Yesterday, the Indian judiciary delivered the following judgement:
Who ordered this cess? The judiciary! Who decided the amount of this cess? The judiciary. Now, I could be wrong, but this seems to be the first time the judiciary has grabbed a core legislative function and imposed a direct tax on the public.
NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.
This was the slogan raised by Americans against the British King-Emperor. And it ushered in everything that is sacred to the modern state: representative government, protection of individual liberties and so on… You know, the greatest advancement in human civilization is the transition to representative government, giving every citizen a voice. An equal voice. Without representative government, we are back in the era of slavery and serfdom. And it all began with the famous slogan: “No taxation without representation“.
This eternal principle is glorified even in children’s songs, like this one from School House rock titled “No more kings“.
Here are the key lines:
He taxed their property,
He didn’t give them any choice,
And back in England
He didn’t give them any voice.
(That’s called taxation without representation,
And it’s not fair!)
But when the Colonies complained
The king said: “I don’t care!”
As I said, the song is called “No more kings”. When we have taxation without representation, that’s what happens. We go back to the era of subjects and kings. When people complain about a tax and an unelected person says “I don’t care” and you don’t give the people a voice, it makes you a king. Do you want to be a king, milord?
Tell us. We deserve to know.
So, the war is out in the open.
And I tell you: it’s a good thing! It’s a great and wonderful thing, I say.
I might have implied this before, but let me come out and say it today. This is what makes Modi the great facilitator. Not exactly because of something he did, but by his mere presence . Modi has acted as the catalyst that shattered a lot of age old socialist models of thought. They were sure to crumble one day, but Modi’s arrival hastened the process by a couple of decades at the very least.
After 1947, India spent more than four decades essentially under Soviet rule. Coming as they did at a crucial juncture of Indian history, those four decades had a deep and disproportionate impression on our national mindset. By definition, the Soviet system required citizens to believe in the redeeming power of monopolies. This in turn called for the authorities to be “unbiased” and “non-partisan”. As if there is something holy or inherently honorable about being “non-partisan”. Prime examples of institutions that were expected to be non-partisan were judiciary and media.
But of course, these institutions never were non-partisan. And the fraudulent mask of “unbiasedness” that they wore caused deeper damage than their actual bias. Those masks are gone now. The judges are being openly political. The media has broken its Omerta code. Without Modi, this process could have taken many many decades. But Modi became the lightning rod that cracked the deep state open… Modi made them come out of the woodwork.
Let it all be in the open. Let us all know which judge supports which party. Why should we as a nation have to believe in the contrived fiction that judges or mediapersons are floating in space, untouched by biases and opinions? And in fact, why should judges or mediapersons have to pretend that they have no political bias?
See how great the new system is. They have the burden of pretending lifted off their shoulders. We get to know what the biases of the decision makers and opinion makers really are. More transparency. More freedom for all! Yay!
There’s nothing wrong with a judge having a political opinion. Why shouldn’t a judge have one? Isn’t a judge a citizen of this country? In fact, if there was a judge with no strong opinions on national politics, I would think less of them. As this Family Guy cartoon expresses succinctly, “Undecided voters are the biggest idiots on the planet”.
I don’t want a judge or a mediaperson who is “undecided” about politics. I just want freedom to express myself freely on all matters. And I want everyone else, including judges to enjoy that liberty.
I am happy that the woodwork is cracking. We can see everyone’s real face now. And for this we must thank Modi, the great facilitator.
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dynastycrooks 
Modi spoke about Balochistan and POK yesterday.The fact that he spoke about Balochistan was very significant.I don’t think any other Indian PM has spoken about it before.Nicely done.
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You are spot on. I was taken by surprised but it was a bold and good move too by Modi. I believe there were many in that meeting of all parties who did not agree with him. But Modi knew they would not dare to oppose his view openly. This man surely knows to pick the moment.
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Yes, we can all totally get behind this. Nicely picked the weakest spot of the enemy and hit hard.
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Yes, I have blogged about this today. If followed to logical conclusion, this changes the Indo-Pak game completely.
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As everything is coming out in the open…..most of the seniors who have enjoyed the freedom of making huge money during congi’s rule will defiantly show their hate towards Modi government!!
I hope Modi does not miss this opportunity and cut them to size!
The tyranny of the unelected over the elected!
SC is becoming a dictator which is not even elected by us and not even accountable to either parliament or people. This shackles democracy.
Judiciary has NO right to be 3 in 1- are they so immature to usurp the powers of both legislature and elected executive ?
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If SC has a right to veto the voice of the people, the people should have a voice in the court. It is the only fair option. Anything less is plain oppression.
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Is Modi the wrong guy?
http://www.mediacrooks.com/2016/08/unchained-corrupt.html?m=1
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What would be the justification to decide that Diesel vehicles with more than 2000 CC are not polluting. If they are not then why a cess? If they are, how the quantum of compensation decided upfront at the time of purchase of vehicle.
Has the technical inputs received for determining the quantum of pollution and the cleaning up cost? Has the authorities who receive the cess been mandated to cleanup the pollution? Are there restriction on the jurisdiction in which these vehicles move? What about diesel vehicles in other jurisdiction? Being a SC decision, it should be applicable to whole of the country? The bench is headed by Chief Justice of India and he has over ruled objections by prosecution, that courts do not have authority for levy of such charges. Court has agreed to hear the arguments for extending the levy to small engine capacity cars as well. The suggestion for 1% came from Mercedes and “Let us first get used to one percent ECC. We do not want the sword of a higher charge hanging over them at this moment,” Chief Justice Thakur said”
What still baffles me is that the courts would not accept any criticism of their judgment and can commence contempt proceedings. Isn’t this against freedom of speech protected by the constitution. What about conflict of interest? How the same courts can decide on contempt of court for criticism of their decisions? Contempt of court for non implementation of decision I thought was acceptable. With this decision, contempt for non implementation may not be applicable as they are directing the government to make laws which is clearly not part of their domain
CW please write a post on how this can be brought to an end.
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The laws pertaining to contempt of court must be repealed…
These laws were introduced by British east India company long ago to subvert the system using their pet judge.
In USA contempt of court , long ago fell foul of the 1st Amendment and is dismissed as English foolishness – it was contempt against a British APPOINTED JUDGE actually . . .
In UK there is NO contempt of court since the 1930s– and was formally abolished a year ago . .
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Fully agree. who will bell the cat? As written by Ravinar, does this government has the willingness to do it? There is no need to be subtle about these things when you have clear opportunities. A leader needs to communicate very clearly about things which are not acceptable. Howsoever the opposition is? You cannot wait for consensus. People will be with him. We don’t want another Mahatma
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It is so easy to say so. But when the whole system of judiciary, media and many more are filled with people who spread hatred and false news about NDA then it is very difficult to do so. Were people with Modi when ‘attack against cristians’ campaign was on? Were people with Modi when ‘nun was raped’ campaign was on? Were people with Modi during ‘Intolerance’ campaign? The list goes on. Ravinar says if Congress had majority they would have run amok. Of course they would. Because the media would keep quiet and the people would not even know. But that is not the case with BJP. They are doing good for country still the media is running amok! Just imagine what would happen if they start getting very strict. Modi is a shrewd man. He knows what he is doing. He will slowly dismantle these mediacrooks and collegium crooks. We need to be logical. Can not expect Modi to do things in this unfriendly atmosphere even if he has the majority. First make India strong. Build a positive perception. Talk nice. Be nice. Win the second term and then go for the kill. But by that time they would die a natural death.
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The courts still have an air of moral superiority. Modi is using the only leverage he has, that of security clearances. This is definitely going to be a long battle.
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Raghav you raise the most important question of all. But honestly, I am not aware of any constitutional options for holding the judiciary accountable. No one envisioned a situation like this. And of course, freedom is always the first casualty in a situation like this.
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Is Modi really the guy we were looking for?
http://www.thefrustratedindian.com/2016/08/bjp-rss-right-wing-narrative/
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“This absence emanates from rather an aversion to intellectualism visible from the statement of the founder of RSS, K.B.Hegdewar ,” An ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of theory”.”
This is the key line in their article. The problem here goes much deeper than Modi, it goes to the foundations of RSS. Mistrust of intellectuals has evolved into a refusal to even try to produce intellectuals with RW narrative.
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Off topic!…can everybody support this?,I have already done.
A Petition To Govt of India to not send Representation at Mother Teresa’s Canonisation
https://www.change.org/p/narendra-modi-a-petition-to-govt-of-india-to-not-send-representation-at-mother-teresa-s-canonisation
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Sadly, it wont work. The propaganda surrounding her is too powerful. Another controversy that will fool middle class Hindus.
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These judiciary jokers are getting on my nerve. They are becoming too big for their shoes. This government is showing them their place. And these jokers are retaliating by misusing their position and responsibilities. There are hardly any JUDGE around who does not mind his/her performance being judged.
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Imposing a tax is the last straw. No taxation without representation is the fundamental principle of modern democracy.
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Great chaiwalla ji you opened the pandora’s box nobody dared to touch so far. Even in 21st century, there are people who think criticizing Gandhi or Judiciary will be a one way ticket to hell. Fact in India is the Nehru-Gandhi family is singlehandedly responsible for the lowlife scumbags occupying highest positions and decide fate of country and people. Imagine a kitchen help occupying President’s chair and a moron & a cheap Justice who declares 90% of Indians are stupids. Can we forget what price AMSinghvi was demanding to nominate HC judges? If the selection of Judiciary follows a system which enables undeserving craps to occupy responsible positions, we better relay on Modi’s judgement who certainly is more sensible and rational. I wish Modi to be a dictator in the areas where the stench is abnormally high.
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” I wish Modi to be a dictator in the areas where the stench is abnormally high.”
I wish I could agree even more than 100%.
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The Judiciary wants to hold everyone accountable, but itself. Point is whether the government is willing to face this with added aggression and deft rebuttal or not. The recent example shows otherwise. I am reminded of Indira Gandhi, despotic she might have been, yet she was bold enough to show that it is the will of the people in the form of the elected government that was the master, and not a few self proclaimed, self righteous paragons of virtue, probity and equity. Time has come for the government to take up the fight, and emerge victorious, but I do suspect it will happen. Because despite judiciary adjudicating upon its virtues and constitutional powers, the government failed to respond and point out the anomaly, that you can not be judge in your own case. If judiciary holds parliament accountable in its courts, judiciary should be accountable in Parliament’s court. It is system of checks and balances, which must govern the nation, and not absolute power with one.
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‘It is system of checks and balances, which must govern the nation, and not absolute power with one.’……Exactly!
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Exactly. The problem is that there appear to be few constitutional options about making the judiciary accountable. It is running rampage and relishing its unchecked power.
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The judiciary has been more or less functioning like Lutyens – a law unto themselves and completely out of touch with reality. They need to be firmly reminded that they are accountable to the people and its elected representatives.
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Rejecting NJAC and now imposing a tax. They are very close to making India an actual dictatorship.
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In this diesel engine issue the melud has clearly overstepped his powers. Who is he to levy taxes? I went to Manali in Himachal in the summer and was shocked and surprised by a swingeing “Green Tax” running into the hundreds levied on every vehicle entering the town. But this is only extracted from vehicles with non-Himachal number plates. Naturally i cursed the HP govt for being a bunch of thieving highwaymen. But someone clarified this Green Tax was on Himachal High Court orders. Looks like the state govt was happy to use the HC order as an excuse to soak up more funds, since they are perpetually short of cash. They are said to be always running short on the salaries they pay themselves every month. The sham Green Tax is supposed to be used to develop and maintain the Manali town. Considering the lakhs and crores they rake in i didn’t see much to show for these amounts in Manali. The toilets stank as they do anywhere else. The streets were dirty as anywhere else.
The Central govt can refuse to notify the new Supreme Court imposed tax or cess or daan-dkshina or whatever and tell the meluds to go to hell.
The 3 legs of a democracy are supposed to be the usual ones: Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, the media being the fourth one. I have news, apart from these four legs there’s also a tail. This tail grew out when nobody was looking. It’s called the National Green Tribunal. It has given itself dictatorial powers which it exercises with great relish. I still haven’t figured out what the hell is this NGT, is it animal, fish or fowl? The nearest i can think of is the betaal hitching an unsolicited ride on king Vikram’s back.
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‘The nearest i can think of is the betaal hitching an unsolicited ride on king Vikram’s back.’…….Good one!….LOL LOL!
After Italian waitress introduced this ‘critter’,this unelected NGT ( NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL ) are trying to be parallel judiciary!
Who the hell are these melords of NGT,to ask for vehicle scrapping every ten years?
May be NGT wants to revive dead Detroit city with TATA motors?!
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I hope i don’t sound too cynical, but i’ve long suspected that our motor vehicle manufacturers have contrived to get laws tailor-made to increase sales of new vehicles. Has anyone tried to get the registration changed of a second hand car, esp of an out-of-state number? That person will know what i’m talking about. The procedures have been made so tough and convoluted you have to take days and days off from your regular work to do so. By Day Three you start wishing you had bought a new car instead. Sales seem to be dipping again that some helpful soul(s) in NGT should come to the rescue with the ten-year rule. India being India i doubt such help comes without being bought-n-paid for.
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Ha ha ha…betaal…lolol.
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Absolutely. The Green campaign has degenerated essentially into a form of fascism. Who is the NGT anyway? Why should we respect their authority? Who elected them? Nobody knows…and these extra constitutional authorities operate with careless abandon.
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