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A comment on The Importance of India. Parent comment

Re:The Importance of India by throwaway384629 on Monday June 22, 2020 @01:49PM (#23603309)
Not sure if India is still a democracy.

Media and Judiciary are important pillars of democracy, but they are tightly controlled by the Government in India.

Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by President (Current Government) [1]:

A judge dies right before court case hearing of the top leader of the ruling party. [2]

An Indian Police Service officer [3] is known for his role in filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India against the then Chief Minister of the Government of Gujarat, Mr. Modi, concerning Modi's alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. On 30 September 2011, he was arrested due to a case, the Supreme Court suspended the case in April 2012. On 20 June 2019, he was sentenced to life in relation to another case dating back to 1990.

A 27-year old pregnant lady has been lodged in Jail for participating in the anti-CAA protests and denied bail as the judge finds 'no merit' in her bail plea. [4]. She is accused of "planning to hold protests".

A gunman fired shots at protestors during the same anti-CAA protests [5] and gets bail within a month [6] by the court:

A ruling party leader who gave a hate speech during the same anti-CAA protests on camera while police officers standing with him on stage is free and still part of the ruling party. [7]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranjan_Gogoi#Member_of_Rajya_S...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brijgopal_Harkishan_Loya

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjiv_Bhatt

[4] https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2020/jun/04/ja...

[5] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/30/gunman-injures...

[6] https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/shaheen-bagh-shooter-kapil-b...

[7] https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/bjp-leader-kapil-mishras-3-d...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Importance of India by ra7 on Monday June 22, 2020 @01:58PM (#23603439)
Throwing in a bunch of complaints (sometimes valid) doesn't mean India is not a democracy. Do the people still choose the government via elections or not? If you don't like policies of the current government, organize the opposition and vote them out. That's not being curtailed by anyone.
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Re:The Importance of India by throwaway384629 on Monday June 22, 2020 @02:43PM (#23603987)
How will I organize if government will slap a case against me and will put me in jail? In my previous comment I have shared examples of this happening to people who raised a voice or tried to protest.

Rest aside forming an opposition, I dont even feel safe to comment against government by using my real handle.

This article summarizes state of tv news media in India: http://www.nationalheraldindia.com/amp/story/india%252F14-de...

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Re:The Importance of India by ra7 on Monday June 22, 2020 @03:01PM (#23604406)
How are literally hundreds of political parties existing and contesting elections in India? What case will the government slap on you if you want to canvass for an opposition, start a political party or contest elections?
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Re:The Importance of India by throwaway384629 on Monday June 22, 2020 @03:50PM (#23605439)
140 Cases Filed Against Members of a newly formed political party, 72 Disposed of, Just 1 Conviction So Far

https://www.news18.com/news/india/140-cases-filed-against-aa...

Edited to add more content:

You can see the difference in how legal system treats you based on if you are from ruling party or opposition.

The prime minister of India is accused of using a fake degree.

See the difference when Indian PM Modi is accused of fake degree:

https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/the-curious-case-o...

Vs when a opposition member is also accused of same crime:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.hindustantimes.com/delhi/delh...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Importance of India by ra7 on Monday June 22, 2020 @03:57PM (#23605573)
Nice try. None of the cases filed are for forming a political party or participating in democratic exercises. They range from criminal cases to defamation. The "newly formed" political party has been in power in Delhi since 2015 and has won the last two state elections. You are proving my point.
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Re:The Importance of India by throwaway384629 on Monday June 22, 2020 @04:17PM (#23605914)
Of course they will not directly file a charge against you for forming a political party. But they will find other ways.

Actually they did filed cases against students for protesting against government.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2020/apr/21/de...

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Re:The Importance of India by pranav_pratap on Tuesday June 23, 2020 @02:29AM (#23610510)
You cite National Herald. You know that the opposition party in India owns this. In fact, they took over vast reals estate property using their influence over this paper. The case in in the court and the top leaders are out on bail.

News media is a business and unfortunately favors the party with more money. There are news media that favor the communists and the main opposition party too. At any rate, please dont cite national herald. Democracy means people’s will, which may not be our personal will. People elected this government twice consecutively. They feel hopeful that there would be positive changes in the country.

Lastly, let’s try to overcome our pain body. We will have to do it some time for our own happiness.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The Importance of India by throwaway384629 on Monday June 22, 2020 @04:22PM (#23605986)
And its so wrong from so many ways when top judge of a country is given a huge perk by the ruling party right after his retirement.
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