The nation belongs to Muslims as much as it does to others, Modi said, accusing the Opposition of spreading confusion among them about the law.
Opponents of the CAA and NRC have gone to town accusing the BJP of an ulterior motive (read, disenfranchisement of Muslims) in implementing the NRC. By the same token it can be alleged that anti-CAA opponents have a nefarious agenda in mind that would be scuttled by the implementation of the NRC: Namely the accrual of dedicated vote banks and the restoration of Muslim hegemony over at least parts of India, especially Bengal and Assam, argues Vivek Gumaste.
Addressing a rally in Lucknow in support of the CAA, Shah threw the challenge for the debate to Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. He also declared that the construction of a Ram temple 'touching the skies' in Ayodhya will begin within three months.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on March 19 the pleas seeking a direction to the Centre to stay the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024 till the apex court has decided the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
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.
'A large number of people from Sindh province will now opt to migrate to India as they would be granted citizenship through an easy process.'
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud posted the matter for resumed hearing on April 9.
The top court said that the proceedings initiated in December 2019 were contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court and cannot be sustained.
He questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.
A group of BJP workers had put up a poster 'India Supports CAA' on the wall of Jyothi Nivas College near Koramangala. This was opposed by girl students, who said they would not allow any such poster to be put up on the college property.
Khan had made inflammatory statements on December 12 last year during the protest near Bab e Syed Gate outside the Aligarh Muslim University in front of more than 600 students. The official also alleged that the Gorakhpur doctor had made objectionable comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Drawing examples from history to prove his point, Vijayan said a Muslim man named Azimullah Khan had coined the slogan 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.
Allowing an appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the high court had remanded the matter back to the trial court to conduct a fresh hearing on the question of framing of charge against all the four accused persons including Gogoi.
In the first list, over 32,000 refugees have been identified in 21 districts of the state and the exercise is going on in the entire state, State minister Shrikant Sharma added.
The anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest was secular but the charge sheet in the Delhi riots conspiracy case was communal and the police fabricated a story to suit its narrative, former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Umar Khalid told a court in New Delhi on Tuesday calling it a 'naked form of false implication.'
Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen said any 'uncertainty' over the issue in India is likely to affect its neighbours. The minister asserted that his country trusts India.
The Republic Day celebration was about India's Constitution, but the protests also argued for protecting the values of equality and secularism enshrined in it.
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.
The Supreme Court of India questioned whether former JNU student Sharjeel Imam can be prosecuted in multiple states for sedition based on a single speech. The court is considering a plea to club multiple FIRs filed against Imam in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh for his alleged inflammatory remarks during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The court is concerned about the potential for double jeopardy and has indicated that it may transfer the cases to Delhi.
Gogoi was the only one whose bail was rejected by the court and he was released after spending 567 days in jail once Special NIA Judge Pranjal Das cleared him along with the three others of all charges.
The Congress party announced its intention to challenge the constitutionality of the recently passed Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Supreme Court. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that the party will "very soon" file a petition, citing concerns about the bill's impact on constitutional principles. Ramesh highlighted the Congress's ongoing legal challenges against other legislation, including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and changes to the Conduct of Election Rules. He emphasized the party's commitment to defending the Constitution's principles, provisions, and practices.
The citizenship rights will protect their cultural, linguistic, and social identity and it will also ensure economic, commercial, free movement, and property purchase rights.
Only four working days are left for the ongoing budget session to come to an end on April 4.
I want to make this clear again that the CAA is not about taking away anybody's citizenship, but about granting citizenship, Modi said.
As the Queen star found herself in the middle of a row, with the BJP distancing itself and the Congress attacking it, here's a look at some of the controversies, political and otherwise.
The Supreme Court on Monday deferred to August 14 its hearing on CPI-M leader Brinda Karat's plea related to non-registration of FIRs against BJP MPs Anurag Thakur and Pravesh Verma for their alleged hate speeches in connection with the anti-CAA protests.
The protesters said they are awaiting nod from the police which have sought some time.
A bench of Justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal, which extended the protection from arrest to Gogoi till March 3, said it would hear the matter on Friday.
'The joining put the party in a spot not only because the area was an anti-CAA protest venue, but also because it is being linked to the February riots in northeast Delhi'
Replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in Lok Sabha, Modi also attacked the Congress for its politics in the last seven decades, saying the party's politics of last 70 years has been such that no Congress leader can be self-sufficient.
According to a Union home ministry notification, those Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians residing in the districts of Anand and Mehsana in Gujarat will be allowed registration as a citizen of India under Section 5 or will be granted certificate of naturalisation under section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Rules, 2009.
The judge said that the trial court rightly decided the petitioners' plea and that no case for exercise of the high court's writ jurisdiction was made out in view of the presence of alternate remedy under the law.
A bench headed by Chief Justice U U Lalit is scheduled to hear the petitions challenging the validity of the CAA whose enactment had triggered widespread protests across the country.
Around 400 to 500 people gathered near the city Eidgah to protest against the amended Citizenship Act amid a bandh call, he said.
The 1,113 arrested include social activist and Congress worker Sadaf Jafar and noted theatre artist Deepak Kabir who are being kept in a Lucknow jail.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
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.
The bandh was called by Left parties in protest against CAA and NRC. It is being supported by several small political parties of the state.
The CISF, tasked with providing security at airports, has also ordered a court of inquiry into the incident.
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.
