A senior State Department official, on condition of anonymity, said that he has met with officials in India about what is taking place in the nation and expressed concern. The US has also 'expressed desire first to try to help and work through some of these issues', the official said.
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha on Saturday announced a nationwide 'yatra' (tour) to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register. The yatra will start at Mumbai's Apollo Bunder on January 9, pass through Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Harayana and Delhi and cover a distance of over 3,000 km, Yashwant Sinha said. It will culminate at the Raj Ghat in Delhi on January 30, Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary.
Accusing the Opposition of 'misleading' people on the amended citizenship law, Shah on Tuesday threw the challenge for the debate to Rahul Gandhi (Congress), Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress), Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.
It is the second Congress-ruled state after Punjab to pass such a resolution. The Rajasthan Assembly passed by voice vote the resolution which also asked the Centre to withdraw the new fields of information proposed to be included in National Population Register (NPR), 2020.
In this winter of discontent, in every procession, in every demonstration, in every protest -- from Jawaharlal Nehru University to Jamia to Shaheen Bagh to the streets of Mumbai -- the front rows have been occupied by women. It's been weeks since women have been sitting in protest across the country against the newly-introduced Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens. The protests are a nerve centre of unwavering voices against what has been perceived as a discriminatory law. The women -- some housewives, some students with hijabs covering their hair, and others in full-length burqa robes -- are rallying against the 'Man' in what could also be perceived as a revolution for the 'weaker sex' in India.
As the clock struck 12, the protesting crowd burst into a cheer to greet the fellow protesters the new year, and moments later broke into the national anthem in unison which was followed by the slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad'.
Taking suo moto cognisance of the matter, the court has decided to hear the case on Sunday in spite of its being a holiday.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday assured that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not be implemented in Assam if the party is voted to power in the state in the coming assembly poll.
'We are pleased to announce the candidature of @sagarikaghose, @SushmitaDevAITC, @MdNadimulHaque6 and Mamata Bala Thakur for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections,' the party said in a tweet.
The Math said that that it was a strictly apolitical body which did not respond to 'ephemeral' calls. It said Modi was a guest and the onus was on him on what he had spoken at the Math.
'You cannot support CAA and simultaneously say there will be no NRC in Bihar.' 'If Akali Dal has a clear-cut point of view on this issue, I want the same from the JD-U.'
Police fired tear gas shells as members of the two groups pelted stones at each other in Maujpur. For security reasons, the entry and exit gates of the Maujpur-Babarpur metro station were closed. Gates of the Jaffrabad station were also closed earlier in the day.
The meeting was convened by the Congress. Six major parties -- the DMK, the SP, the BSP, the TMC, the AAP and the Shiv Sena -- choose to stay away. The BJP took a swipe at the absence of major opposition parties at the meet and also said that their anti-CAA resolution must've made Pak happy.
Shah challenged "Rahul Baba", Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal to show if any provision of the CAA took away the citizenship of Indian Muslims.
Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday asserted that her party, if voted to power in Assam, will bring a new law to 'nullify' the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state.
'The CAA should be kept in abeyance, without making it a prestige issue.'
'Laying down a clear policy on the future of illegal migrants will dispel anxieties and help in implementing the CAA, NPR and also the NCR,' suggests former Union home secretary Dr Madhav Godbole.
"Once a law or act is passed by the Parliament, I think that the constitutional view is that, any state can't and should not say no but this has to be legally examined," Hooda said.
'We are telling them we have isolated them and their religion as not only unwanted,' says Aakar Patel.
Students in large numbers hit the streets in Mumbai on Monday to express solidarity with the students of the Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University protesting against the amended Citizenship Act as agitation against the new law in other parts of the country found resonance in the metropolis.
Banerjee expressed skepticism about the BJP's ambitious target of achieving 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
Why are the protesters still on their own and why are political parties abstaining from joining this mass movement? Aakar Patel explains.
Waving the national flag and holding placards, the protestors raised slogans demanding withdrawal of the NRC and CAA as they marched through city roads.
Official sources said that the federal probe agency, which is investigating the PFI under the PMLA)tka since 2018, has found that at least Rs 1.04 crore were deposited in several bank accounts linked to the organisation between December 4 last year and January 6 this year in various parts of the country.
'There's no going back on this protest till the CAA is repealed and the government assures of dropping the NRC proposal'
Opposition members displayed placards saying 'Save India', 'Save Democracy' and 'Save Constitution'.
'He is the only president, the only American politician, who had the guts to stand with Hindus.'
'BJP and RSS may have differences over minor issues but their hearts long for one common aim -- that of A Hindu Rashtra.' 'And this time to prove this point the RSS has prepared to help BJP win this election with all its might.'
He stressed that there was no need to bring the legislation as it was "anti-democratic" and "divided people on the basis of religion". "There is a constitutional crisis. You cannot ignore state governments. You have to take them into confidence," Sinha said when asked about resolutions passed by states against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
CM Amarinder Singh said the Centre would have to make the necessary amendments to the CAA if it had to be implemented in Punjab and other states opposing it. He also made it clear that the census in Punjab would be conducted on the old parameters and the new factors added by the Centre for the purpose of the NPR would not be included.
The PM's visit comes at a time when West Bengal has been witnessing widespread protests against the contentious Citizenship Act.
Heavy security has also been put in place at the Chepauk area ahead of the protest as protesters proposed to lay siege to the Secretariat and the District Collector's office against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
'Till the time we do not remove fear in the minds of Muslims of India, how will we achieve peace?' asks the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Gorakhpur, Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, who says he will resign as a member of the Uttar Pradesh assembly if any Indian Muslim of his constituency is evicted from the country during the Citizenship (Amendment) Act exercise.
The way the Bahraich riot has played out should worry the BJP. The party has emboldened Hindu youngsters to such an extent that its MLAs feel the need to go to the police against their party members. Is this what the BJP wants, asks Jyoti Punwani.
The Shiv Sena chief said an atmosphere is being created in the country that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is 'dangerous' for Muslims, but added that the exercise will not be carried out in Maharashtra.
Noting that CAA was brought in on humanitarian grounds, Union minister G Kishan Reddy said some political parties were demanding that citizenship be given to Muslims of those countries also.
Addressing a press conference, Trump described Modi as a "terrific" leader and India as a "tremendous country".
Kalita pleaded that she needed the videos and chats to prove her innocence, but the Delhi police counsel contended that her petitions were not maintainable.
Ravi Shastri said he is confident that the government has thought through the decision to introduce the law.
The protesters including girls and schoolchildren, belonging to the schools within the campus, began their march from the Purani Chungi and culminated it at the Babey Sir Syed gate of the university. They also raised slogans in support of Delhi's Shaheen Bagh protesters and the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Virat Kohli made it clear that he will not like to get embroiled in a controversy by commenting on a subject that he is not well aware of.