Citizenship Bill 2019 becomes law with President Ram Nath Kovind’s assent

According to an official notification, the Act comes into effect with its publication in the official gazette on Thursday

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, became an Act of law after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the legislation on Thursday. According to an official notification, the Act comes into effect with its publication in the official gazette on Thursday.

According to the Act, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and by Lok Sabha on Monday.

The Act says the refugees of the six communities will be given Indian Citizenship Bill after residing in India for five years, instead of earlier requirement of 11 years. The Act also proposes to give immunity to such refugees facing legal cases after being found as illegal migrants.

According to the legislation, it will not be applicable to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and in the areas covered under the Inner Line Permit (ILP), notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.

The ILP regime is applicable in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram. However, a large section of people and organisations in the Northeast, especially in Assam and Tripura, have opposed the Act, saying it will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of religion…

Citizenship Bill cleared by Rajya Sabha with 125 ayes after a 9-hour debate

In Assam, capital Guwahati was the epicentre of anti-CAB protests and was placed under indefinite curfew.

Parliament on Wednesday passed the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) amid widespread protests and incidents of violence against the proposed law in the Northeastern states, particularly Assam and Tripura. In Assam, capital Guwahati was the epicentre of anti-CAB protests and was placed under indefinite curfew. The Army was also deployed in the city. Assam Rifles personnel were deployed in Tripura. Internet services have been suspended in 10 districts of Assam.

In a related development, Maharashtra cadre Indian Police Service officer Abdur Rahman quit the service over the “blatantly communal and unconstitutional” Bill. The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill at 8:45 p.m., after a nearly nine-hour-long debate with 125 members voting in support of the Bill and 99 against. The current strength of the House is 240, with five vacancies.

Sources said 16 members absented from voting, including all three of the Shiv Sena and two out of the four of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Sena had voted in favour of the Bill in the Lok Sabha, which had passed it on Monday.It said it staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha as the government did not give satisfactory replies to its queries on the Bill. The next battle for the Bill, once it gets presidential assent, is set to be fought in the Supreme Court with several Opposition parties and legal experts claiming that it violates the Constitution, particularly Article 14….

Parliament approves Jammu and Kashmir reorganisation, Modi hails ‘new dawn’

Lok Sabha passed the resolution on scrapping provisions of Article 370 with 366 votes in favour, 66 against, and one abstention. Rajya Sabha had passed the Bill as well as the resolution on Monday

With the Kashmir Valley under a complete communication blackout and political leaders arrested, Parliament on Tuesday approved the resolution to scrap provisions of Article 370 and a Bill to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into two Union territories.

In the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin were part of Jammu & Kashmir, and “we will give our lives for it”. Aksai Chin is currently under Chinese occupation. The Lok Sabha passed the resolution and the Bill even as the Congress, a couple of its allies, and the Left parties voted against them. The Trinamool Congress walked out at the time of voting, pointing to constitutional improprieties in the passage of the Bill and the resolution.

However, the Congress as well as Trinamool were themselves divided houses on the issue. Congress General Secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted in the evening that he supported the move to “fully integrate” J&K and Ladakh into the Union of India. Trinamool’s Sukhendu Sekhar Roy also took to social media to support the move.

In Kashmir, leaders of mainstream political parties, including National Conference’s Omar Abdullah and PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, were put under arrest on Monday night. The Lok Sabha passed the resolution on scrapping provisions of Article 370…

In victory for govt, Rajya Sabha passes Bill to ban instant triple talaq

On paper, as many as 136 members should have opposed the Bill in a House of 241 members

Politics News:  With the Rajya Sabha passing the Bill on Tuesday evening, Parliament has affirmed a law to make moment triple talaq a criminal offense. Under the proposed law, which the restriction as well as two of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP’s) partners contradicted, guilty parties will get a three-year prison term.

The feature of the day, be that as it may, was the Narendra Modi government dealing with the numbers in help of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The administration would have endured a humiliating thrashing if every single ideological group who contradicted the Bill had strolled the discussion.

The test before the BJP’s floor strategists was more troublesome than it had confronted a week ago when the Rajya Sabha had taken up a Bill to change the Right to Information (RTI) law. In contrast to the prior case, its partners the Janata Dal (United) and the AIADMK contradicted the Triple Talaq Bill. Gatherings that had either bolstered the legislature or exited during the discussion on the RTI Bill, especially the YSR Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, additionally restricted the Bill. On paper, upwards of 136 individuals ought to have restricted the Bill in a House of 241 individuals. The Bill was passed with 99 to 84 cast a ballot.

With Home Minister Amit Shah present in the House, BJP’s Piyush Goyal, Bhupender Yadav, CM Ramesh and Pralhad Joshi contacted resistance groups and MPs. Some were persuaded to missing themselves, others to arrange a walkout. The AIADMK and JD(U) individuals exited subsequent to stating they restricted the Bill.

Big wins for govt: LS passes Triple Talaq Bill, RTI Bill clears RS hurdle

Thursday’s was a rare occasion in the Rajya Sabha in the last six years that the government defeated an opposition resolution

Current Afffairs: The Narendra Modi government on Thursday ensured the passage of the triple talaq bill in the Lok Sabha. Its bigger win was managing the numbers in the Rajya Sabha to get the amendments to the right to information law passed amid opposition protests. The government also extended the duration of the ongoing Parliament session, earlier scheduled to end on Friday, until August 7.

Thursday’s was a rare occasion in the Rajya Sabha in the last six years that the government defeated an opposition resolution. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance hopes to cross the majority mark by mid –next year, but Thursday’s victory gave a peep into its strategy in the House until then.

However, ensuring the passage of the triple talaq bill, when the Rajya Sabha takes it up next week, remains a concern for the government. Its ally Janata Dal (United), along with much of the opposition as well as some of the fence sitter regional parties that supported it on the RTI bill in the Rajya Sabha, opposed the triple talaq bill in the Lok Sabha.

As the Rajya Sabha rejected the opposition motion to send the RTI amendment bill to a House select committee for further scrutiny by 117 to 75 votes, opposition alleged “intimidation” tactics by treasury benches to influence voting.

Ministers and BJP members instructed NDA MPs and those of like-minded regional parties to vote against the motion. CPI (M)’s E Karim and Congress MPs protested when C M Ramesh, who had recently quit the TDP to join the BJP, tried to dictate voting behaviour of some members of his former party and later collected vote slips signed by members. Only officials are authorised to collect slips.

Rajya Sabha passes Bill on voluntary use of Aadhaar as identity proof

The amendment was passed by a voice vote. Last week, the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha amidst opposition from several quarters

The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which permits intentional utilization of Aadhaar as confirmation of character for clients to open ledgers and get cell phone association.

The alteration was passed by a voice vote. A week ago, the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in the midst of restriction from a few quarters. The recently passed Bill additionally gives the Unique distinguishing proof Authority of India, the organization that controls Aadhaar, the ability to now give bearings as it might think about important to any substance in the Aadhaar biological system.

The Bill had likewise revised the Aadhaar Act to enable the general population to enroll objections in specific cases, including pantomime or divulgence of their character, while the Aadhaar Act possibly enabled courts to take perception of an offense if UIDAI enlisted a grievance.

The Bill likewise accommodates a precarious Rs 1 crore punishment and a correctional facility term for private substances damaging arrangements on Aadhaar information. The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was presented in Lok Sabha on June 24. The revisions accommodate utilization of Aadhaar number for KYC verification on deliberate premise under the Telegraph Act, 1885, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Where are the jobs, asks Shiv Sena after Parliament passes 10% quota bill

The Parliament had on Wednesday approved amending the Constitution to provide 10% reservation to general category poor in government jobs and education

Latest News: A day after Parliament approved 10 per cent reservationto general category poor, the Shiv Sena Thursday wondered where will the jobs come from and warned that if it is an election-driven move, then it will prove costly.The Maratha community has been given reservation in Maharashtra, but the question still remains that where are the jobs, the Sena said.

The Parliament had on Wednesday approved amending the Constitution to provide 10 per cent reservation to general category poor in government jobs and education. “When those in power fail on the twin fronts of employment and poverty, they have to play the reservation card,” the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

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“If this decision has been taken for votes, it will prove costly. After 10 per cent reservation, what about employment? Where will you get the jobs from?” it asked.

In India, the population of those over 15 years of age is increasing by 13 lakh every month. Employing minors below the age of 18 years is a crime, but child labour continues unabated, said the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, which is an ally of the ruling BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

Around 80 to 90 lakh new job opportunities are needed every year to balance the employment rate in the country, but this calculation has been unstable for a while now, it noted.

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Rajya Sabha passes 10% quota Bill, states to decide on beneficiary criteria

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the legislation gives powers to states to decide on the economic criteria for defining the beneficiaries

Latest News: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Constitution amendment Bill to provide 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education, including privately run institutes of higher education, to economically backward sections in the general category. The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill on Tuesday.

It will become a law as soon as President Ram Nath Kovind signs it, and does not need ratification by state legislatures, ministers said.

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During the debate on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, nearly all opposition parties said the Narendra Modi government had pushed through a Bill full of lacunae with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as the BJP’s recent electoral losses in three Hindi heartland states had left it shaken, and cautioned that it was unlikely to survive judicial scrutiny.

Fears that the move would open a Pandora’s Box came true when Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) members demanded that the quotas for Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes, or OBCs, be increased in proportion to their respective populations now that the government had breached the Supreme Court-mandated 50 per cent cap on reservations. Members also asked if the BJP-led Mahrashtra government’s recent efforts to provide reservation to Marathas would be part of this, and if Jats, Gujjars and Patidars would also be included in this 10 per cent quota.

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Congress to block passage of triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha

Govt claimed that the bill will find support in Rajya Sabha, where the BJP-led NDA lacks numbers

Latest News: The contentious triple talaq bill seeking to criminalise instant divorce is set to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha even as the Congress said it will not allow the passage of the proposed legislation in its present form.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will table the bill in the Upper House after it was cleared by the Lok Sabha on Thursday amid a walkout by the Opposition. The bill was passed by the Lower House with 245 voting in favour and 11 opposing it.Prasad had on Friday claimed that the bill will find support in Rajya Sabha, where the BJP-led NDA lacks numbers. It is listed in the Rajya Sabha’s legislative agenda for Monday.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal told reporters in Kochi that the party would join hands with others to prevent the triple talaq bill from getting passed in the House, he told reporters in Kochi. He said 10 opposition parties had openly come out against the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 when it was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

Even the parties which support the government on various issues, including AIADMK, have opposed the bill, said Venugopal, who is also a Congress floor strategist.Condemning the bill, he said the stringent provisions like criminalisation of a civil wrong were there in the bill and it was not at all acceptable to the opposition parties, including the Congress. “…The bill will not help empower women,” the Congress leader said.

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Venugopal claimed there was no confusion in the Congress-led UPA or party-led UDF in Kerala regarding the bill. The Alappuzha MP said the government could not push the bill in its initial form in the Upper House due to stringent opposition from the Congress and other opposition parties. “That is the reason why the government brought the ordinance and re-introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha. But the Congress will oppose its passage in the present form in the Rajya Sabha,” Venugopal said.

Rahul is president of ‘corrupt’ party, will never be PM: Assam CM Sonowal

‘Rahul Gandhi is president of a corrupt party. He will never be prime minister, however much he may dream’

Politics news: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday dubbed the Lok Sabha polls as a battle between an “honest, hardworking and committed” leader in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the head of a “corrupt” political party in Rahul Gandhi.

He claimed at a BJP press conference that the Congress president Rahul gandhi will never become the country’s prime minister, however much “he may dream”. Citing the BJP’s win in the recent local polls in the north eastern state and also the loss of Congress in Mizoram assembly elections, Sonowal said the region has expressed a vote of no confidence in the Congress which, he alleged, “looted it for 60 years”.

No prime minister has done as much for the region as Modi has,he asserted,adding that it will soon become a main centre of business activities in India. “Rahul Gandhi is president of a corrupt party. He will never be prime minister, however much he may dream, ” he said.|Click Here: BUSINESS STANDARD OR BS)

Under the Modi government, more bridges have been built than earlier,he said,noting that Modi will also inaugurate the country’s largest rail cum road bridge in Assam on December 25. Since the BJP dispensation came to power in the state in 2016, it has detected 4 lakh bogus cards under the employment guarantee scheme, 2.63 lakh fake ration card, he said, alleging that the previous Congress government used them for corruption…

Lok Sabha passes transgender rights bill, community says it’s violative

‘This Bill is not actually giving us any rights, but legalising the atrocities committed on us’

Latest News: On Monday, the Lok Sabha passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016. In the eyes of transgender and gender non-binary activists, this is an act of doublespeak because the Bill, if it goes through the Rajya Sabha, will not only fail to protect the rights of transgender people in India, it will actively violate these rights.

Activists from the community have condemned the passing of the Bill in its current form, and are calling on the government to withdraw it from consideration in the Rajya Sabha and instead pass the private member’s bill drafted by Tiruchi Siva in the Lok Sabha.

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Why should a community so vociferously oppose a Bill that is drafted in the name of the protection of its rights? For those who celebrated the passing of the 2014 Supreme Court judgement affirming the rights of transgender people (colloquially called the NALSA Bill), the answer is obvious.

Although the NALSA judgment was flawed in its own ways, it made some incredible strides in the judicial recognition of the fundamental rights of transgender people. It affirmed the self-determination of gender identity, which upended commonsense notions about transgender identities only being valid if certified by the medical establishment…..

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NTR’s son, ex-MP Harikrishna dies in road accident

TDP founder NTR’s son and actor-politician Nandamuri Harikrishna died in a road accident in Telangana’s Nalgonda district early on Wednesday, doctors said. He was 61.

HYDERABAD:N Harikrishna, 62, was a former parliamentarian and an actor. He was also brother-in-law of Chief Minister N Chandrababu NaiduHe was reportedly on his way to Hyderabad from Nellore

The vehicle, being driven by Harikrishna, hit the divider while overtaking a vehicle and collided with another vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

Nandamuri Harikrishna, the son of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister NT Rama Rao, died today in a road accident in Telangana. N Harikrishna, 61, was a former

parliamentarian and an actor. He was also the brother-in-law of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and a member of the politburo of the state’s ruling Telugu Desam Party.

The accident took place around 6:30 am in Nalgonda, 100 km from Hyderabad.

The actor-politician was driving his SUV, a Toyota Fortuner, at a high speed, to attend a wedding in Nellore when his car hit a divider and flipped, landing on its side. The police believe Mr Harikrishna was driving at a speed of up to 150 km per hour as he wanted to make it to the wedding by 9 am.

The SUV also hit another car, a Maruti Suzuki Dzire. Three others in the car with Mr Harikrishna survived with injuries.

The ill fated car

YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has expressed grief and shock over the untimely death of Nandamuri Harikrishna in a road mishap. Jagan conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family.

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Tendulkar, Rekha worst in attendance among 12 nominated Rajya Sabha MPs

While Tendulkar has attended 23 of the 348 days since his nomination in 2012, Rekha has attended 18

 

Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and yesteryear actress Rekha are the worst performers in attendance in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) among the 12 nominated members, according to an analysis by Factly.in, a data journalism portal.

While Tendulkar has attended 23 of the 348 days since his nomination in 2012, Rekha has attended 18. Further, Rekha has not attended more than a single day in any session since her nomination in 2012.

While Rekha attended the least number of days compared to those who were nominated along with her, the expenditure incurred on her is the highest till date: Rs 65 lakh as salary and expenses. Expenditure incurred on Tendulkar is Rs 58.8 lakh, according to Rajya Sabha data.

 

This translates to an expenditure of Rs 360,000 per day incurred on Rekha and Rs 256,000 per day on Tendulkar.
The difference in the expenditure is only because of the allowances, since all other components are fixed for every member (MP). If a particular MP attended the house more often than others and has travelled more extensively than others, the expenditure incurred on him/her would be high. In Rekha’s case, it is the opposite.

Each MP is entitled to the following:

• Salary (Rs 50,000 per month)
• Constituency allowance (Rs 45,000 per month)
• Office expense allowance (Rs 15,000 per month)
• Travel & Daily Allowance (TA/DA) (variable)

There are 12 nominated members in the Rajya Sabha. While two other MPs were nominated in 2012 along with Tendulkar and Rekha, one was nominated in 2014 and the remaining seven were nominated in 2016. Four of the nominated members joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and are counted as BJP members in the house. A nominated member can join a political party within the first six months of being nominated to the house, according to the rules.

12 Nominated Rajya Sabha MPs

Name	Date of Nomination	Field	Party
Anu Aga	4/27/12	Industrialist	Nominated
Rekha	4/27/12	Actress	Nominated
Sachin Tendulkar	4/27/12	Cricketer	Nominated
K Parasaran	6/29/12	Lawyer	Nominated
K T S Tulsi (Sal since March 2014)	2/25/14	Lawyer	Nominated
Sambhaji Chhatrapati	6/13/16	Social Worker	BJP
Swapan Das Gupta	4/25/16	Journalist	Nominated
Roopa Ganguly	10/4/16	Actress	BJP
Narendra Jadhav	4/25/16	Economist	Nominated
M C Mary Kom	4/25/16	Sports Person	Nominated
Suresh Gopi	4/25/16	Actor	BJP
Subramanian Swamy	4/25/16	Politician	BJP

These members are nominated by the President based on the advice of the government of the day. Article 80(3) of the Constitution of India authorises the President to nominate a maximum of 12 members to the Rajya Sabha, and the members nominated shall have special knowledge or practical experience in the fields of literature, science, art and social service.(READ FULL STORY)