Narayan Rane: Can a Union Minister be arrested?
Current Affairs
Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member, Narayan Rane was arrested for his controversial remark against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Tuesday. He was released on bail in Mahad in Raigad, nearly 9 hours after his arrest, but district officials said there were four other FIRs against him in the state.
Rane, who holds the micro, small and medium enterprises portfolio, is the first central minister to be arrested in 2 decades, after Murasoli Maran and T.R. Baalu in 2001.
Why was he arrested?
In a speech on Monday, Rane criticized Thackeray for allegedly confusing the number of years since India’s independence during the chief minister’s August 15 address.
“It is shameful that the chief minister does not know the year of independence. He leaned back to enquire (with his aides) about the count of years of independence during his speech. Had I been there, I would have given him a slap," Rane said.
What is the procedure to arrest a cabinet minister in India?
When the parliament is not in session, a cabinet minister can be arrested by a law enforcement agency if a criminal case is registered against them.
As per Section 22A of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business of the Rajya Sabha, the Police, Judge, or Magistrate would, however, have to intimate the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha about the reason for the arrest, the place of detention, or imprisonment in an appropriate form.
But don’t the Rajya Sabha members have privileges?
Yes, they have privileges. In civil cases, they have liberty from arrest during the continuance of the parliament session and 40 days before its beginning and 40 days after its conclusion, as per section 135 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
But in criminal offenses or cases, they don’t get the privilege of freedom from detention under preventive detention.
Can a person be arrested from the precincts of the House?
Without any prior permission of the Chairman/Speaker, no arrests are allowed within the precincts of the House, which also should be in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Home Ministry. Likewise, any legal process, civil or criminal, also cannot be served inside the house and that also will require prior permission from the Chairman/Speaker whether the Parliament is in session or not.
Why did Jeff Bezos sue NASA?
Current Affairs
In April 2020, NASA issued a contract opportunity as a part of its Artemis program. The aim was to meet its needs for a routine cadence of human transportation services to and from the moon in the late 2020s and to help explore more of the moon.
Proposals were received from the National Team led by Blue Origin (founded by Jeff Bezos), Dynetics (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos), and SpaceX (founded by Elon Musk).
Contract awarded only to SpaceX
NASA awarded the USD 2.89 billion contract only to SpaceX. However, during the proposal preparation and submission process, NASA had indicated an overriding intention to make two awards. Irked by the same, Blue Origin and Dynetics filed protests at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
NASA killing competition - Bezos
Blue Origin, in its protest, challenged the appointment of vertically-integrated SpaceX and stated that NASA's "evaluation process and award decision fails to comply with federal procurement statutes and regulations and should be set aside."
It further alleged that this appointment advocates a single-source approach and diverts NASA from its original strategy of competition. Bezos also expressed his disappointment over the opportunity to revise the price and funding profile, offered exclusively to SpaceX.
Dynetics also filed a protest with GAO on April 26 for the exclusive award of the HLS Option ‘A’ contract to SpaceX. In its statement, the company demanded addressal of its concerns over the acquisition process and other elements involved in NASA’s technical evaluation.
Protest denied by GAO
On July 30, GAO denied protests filed by Blue Origin concluding that NASA did not violate procurement law or regulation when it decided to make only one award; and NASA’s decision was consistent with applicable procurement law, regulation, and the announcement’s terms. Further, NASA’s announcement reserved the right to make multiple awards, a single award, or no award at all.
What is happening now?
Blue Origin’s lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which exclusively hears cases against the U.S. government, on August 13 and the lawsuit remains under seal. NASA is supposed to file a response to the same by October 12, 2021.
NASA has voluntarily paused work with SpaceX for HLS Option A contract effective August 19 through November 1.
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