SC vacancy: Trump interviews Indian American judge under consideration
New York, July 3 : Indian American federal appeals court judge Amul Thapar has emerged as a "serious" contender for a spot in the US Supreme court and has been interviewed for the position by President Donald Trump, according media reports.
He was one of four judges interviewed for the position on the nation's highest court by Trump on Monday, according to The Washington Post and other media outlets that quoted unnamed sources who had been briefed about the meetings.
Trump's Spokesperson Sarah Sanders confirmed that he met for 45 minutes with four candidates, but would not identify them. Trump has said he would announce his pick next Monday.
Thapar was appointed by Trump last year to the federal Sixth Circuit Appeals Court based in Cincinnati, Ohio, that covers four states including his home state of Kentucky.
Considered a conservative, Thapar, 49, had served as a federal prosecutor before President George W. Bush appointed him a judge of the federal court for Eastern Kentucky by in 2007.
Thapar has the backing of Mitch McConnell, the influential Senate Majority Leader from Kentucky, for the Supreme Court vacancy caused by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy last month.
"I think he's absolutely brilliant, with the right temperament," McConnell said on Saturday.
The Washington Post said Trump's meeting with Thapar "was described by several White House aides as both a gesture of respect for the Senate GOP leader and evidence that he is in serious contention".
He is the second Indian-American judge to be a leading contender for the Supreme Court showing the community's reach across both parties and its influence.
Washington Appeals Court Judge Sri Srinivasan was among the top choices considered by then President Barack Obama for the Supreme Court in 2016.
Obama ultimately picked Merrick Garland but McConnell blocked the nomination refusing to take it up for Senate's consideration citing the presidential election coming up later that year.
Earlier on Monday, Trump appointed his Deputy Principal Press Secretary Raj Shah to a key role in the difficult process of getting his nominee for the Supreme Court approved by the Senate.
"Raj Shah will oversee communications, strategy and messaging coordination with Capitol Hill allies," Sanders said in a statement.
Legalised abortion that many countries like India take for granted is looming over the selection of the next Supreme Court judge, with many Senators making it the litmus test to vote for or against a nominee.
It is likely that a case involving abortions may come up before the Supreme Court leaving open the possibility a conservative majority bench could overturn its 1973 ruling legalising it.
During his election campaign Trump changed his stance and came out as an opponent of abortions and said that he would appoint judges with the same view.
But he said last week that he would not discuss with candidates their views on abortion.
The Republicans have slender two-vote lead in the 100-member Senate and at least one Senator from the party, Susan Collins, has said that keeping abortions legal would be a requirement for supporting the Trump nominee and another, Lisa Murkowski, has previously opposed efforts to overturn the 1973 ruling.
The 49 Democrats and the two independents are all expected to oppose any Trump nominee and Shah will have to work with Republicans in Congress to get a majority backing for the candidate.
However, other factors such as immigration, the powers of the president and any possible litigation involving the 2016 election of Trump and the alleged Russian interference are at play.
Thapar is widely considered to conservative in his approach, which aligns him with Trump and his base.
His father, Raj Thapar, told Courier Journal that his son is so conservative that he "nearly wouldn't speak to me after I voted for Barack Obama."
Thapar was born in Detroit and his family wanted him to become a doctor, but he chose law instead, the newspaper said. Raj Thapar told the newspaper that his son's only dream was to become a Supreme Court Justice.
Amul's maternal grandfather had impressed on him how Mahatma Gandhi had defeated the British using non violence, Raj Thapar told the newspaper.
According his father, Amul had converted to Catholicism when he married Kim Schulte, a real estate agent, Courier Journal reported.
Thapar's mother Veena Bhalla sold a successful restaurant after 9/11 to work as a civilian clinical social worker to help soldiers returning from the battlefield, the newspaper reported quoting McConnell.
According to Thapar's bio for a convention of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association his father had come to the US to study and after graduating went to work for Ford Motor Company.
Later, he bought a share of a heating and air conditioning company.
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MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for 6 yrs: Digvijaya Singh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday said MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for six years, as he accused the Election Commission of being "biased", and also questioned the need for conducting Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Participating in the discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, Singh sought removal of the ceiling on electoral expenses to ensure transparency in the election process, and alleged "vote chori (theft)" in states like Karnataka, Haryana, and Maharashtra.
He also claimed that Rahul Gandhi had submitted proof in this regard, but the Election Commission never responded.
He alleged bias by the Election Commission and wondered whether citizenship was being ascertained or a new voter list was being prepared, claiming that matriculation certificates were being demanded from individuals during the SIR exercise.
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"SIR kaha se aa gaya? Humse citizenship ke question poochhey ja rahe hain (where did SIR come from? We are being questioned regarding citizenship)... matriculation certificate is being demanded from voters... whether citizenship is being ascertained or a voter list is being prepared?" Singh questioned during his remarks.
The senior Congress leader said, "When the election commission carries out summary revision four times a year, then what is the need of SIR?"
He suggested that the delimitation exercise should not be based on population and instead on the current seat dynamics in place in the North and South India.
"(Delimitation)... jansankhya ke aadhar par nahin hona chahiye. maujooda anupaat jo dakshin aur uttar bharat ki seats hai uss par hi hona chahiye," Singh said.
Singh claimed that multiple letters were written to the Election Commission and INDIA bloc members had sought time from the body but it was never granted.
He and Home Minister Amit Shah,
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of wanting to implement a "fascist dictatorship" by appointing people following a particular ideology on constitutional positions.
He claimed that Shah was never associated with the RSS, a charge debunked by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal.
"Rahul Gandhi ne apne bhashan mein kaha tha is desh mein 2014 ke baad jitne bhi samvidhanik sansthaayein hain unpar ek nishchit vichardhaara ke logon ko bithaya ja raha hai, woh yogya ho ya ayogya ho, aur unke maadhyam se, mera yeh aarop hai, fascist dictatorship laagu karna chahtey hain Narendra Modi ji (Rahul Gandhi in his speeches has said that since 2014 people from a particular ideology, whether qualified or not, are being placed in constitutional posts... my allegation is that Modi ji is trying to impose fascist dictatorship in the country," Singh said.
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Speaking on the issue of illegal immigration, Samik Bhattacharya (BJP) quoted former PM Manmohan Singh's speech on September 30, 2005, claiming that Singh had stated that "India is opposed to all illegal immigration into the country be it from Bangladesh or elsewhere. The illegal immigration should not be encouraged."
He asserted that the Election Commission is a constitutional authority, and the SIR is underway and it needs to be accepted.
He also raised the issue of political violence and demographic imbalance/changes in West Bengal.
Sandeep Kumar Pathak of the Aam Aadmi Party raised the issue of exorbitant electoral expenses and the lack of level-playing field to contest polls by common citizens for this reason. He also suggested proper verification of the voter list.
