The Hindu Editorial,Useful for Preparation IAS

The Hindu Editorial - Search, seize, cease: on I-T raids at Jayalalithaa's residence

In Tamil Nadu’s politically surcharged atmosphere, almost everything takes on a political hue. Searches and seizures by the Income Tax department following the death of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa were without doubt integral to the clean-up operation in a State known for brazen corruption and abuse of power at different levels. But some of the actions of the enforcement agencies have given the impression that they are selective in nature, leading to charges that they were motivated by the political interests of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which heads the government at the Centre. In the latest instance, Income Tax officials searched the residence of Jayalalithaa, following up on seizures made at properties held by the family of her friend V.K. Sasikala. But curiously, Income Tax officials were insistent that the rooms used by Jayalalithaa were not the object of inquiry, only those used by Sasikala and secretary S. Poongundran. Jayalalithaa remains a revered figure in Tamil Nadu’s politics, and the BJP’s efforts over the last several months have been two-fold: to acknowledge her political legacy and to denounce the claims of the Sasikala family as its true inheritor. Not surprisingly, in an attempt to undermine the BJP’s control of the narrative, Sasikala’s nephew, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, described the searches as an assault on Jayalalithaa’s soul. The credibility of the searches thus hinges on the Income Tax department widening the net beyond the Sasikala family and cracking down on corruption at the highest levels._

_Adding to the credibility issue is the evident lack of serious follow-up on searches made earlier. Within weeks of Jayalalithaa’s death, Income Tax officials conducted searches against the then Chief Secretary, P. Rama Mohana Rao, and claimed to have unearthed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. But almost a year later, there is little forward movement in the case. Similarly, searches at the properties of Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, a confidant of Mr. Dhinakaran, have yielded little in terms of framing of charges. Mr. Baskar remains a Minister, but he is a little warier of associating openly with Mr. Dhinakaran. The political impact of the searches is infinitely greater than their legal consequences. Both factions of the AIADMK seem eager to please the BJP, which does not have much more than a toehold in the State. In the absence of the searches resulting in serious action, the Central enforcement agencies will appear as no more than political weapons in the hands of the BJP. Widening the scope of and deepening the probe consequent to the searches are essential for taking the drive against political corruption to its logical end. Just as important, however, is the need for enforcement agencies to demonstrate their independence and credibility.

The Hindu Editorial-Pacific Ocean’s 11: on TPP without U.S.

When Donald Trump abandoned the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in his very first week after being sworn in as U.S. President, there were doubts whether the trade agreement, painstakingly negotiated over more than a decade, would survive. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had termed the TPP without the United States — which contributed 60% of the combined Gross Domestic Product of the 12 members — as “meaningless”. Ten months on, exactly at a time when Mr. Trump was visiting Vietnam, trade ministers from the remaining 11 nations agreed in Danang in principle to a new pact, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), revising some of the features of the TPP. For the agreement to take effect, the pact requires domestic ratification, which is expected to be complete by 2019. This major step taken by the 11 countries of the Pacific Rim excluding the U.S. is a reflection of two things. First, these countries recognise that multilateral free trade, contrary to any misgivings, is beneficial in the long run. The TPP in its current form has significant protections for labour and environment and is in this regard an advance over other free trade agreements. Second, the U.S.’s self-exclusion reflects a failure on the part of the Trump administration; studies have shown significant benefits in comparison to minor costs  in terms of jobs  to the U.S. on account of the pact.

As things stand, the pact without the U.S. can only be interpreted as yet another step that diminishes American power and the international order that it has so far led. Already, Mr. Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord and his repudiation of the Iran nuclear deal have raised suspicions about American commitment to well-negotiated treaties that seek to solve or have solved long-standing issues. Mr. Trump couches his regime’s policies as populist nationalism — ‘protecting labour’ in the case of the abandonment of the TPP, promoting jobs in fossil fuel-intensive sectors to justify the repudiation of the Paris Accord, and retaining American exceptionalism in West Asian policy in scrapping the Iran nuclear deal. While rhetoric to this effect had fuelled his presidential campaign with a heavy dose of populism, the actual effect of going through with these actions has been to create a suspicion among America’s allies about his reliability when it comes to standing by old commitments. Mr. Trump’s agenda to pull his country out of multilateral agreements has coincided, ironically, with the rise of China as the leading world power promoting globalisation. Now the ASEAN-plus-six Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), on which China is pushing for an agreement, could benefit from complementarities with the CPTPP. India, which is also negotiating the RCEP, must utilise this opportunity to win concessions on services trade liberalisation as part of the plan.