PARAGRAPH,WORDS AND MEANINGS
EC went by rule book on ASAT issue, but PM should have upheld the spirit of Model Code
In ruling that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not violate the Model Code of Conduct by announcing through a nationally televised address the demonstration of India’s capability to bring down an operational satellite, the Election Commission has taken a possibly correct view of the Code’s provisions. However, it remains a narrow technical view as it is a thin line that divides the idea of making a high-level declaration of a defence capability from using it for electoral advantage. Opposition parties had accused the Prime Minister of violating the Model Code by touting the demonstration of the anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test as a significant achievement of the ruling BJP. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury had formally complained to the EC. There were questions about the timing of the test as well as the manner of announcement as the country is in election mode. A five-member committee formed by the EC concluded that the relevant provision was not attracted in this case. Part VII of the Code covering the “party in power” says that “…the misuse of official mass media during the election period for partisan coverage of political news and publicity regarding achievements with a view to furthering the prospects of the party in power shall be scrupulously avoided.” The committee’s finding that there was no “misuse of official mass media” as Doordarshan and AIR took the feed from a news agency, and more than 60 channels did the same, is rooted in the letter of the code, not its spirit.
It is possible to come to an equally valid conclusion that Mr. Modi’s action in making the announcement himself, rather than letting the DRDO, the agency involved, do so violates the bar on “furthering the prospects” of the ruling party by the nature of the publicity given to the achievement. The practice of using a private agency to record the announcement and asking it to share the feed , obliquely serves the purpose of generating publicity through the official media. As the legal maxim goes, what cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly either. Given that Mr. Modi gave advance publicity to the announcement, there is really no virtue in claiming that DD and AIR were not used for the purpose. As a landmark achievement in defence research, it deserved a public pronouncement at a high level. Even then, letting the DRDO explain the achievement first would have served the purpose. That the motive was to proclaim the ASAT demonstration as an achievement of the regime in the field of national security became obvious when it was propagated by the ruling party that its predecessor did not have the political will to approve such a test. The BJP must demonstrate it will not use such achievements for partisan advantage.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) accused
Meaning : a person or group of people who are charged with or on trial for a crime.
Synonyms : implicated
Antonyms : discharged
Example : “the accused was ordered to stand trial on a number of charges”
2) scrupulously
Meaning : in a very careful and thorough way(adv).
Synonyms : meticulously
Example : “a scrupulously researched biography”
3) virtue
Meaning : behaviour showing high moral standards.
Synonyms : ethic
Antonyms : dishonesty
Example : “paragons of virtue”
4) proclaim
Meaning : announce officially or publicly.
Synonyms : affirm
Antonyms : conceal
Example : “the government’s chief scientific adviser proclaimed that the epidemic was under control”
5) regime
Meaning : a government, especially an authoritarian one(n).
Synonyms : establishment
Example : “ideological opponents of the regime”
6) propagated
Meaning : breed specimens of (a plant or animal) by natural processes from the parent stock(v).
Synonyms : proliferate
Antonyms : deplete
Example : “try propagating your own houseplants from cuttings”
7) pronouncement
Meaning : a formal or authoritative announcement or declaration(n).
Synonyms : edict
Antonyms : concealment
Example : “distrust of the pronouncements of politicians was endemic”
8) fulcrum
Meaning : a thing that plays a central or essential role in an activity, event, or situation.
Synonyms : clue
Antonyms : exterior
Example : “research is the fulcrum of the academic community”
9) foray
Meaning : a sudden attack or incursion into enemy territory, especially to obtain something; a raid.
Synonyms : inroad
Antonyms : abstention
Example : “the garrison made a foray against Richard’s camp”
10) exigencies
Meaning : an urgent need or demand.
Synonyms : constraint
Antonyms : ease
Example : “women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it”
11) disparaging
Meaning : expressing the opinion that something is of little worth; derogatory(adj).
Synonyms : derogatory
Antonyms : favorable
Example : “disparaging remarks about council houses”
