India, Russia ask countries to fully implement Paris pact; commit to promoting green development
New Delhi, Oct 5 : India and Russia Friday asked all countries to fully implement the Paris Agreement on climate change while committing to promote green development and low-carbon economy.
In a joint statement issued after the 19th India-Russia annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, both the nations also asked developed countries to provide financial and technological support to developing economies to enhance their capability in mitigation and adaptation.
"The sides committed to further promote green development and low-carbon economy, in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication," the statement said.
India and Russia also called upon all countries to fully implement the Paris Agreement adopted under the principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) including the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
They also urged developed countries to provide financial, technological and capacity-building support to developing countries to enhance their capability in mitigation and adaptation, the statement said.
The Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century under two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It also aims to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Both India and Russia also decided to explore possibilities of closer cooperation on hydel and renewable energy sources, energy efficiency further to reduce the negative effects of climate change.
Both the countries also noted that civil nuclear cooperation between India and Russia is an important component of strategic partnership contributing to India's energy security and its commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate.
During the India-Russia annual summit, eight pacts, including on cooperation on India's ambitious human space mission project Gaganyaan, were signed.
Official sources said the two countries also signed the USD 5 billion S-400 air defence system deal after talks between the two leaders in Hyderabad House.
Putin was received by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on his arrival on Thursday.
He had gone straight to Modi's official Lok Kalyan Marg residence where the two leaders had a one-on-one meeting. Later, Modi hosted a private dinner for the visiting dignitary.
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SC refuses to entertain plea against deletion of names from WB voter list, terms it ‘premature’
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New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea by a group of 13 people seeking its intervention in the deletion of their names from the voter list during the Special Institutional Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, where polling for the first phase of the assembly election will be held on April 23.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi termed the petition "premature", directing the aggrieved parties to approach the established appellate tribunals instead.
"Since the petitioners (Quaraisha Yeasmin and others) have already approached the appellate tribunals… in our considered view, the apprehensions expressed in the petition are premature. If the plea is allowed, then necessary consequences will follow,” the bench said in its order, adding that it has not expressed any views on the merits of the plea.
The plea alleged that the Election Commission was summarily deleting names without following due process, and that appeals against these deletions were not being heard in a timely manner.
The Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court has set up as many as 19 tribunals headed by former HC chief justices and judges to decide appeals against deletions of names of persons from the voters’ lists.
Senior advocate D S Naidu, appearing for the poll panel, informed the court that there are approximately 30 to 34 lakh appeals currently pending. "Every tribunal now has over one lakh appeals to handle," the bench said.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that the EC had failed to place necessary orders before the relevant judicial authorities and that the "freezing date" for the electoral rolls should be extended.
"If I am not allowed to argue, then what is the use? Will these appeals be decided within a timeframe or just kept extending?" the counsel asked.
Justice Bagchi, during the hearing, referred to the sanctity of the electoral process and said the right to vote is not merely a constitutional formality but a "sentimental" pillar of democracy.
"The right to vote in a country you were born in is not just constitutional, but sentimental. It is about being part of a democracy and helping elect a government," he said.
He, however, said that the tribunals, manned by former judges, cannot be overburdened by fixing the timelines for adjudications.
"It is not the end justifying the means, but the means justifying the end," Justice Bagchi said.
"We need to protect due process rights. The voter should not be sandwiched between two constitutional authorities," he said, adding that it would not interdict the election process at this stage.
Justice Bagchi noted that the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice had already formulated the manner and mode for appeals, which began on Monday.
"Unless and until an enormous number of voters are excluded or it materially affects the election... the election cannot be cancelled," the bench said, adding that judicial intervention is intended to "promote elections, not interdict them."
The CJI emphasised that the petitioners must exhaust their remedies before the appellate tribunals.
Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, and votes will be counted on May 4.
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