Majuli (Assam) , March 22,2021: Ahead of Assam Assembly elections, state BJP chief Ranjeet Kumar Dass said that the party will soon implement Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Speaking to ANI, Dass said: “Assam election campaign is in full swing. But top BJP leaders are keeping a distance from the issue of CAA, as after its approval from Parliament, Assam witnessed a lot of protests against the law.”
The state BJP chief in Majuli said today: “We have passed the Bill in the Parliament and we stand by it. Once the regulation for it is completed, and if we come back to power in Assam, we will implement CAA. There is no question of going back on the issue even during election time.”
Upon being questioned about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s promises that they will not allow CAA to be implemented in Assam, Ranjit Dass said: “I can bet that Rahul Gandhi doesn’t know anything about CAA. Even our booth level workers know more about CAA than Gandhi.”
“There will be no impact (of CAA) on Assembly elections and the people of Assam had earlier displayed it. When the citizenship issue was at its peak, we had participated in the panchayat polls, asking people to question us if any foreigner enters Assam. We bagged the highest number of seats in that election. CAA issue had cropped up even during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but the BJP succeeded in increasing its tally from seven to nine seats,” he pointed out.
The BJP state chief claimed that the CAA is not an issue in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state as people will vote logically, not emotionally. He said that they were convinced that not a single foreigner can illegally settle in Assam as long as the BJP is in power in the state.
Targetting Rahul Gandhi’s five guarantees to the people of Assam he said, “Congress can make any promises because they are neither in power nor they will come to power in near future. We are in government and we will again form the government after these elections. We have made promises that can be fulfilled.”
Reacting to Gandhi for promising Rs 365 wage to tea plantation workers. He said it is impossible if you will increase wages to Rs 365 all plantations in the state will close and workers will be jobless.
Assembly elections for 126 seats in Assam will be held in three phases starting from March 27 and the counting of votes will take place on May 2.
Mumbai , March 4,2021: Maharashtra Minister Ashok Chavan on Wednesday said that the central government’s role will be very important on the issue of Maratha reservation.
“During a question on Maratha reservation, we have replied and have discussed that the central government’s role will be very important. As the hearing in the Supreme Court begins and the central government has also been made a party in this case, this case must be kept in front of a larger bench. This is a time for the central government also to get involved in it for Maratha reservation,” said Chavan.
“There are many states in which the reservation has to exceed fifty per cent too,” he added.
Last year on December 22, Chavan had chaired a meeting of the state cabinet’s sub-committee on Maratha reservation and discussed the strategy of the state government to be adopted in the final hearing of the matter before the Supreme Court which started from January 25.
The top court later posted for March 8 the final hearing of petitions challenging the Bombay High Court verdict upholding reservations to Marathas in jobs and education under Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said the matter will now be listed on March 8 for final hearing and it proposed to complete the hearing by March 18.
The top court in 2019 had restrained the Maharashtra government by an interim order to implement the quota law.
The Bombay High Court had on June 27, 2019, observed that the 50 per cent cap on total reservations imposed by the Supreme Court could be exceeded in exceptional circumstances.
An appeal filed in the top court by advocate Sanjeet Shukla, a representative of Youth for Equality, said the SEBC Act, 2018, enacted to grant reservation to the Maratha community people in jobs and education, breached the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation fixed by the apex court in its judgment in the Indira Sawhney case.
New Delhi, Feb 8,2021: Rajya Sabha on Monday passed Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which seeks to replace an ordinance on merging the cadre of J&K with the UT cadre for administration.
After Article 370 was read down, the State of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories. As per cadre rules for Indian Administrative Services, Indian Police Services and Indian Forest Services (All India Services) Union Territories fall under AGMUT cadre (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and UTs).
To this effect, President Ram Nath Kovind had promulgated the Ordinance last month.
Initiating the debate, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Ghulam Nabi Azad questioned the move saying the bill shows the government’s intentions to keep Jammu and Kashmir as Union Territory.
He reasserted the government’s repeated assurance of bringing the status of J&K back to “State”.
Criticising the government’s move, he alleged that over seven thousand industries have shut in J&K since the abrogation.
The former chief minister urged the government to restore the “state” status and hold Assembly polls.
Replying to the debate, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy claimed development in J&K is progressing at a fast pace level. Mr Reddy mentioned about Block Development Council polls conducted last year and stated that for the first time polling was peaceful with almost 98 per cent voting.
He stated that Kashmir Valley will be connected by railways by 2022. The Minister of State also mentioned Chenab bridge, the world’s highest bridge and elevated light railway system, which are to be completed in the next four years.
Bharatiya Janata Party member Samsher Singh Manhas stated the J&K now has three All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and new campuses of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) are coming to the new UT.
Aam Aadmi Party Sushil Kumar Gupta (AAP) asked the distribution of officers across the all UTs while Manoj Jha of Rashtriya Janata Dal questioned whether the reorganisation is permanent or temporary.
He also raised the case of two PhD students of Bihar who are still waiting to join their college in J&K.
Questioning the restoration of normalcy, he asked why Members of Parliaments were not allowed to visit the Valley.
People Democratic Party’s Mohammad Mir Fayaz questioned if normalcy has been restored as per the government then why there is no bill of restoring the status of “State”.
A Navneethakrishnan of AIADMK supported the government and stated that keeping geographical locations in mind, it is better if J&K is under the direct rule of the Centre.
Ashok Siddharth of Bahujan Samaj Party supported the bill saying everyone wants to visit the valley but no one wants to work there.
But, he raised an objection that the bill might affect the local officers in promotions and needed to be corrected.
New Delhi, Feb 4,2021: The Central Government on Thursday apprised the Delhi High Court that 43 First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered in connection with January 26 tractor rally protests and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) invoked in some of the FIRs, in which banned entity ‘Sikhs for Justice’ is allegedly involved.
The Centre informed that substantial steps have been taken in this regard and out of the 43 FIRs, 13 have been transferred to Delhi Police Special Cell.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DN Patel and also comprising Justice Jyoti Singh was hearing a plea seeking directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Delhi Police to take action against perpetrators involved in the January 26 clashes in the capital.
The petitioners, Shubham Awasthi and two others, residents of Delhi NCR, in their plea filed through Advocate Narayan Sharma, sought to direct the Centre to strengthen the laws pertaining to insults to the National Flag and Constitution so that a strong sense of deterrence is brewed among mishchief mongers also sought Centre’s direction to form a committee in this regard.
Bengaluru (Karnataka) , January 21,2021: In a major boost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the State, the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday observed that the provision in the ordinance relating to ban on cow slaughter is constitutionally valid.
A batch of petitions was filed by Mohammed Arif Jameel and others, challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance. Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi appeared for the State before the High Court.
The state government contended before the court that the ordinance was in consonance with the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution. The State further contended by filing a preliminary statement of objections that the cattle population over the past eight years has substantially reduced from 95,16,484 in the 2012 census (19th livestock census) to 84,69,004 in 2019 (20th livestock census), and that as per the 2019 census 2,38,296 cattle are being slaughtered every year and on an average, it works out to 652 per day.
Under the Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH) Scheme of the Central government, ear tagging of cattle is undertaken using Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) conforming to Bureau of India Standards, and out of total cattle population of 1,15,53,564, about 96,00,000 cattle are ear-tagged and the work is in progress, the government pointed out.
In its statement, the state government further submitted that there are 4,212 veterinary institutions throughout the State headed by veterinary officers and inspectors who are available on call and there are 176 mobile clinics.
After hearing the Advocate General, the Court observed that the issue relating to the ban on cow slaughter has been affirmed by the Supreme Court in Mirzapur’s case as being constitutionally valid.
The court, however, observed that the government must ensure that no coercive action is taken against farmers who transport animals for animal husbandry, agriculture, and other bona fide purposes until Rules are framed under the provisions of the ordinance. The development in the High Court today clears hurdles for the Government to effectively implement the cow slaughter ordinance.
The anti-cow slaughter law came into effect in Karnataka from January 18, the state government said in a notification.
“All provisions of The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Ordinance, 2020 comes into force from January 18,” the Karnataka government said.
According to the order, three and seven years jail and (or) a fine up to Rs 5 lakh will be imposed under this law and subsequent offences can invite fines up to Rs 10 lakh and a jail term of up to seven years.
Buenos Aires, Dec 31,2020: Argentina’s Senate has passed a law legalising abortion, a victory for the women’s movement that has been fighting for the right for decades.
Under Wednesday’s majority vote, abortion is legalised up to the 14th week of pregnancy, and is also legal after that time in cases of rape or danger to the mother’s life.
The vote was passed with 38 votes in favor, 29 against and one abstention, after a marathon 12-hour session that began late Tuesday.
It was already approved by Argentinas Chamber of Deputies and has the support of President Alberto Fern ndez, meaning the Senate vote is its final hurdle.
Argentine senators debated for hour after hour over legalising abortion, wrangling into the early hours of Wednesday before a vote that marked the culmination of a decades-long fight by women’s groups in Pope Francis’ homeland and have repercussions across a continent where the procedure is largely illegal.