| | 5 THINGS FIRST | Last date for filing nominations for the 4th phase of Lok Sabha polls; PM Modi to address a rallies in Bareilly, Aonla and Shahjahanpur in UP; Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav to file nomination papers from Kannauj; Delhi University to start PG admissions for 2024-25 session; IPL 2024 – SRH vs RCB
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| | 1. Pitroda adds fuel to ‘wealth distribution’ fire |  | What- Amid the ongoing debate over redistribution of wealth allegation PM Modi levelled against the Congress, party leader Sam Pitroda has advocated imposition of inheritance tax.
- India scrapped inheritance tax in 1985 during the Rajiv Gandhi government.
- Taking cue from Pitroda’s remarks, Modi stepped up his attack on the Congress saying the party has "dangerous intentions" of snatching the assets and rights of people.
- This comes just before the second phase of the Lok Sabha election for 89 seats.
What Pitroda said- Pitroda, Indian Overseas Congress chairman, said, "In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has 100 million USD worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45 per cent to his children, 55 per cent is grabbed by the government.”
- "In India, you don't have that. If somebody is worth 10 billion and he dies, his children get 10 billion and the public gets nothing.”
- Pitroda said, “When we talk about redistributing wealth, we are talking about new policies and new programmes…This is a policy issue. Congress party would frame a policy through which the wealth distribution would be better.”
Modi sharpens attack- At a rally in Chhattisgarh, Modi said, “The advisor of 'shehzada' of the 'shahi parivar', who was also the advisor to the shehzada's father, said that more tax should be imposed on the middle class and those who earn by toiling hard."
- He said, “Now, the 'panja' [Congress poll symbol] will snatch the assets from your children."
- Modi used the tagline of LIC of India to target the grand old party: “The Congress’s mantra is loot zindagi ke sath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi.”
Congress rebuts- The Congress distanced itself from remarks made by Pitroda, who alleged that the "godi media" twisted his statement to divert the attention from the lies the PM was spreading about the Congress manifesto.
- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “For elections, Modi ji is lying to the people that their mangalsutra shall not be safe. Congress governed this country for 55 years. Has that even happened once?” More here
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| | 2. ‘Can’t act on suspicion, we don’t control polls’ |  | What- The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it is not the controlling authority of another constitutional body, the Election Commission, and therefore it can’t dictate its functioning.
- The top court’s remarks came during the hearing on petitions seeking thorough cross-verification of EVM votes with VVPAT paper slips.
- It raised a question on how it can pass order on EVMs based on suspicion of its hacking and manipulation when there is no evidence to back the suspicion.
- The court has reserved the judgment for now.
The quote from the court- Responding to concerns raised by petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms’ counsel Prashant Bhushan, the court said, “If you are predisposed about a thought-process, then we cannot help you...We are not here to change your thought process.”
- “If there is something which can be improved then we will do it,” said the court, which called a senior EC officer to clear its doubts on certain technical functioning of EVMs.
The plea- The ADR, the NGO petitioner, sought the reversal of the EC's 2017-decision to replace the transparent glass on VVPAT machines with opaque glass, which only reveals the slip when light is on for seven seconds.
Court queries vs EC’s response- On placement of microcontroller: All three units of EVMs — the ballot unit, control unit, and VVPAT — have their own microcontroller, securely housed in inaccessible modules and sealed after polling.
- On programmability of microcontroller: The microcontrollers are "one-time programmable" devices and cannot be altered after manufacturing stage.
- On symbol loading: Two manufacturers, namely Electronics Corporation of India Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited, are responsible for producing the symbol loading units (SLUs) utilised in the electoral process.
- On EVM storage period: EVMs are stored for 45 days after the completion of election. On day 46, if there are no petitions, district officers open EVM strong rooms; if petitions exist, strong rooms stay sealed. More here
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| | HISTORY MEETS AI | | 3. Decoding teachers’ recruitment scam in Bengal |  | A verdict- In a setback to the West Bengal govt, Calcutta High Court has cancelled the 2016 recruitment process for government-sponsored and aided schools in West Bengal.
- As many as 25,753 teachers and staff appointed through this process are set to lose their jobs and return their salaries with 12% interest.
- The court has directed the CBI to investigate the appointment process and submit a report within three months.
The recruitment process- Candidates applied for assistant teacher positions in Classes 9-12 and Group C and D posts, undergoing a Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) followed by interviews and personality tests.
- Selection criteria included TET scores, academic performance, and interview results.
- Appointment letters were issued by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) based on the State-Level Selection Test (SLST) merit list provided by the School Service Commission (SSC).
The controversy- Following complaints, the Calcutta High Court initiated an inquiry into the recruitment process, appointing a committee led by retired HC judge Ranjit Kumar Bag following complaints.
- The committee found irregularities, including the unauthorised formation of a panel overseen by former education minister Partha Chatterjee.
- After allegations emerged that three state officials manipulated candidate rankings and issued appointment letters after the panel's expiration on May 4, 2019, the High Court then ordered a CBI inquiry into the issue.
The probe- The CBI found that the five-person panel improperly identified teaching vacancies, falsifying recommendations by forging signatures of regional service commission chairpersons, and found manipulation of candidate OMR answer scripts.
- In response, the High Court instructed the CBI to provide hard disks to SSC for verification, permitted candidates to inspect their OMR sheets, and directed SSC to report on out-of-turn appointments, appointments beyond the SLST panel.
The problem- HC says the exact number could not be identified yet, and its sweeping order Monday will also affect those who were genuine appointees.
- Hence, the High Court instructed the CBI to proceed with the investigation, citing the lack of cooperation from SSC and the state govt was making it impossible to “remove the grain from the chaff.” More here
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| | 4. Stage set for second phase of LS polls |  | What- Curtains came on the campaigning for the second phase of the Lok Sabha election on Wednesday in 89 constituencies voting tomorrow in 13 states.
- In 2019, the NDA had won 56 of these 89 seats and the UPA 24. Six of these seats have been redrawn as part of the delimitation exercise.
- Polling happened on 102 seats on April 19 in the first phase of the election.
Where- Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, the remaining 13 seats in Rajasthan, 8 seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 7 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 5 seats each in Assam and Bihar, 3 seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and 1 seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
This means…- After Friday's phase, polling will be over in Kerala, Rajasthan and Tripura.
- In the first phase on April 19, polling was completed in all seats of Tamil Nadu (39), Uttarakhand (5), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Meghalaya (2), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (1), Puducherry (1), Sikkim (1) and Lakshadweep (1).
Who- Rahul Gandhi is facing off against Annie Raja (CPI) and K Surendran (BJP) at Kerala’s Wayanad seat.
- In Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor (Congress) squares off against Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar (BJP) to win the seat for the fourth consecutive time.
- Hema Malini is seeking re-election from Mathura and Arun Govil (known for his portrayal of Lord Ram in Ramayan) is contesting from Meerut.
Campaign wrap-up- During the campaigning, PM Modi kicked up a row in Rajasthan's Banswara, alleging that the Congress was planning to give people's hard-earned money and valuables to "infiltrators" and "those who have more children".
- The Congress was quick to react, saying the PM was resorting to "lies" and "hate speech" after facing "disappointment" in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls.
- As campaigning drew to a close, Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks on inheritance tax gave enough fodder to Modi to sharpen the attack on the issue of "wealth redistribution".
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| | | | 6. Now, a plea in SC for SIT probe into poll bond scheme |  | What- A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged instances of quid pro quo arrangements between corporates and political parties through electoral bonds donations.
- The petition, filed by NGOs Common Cause and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), also sought direction from the authorities to investigate the source of funding of shell companies and loss-making companies to various political parties, as has been disclosed through the electoral bonds data.
- The petition further sought direction to the authorities to recover the amounts from political parties as donated by companies to these parties as part of quid pro quo arrangements where these are found to be proceeds of crime.
- It alleged that a scam worth crores of rupees is involved in the electoral bonds matter, which can be unravelled only through an independent investigation under the monitoring of the apex court.
The contention- The petitioners claim that the bulk of the bonds appears to have been given as quid pro quo arrangements by corporates to political parties either to secure government contracts or licences, or to secure protection from investigations by agencies or as consideration of favourable policy changes.
- They allege that political donations influenced contracts and regulatory inaction by drug monitoring agencies, which led to the sale of substandard drugs in the market.
- They claim that donations violated provisions of the Companies Act which regulates contributions to political parties, with several companies that were less than three years old having made donations, which is not allowed under law.
- The petitioners have listed companies such as Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited, Future Gaming and Hotel Services PR, Grasim Industries, Vedanta, IFB Agro Limited and Bharti Airtel Limited, among the beneficiaries of the alleged quid pro quo arrangement.
A verdict- The Supreme Court in its February 15 verdict had struck down the Electoral Bonds scheme — introduced by the BJP government at the Centre in January 2018 — which allowed for anonymous funding to political parties, and ordered the SBI to stop issuing Electoral Bonds immediately.
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| | | 8. Pro-Palestine protests rock top US varsities |  | What- In the past week, campuses across the US, including prestigious institutions like Columbia, Yale, and New York universities, have become epicentres of demonstrations.
- These protests are largely organised by student groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace.
Slow burn- The protests escalated last Thursday when over 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who had set up camp on Columbia University's upper Manhattan campus, were arrested.
- At NYU, 133 protesters were arrested late Monday, all of whom were subsequently released with court summonses for disorderly conduct.
- At Yale in Connecticut, 60 were detained on Monday, 47 of whom were students.
- In the Midwest, the University of Michigan saw its protest grow to nearly 40 tents by Tuesday, while the University of Minnesota witnessed the arrest of nine anti-war demonstrators after police dismantled an encampment in front of the campus library, leading to a massive rally.
What protesters want- Immediate ceasefire in Gaza: Students are advocating for an end to the hostilities in the region.
- End US military aid to Israel: A critical demand is the cessation of all military assistance provided by the US to Israel.
- University divestment: Protesters are calling for their universities to divest from arms suppliers and other companies that profit from the conflict.
- Amnesty for protesters: Students and faculty facing disciplinary actions for their involvement in protests seek amnesty.
Why it matters- The demonstrations reflect a broader discontent with US foreign policy and perceived university complicity in global conflicts through investments and partnerships.
- The movement also spotlights the delicate balance campuses strive to maintain between fostering free expression and ensuring community safety.
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| | 9. Was Australian journalist ‘forced’ to leave India? |  | What- Avani Dias, the Chief of Bureau of Australia’s state-run news outlet in New Delhi, has stated that she had to leave India ‘abruptly’ after government officials denied her a visa-extension.
- The journalist, who had been working in India since 2022, had produced the documentary about the June 2023 killing in Canada of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar — Sikhs, Spies, and Murder — which India got YouTube to block last month, also alleged that she found it difficult to do her job in the country.
- Canadian PM Justin Trudeau had said there were “credible allegations” that India was involved in the Sikh leader’s shooting, which India dismissed as “absurd”.
What she alleges- In a post on X on Tuesday, Dias said, “Last week, I had to leave India abruptly. The Modi Government told me my visa extension would be denied, saying my reporting ‘crossed a line’.”
- She claimed that though she was able to secure a two-month visa extension after intervention by the Australian government, it came with less than 24 hours left for her departure.
- She said she was also told that her election accreditation — to cover the ongoing Lok Sabha polls — too would not happen.
Govt response- TOI reported, quoting government sources, that the ABC journalist’s contention that she was not allowed to cover elections and compelled to leave the country is “not correct, misleading and mischievous”.
- According to them, Dias was found to have violated visa rules while undertaking her professional pursuits. Despite this, on her request, she was assured that her visa would be extended for coverage of the general elections, they added.
Not the only one- In February, Vanessa Dougnac, a Delhi-based French journalist, was accused of “malicious” reporting and asked by the MHA to explain why her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status should not be cancelled.
- She had also left the country, saying she was “being forced to leave by the Government of India”.
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| | ANSWER TO NEWS IN CLUES |  | The United States of America. The US Senate passed legislation requiring TikTok to be divested from its Chinese parent company or face exclusion from the American market, part of a foreign aid package now heading to President Biden's desk. The move comes amid concerns over data privacy and alleged ties to Beijing, with TikTok denying these claims. The bill, passed with bipartisan support, grants the president authority to designate other apps as national security threats. Biden intends to sign the legislation, prompting criticism from TikTok and interest from potential buyers like Steven Mnuchin.
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