Corruption Scandal Halts Progress in India Parliament- Nicolas Duncan

Monday marked the end of a paralyzed India Parliament winter session. The session lasted four weeks and was largely devoid of work but filled with harsh opposition demands for an investigation into a telecom scandal that cost the country billions.

The accusations arose from a scandal centered on the 2008 sale of second-generation, or 2G, cellular licenses. The licenses were sold on a "first-come, first-served" process to ineligible participants who in turn sold their stakes at a high premium.  It was reported last month that the government lost as much as $36 billion in potential revenue by not auctioning the licenses. India only netted $2.7 billion.

Each sitting was accompanied by noisy opposition lawmakers spilling onto the floor of parliament. There were chants of anti-government slogans and also demands for a parliamentary committee to be formed to investigate. The speaker would adjourn proceedings until the next day, hoping for a resolution.

The opposition party wants a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate because this would have the power to call Cabinet members to testify. Opposition lawmakers say they don't trust the government to conduct a proper investigation of its own scandal licensing process.

However, the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, refused, saying such a committee can do nothing more than the existing mechanisms.

The Supreme Court has been holding hearings on what went wrong and is expected to rule within weeks.

October 19, 2010

Tax Raids on Commonwealth Game Contractors, Nicolas Duncan

The Games, which ended last week in Delhi, were tarnished by extremely high expenditure figures and claims of corruption.  Income tax officials raided the offices of contract companies in and around Delhi on Tuesday, claiming they seized documents relevant to any work associated with the Games.  The raids in Delhi came from the main opposition party, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), demanded a parliamentary investigation.  The BJP claims to have evidence of violations committed at the government level.  More than 200 tax investigators in India have searched the offices of numerous contractors used in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games.  The BJP says millions of dollars were siphoned off from the Games budget, which reached a record setting high for a games budget of 6 billion dollars, from an original estimate of $450m.  The Congress party-led government has already set up an inquiry, led by its urban development minister, into the event, claiming anyone found guilty will be punished.

October 12, 2010

India Earns Seat on UN Security Council, Nicolas Duncan

Five new members have been voted onto the UN’s Security Council for the next two years; India being one of the countries to earn a one of the non-permanent seats. The other four countries voted in included: Germany, Portugal, South Africa, and Colombia. The five permanent members of the council are China, Russia, France, Britain, and the US. Every year, five of the non-permanent members step down after completing two years, and other countries battle to fill the seats.  Candidates are chosen by region; the main contest in this election was among Western countries. The last time India held a seat on the council was in 1992.  Indian diplomats have been advocating for the spot for the past three years. To obtain a seat, India needed two-thirds of the General Assembly vote. However, it was expected that India would get voted in with little resistance because they were the sole candidate from the Asia region after Kazakhstan withdrew its name earlier this year.  India won with support from 187 of the 192 member states.  The 15-seat Security Council is one of the most important UN instruments. Its main charge is maintaining international peace and security.

October 3, 2010

Commonwealth Games Begin, Nicolas Duncan

October 3^rd marked a historic day in India’s history. After construction delays, concern over health and safety, and corruption scandals the opening ceremony to the Commonwealth Games kick started the largest sporting event ever to be hosted in India.  No more worries as to how many countries and athletes would withdraw due to safety and health concerns that plagued the news for weeks preceding the event; all 71 commonwealth nations attended. The stadium Nehru, filled with 60,000 people, watched while 7,000 performers, most of them school children, put on a spectacle that included light shows, music, and dancing; all of which combined to help depict the 5,000 year old cultural history of India. A giant helium balloon floated in the center of the stadium that displayed lights and motion pictures to aid in the spectacle.  However, all those attending were not there for entertainment. Estimates of 100,000 police and paramilitary with aid from fighter aircrafts and helicopter gunships have been deployed to counter the danger of attacks by extremists and to help keep athletes, tourists, and all those involved in the games, safe from any potential danger. The sporting events will begin with swimming on Monday.

September 24, 2010

Commonwealth Games a Week Away, Nicolas Duncan

The Commonwealth Games are a just a week and a half away from the opening ceremonies and concern over whether or not deadlines will be made have been heightened even more. This is a list of what’s gone wrong in the recent weeks:

1.    Athletes' village - Indian media report only 18 of 34 towers are completed

2.    Yamuna River - flooded in the worst monsoon rain for 30 years, leaving pools attracting mosquitoes

3.    Nehru Stadium - part of false ceiling collapsed in weightlifting area

4.    Bridge leading to the Nehru Stadium - collapsed on Tuesday

5.    Jama Masjid Mosque - two tourists injured in shooting near mosque, Indian Mujahideen threatens more attacks

6.    Shivaji Stadium - no longer to be used as a venue because it was not going to be ready in time

7.    Yamuna Sports Complex - roof damaged by heavy rain in July

India’s athletes have moved into the athletes’ village. England is the first overseas team to arrive in New Delhi however, four cyclists have already withdrawn from the games. A few of the countries that have given their verbal commitment to send their teams are: New Zealand, Scotland, Wales, Canada, and Australia; many more are expected to come despite the heigtened concerns. Noticeable athletes that have withdrawn due to concern over safety issues are Australian world discuss champion Dani Samuels and English world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu. Other athletes are still waiting to make a decision as to whether or not to go based on team officials evaluations of venues.  However, despite all the criticism progress is being made; Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell said in a statement that "considerable improvements" had been made to the athletes' village. He also stated: "It is vital that all remedial work that has already started continues with the greatest urgency." Thus far it has become the most expensive Commonwealth games in history with estimates of up to 10 billion dollars. 

(Athletes' village photos)

In the months preceding the event there had been confusion as to who would open the games. As head of the Commonwealth the queen usually opens the games but the Buckingham Palace stated in May that she was too busy to attend the event this year; the Price of Wales, Prince Charles, will be her representative at the games.  India's ANI news agency quoted unnamed government sources as saying that in this situation it should be the president of India, President Patil, who should inaugurate the event. However, after a statement issued by the Prince of Wales’s office, it was made clear that both would have a vital role in the opening of the games. “The Prince will read out the Queen's baton message, ending by declaring the Games open.‪‪" India media report that President Patil will then say "Let the Games begin".

Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11403204

September 19^th, 2010

Flooding in India, Nicolas Duncan

Flooding and landslides due to heavy rains in northern India have killed at least 63 people since Saturday; most deaths have been caused by collapsing houses, drowning, and landslides. There have been near 5,000 evacuations from the three worst flooded districts of Uttarakhand state.  The flooding caused by the heavy rains has raised the levels of Uttarakhand’s major rivers above their danger levels, cutting off communication links and blocking highways says disaster-management secretary, Rakesh Kumar. Rescue crews have been called up by the state government in the form of the army and federal emergency crews. Schools and colleges have been canceled for the next three days. The main weather office in Uttarakhand has forecasted heavy rains during the next 24 hours.

September 13, 2010

Kashmir Protests, Nicolas Duncan

Over the course of the summer the northern most state of India, Kashmir has been a hot spot of protests and violence. Kashmir is an Indian-administered state and there is discontent among the Muslim people living there. Discontent has been widespread this summer due to certain circumstances; On June 11th of this year a 17 year old student was killed by a tear gas shell during a protest in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir. Ripples from this event were felt in the form of violent anti-India protests in streets across the region causing numerous deaths over the summer. Due to the extent of protests curfews have been imposed in certain regions over Kashmir. One of the most violent protests happened this Monday, September 13^th which wasn’t fully caused by events going on in the state. News spread throughout the region about the extremely controversial idea of burning Korans in Florida by the church Dove World Outreach Center. Protests and mobs flooded the streets past curfews in protest of this news; mobs set fire to several government buildings, a school, and a police station. Government owned vehicles had stones thrown at them while security fought with protesters that were advancing on a Christian church. Teargas was used in order to disperse the protesters, however, in some areas where protests were most violent; such as in the Budgam district, police fired ammunition into the mobs to break them up. This left 18 civilians dead and more than 100 people injured. This was the largest tally of casualties in a single day since the outbreak of protests. The death toll has now reached above 75 as of early September. The Indian government stated it was “deeply distressed” by the violence as well expressing “profound grief at the loss of life and offers its sincere condolences to the bereaved families”.