Despite mounting pressure, Gotabaya, and Prime Minister Mahinda have refused to quit office.
The Supreme Court sought the Centre's response on Friday to a plea filed before it challenging the validity of certain provisions of a 1991 law, which prohibit the filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947.
'Sirisena will keep both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe on tenterhooks till the next general election due in 2020,' says Aditi Phadnis.
The Ashokan Pillar in Kolhua, Bihar, is one of India's best maintained historical sites.
The bill, which seeks to give citizenship to refugees from the Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zorastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh was passed in Lok Sabha on Monday.
Tensions remain high across Sri Lanka after the violence broke out following the death of a man from the mainly Buddhist Sinhalese majority last week.
Economic criteria to ensure that the benefits of government policies reach the target group is not "proscribed" and a "recognised" basis of classification, the Supreme Court orally observed Wednesday while hearing pleas challenging the Centre's decision to grant a 10 per cent quota for the EWS category in admissions and jobs.
Eighty per cent agree with the idea that "when there are few jobs, men should have more rights to a job than women."
In an interview to Gulf News, referring to India's new citizenship law, Hasina said, "We don't understand why (the Indian government) did it. It was not necessary."
When the first flight arrived at Kushinagar airport on Wednesday, it was not Gota or Mahinda who stepped out, but another Rajapaksa. Namal Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's minister of sports.
'I thought coronavirus would not reach me but it can reach anywhere'
Mohit Mishra and Sonam Pathak, who are getting hitched on February 3, have inserted a line in Hindu in bold letters on their wedding card saying, "We support CAA and NRC."
The protesters first assembled at the Sheikhpora area of Budgam district, in central Kashmir, and then tried to proceed towards the airport but were stopped by a posse of police personnel, they said.
'As CIC, you have the power to comment on policy matters. 'If you have very strong beliefs and you know your rulings will be reported, you will express your beliefs.'
Special NIA judge Manoj Kumar Sinha held all the five accused -- Imtiyaz Ansari, Haider Ali, Mujib Ullah, Omair Siddiqui and Azharuddin Qureishi -- guilty in the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act and the Explosives Act.
'If they come to power, they will try to change the Constitution. They are destroying Babasaheb's name. They are fundamentalist people,' says Surai Sasai, the Buddhist monk who has issued an edict that Nagpur's Buddhists not vote for the BJP or its candidate Nitin Gadkari. The Buddhist areas in Nagpur, Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel discovers, have a special identity and a firm thinking of its own. Additional reportage and Photographs: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com
For India to endorse Nepal's Buddhist conference will be like sipping from a poisoned chalice, warns former RA&W official Jayadeva Ranade.
Upadhyay, in his plea, challenged the validity of section 2(f) alleging that it gives unbridled power to the Centre terming it "manifestly arbitrary, irrational, and offending".
Sri Lanka's main Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) on Tuesday handed over to the parliamentary Speaker motions of no-confidence against the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition government and embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, even as the government announced the appointment of a cabinet sub-committee to look into the proposal for a new Constitution.
The Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have granted time up to April 9 and July 9 respectively to frame these rules, he said in a written reply.
The Supreme Court Friday granted the 'last opportunity' to the Centre to file its reply on a public interest litigation seeking directions for framing of guidelines identifying minorities at the state level as Hindus are in a minority in 10 states and are not able to avail the benefits of schemes meant for minorities.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the first player to score 50 Serie A goals for both Milan clubs: Inter Milan (57 goals) and AC Milan (51 goals).
Chandra Bose said he is unable to pursue the brand of politics Netaji had preached and might rethink over continuing in the party if his concerns over 'inclusiveness and secularism' are not addressed.
A key suspect and his accomplice accused of fanning communal hatred on social media and instigating the recent violence against the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh have confessed to their crime in a pre-trial hearing, a court official has said.
During the 13-minute special session, Dhammika Dassanayake, ecretary general of Parliament, announced the vacancy for the post of president.
The chief minister said that that his government had worked for an environment of peace, love and brotherhood and said that society will move forward only when everybody lived in peace and harmony.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act filed by an activist. A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant issued notice to the Centre on activist Saket Gokhale's plea and tagged them along with over 160 petitions challenging the CAA which are listed for hearing this month.
'Rajapaksa's victory poses a serious foreign policy challenge for the Modi government,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'This shows how casually these officials approached a dispute simmering for years which finally erupted into violence.'
Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka, made the announcement of the beginning of the flights during his address at the inauguration of the International Vesak Day, the biggest festival of Buddhists.
The memorandum of understanding on mutual logistics support is the first such major agreement that Vietnam has signed with any country.
'We have to do everything in our power to get as many Academy members to watch the film as possible.' 'After that, I am confident, my film will speak for itself.'
'Is it because they perceive India as a soft state?'
Making a statement in the lower house soon after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, Modi said, "An autonomous trust has been formed, it is called 'Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teertha Kshetra'." The Supreme Court had directed the government to form the trust within three months and the deadline was ending on February 9.
At least 70 houses and shops of the Hindus were torched in attacks at Pirganj following Mandal's Facebook post on October 17.
Bose, a grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have categorically noted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is not based on religion.
Tawang wears its history -- and also its present -- with ease. The flourishing town, with restaurants selling everything from noodles to dosas and locals returning home to new business prospects, shows little sign of the tension building up at the border about 40 km away to the north.
If India is to follow a smart cultural diplomacy, it has unmatched advantages over both China and Pakistan, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Ponniyin Selvan has everything going for it, yet, there is something missing for a wholesome film experience, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The Citizenship Amendment Bill is a classic case of short-term gain over-riding long-term interest. 'We must welcome all persecuted minorities from our neighbouring countries and not just Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
