Indian Muslims 'were, are & will remain' Indians: Amit Shah

News Network
December 11, 2019

New Delhi, Dec 11: Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday moved the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha, saying Indian Muslims "were, are and will remain Indian citizens".

Moving the bill that provides Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, Shah said minorities in the three nations do not get equal rights.

The population of minorities in these countries has reduced by as much as 20 per cent, either by way of elimination or because they migrated to India, he said, adding that these migrants did not get rights to jobs and education.

The bill provides citizenship to these persecuted minorities, Shah said.

The legislation, which allows citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who illegally migrated to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, was passed by Lok Sabha on Monday.

Several MPs of opposition parties moved a motion to send the bill to the select committee of the Upper House.

The bill and the opposition motion will be put to vote after a debate on it.

Shah rejected the charge of vote bank politics, saying the BJP had declared its intention to bring such a legislation in its election manifesto for the 2019 general election and won the people's approval.

He said Indian Muslims have nothing to worry about as they "were, are and will remain Indian citizens".

Non-Muslim minorities from three nations who came to India after Independence will be given Indian citizenship, the home minister said, adding that Muslim migrants from the world over cannot be given citizenship.

The BJP government will protect the interests of Assamese, Shah said.

Rajya Sabha TV briefly stopped the telecast of proceedings when opposition members heckled Shah over his claims of protecting Assamese interests.

The bill, which prevents Muslim migrants from neighbouring countries from receiving citizenship, has sparked protests and fear around the country.

The citizenship law goes hand in hand with a contentious programme that began in Assam this year -- all 3.3 crore residents of the state had to prove, with documentary evidence, that they or their ancestors were Indian citizens. About 20 lakh people were left off the state's citizenship rolls after that exercise.

This is the second attempt by the Modi government to amend the citizenship law. In January, the legislation was passed in the lower house but lapsed as the Rajya Sabha didn't take it up before dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.

A group of 900 scientists and scholars issued a joint statement against it saying the use of religion as a legal criterion for determining Indian citizenship is disturbing.

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News Network
July 1,2020

Mumbai, Jul 1: Mumbai police on Wednesday imposed section 144 of CrPC prohibiting the movement of people in public places and gatherings, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, an official said.

The prohibitory order, issued by a senior police official, says restrictions on the movement of residents for non- essential work will remain in force till July 15.

The order prohibits "presence or movement of one or more persons in public places or gathering of any sort", the official said.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Patna, Jan 23: "They should go wherever they want," Bihar Chief Minister and JDU supremo Nitish Kumar said on Thursday when asked of Prashant Kishor and Pavan Verma's repeated questions about the party's stand's on the newly enacted Citizenship Act.

"It is their personal decision. They should go wherever they want. We don't have an objection. Don't look at JDU in the context of statements by some people. JDU works with determination. We have a clear stand and don't have any confusion," the Chief Minister told reporters here.

"If they have something to tell, they should come and discuss it within the party. They should go wherever they want. They have my good wishes," he said.

JDU spokesperson and national general secretary Pavan Verma has questioned his party's alliance with the BJP in Delhi Assembly polls while Kishor has more than once made his differences with the party known on the issue of the amended Citizenship Act, and National Register of Citizens.

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News Network
February 4,2020

New Delhi, Feb 4: Miffed over the controversy created by its former Union minister and Uttara Kannada MP Anantkumar Hegde by his remarks against Mahatma Gandhi, the BJP, it was learnt, has issued a show-cause notice to him. The ruling party came under heavy criticism from the opposition over its MP’s remarks. The opposition has demanded a clarification from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his party MP’s remarks.

Often in news for his controversial remarks, Hegde, sources said, could also be barred from attending the first parliamentary party meeting of the BJP of the budget session, scheduled on Tuesday. The party had taken a similar approach against its Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur during the last winter session for praising Mahatma Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse. Though the BJP leadership was earlier of the view that Hegde should tender an apology over his remarks but the party top brass, it was learnt, decided that it was not enough.

The Congress on Monday launched a scathing attack on the central government over the comments of BJP Lok Sabha MP Ananthkumar Hegde on Mahatma Gandhi. The party demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi come to Parliament and clarify his position on BJP leader’s “objectionable” remarks.

Congress party spokesman Anand Sharma said, “we can understand that why one after the other senior BJP leaders are insulting the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. They are disparaging the national movement, the freedom struggle because they are ideological descendents of those who were not only non-participants, but, actively opposed the freedom movement.” He further added, “Parliament is in session. We demand that the Prime Minister come to the House and make his position clear. As I have said, feeds that he is unhappy and angry, we are not concerned with that. In the very ideology, mindset, thinking and language of the BJP, there is violence.”

Asserting that the BJP MP’s statement was condemnable, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the leaders of the saffron party could afford to call the freedom movement a drama as they never fought for the country’s independence. “Such statements reveal their true mindset that they use Gandhi's name just for show and have no regard for him,” he said.

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