Anti-CAA protest: Cong members protest against Anurag Thakur in Lok Sabha

Thakur, who is the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, had made some controversial remarks during a recent poll rally in the national capital

The Congress on Monday raised slogans against Union minister Anurag Thakur in Lok Sabha over his controversial remarks during a recent election rally in the national capital. While Opposition members, mainly from the Congress, were protesting against the amended citizenship law, they raised their pitch whenever Thakur started replying to questions.

Thakur, who is the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, had made some controversial remarks during a recent poll rally in the national capital. Belligerent Congress members, who were in the Well, shouted slogans against the minister and asked ‘Aapka goli kaha hai? (where is your bullet?)’, an apparent reference to the minister’s controversial remarks. Some members also shouted ‘Goli maarna band karo (Stop shooting)’.

Whenever Thakur was responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour, the members began sloganeering against him. During the election rally, Thakur had egged on the crowd to raise an incendiary slogan, “shoot the traitors”, after he lashed out at anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protestors. The Election Commission had also banned him for three days from campaigning for the Delhi elections in the wake of his controversial remarks…Keep reading

UP cops arrest Dr Kafeel Khan from Mumbai airport for ‘inflammatory’ speech

The official also alleged that the Gorakhpur doctor had made objectionable comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Dr Kafeel Khan from Mumbai airport for allegedly making inflammatory statements at AMU during protests against the Citizenship Amendments Act (CAA) last month, officials said. Khan was arrested on Wednesday night with assistance from Mumbai Police at the airport when he arrived in the city to attend anti-CAA protests, an official said.

“Officials of the UP STF arrested Dr Kafeel Khan in a case which was registered at Civil Lines Police Station under section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) of IPC. Our police team helped our UP counterparts on their request,” said an official from Mumbai Police. He claimed that Khan had made inflammatory statements on December 12 last year during the protest near Bab e Syed Gate outside the Aligarh Muslim University in front of more than 600 students.

The official also alleged that the Gorakhpur doctor had made objectionable comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The FIR against Khan mentions that Swaraj India’s president Yogendra Yadav was also present during the speech at AMU. Following the arrest in the case, Khan was taken to the Sahar Police Station and after completing formalities he will be taken to UP on transit remand, the official said…

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

Punjab set to move resolution in state assembly seeking repeal of CAA

A minister would move a resolution on the second day of the two-day special session of the Assembly urging the Centre to repeal the Act, the sources said

The ruling Congress in Punjab is all set to bring a resolution in the state assembly on Friday demanding scrapping of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, official sources said. A minister would move a resolution on the second day of the two-day special session of the Assembly urging the Centre to repeal the Act, the sources said.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on Thursday not ruled out the possibility of bringing a resolution against the amended citizenship law. “Wait till tomorrow,” Singh had said when asked by reporters if the government will bring in a resolution, on the lines of Kerala, against the Act. The state Congress government had on Tuesday said it will proceed according to the “will of the House” on the issue of CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR).

Singh had recently said his government would not allow the implementation of the “brazenly divisive CAA”.After a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, his colleagues in the ministry had expressed concern over the implications of the “blatantly unconstitutional and divisive CAA, NRC and NPR.” “The ministers were of the view that the matter was bound to be raised during the two-day session of the assembly on January 16-17 and it was unanimously decided that the government should accept the will of the House,” an official statement had said.

Would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant next Infosys CEO: Nadella on CAA

Satya Nadella said saying he would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant create a Unicorn in India or become the next CEO of Infosys

Microsoft’s Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella on Monday voiced concern over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying what is happening is “sad” and he would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant create the next unicorn in India.

His comments came while speaking to editors at a Microsoft event in Manhattan where he was asked about the contentious issue of CAA which grants citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. “I think what is happening is sad… It’s just bad…. I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or becomes the next CEO of Infosys,” Nadella was quoted as saying by Ben Smith, the Editor-in-Chief of New York-based BuzzFeed News.

In a statement issued by Microsoft India, Satya Nadella said: “Every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly. And in democracies, that is something that the people and their governments will debate and define within those bounds.

“I’m shaped by my Indian heritage, growing up in a multicultural India and my immigrant experience in the United States. My hope is for an India where an immigrant can aspire to found a prosperous start-up or lead a multinational corporation benefitting Indian society and the economy at large”.

Police baton-charge JNU students, HRD ministry refuses removal of V-C

SC refuses urgent hearing on plea to declare CAA constitutional

The Delhi Police on Thursday evening resorted to a baton charge to disperse hundreds of students who had gathered in the heart of the capital to demand the sacking of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar, reduction in fees, and arrests of perpetrators of violence in the university campus. The police have not made any arrests yet in Sunday night’s violence by masked goons inside the JNU campus.

Protesting students and teachers received a shot in the arm from an unlikely source with veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, the minister for human resource development in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, demanding that the JNU V-C be sacked. Joshi tweeted: “It is shocking that the V-C is adamant for not implementing the government proposal.

This attitude is deplorable and in my opinion such a V-C should not be allowed to continue in this post.” Thousands of students, including those associated with students’ organisations of the Congress and Left parties, marched from Mandi House to Shastri Bhavan to meet Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry officials. HRD Secretary Amit Khare said officials would talk to Kumar again on Friday over the students’ claims of revised fee not being implemented. “The removal of the vice chancellor is not a solution,” he said…

Amit Shah says protests against CAA political, blames Congress leaders

Home Minister Amit Shah says the CAA provides for granting citizenship to refugees from the three countries.

Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are “mostly political” and insisted that no Indian will lose her nationality because of the legislation.

Shah also challenged Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to show one clause in the CAA under which anyone is going to lose Indian citizenship. “I agree that these are mostly political protests. Some people are also misguided but we are trying to convince them,” he told ABP News. The Home Minister said under the CAA, the government wants to give citizenship to persecuted minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. “I want to say clearly that there is no provision in the CAA in which one can lose citizenship,” he said.

Shah said the CAA provides for granting citizenship bill to refugees from the three countries. “I say with full firmness that these refugee brothers who have come to India belong to us and it is the responsibility of the government of India to give them a respectable place in India,” he said.

According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but be given Indian citizenship. The Home Minister said the Census 2021 and the National Population Register (NPR), which government plans to conduct along with the house-listing phase of census from April to September 2020, have nothing to do with the National Register of Citizens (NRC)...

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

IIT-Kanpur probes Faiz’s ‘Hum Dekhenge’, to decide if poem is ‘anti-Hindu’

An IIT-K student sang the poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ by Faiz, an eminent poet, to express solidarity with their peers at Jamia Milia Islamia

IIT-Kanpur has framed a board of trustees to ask into an objection against the recitation of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s prominent ballad ‘Murmur Dekhenge’ on grounds by understudies to express solidarity with their companions at Jamia Milia Islamia, the organization’s Deputy Director Manindra Agarwal said.

He said an “exceptionally quiet dissent” was hung on December 17 by around 300 understudies of the head establishment at its premises as they were not permitted to go out because of implementation of prohibitory requests under Section 144, CrPC in the city. An IIT-K understudy sang the sonnet ‘Murmur Dekhenge’ by Faiz, a prominent writer, against which an objection was documented by Dr Vashimant Sharma, a brief employee, and around 16 others including employees and understudies.

The composed protest documented by them with the IIT Kanpur Director expresses that the lyric had a few wordings that could hurt the feelings of Hindus, Agarwal said. “A board of trustees of six individuals was set up, headed by me, to examine the issue. A few understudies have been addressed, while the others will be addressed after they come back to the organization after the special seasons,” the Deputy Director said.

Agarwal likewise said there was a war of words via web-based networking media war between those supporting the recitation of the sonnet and the individuals who restricted it. “It was adding to heightening of the circumstance and consequently we mentioned the two sides to stop it and they obliged,” he said….

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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Citizenship Act or NRC has nothing to do with Indian Muslims, says PM Modi

Act about giving rights to persecuted minorities from neighbours, says Modi

Accusing the Opposition of pursuing “divide and rule politics” and stoking violence over the amended citizenship law, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Sunday that the legislation and the National Register of Citizen (NRC) had nothing to do with Indian Muslims, as he sought to assuage their concerns amid widespread protests.

Strongly defending the contentious law, he said at a rally it was about giving rights to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries and did not snatch anybody’s rights, as he made an appeal for peace. On the NRC, Modi sought to allay apprehensions, especially among Muslims, saying his government has never discussed it since coming to power for the first time in 2014.

It has been discussed neither in Parliament nor in the Cabinet, he added. “Since my government first came to power in 2014, I want to tell 130 crore countrymen, there has never been a discussion on this NRC,” he said, noting that it was done only in Assam due to a Supreme Court order. He cited a Hindi idiom to liken the apprehensions about the NRC in a section of society to somebody getting scared after being told that a crow has cut his ears.

“Congress and its friends have been shouting that see the crow has flown after cutting your ear. And some people began chasing the crow. They should first check if the crow has cut their ears or not…. First you find out if anything has been done on the NRC,” he said. Several Union ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah, have often pitched for a nationwide National Register of Citizens exercise, with Shah telling Parliament recently that it will be carried out…Read More

Mobile internet, SMS remain shut in Lucknow, parts of UP amid anti-CAA stir

Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi had Thursday night issued an order to suspend the services till Saturday noon

Mobile internet and text messaging services of all telecom operators remained suspended in Lucknow and some other parts of Uttar Pradesh on Friday in view of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. In Lucknow, the suspension was announced on Thursday. Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi had Thursday night issued an order to suspend the services till Saturday noon.

Internet services were also not available in Sambhal, Aligarh, Mau, Ghaziabad, Azamgarh and Bareilly districts even as Section 144 of the CrPC, prohibiting assembly of four or more people, was already in force in the entire state for several days. A 25-year-old man was killed as violence erupted here and some other parts of the state, with protesters angry over the amended citizenship law pelting stones at police and torching vehicles.

In Ghaziabad, Jio users received a message that read, “As per the government instructions, the internet services have been temporarily stopped in your area because of which you are not able to use these services. You will be able to use the internet service once we get directions from the government”.

3 killed in police firing as protests against citizenship law sweep country

Reports of violence also came from BJP-ruled Karnataka and Gujarat, and Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal

Three persons died in police firing in massive protests, a few of which turned violent, across the country on Thursday against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Students, activists, and political parties that took part in these protests criticised the “discriminatory CAA and NRC”, and also accused the Narendra Modi government of bringing in the contentious law to divert attention from price rise, economic slowdown, and unemployment. Violence was reported in Sambhal and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh; Mangaluru in Karnataka, which led to curfew to be imposed there; and Ahmedabad. Protesters in Lucknow torched vehicles parked outside a police station.

Reports of violence also came from BJP-ruled Karnataka and Gujarat, and Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal. One person in Lucknow and two in Mangaluru died in police firing, reports said. At Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, protesters offered roses to security personnel, saying the police could baton charge them as much as they wanted, but their message was “love in return for hatred”….Click Here

Ongoing unrest over Citizenship Act won’t derail our economic agenda: FM

‘There’s no undermining of India’s unity and its economy is important’, said the finance minister

The ongoing turmoil over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act would not impact the government’s response to economic challenges, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday, adding that the government was committed to reforms and was taking steps to revive growth. She also cautioned against “jihadist, Maoist, and separatist” elements getting into student activism.

“There’s no undermining of India’s unity and its economy is important…We can assure every step is being taken to ensure that India and the economy go forward and benefit all,” Sitharaman said at Times Network’s India Economic Conclave. “I shall be, together with the prime minister, working towards engaging with every sector and making sure their requirements are fulfilled and challenges are met,” she added. She, however, declined to say when she expected a turnaround in the economy. “I am not going to spend time saying when it (slowdown) is going to reverse. As long as anybody wants the government to intervene, we shall intervene,” she said.

India’s economy grew at 4.5 per cent in the September quarter, the slowest in six years. The government, she said, was working on reviving consumption by pushing forward rural programmes and ensuring money reaches consumers. Public investment in infrastructure was being taken seriously and the pending dues of small and medium enterprises were being cleared, she added. She acknowledged that goods and service tax collection in the first eight months of the financial year was lower than expected, and added there was no discussion in her department to revise the GST rates…

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Citizenship Act: Curfew relaxed in Guwahati, Dibrugarh after week-long stir

Night curfew in Guwahati, however, will continue to be in force

Curfew was on Monday relaxed in Guwahati from 6 am to 9 pm, with the city limping back to normalcy, following week-long protests over the amended Citizenship Act, Assam Police Chief Public Relations Officer Rajiv Saikia said. Night curfew in Guwahati, however, will continue to be in force, he told PTI. Assam’s Additional DGP (law and order) G P Singh had on Sunday tweeted that the decision to extend the hours of relaxation was taken in view of the improvement in the law- and-order situation.

“The situation having improved considerably, the day curfew is being withdrawn from Guwahati from 6AM of December 16th. Night curfew would remain from 9 PM till 6 AM next day,” Singh had tweeted. In Dibrugarh district, curfew has been eased off from 6 am to 8 pm. According to a senior district official, any Citizenship Bill protest meeting in Dibrugarh without the permission of the administration would have to end before 3 pm. The official also said that the measure was being taken to “prevent anti-social elements from mingling with the common people after dark”.

Police had been using loudspeakers since Sunday to inform people about the curfew relaxation and its re- imposition. Assam had been on the boil for the past few days as thousands of people came out on the streets to protest against the amended Citizenship Act. Agitators engaged in pitched battles with the police across various cities, forcing the administration to impose curfew.