a confidence motion and the party's effective voting strength will be reduced by yet another seat, which comes to 106.
Accordingly, the TVK requires the support of an additional 12 members to demonstrate its majority. As of now, within the DMK alliance, the Congress party has secured five seats, the two Communist parties have won two seats each (totaling four), while the DMDK has secured one seat, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has won two seats and the VCK has secured two seats.
Within the AIADMK alliance, the PMK has grabbed four seats, the BJP has won one seat, and the AMMK has secured one seat. Going by the calculations, if TVK gets the support of other parties within both alliances, it would gain an additional 21 seats.
TVK could potentially secure a total of 129 seats (108 + 21). However, the TVK does not require the support of all those parties, and the backing of just 12 members would suffice.
As Vijay is expected to visit Lok Bhavan on Wednesday (May 6) to meet the governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to stake claim to form government, the governor is expected to offer the TVK two options.
First, he may summon the TVK chief and instruct him to demonstrate his majority on the floor of the legislative assembly. Alternatively, he might ask Vijay to gather letters of support from "allied" parties and submit them to him.
If the TVK secures support exceeding 118 seats, the governor would invite the party form the government. If TVK fails to garner support from other political parties, it will be denied the opportunity to form the government.
In such a scenario, the governor has the option to invite the DMK, the party holding the second-highest number of seats to form the government.
If DMK too is unable to form a government, the state of Tamil Nadu will come under governor's rule for the subsequent six months. Following this period, fresh legislative Assembly elections will be once again held across all 234 constituencies.
Another political analyst Durai Karuna ruled out that TVK will go for a minority government.
"If he (Vijay) gives an appeal, many political parties including Congress, VCK and left parties will join TVK", he claimed. "In addition, the AIADMK, which has decided to organise MLAs meeting on Wednesday, might also announce that it would support TVK unconditionally".
He said a clear picture on Vijay's decision will emerge in a couple of days.
Tharasu Shyam, political critic, claimed that Congress was "holding talks with Vijay."
"From now on, the DMK must change its approach and this applies equally to the AIADMK," he said in an apparent reference to some reported difference of opinion between allies DMK and Congress over seat-sharing and power-sharing ahead of the April 23 polls.
Incidentally, AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, on Tuesday admitted that the Congress party leadership's decision to stick with the DMK alliance went against strong grassroots sentiment favouring the TVK.
"The local leaders, the grassroots level leaders, were suggesting if Rahul Gandhi, who has a large acceptance in Tamil Nadu, joins the campaign with Vijay, it will create a big impact and we can sweep the Tamil Nadu polls, and get somewhere around 180-190 seats," Chodankar told PTI Videos.
