Abhishek Manu Singhvi
Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) Today Highlights: The Congress on Wednesday denied seeking an interim stay by the Supreme Court on the Citizenship Amendment act and said the Act was a “clear violation of the right to equality as prescribed in the Constitution”. Alleging “misinformation” being spread about it, the party asserted that the legislation goes against India’s global obligations. The reaction came after the Supreme Court earlier in the day decided to examine the constitutional validity of the CAA, but refused to stay its implementation.
Expressing solidarity with the protesting students of Madras University against the Citizenship Amendment Act, Makkal Needhi Maiam Chief Kamal Haasan Wednesday visited the varsity premises and assured them that he would continue to raise their voices. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today, leading a rally against the amended Citizenship Act, urged Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure the “country does not burn over the citizenship law”.
The new law grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains and Parsis who entered the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan until December 31, 2014. It has become controversial largely because it excludes Muslims. Petitioners have argued that the act is unconstitutional in that it classifies immigrants on the basis of religion.
"Prohibitory orders under Section 144 imposed in Karnataka's Bengaluru for the next three days, starting from 6 am Thursday till December 21", Bhaskar Rao Bengaluru Police commissioner said. Section 144 has also been imposed in Mysuru and Kalaburagi. Read more
"This Act is a clear violation of the right to equality described in the Constitution. There is no provision to find out the harassment and it is selective. The strange thing is that the word 'torture' does not exist in the Act and there is no mention of it. It is limited to statements only. The Torture Convention, which provides for giving shelter to the oppressed people, has been signed by India," Congress leaders Abhishek Singhvi said.
The controversy over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) figured prominently in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused "some people" of speaking "Pakistan's language" to instigate sections of society over the legislation. In a reference to protests over CAA, Adityanath claimed there is mischief going on to create disturbances and that the name of a political party and an MLA has surfaced in the case of violence at Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi. Meanwhile, in Azamgarh where internet services have been disrupted for 48 hours, the protest turned violent today.
The Congress on Wednesday said the party did not seek an interim stay by the Supreme Court on the amended Citizenship Act and alleged "misinformation" was being spread about it, while asserting that the legislation goes against India's global obligations. The reaction came after the Supreme Court earlier in the day decided to examine the constitutional validity of the CAA, but refused to stay its implementation. Party leaders Abhishek Singhvi and Jairam Ramesh told a press conference here that in its petition against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Congress did not seek an interim stay on the legislation.
The BJP government in Gujarat will "definitely implement" the proposed National Register of Citizens (NCC) and the new citizenship law, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Wednesday. He blamed the Congress and other Opposition parties for raging protests in some states of the country against the law and the proposed NRC. The chief minister said all states are "bound to implement both NRC and CAA, and "Gujarat will definitely implement them".
Former JNU student's union president and CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar joined the protest outside the Jamia Millia Islamia on Wednesday and said the demonstration was not just a fight to protect Muslims, but to protect the entire country. Addressing a large gathering of protesters outside the university's gate number 7, Kumar said the National Register of Citizens was "much more dangerous" than the amended Citizenship Act and it should be protested "tooth and nail". However, the protest should not veer off the path of peace," he said. "We must ensure we remain in our senses while trying to maintain the same level of energy." (PTI)
BJP MPs Nishith Pramanik and Khagen Murmu were arrested on Wednesday after police stopped two delegations led by senior party leaders who were on their way to visit violence hit-areas of Malda and Murshidabad districts, PTI quoted officials as saying. BJP National General Secretary, Kailash Vijayvargiya, who was part of the delegation, was heckled by goons. "On my way to Murshidabad, many goons surrounded our car in Navagaon. I'm not allowed to go to a programme that I had to attend. There is an attempt to stop us, on directions of Mamata Banerjee. I condemn this," he told ANI.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy alleged on Wednesday the BJP government at the Centre was targeting a community for vote bank politics through the NRC and CAA and destroying the "legacy of secularism" in the country. He also blamed the Congress for being part of "the mischief". "They are targeting one community to mobilise the other community. This is the mischief," the JD(S) leader, son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, told reporters. (PTI)
Meanwhile, NCP leader Supriya Sule reached Pune University to fag off a torch march to oppose CAA.
Asserting that voices cannot be silenced, Haasan said: "I have come here to lend my face as their podium and my vocal cords as their microphone. Till I die, I will call myself a student. I have come here in that capacity to be their defender. Now that I have started a party, It has become my bonded duty to be here and voice. You cannot silence the voices across the country."
On the Citizenship Amendment Act, Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh while speaking in Bhopal, said, "All those people who believe in the Constitution of India will never allow the implementation of this black Act."
Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan on Wednesday visited the Madras University premises in Chennai and expressed solidarity with students protesting against the Citizenship Amedment Act. Haasan was, however, not allowed to enter the main campus and spoke to the agitating students from behind the main gate of the university, opposite the Marina Beach. "I am not allowed to go inside. Till I die, I will call myself a student, I have come here in that capacity to be their defender. I will keep voicing whether or not I have started a party and now that I have started a party it becomes my duty to be here," Haasan said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Wednesday that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise has failed in Assam, she said the government has now brought the amended Citizenship Act which is facing the ire of students. "Students have hit the roads in the country and are facing police batons," she said while addressing a poll rally here. Read more
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday made a statement explaining why the BJD supported the Citizenship Amendment Act while making it clear that the party is not in favour of the all-India exercise of the National Register of Citizen. The CM addressed journalists from his residence, Naveen Niwas, in Bhubaneswar. “The CAA has nothing to do with Indian citizens. It only deals with foreigners. BJD MPs in Lok Sabha and in the Rajya Sabha have made it clear that we do not support the NRC. We appeal to our citizens, let peace prevail and not to indulge in rumour-mongering.”
Warning against holding protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) without permission, Mangaluru Police Commissioner P S Harsha on Wednesday urged people and organisations to express their opinions on the issue within the boundaries of law and order.
A flag-march was organised by JCP Eastern and DCP North East Delhi in three areas in the district after protests engulfed Seelampur area over the contentious Citizenship law.
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Wednesday that there is no "question mark" on or threat to citizenship of any Indian Muslim or any other citizen due to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. "CAA is to provide citizenship and not to take away citizenship of any person," he said at an event here. (PTI)
A meeting of DMK and its allies, including the Left parties, here on Wednesday demanded the Centre to immediately rescind the amendment to the Citizenship Act and slammed the proposed nation-wide National Register of Citizens as "antithetical," to the Constitution. A resolution adopted at the meet alleged the amendment had a "dimension of religion and race" and "ignored Eelam Tamils", and urged the Centre to immediately withdraw it based on good faith and to ensure peace.
A Delhi High Court judge Wednesday transferred a plea seeking direction for the release of students and residents of Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University who were detained by police and paramilitary forces during the CAA protest, to the Chief Justice. Justice Vibhu Bakhru sent the matter before Chief Justice D N Patel after the court was informed by the Centre's counsel regarding the Supreme Court's order on Tuesday which said, cases related to CAA stir would be heard by Chief Justices of the respective high courts.
The Delhi HC also refrained from granting interim protection to the two women students, apprehending coercive action in connection with the protest against the amended Citizenship act at Jamia Millia Islamia University.
Amid countrywide protests against the amended Citizenship Act, Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday appealed to the students to maintain peace and said the new legislation will not snatch any Indian's citizenship. Javadekar said students do not need to be scared of the new law as it is meant to give citizenship and not take it away from anyone. "Only infiltrators should be scared. The 130 crore population of the country need not be worried. "Our government is sensitive and listens to everyone. Students should put their views forward in a peaceful manner. I appeal to everyone to maintain peace and calm," the minister told media. (PTI)
Leading a rally for the third consecutive day, to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee urged Amit Shah to ensure the "country does not burn over the citizenship law." Claiming that the Home Minister's job was to douse the fire, Banerjee appealed to Shah to take care of the country and "control his party cadres".
"BJP wants to turn the entire country into a detention centre, but we will not let that happen. BJP says 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' but in reality, they are bringing disaster for everyone," Banerjee asserted.
Odisha CM: Citizenship Amendment Act has nothing to do with Indian citizens, it only deals with the foreigners. BJD MPs in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had made it clear that we don't support NRC, I appeal to citizens to let peace prevail and not to indulge in rumour mongering.
Urdu author Mujtaba Hussain to return Padma Shri Award, says, "Our democracy is being shattered. There is no system prevailing now, someone is being administered oath at 7am in the morning, govts are being made during the night, there is an atmosphere of fear in the country".
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit the streets for the third consecutive day against the amended citizenship law and NRC. TMC supremo Banerjee, along with her party colleagues, began a protest march from Howrah Maidan which will culminate at Dorina Crossing at Esplanade in the heart of Kolkata."We will never allow NRC and the amended Citizenship Act in Bengal.
No one will be asked to leave the state. We believe in the coexistence of all religions, castes and creed. All of us are citizens of this country, no one can take that away from us," she said before commencing the march. (PTI)
HD Kumaraswamy, Janata Dal (Secular) in Bengaluru: Our party opposes both Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
I am very concerned about the situation in Delhi. We want peace to prevail. Everyone has the right to protest, but protests should be peaceful and stay within the parameters of the Constitution. No one can be allowed to indulge in violence
No fresh incident of violence over the amended citizenship law has been reported in West Bengal and Assam on Wednesday so far, officials said.
A senior police officer and two other personnel were injured when a group of agitators hurled crude bombs at them in Sankrail area of Howrah district in West Bengal on Tuesday night.
Howrah City Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters) Ajeet Singh Yadav was injured in both his legs after he was hit by splinters but was discharged from hospital after medical aid. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to lead a protest march against the new citizenship law from Howrah Maidan to Dorina Crossing in Esplanade area in the heart of Kolkata on Wednesday.
She has already held two protest marches in north and south Kolkata on Monday and Tuesday respectively.
(PTI)
"Sab jante hai is desh mai dange kaun karwate hai (everyone knows who instigate riots in this country)," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today. "An attempt is being made to drag AAP's name in the recent incidents. Why will AAP do this? How will we be benefit? We all should maintain peace. Only those who are fearing defeat in the upcoming elections are inciting riots," he further said.
The Opposition is deliberately trying to spread violence in Delhi, after having realized that the AAP was on course for a big win in the next assembly polls, says Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
The Maharashtra Assembly witnessed din on Wednesday when the opposition BJP objected to a Congress leader's comments that the amended Citizenship Act should not be implemented in the state.
After the House assembled for the day, senior Congress leader and former chief minister Ashok Chavan dubbed the new citizenship law as "unconstitutional" and said it should not be implemented in the state. However, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis
objected to Chavan's demand.
"Both the Houses of Parliament have passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). This (state) government can't decide not to implement it," he said.
The Supreme Court asked Attorney General, representing Centre, to consider using audio-visual medium to make citizens aware about CAA.
Security was heightened around Madras University Wednesday as at least 60 students continued their protest against the citizenship act. Police personnel, who had entered the campus last night, stopped several students who reached the Marina campus this morning to join the protest. Journalists were stopped at the gate as well.
There is no stay of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Some of the petitioners told the Supreme Court Bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant that the question of stay does not arise as the rules are yet to be framed
The Supreme Court also orally instructed Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, to ask the government to publish details of the Act in the media so that people can get to know what exactly it is. The court said this after a request by SC lawyer Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay who said people were confused about the Act.
The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Centre on a batch of pleas challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India S.A Bobde has begun hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Nawab Malik, NCP on CAA: The way General Dyer fired at the people in Jallianwala Bagh, Amit Shah is firing at citizens of the country in the same way. Amit Shah is no less than Dyer. What Uddhav ji said ("What happened at Jamia Millia Islamia, is like Jallianwala Bagh") is correct.
An all party meeting over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act begins at the DMK headquarters in Chennai. The meeting is being chaired by DMK President MK Stalin, reported ANI.
The Delhi High Court has agreed to hear a PIL seeking fact-finding committee to look into violence in Jamia University over the Citizenship Amendment Act
Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa has said the state will implement the Citizenship Amendment Act
Curfew was relaxed for 14 hours in Shillong on Wednesday even as the ban on mobile internet services will remain in force, officials told news agency PTI. The curfew was relaxed from 6 am in areas under Lumdiengjri police station and Sadar police station limits, an order issued by East Khasi Hills District Magistrate M W Nongbri said.
Curfew will be reimposed in these areas from 8 pm till further orders. Banks, markets and shops were open and vehicles were plying on the roads.
Former Assam chief minister and lawyer Tarun Gogoi will be in the Supreme Court today to challenge the Citizenship Amendment Act.My father and former 3-term Assam Chief Minister Shri Tarun Gogoi dons his lawyer robes to file his case against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the Supreme Court today.
The Delhi police have arrested six people in connection with violence in Delhi's Seelampur. Protests against the new citizenship law took a violent turn in northeast Delhi’s New Seelampur on Tuesday, with police being pelted with bricks and stones and two buses being vandalised. At least 12 police personnel were injured.
The epicentre of the violence was the New Seelampur Chowk, where a large crowd gathered in the afternoon responding to a call for a protest. The crowd of over 2,000 mainly comprised local youth, workers and traders of the area.
Section-144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) has been imposed in North East District in wake of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Parliamentary delegation will meet President Ram Nath Kovind over the Citizenship Amendment Act, today.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) became law after receiving the President’s assent on Thursday, following a bruising debate in Parliament. Assam has been in the throes of violence since Wednesday, when Rajya Sabha took up the Bill after it was passed in Lok Sabha, with its capital under indefinite curfew, and Army and paramilitary columns rolling across multiple towns.
At least three Opposition ruled states — Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal —have said they will not implement the new citizenship law, and legal challenges have been made in the Supreme Court.
Here's why the Act is controversial
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked petitioners who sought inquiry into alleged police excesses in Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University and violence in many parts of the country in the wake of protests over the new citizenship law to approach respective High Courts in their states, which will make “appropriate inquiries”.
A bench of Chief Justice of India S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant said that after hearing all sides the High Court could appoint suitable committees comprising retired High Court or Supreme Court judges to look into the facts.
As protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act grip different parts of the country, the ruling BJP seems to be dialing down its rhetoric on the proposed National Register for Citizens (NRC) — at least, for the time being.
BJP’s national president and Home Minister Amit Shah, who ratcheted up the NRC rhetoric during the Maharashtra and Haryana election campaigns, modulated his tone in Jharkhand — in his rallies in December, Shah mentioned NRC only on December 2 in West Singhbhum.
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