The Hindu Editorial : April 6 ,2019

Dear Aspirants,

Daily Current Affairs (April 6, 2019) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

A) Probing the probe: on HC remarks on Jayalalithaa death probe panel

HC remarks on Jayalalithaa death probe panel are a needed caution against a roving inquiry

It is quite apposite that the Madras High Court has cautioned the Justice A. Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry, which is probing the circumstances leading up to the hospitalisation and demise of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, against exceeding its brief. The commission, through its counsel’s questions and averments, has been unusually proactive in attributing motives to or casting aspersions on doctors who treated her at a corporate hospital for 75 days in 2016. Although the court concluded that the commission’s functioning has not been vitiated by bias, it has voiced apprehension about some aspects. For instance, it questioned the “strange” procedure adopted by the commission in having its own advocate file applications and counter-statements, when it could have passed suo motu any order necessary in relation to the proceedings. It described as “unnecessary and unwarranted”, even “disturbing”, some of the averments made by the commission’s counsel in applications and replies. The Division Bench did not go so far as to invalidate the proceedings, as nearly all of the work has been done, but it questioned the need for the fact-finding body to attribute “collusion”, “conspiracy” and “fraud” to the hospital, or anyone else. The hospital had argued that the commission was biased against it, citing denial of adjournments on its doctors’ request, posing of questions and suggestions casting aspersions on their testimony and credentials, and other forms of “harassment”. The court found no merit in any of these accusations.

The appointment of the commission of inquiry itself was a political move. It is true that there was speculation about the nature of Jayalalithaa’s illness and some public misgivings about the adequacy of the treatment given to her. A shadow was cast on the role of her close aide, V.K. Sasikala, who is now serving a prison term in Bengaluru. However, it is doubtful if such speculation provided the material basis needed to order a probe, especially a fishing expedition into anything that can be fitted into the term “circumstances surrounding” a leader’s death. The Tamil Nadu government ordered the inquiry as part of a political compromise under which a judicial probe was made a pre-condition for the merger of two factions of the ruling AIADMK. Given this background, it was inevitable that the commission’s functioning would come under scrutiny. Its credibility and image would have gone up had the court agreed to the constitution of a medical board, comprising doctors drawn from various specialties, to assist it. Instead, it has chosen to reject the request by citing the deputation of some government doctors to go through the case records. Now that the court has found that there is nothing to suggest bias or malice on the commission’s part, it has a duty to complete its fact-finding mission without giving further room for speculation that it is moving towards any pre-determined conclusion.

B) Country before party: on Theresa May’s Brexit plan

The British Prime Minister’s cross-party talks may avert a chaotic Brexit

This week, British pragmatism finally found its voice in the U.K.’s complex exit process from the European Union. The government’s deliberations over a withdrawal had been held hostage by the English nationalists among the Conservative party who demand an exit sans an agreement. Prime Minister Theresa May, who had long insisted that “no deal with Brussels was better than a bad deal”, declared on Tuesday that London would not quit without an accord. She clarified she would seek an extension of the April 12 deadline, which she did duly on Friday. Parliamentarians are trying to pass legislation that would require the government to avoid a no-deal Brexit — it has passed through the Commons by a slim majority and awaits its final stages. The government had opposed these moves, initiated by Conservative and Labour MPs in recent parliamentary votes. In a bold but risky gambit, Ms. May began talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to help break the deadlock. While the government has insisted it remains against a customs union, the talks with Labour, which strongly advocates this along with worker and environmental protections, mean that this is inevitably on the table. This is resisted vehemently by many Conservatives. Few seriously believe that Ms. May and Mr. Corbyn will agree to a deal. Equally, the Prime Minister will be severely constrained by the infuriated hardline eurosceptics within her party to not concede too much. That would force the government to ask Parliament once again to find a majority for any one of several alternatives, including the thrice-rejected withdrawal accord. These ‘indicative’ votes failed to deliver a majority to join an EU customs union, offer a second referendum, or revoke Brexit. But these proposals are certain to be put before Parliament with modifications drawn from inputs across different parties.

Calls for a second referendum, once voiced rather mutely by hardcore remainers, have emerged as a legislative proposal. The prevailing state of chaos and confusion, almost three years after the 2016 referendum, has caused immense frustration among businesses and people. But with Parliament having assumed charge of the process — which seems irreversible — there is reason to hope for clarity and certainty. Admittedly, Ms. May’s commitment to a cross-party approach to deliver Brexit has come rather late in the day. But her willingness to put country above party at last has the potential to prevent the catastrophe of Britain going over the cliff when the date of departure eventually approaches. That is no small comfort going by the government’s own assessment of the economic and social impact of the step, besides protecting the peace across Ireland.

VOCABULARY

1) apposite

Meaning : apt in the circumstances or in relation to something(adj).

Tamil Meaning : தகுதியான

Synonyms : relevant

Antonyms : inappropriate

Example : “an apposite quotation”

2) probing

Meaning : inquiring closely into something; searching.

Tamil Meaning : ஆய்வு

Synonyms : discerning

Antonyms : nice

Example : “she asks some probing questions”

3) demise

Meaning : convey or grant (an estate) by will or lease(v).

Synonyms : departure

Antonyms : beginning

Example : “the manor and the mill were demised for twenty-one-year terms”

4) proactive

Meaning : (of a person or action) creating or controlling a situation rather than just responding to it after it has happened.

Synonyms : aggressive

Antonyms : passively

Example : “employers must take a proactive approach to equal pay”

5) aspersions

Meaning : an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something(n).

Synonyms : detraction

Antonyms : adulation

Example : “I don’t think anyone is casting aspersions on you”

6) vitiated

Meaning : spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of(v).

Synonyms : negate

Antonyms : permit

Example : “development programmes have been vitiated by the rise in population”

7) citing

Meaning : refer to (a passage, book, or author) as evidence for or justification of an argument or statement, especially in a scholarly work(v).

Synonyms : indicate

Antonyms : conceal

Example : “authors who are highly regarded by their peers tend to be cited”

8) aide

Meaning : an assistant to an important person, especially a political leader(n).

Tamil Meaning : உதவி

Synonyms : assistant

Antonyms : leader

Example : “a presidential aide”

9) inevitable

Meaning : certain to happen; unavoidable(adj).

Tamil Meaning : தவிர்க்க முடியாத

Synonyms : imminent

Antonyms : avoidable

Example : “war was inevitable”

10) scrutiny

Meaning : critical observation or examination(n).

Synonyms : inquiry

Antonyms : glance

Example : “every aspect of local government was placed under scrutiny“

11) malice

Meaning : the desire to harm someone; ill will(n)

Synonyms : animus

Antonyms : sympathy

Example : “I bear no malice towards anybody”

12) hostage

Meaning : a person seized or held as security for the fulfilment of a condition(n).

Tamil Meaning : பணயக்கைதி

Synonyms : victim

Antonyms : captor

Example : “they were held hostage by armed rebels”

13) Conservative

Meaning : averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values(adj).

Synonyms : traditional

Antonyms : inconstant

Example : “they were very conservative in their outlook”

14) constrained

Meaning : appearing forced or overly controlled(adj).

Tamil Meaning : கட்டுப்படுத்தப்படும்

Synonyms : strained

Example : “he was acting in a constrained manner”

15) infuriated

Meaning : make (someone) extremely angry and impatient(v).

Synonyms : enraged

Example : “I was infuriated by your article”

16) concede

Meaning : admit or agree that something is true after first denying or resisting it(v).

Synonyms : admit

Antonyms : defend

Example : “I had to concede that I’d overreacted”

17) revoke

Meaning : officially cancel (a decree, decision, or promise)(v).

Tamil Meaning : திரும்பப்பெற

Synonyms : abolish

Antonyms : affirm

Example : “the men appealed and the sentence was revoked”

18) prevailing

Meaning : existing at a particular time; current(adj).

Tamil Meaning : நிலவும்

Synonyms : rampant

Antonyms : uncommon

Example : “the unfavourable prevailing economic conditions”

19) immense

Meaning : extremely large or great, especially in scale or degree(adj).

Synonyms : endless

Antonyms : calculable

Example : “the cost of restoration has been immense”

20) catastrophe

Meaning : an event causing great and usually sudden damage or suffering; a disaster(n).

Tamil Meaning : பேரழிவை

Synonyms : casualty

Antonyms : fortune

Example : “an environmental catastrophe”

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