A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, hearing a petition filed by lawyer Vineet Dhanda seeking stern legal action against those disturbing peace and harmony in the country in the name of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, said, "The country is going through a critical time, the endeavour must be to bring peace and such petitions do not help."
'In enacting the citizenship law, the BJP's focus has been so much on consolidating its Hindu vote bank all over the country to divert attention from the economic downturn that the party forgot that there are Hindus and Hindus and that one group of Hindus may not always be warmly embraced by another,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
The SC issued notice to the Centre on the batch of pleas seeking stay on the operation of the law.
Rarely have we seen such intoxication over power, which ignores the cries of those dying, notes Jyoti Punwani.
The Meghalaya government on Tuesday condemned attempts by Assam-based satellite television channels to create rift between different communities living in Assam and Meghalaya by spreading "unfounded" rumours.
AASU, Cong MP Jairam Ramesh, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, and several NGOs have filed petitions against the act that was assented to by the President yesterday.
The Cupid-struck should better watch out while celebrating Valentine's Day in Assam on Saturday, as volunteers of 'Asom Sena', the moral police wing of All Assam Students' Union is going to keep a close watch on them. "We are not opposed to the celebration of Valentine's Day but will certainly keep a watch so that nothing immoral and vulgar is indulged in by those out on a celebration mood on the day in the state," an official of the Asom Sena said.
The influential All Assam Students Union on Wednesday said that the peace initiative launched by the pro-talks leaders of the ULFA'a 28 th battalion raised hopes for a solution, provided the top brass of the United Liberation Front of Asom and the Indian government respond to it by holding a direct and unconditional political dialogue to solve the insurgency issue.
'People feel concerned about the future, whether it is the land or the jobs.' 'The BJP came to power in Assam with promises of maati, bheti (home, hearth and identity), land, jobs and culture.' 'Are these going to taken care of? I think those are real concerns.' 'The Assam chief minister (Sarbananda Sonowal) was one of the leaders of the All Assam Students Union which fought for and is one of the signatories to the Assam Accord.' 'Today, his comrade-in-arms (Samujjal Bhattacharya, chief advisor, AASU) is leading the opposition in the streets.'
As the state Wildlife and Forest Department's all 'efforts to gear up vigil in the habitats of endangered one-horned Asiatic rhinoceros' has come to a naught, the All Assam Students Union alleging nexus between rhino poachers and a section of people in power in the state has demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation into incidents of rhino poaching in the state.
The draft NRC was published on July 30 and included the names of 2.9 crore people out of the total 3.29 crore applications. There has been a huge controversy over the exclusion of 40 lakh people from the draft NRC.
For the banned ULFA, it is the people from the 'Indian sub-continent' who are illegal migrants in Assam and not the 'trespassers' from neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal.
In view of fresh attacks on people from the North East in the rest of India including Delhi and Bengaluru, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday demanded enactment of special deterrent law to prevent such racial attacks.
'The north east people are complaining, but the BJP is not listening to our voice.'
Sonowal assured people that the state government will provide legal aid to poor people in their fight against exclusion from the NRC so that they can pursue their cases in foreigners tribunals and in higher courts.
The affidavit, filed by B C Joshi, Director in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the CAA does not confer any arbitrary and unguided powers on the executive as the citizenship to the persecuted minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh would be granted in a manner as specified under the law governing grant of citizenship.
The plea filed by NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights and others also sought a direction to the Centre to refrain from preparing the National Register of Citizens.
The agitators belonging to 70 organisations, led by KMSS and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad, gathered at the secretariat to protest against the passing of the bill in the Lower House of Parliament.
The committee has also suggested two formulas for the reservation of seats for the indigenous people in the Assam assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies of the state, including 67 per cent quota for them.
If someone is dissatisfied, he or she can always go to a foreigners' tribunal in the state to get justice, an official said.
Criticising the saffron party for "undermining democratic values" in the country, the chief minister said, "Democracy exists in Bengal but it is under threat in several other parts of the country."
All shops, business establishments, schools and colleges remained closed. Attendance in government offices and banks was thin.\n\n
The AGP, an ally of the BJP, voted for the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha, after Amit Shah's assurance. However, the scale, intensity and, persistence of the anti-CAA protests since then have taken it by surprise.
'In terms of sheer incompetence, this government has rivaled the Rajiv Gandhi-led government that was derisively called the 'Baba-log' government for its naive handling of many issues,' notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has set a two-year deadline to seal the border.
Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the government has taken care of the interests of everyone and 'the interest of India'.
Two motor-bikes were torched, while some private cars were seized by crowds in Jalukbari near the Guwahati University, sources said.
A total of 3,30,27,661 people had applied to be included in the NRC. Of them, 3,11,21,004 have been included in the document and 19,06,657 excluded.
'This movement is not about Hindus, Muslims or Bengalis, but about all Assamese, irrespective of their religious faith or economic class'
'The north east does not want the solution that the BJP has given and it has become clear that it has not been fully thought through,' says Aakar Patel.
The All Assam Students Union on Wednesday launched statewide protests against Assam Congress' decision to field a candidate from outside the state, Sanjay Singh in Rajya Sabha election in Assam bowing to the dictate of party high command.
Muslims across the country have joined the agitation, apprehending that the move could be a precursor to a country-wide NRC.
Issues ranging from fencing of the Indo-Bangla border to desilting of Hooghly river and spread of fluorosis among people in Telangana were among several issues raised in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour on Wednesday.
They warned that the 'prime minister and his cabinet colleagues will be stopped from entering the state' if their interests were harmed.
'In other parts of India, people may feel their religious identity is more important, but here in Assam, we are Assamese first and then, anything else. So, we are against this CAB (now CAA). It will hurt the interests of us Assamese'
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