THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 12, 2016- Topic 1
After
the categorical verdict of the Delhi High Court last month that the Capital is a Union Territory, it was quite clear that any
decision made by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal without the Lieutenant
Governor’s approval will be RENDERED
illegal. Counsel for the Delhi government had to CONCEDE the point in court, leading to the appointment of 21
Delhi legislators as parliamentary
secretaries being set aside. The appointments, made in March 2015, suffered
from multiple legal INFIRMITIES.
Apart from the lack of the LG’s CONCURRENCE,
it raised the question of whether it was an ‘office of profit’ under the government,
something legislators are BARRED
from holding. The penalty STIPULATED
in the Constitution for a legislator holding an office of profit is
disqualification. The Election Commission has reserved its verdict on the
question whether these 21 MLAs have INCURRED
such disqualification, and it is possible for the Aam Aadmi Party now to ask
the matter to be closed, citing the court’s setting aside of the appointments.
At the same time, it cannot be denied that the EC could still choose to decide
whether these MLAs had INDEED
held an office of profit for nearly a year-and-a-half. They had been rendered
further vulnerable after the President withheld assent to a Delhi Bill to
protect them from incurring disqualification — once again because it was
introduced without the LG’s approval.
Mr.
Kejriwal could have avoided this setback had he not
given executive OVERSIGHT
responsibilities to so many of his party’s legislators.
In practice, parliamentary secretaries are junior ministers. In this case,
their appointment could also have been challenged on the ground that after
their inclusion, the strength of the Council of Ministers had exceeded the
constitutional limit of 10 per cent on the strength of the Delhi Assembly. In
the case of other States, the limit is 15 per cent. In some States,
parliamentary secretaries have been able to STAVE
off disqualification by getting the post saved from disqualification by
legislation. However, no one has been able to get around the numerical cap on
the size of the Ministry under Article 164(1A) of the Constitution. All told,
Mr. Kejriwal got himself into a legal QUAGMIRE
by seeking to take on the LG in the belief he had the same LEEWAY as other CMs did. He will continue to
maintain that the post of parliamentary secretary, inasmuch as it entails no
salary or PERQUISITES, is not an office of profit. Yet, it
cannot be denied that the issue has caused him loss — of face, of credibility
and some of the moral RIGHTEOUSNESS
that PROPELLED him to power.
::::::::::::::::::::::Meanings with example
and Synonyms::::::::::::::::::::::
Rendered: provide or give (a service,
help, etc.).
Example: Money serves as a reward for services rendered
Synonyms: give, provide, supply, furnish, contribute, offer
Concede: admit that something is true or valid after first denying
or resisting it.
Example: I had to concede that I'd overreacted
Synonyms: admit, acknowledge, accept, allow, grant, recognize
Infirmities: physical or mental weakness.
Example: Old age and infirmity come to men and women alike
Synonyms: illness, malady, ailment, disease, disorder, sickness
Barred: fasten (something, especially a door or window) with a
bar or bars.
Example: She bolts and bars the door
Synonyms: bolt, lock, fasten, secure, block, barricade, obstruct
Stipulated: demand or specify (a
requirement), typically as part of a bargain or agreement.
Example: He stipulated certain conditions before their marriage
Synonyms: specify, set down, set out, lay down, demand, require, insist
on
Incurred: become subject to (something unwelcome or unpleasant) as
a result of one's own behavior or actions.
Example: I will pay any expenses incurred
Synonyms: bring upon oneself, expose oneself to, lay oneself open to, run
up
Indeed: used to emphasize a statement or response confirming
something already suggested.
Example: It was not expected to last long, and indeed it took less than three weeks
Synonyms: as expected, to be sure, in fact, in point of fact
Oversight: an unintentional failure to notice or do something.
Example: He said his failure to pay for the tickets was an oversight
Synonyms: mistake, error, omission, lapse, slip, blunder
Stave off: break something by forcing it inward or piercing it roughly.
Example: The door was staved in
Synonyms: Forefend, avert, forefend, ward off, obviate, deflect, debar, fend off, avoid
Quagmire: a soft boggy area of land that gives way underfoot.
Example: Torrential rain turned the building site into a quagmire
Synonyms: swamp, morass, bog, marsh, muskeg, mire
Leeway: the amount of freedom to move or act that is available.
Example: The government had several months' leeway to introduce reforms
Synonyms: freedom, scope, latitude, space, room, liberty, flexibility
Perquisites: a thing regarded as a special
right or privilege enjoyed as a result of one's position.
Example: The wife of a president has all the perquisites of stardom
Righteousness: the quality of being morally
right or justifiable.
Example: We had little doubt about the righteousness of our cause
Propelled: drive, push, or cause to move in a particular direction,
typically forward.
Example: The boat is propelled by using a very long paddle
Synonyms: move, power, push, drive; throw, thrust, toss, fling, hurl, launch
