AMU proctor quits, 21 students booked for burning effigies of PM, others

According to police, the group of students, six of whom have been identified, had also written slogans of ‘Hindutva terror down down’, ‘Islamophobic Yogi’ on the effigies

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) proctor, Afifullah Khan, has resigned from the post without defining any reasons for the same. The resignation was accepted late on Tuesday night. The Vice Chancellor has appointed Professor Mohammad Wasim Ali of the Law Department as the new proctor.

The proctor’s resignation comes days after AMU students launched an agitation demanding the resignations of Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor and Registrar Abdul Hamid in the wake of the campus violence on December 15. Meanwhile, 21 students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) were booked by the Aligarh police on Tuesday night for allegedly burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the campus on Monday evening.

According to police, the group of students, six of whom have been identified, had also written slogans of ‘Hindutva terror down down’, ‘Islamophobic Yogi’ on the effigies. They had burnt the effigies and raised slogans on the campus. Civil Lines circle officer Anil Samaniya said that the students have been booked under section 6 of Uttar Pradesh Special Power Act 1932 and section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Civil Lines police station…

‘Lawyers for Democracy’: Hundreds take out rally against CAA-NRC in Kolkata

Carrying placards and posters, the lawyers raised slogans against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR)

Hundreds of lawyers practising at the Calcutta High Court and some district courts took out a protest rally against CAA, NRC and NPR here on Tuesday. Coming together under the banner ‘Lawyers for Democracy’, the advocates, owing allegiance to different political parties, walked from the high court to Subodh Mallick Square in central Kolkata, covering a distance of around two kilometres.

Senior lawyer Bikash Bhattacharya of CPI(M), Uttam Majumdar of Congress and Leftist opposition party SUCI’s legal centre leader Bivas Ghosh led the rally which saw the participation of around 400 lawyers. Carrying placards and posters, the lawyers raised slogans against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). The CAA allows easier citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains who came to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh before 2015 to escape religious persecution there.

Muslim migrants don’t figure on this list. Those opposing the CAA contend that it discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. They also allege that the CAA along with the NRC is intended to target the Muslim community in India. However, the central government has dismissed the allegations, maintaining that the law is intended to give citizenship to the persecuted minorities from the three neighbouring countries and not to take away anyone’s citizenship.

JD(U) expels Prashant Kishor and Pavan Varma over disciplinary issues

Both leaders have been critical of the party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his support to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Population Register (NPR)

JD(U) on Wednesday removed its VP Prashant Kishor and general secretary Pavan Varma from the gathering, saying their direct in later past has clarified that they would prefer not to submit to the gathering’s order. The two heads host been condemning of the get-together president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his help to the Citizenship

(Revision) Act (CAA) and the National Population Register (NPR). A JD (U) proclamation, gave by gathering’s main general secretary K C Tyagi, said that these two were “acting against gathering’s choices just as its working” which added up to break of order.

The gathering additionally blamed Prashant Kishor for utilizing “offending words” against the Bihar boss pastor. Kumar had on Tuesday pummeled Kishor over his basic comments, and said he hosted accepted him in the gathering at the pushing of Union Home Minister and previous BJP president Amit Shah. Kishor had responded angrily and blamed Kumar for lying. The JD(U) stated, “it is basic that Kishor be expelled from the gathering, with the goal that he doesn’t fall any lower.”

Citizenship Act: SC refuses to grant stay, gives Centre four weeks to reply

The court said it will not grant any stay on CAA without hearing the Centre on the matter

The Supreme Court on Wednesday made it clear that it will not grant any stay on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) without hearing the Centre and said it may refer pleas challenging the validity of the Act to a larger Constitution bench. The apex court gave Centre four weeks to respond to pleas challenging validity of CAA.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde is hearing a batch of 143 pleas challenging the validity of CAA, including those filed by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that the government has been given copies of around 60 pleas out of the 143 petitions.

He said it wanted time to respond to pleas which have not been served on it. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal urged the bench to put on hold operation of CAA and postpone exercise of the National Population Register (NPR) for the time being. The court said it will not grant any stay on CAA without hearing the Centre on the matter. The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014…Read More

As SC starts CAA hearings, Congress looks to broad base protests to economy

It would get difficult for Congress to champion the cause of anti-CAA protesters if the apex court were to find the controversial law constitutional

As protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rage across the country, Congress is increasingly feeling the need to broad-base them to encompass issues of economic slowdown, joblessness, inflation and farm distress.

On January 28, days ahead of the Union Budget, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address a public meeting in Jaipur. The focus of his speech would be unemployment and inflation. This will be the first of several such meetings he will address across the country, party sources said. The former Congress president is also likely to address a rally in Madhya Pradesh, where he will focus on issues confronting the farmers, tribals and rural workers. Further, he is likely to address a meeting of small and medium industrialists, traders and professionals at Mumbai. Interestingly, the party is yet to schedule any meeting in Delhi, which will vote to elect its new Assembly on February 8.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will start hearing over a hundred petitions challenging Citizenship Amendment Act as unconstitutional from Wednesday. Congress strategists, and those of other opposition parties, understand it would get difficult for them to champion the cause of anti-CAA protesters if the apex court were to find the controversial law constitutional. They are uneasy that such a situation might trigger further protests, and with mainstream political parties unable to stand with the protesters, radical elements could take over the protests.

The issue of the National Population Register (NPR) is similarly vexed. The Congress-led state governments, and those of other opposition parties, cannot afford to flout the Centre’s notification to conduct the NPR. If they do, these state governments could run the risk of getting sacked.

Back immigration or risk missing out on tech boom: Microsoft CEO Nadella

“…people will only come when people know you’re an immigrant friendly country.”, Nadella said.

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said he worries that mistrust between the US and China will increase technology costs and hurt economic growth at a critical time. Using the $470 billion semiconductor industry as an example of a sector that is already globally interconnected, Nadella said the two countries will have to find ways to work together, rather than creating different supply chains for each country.

“All you are doing is increasing transaction costs for everybody if you completely separate,” Satya Nadella said in an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at Bloomberg’s The Year Ahead conference in Davos. That’s a concern as the executive said the world is on the cusp of a revolution around technology and artificial intelligence. “If we take steps back in trust or increase transaction costs around technology, all we are doing is sacrificing global economic growth,” he said.

The Trump administration is considering steps to further limit the ability of US companies to supply Huawei Technologies, China’s flagship tech company, in addition to pressuring countries around the world to avoid using its equipment for 5G mobile networks.The agreement signed last week between the US and China was “not sufficient,” said Nadella. Yet, he represented “progress” on the issue of intellectual property protections for US technology companies working with China…

Cops urge Shaheen Bagh protesters to consider ‘hardship’ to school students

Cops urge Shaheen Bagh protesters to consider ‘hardship’ to school students

The Delhi Police on Monday appealed to protesters at Shaheen Bagh to unblock the road after parents of schoolchildren expressed “deep anxiety” in view of forthcoming board examinations. Thousands of people, including women and children, are protesting for over a month at Shaheen Bagh and nearby Jamia Millia Islamia to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act protests (CAA) and the National Register (NRC).

The Delhi Police took Twitter to appeal to people. “We have already appealed to you once before. Meanwhile, more complaints have been received regarding inconvenience due to blockade of Road No.13A, particularly to school children who are facing extreme hardship in reaching their schools, coaching centres and private tuitions, ” they tweeted.

“Their parents have expressed deep anxiety in view of forthcoming Board examinations. Daily commuters, local residents and businesspersons are also facing acute harassment. We once again appeal to the protesters at Shaheen Bagh to clear the road and restore normal traffic,” the department said in Twitter.

The Delhi Police on Friday appealed to agitators to unblock the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch due to which the residents of Delhi and NCR are suffering, officials said..

Protest against Pakistan’s atrocities on minorities: Modi to CAA protesters

He likewise said the street has been cleared for the development of an excellent Ram mandir at Lord Ram’s origination with harmony and participation of everybody.

Attacking Congress and its partners for restricting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the fights were against the Parliament and approached the fomenters to speak more loudly against Pakistan’s barbarities on its minorities throughout the previous 70 years.

“The individuals who are challenging the Parliament of India, I need to disclose to them that the need was to uncover Pakistan’s deeds on the world stage. On the off chance that you need to dissent, dissent and speak more loudly against Pakistan’s deeds throughout the previous 70 years, you ought to have that guts,” he said.

Tending to a social affair at Siddaganga Math, he stated, “On the off chance that you need to yell mottos, yell against the manner by which abominations are occurring against minorities there; in the event that you need to hold rallies, hold it for Dalits and discouraged who have originated from Pakistan (to India). On the off chance that you need to do dharna, carry out it against Pakistans things.”

There is change in India’s approach against psychological warfare, Modi stated, by revoking Article 370, exertion has been made to evacuate dread of fear and vulnerability from the life of individuals there and a fresh start of improvement has been introduced both in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He likewise said the street has been cleared for the development of a stupendous Ram mandir at Lord Ram’s origination with harmony and collaboration of everybody…Read More

Inform 24-hours before holding protest: DU issues notice amid anti-CAA stir

 The Left-upheld All India Students’ Association censured the move, naming it ‘hostile to popularity based’, and said it is a protected right of residents to dissent

When a few colleges are seeing fights against the altered citizenship law, the Delhi University has given a notification saying it ought to be educated ahead of time about any ‘social occasion’ or ‘exhibition’. A notification gave on December 27 by Proctor Neeta Sehgal in such manner additionally requires the coordinator to submit other data like subtleties of the program, the rundown of speakers, expected number of members and so on.

The Left-upheld All India Students’ Association (AISA) denounced the move, naming it “hostile to law based”, and said it is a sacred right of residents to dissent. As indicated by the notification, “Earlier insinuation of social affair/fight/exhibit outside Arts Faculty entryway and connecting zone is compulsory.” “The coordinators are required to outfit the accompanying data to the Proctor’s Office in any event 24 hours ahead of time,” it said while looking for different subtleties of program.

There have been open gatherings and fights close to the Arts Faculty, some against the new citizenship law and some in support. The AISA said “fight is an established right of the residents and the understudies, and should be liberated from any sort of administrative work”. “AISA, with the understudy network, dismisses these enemy of equitable diktats of the DU organization,” it said…

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Anti-CAA protests: Madras varsity students agitate for third day in a row

Police personnel, who had entered the campus on Tuesday, said they had done so for the “safety of the students.”

A section of students of the Madras University continued their protest for the third day on Wednesday against the amendment to the Citizenship Act. Defiant students said they will continue their agitation. Meanwhile, police personnel continued to be deployed on the campus. Police personnel, who had entered the campus on Tuesday, said they had done so for the “safety of the students.” Two students, who were picked up by the police were sent back late last night, one of the coordinators and a PG political science student, K Ragu Prasath told PTI.

The two students were picked up for questioning over allegedly inciting students of affiliated colleges to join the stir at the varsity’s Marina campus. The varsity, according to the protesting students, has declared holiday till January 2. Students, who sat near the main entrance of the sprawling campus, which is just opposite the famous Marina beach, raised slogans against the Centre, the BJP, the RSS and its student body, the ABVP.

The protesting students are seeking withdrawal of the CAA. They are protesting the police action on students of Jamia Milia University in New Delhi and opposing the nation- wide NRC. The Madras University is one of the oldest in the country and students of the varsity are among others in Tamil Nadu who have been protesting against the CAA.

CAA protests: 12 policemen among 21 injured in violence at Seelampur

A “hidden mob”, which swelled to 4,000 to 5,000 people, indulged in “minor clashes” with police in Seelampur, officials said.

Twenty-one people, including 12 policemen and six civilians, were injured in violence that erupted during a protest against the amended Citizenship Act in Delhi’s Seelampur on Tuesday, police said. Three personnel of Rapid Action Force were also injured, the officer said. Protestors torched several bikes, pelted policemen with stones and damaged buses and a police booth in Seelampur. A “hidden mob”, which swelled to 4,000 to 5,000 people, indulged in “minor clashes” with police in Seelampur, officials said.

AAP urges peace: The AAP and its Seelampur MLA Haji Ishraq appealed to the people to register their protest peacefully. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also appealed to Delhiites to maintain peace, saying violence cannot be tolerated in a civilised society.

Ex-Cong MLA named in Jamia FIR: The police has named former Congress MLA Asif Khan as an accused in its FIR on the Jamia violence on December 15, officials said on Tuesday.

Cops enter Madras varsity: A section of the students of the Madras University continued their protest for the second day on Tuesday as police entered the campus. Defiant students said they will continue their agitation “through the night”.

Bangladesh seeks to postpone meet: Bangladesh has sought postponement of two meetings on river management scheduled for later this week, sources said. Officials from the Ministry of Jal Shakti were to meet their Bangladeshi counterparts in New Delhi on Thursday and Friday…

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Citizenship Act mix: Violence rocks Delhi; transports burnt, 60 harmed

BJP accused the Aam Aadmi Party for the savagery and requested it quit “inciting individuals”, however the AAP dismissed the charge

Dissenters burnt four open transports and two police vehicles on Sunday as they conflicted with police in south Delhi’s New Friends’ Colony close Jamia Millia Islamia college during an exhibition against the corrected Citizenship Act, leaving six cops and two fire fighters harmed, authorities said.

The issue began during a dissent by understudies of Jamia college. Be that as it may, an understudies’ body later said they don’t had anything to do with the brutality and pyromania and asserted that “specific components” had participate and “upset” the showing. Not long after the brutality, Jamia Millia Islamia Chief Proctor Waseem Ahmed Khan guaranteed that the Delhi Police entered the grounds coercively with no authorization and beat up staff individuals and understudies who had to leave the grounds.

Denouncing the police activity, college bad habit chancellor Najma Akhtar said understudies who were inside the library have been taken out and are protected. After the brutality, a Jamia understudies’ body gave an announcement, saying, “We have on numerous occasions kept up that our fights are quiet and peaceful. We remain by this methodology.” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said any sort of savagery is unsuitable and fights ought to stay tranquil. Appointee CM Manish Sisodia said that all schools in southeast Delhi would stay shut on Monday...

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