‘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.

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..

Never seen such brutal politics before: Sena hits out at Modi, Shah on JNU

An editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ further alleged that the BJP wanted to see “Hindu-Muslim riots” over the Citizenship Amendment Act, but that did not happen

Against the backdrop of attack on JNU students, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that what they wanted was happening, and said such “brutal politics” was never seen before in the country. An editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ further alleged that the BJP wanted to see “Hindu-Muslim riots” over the Citizenship Amendment Act, but that did not happen. Since the BJP has been cornered over the issue of CAA, several things are happening out of “revenge”, it said.

Comparing the attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students to the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, the Shiv Sena said “divisive politics” was dangerous for the country. It said the Union Home Ministry’s decision to file cases against “unknown” attackers at JNU was laughable. “Those who entered JNU with masks are not unknown,” it claimed. On Sunday, a mob of masked young people stormed the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus in south Delhi and targeted students in three hostels, unleashing mayhem with sticks, stones and iron rods, hitting inmates and breaking windows, furniture and personal belongings.

Nearly 34 people were injured in the violence. “The fallout of JNU attack is being seen elsewhere in the country…what Modi and Shah want is happening. The country is in danger. Divisive politics is dangerous for the country,” the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said. Terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008 were also masked and the same was seen at JNU. Such elements need to be exposed, it said

CAA, NRC ‘may affect status’ of Muslims in India: US Congressional report

The December 18 report also said that for the first time in independent India’s history, a religious criterion has been added to the country’s naturalization process.

The amended citizenship law along with a National Register of Citizens (NRC) being planned by the Narendra Modi government “may affect the status” of Muslim minority in India, a report by US Congressional Research Service (CRS) has said. The December 18 report also said that for the first time in independent India’s history, a religious criterion has been added to the country’s naturalization process.

The CRS is an independent research wing of the US Congress which prepares reports periodically on issues of domestic and global importance for the lawmakers to take informed decision. These are not considered as official reports of the US Congress.

“In tandem with a National Register of Citizens (NRC) planned by the federal government, the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) may affect the status of India’s large Muslim minority of roughly 200 million,” said the CRS in its first ever report on the amended Citizenship law.

According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, non-Muslim refugees who came to India till December 31, 2014, to escape religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship. Since both houses of Parliament approved amendments to the citizenship law earlier this month, protests – sometimes violent – have taken place across the country during which many protesters have died, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka…

CAA, NRC protests : Many UP cities switch off internet to foil unrest

Thousands of police and paramilitary are on the streets in Uttar Pradesh to ensure peace for Friday prayers.

CAA Protests: A huge number of police and paramilitary are in the city in Uttar Pradesh to guarantee harmony for Friday supplications, trying to anticipate brutality that killed at any rate 19 individuals in about fourteen days of fights against the new citizenship law. Web has been suspended in 14 urban communities, including Bulandshar, Mathura, Ghaziabad and Agra, for the day to avoid bits of gossip during challenges the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).

India has been shaken by shows since December 12, after the administration authorized CAA that gives non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who moved here before 2015 a pathway to Indian citizenship.

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 Police walk through Gorakhpur

Police walked through Gorakhpur and met with harmony boards of trustees after savagery in the upper east Uttar Pradesh town on November 20. Paramilitary power and state police have been conveyed in the city, Gorakhpur District Magistrate Vijyendra Pandiyan told PTI.

Web off again in UP urban areas

Web suspended in Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli again after about seven days of administration. In Agra, web will be suspended till Friday evening, detailed news organization PTI citing an anonymous cop….

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

Roads, trains blocked as Bengal protests against citizenship law continue

Internet services remained suspended in six districts of state after protests against citizenship law.

Protesters blocked trains and roads in parts of West Bengal on Monday as the state braced for the fourth day of unrest against India’s new citizenship law, Protesters in East Midnapore and Murshidabad districts blocked thoroughfares Monday morning, inconveniencing hundreds of commuters, said officials. Some trains were cancelled or delayed due to the ongoing protests. A spokesperson of the railways said demonstrators have blocked the tracks in Sealdah-Diamond Harbour and Sealdah- Namkhana sectors.

Efforts were being made to disperse the mob, he added. Internet services remained suspended in six districts of state — Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and parts of South 24 Parganas districts — where agitation over the amended Act have brought life to a halt. On Sunday night, the officer in-charge of Uluberia police station, along with a few other police personnel, sustained injuries after they were allegedly attacked by agitators.

They had to be admitted to a nearby hospital, district officials said. Incidents of violence, loot and arson were also reported from Nadia and Birbhum districts. State BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu had accused the Trinamool Congress government of doing little to control the deteriorating law and order situation. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that the amended law will not be implemented in Bengal. Banerjee, who has been at the forefront in opposing National Register of Citizens and Citizenship Act, will hit the streets in the city seeking revocation of the law…Click Here

Citizenship Bill a win-win for Modi, but is depriving millions of sleep

This will be the second attempt by the Modi administration to amend citizenship law. In January, the legislation was passed in the lower house of parliament but lapsed as the upper house didn’t take i

India’s parliament is set to approve legislation preventing Muslim migrants from neighboring countries from receiving citizenship — the next step in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hardline Hindu nationalist program and one that’s seen to go against the nation’s secular constitution.

The controversial citizenship bill has sparked protests and fear around India, with lawyers working overtime to help millions at risk of being left stateless in the world’s largest democracy.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill is listed to come before India’s Parliament for approval on Monday. The proposed changes will allow citizenship Bill for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who illegally migrated to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. It excludes Muslims and immigrants from India’s non-Muslim majority neighbors.

If passed as expected, the move threatens the secular foundation of the world’s second-most populous nation and its constitution that treats all religions equally. As for Modi, it’s a third major move out of his right wing playbook since retaining power earlier this year that adversely affects the country’s Muslim minority population.

On Aug. 5 India scrapped nearly seven decades of autonomy in the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir. Just three weeks later in the northeastern state of Assam some 1.9 million people, mostly Muslims, faced the risk of losing their Indian citizenship as Modi’s government seeks to enforce a National Register of Citizens to weed out illegal migrants. In November, Hindus won the Supreme Court case over a religious site disputed for centuries in northern city of Ayodhya. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party had promised a grand temple there..