ZP president's election reveals split in Udupi BJP, rebels stage dharna

New Delhi, Jan 27: Non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will have to provide proofs of their religious beliefs while applying for Indian citizenship under the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAA), officials said on Monday.

The applicants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain or Parsi faiths will also have to furnish documents to prove that they entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

Those who will seek Indian citizenship under the CAA will have to provide proofs of their religious beliefs and this will be mentioned in the rules to be issued under the CAA, a government official said.

According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants and will be given Indian citizenship.

The central government is also likely to give a relatively smaller window of just three months to those who want to apply for Indian citizenship in Assam under the CAA, another official said.

Some Assam-specific provisions are expected to be incorporated in the rules to be issued for the implementation of the CAA.

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had made a request about a fortnight ago to keep a limited period window for applying under the CAA and also incorporate some other Assam-specific provisions in the CAA rules.

The move comes in view of continuing protests against the CAA in Assam that have been going on since the legislation was passed by Parliament in December last year.

There has been a growing feeling among the indigenous people of Assam that the newly enacted legislation will hurt their interests politically, culturally as well as socially.

The Assam Accord provides for detection and deportation of all illegal immigrants who have entered the country after 1971 and are living in the state, irrespective of their religion.

The protesters in Assam say that the CAA violates the provisions of the Assam Accord.

Bengaluru, Jun 20: Continuing with the easing of restrictions under 'Unlock 1.0', the Karnataka government on Saturday authorised local bodies to fix timing for opening of public parks other than those in the containment zones between 5 am to 9 pm.

It has also mandated adhering to all the national directives issued to contain the spread of COVID-19 and the guidelines issued by the state government in this connection.

Noting that the government has been relaxing conditions under unlock 1.0, Principal Secretary Revenue N Manjunath Prasad, who is also the member secretary of the state disaster management authority in an order said, local bodies have been asked to set the timing between 5 am to 9 pm to open all parks that come under them and the government.

It said this would be applicable to only those parks that come outside the containment zones. Earlier in May, while relaxing the lockdown norms, the government had set 7 am to 9 am and from 5 pm to 7 pm for the opening of parks.

Mar 11: Two activists of Sangh Parivar have been arrested by the police in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore for hurling a petrol bomb at a mosque in Ganapathy on March 5.

The miscreants had hurled petrol bombs at the front gate of Hidayathul Sunnath Jamath Mosque at Vedhambal Nagar near Ganapathy in Coimbatore around 1 am on March 5. Since the bomb did not explode, nobody was injured in the incident.

Following a complaint from the Secretary of the Jama’ath, the police had formed three separate teams to nab the miscreants.

Based on tip-offs, the police detained BJP member Pandi (41) and VHP member Akhil (23), both from Rathnapuri in Coimbatore for inquiry.  The duo has also been remanded to judicial custody.

According to a statement by the Coimbatore police, the accused told the police that they hurled petrol bomb at the mosque to protest against the attack against Anand, a Hindu Munnani functionary a few days ago. The accused also reportedly told the police that they were planning to create more chaos.

Madukkarai Anand, the District Secretary of Hindu Munnani was attacked on March 4, while he was returning home after participating in a pro-CAA dharna organised by the BJP and allied parties in Gandhipuram.

He was allegedly followed by men on two motorbikes, who attacked him with rods. Anand suffered head injuries in the attack and was admitted to a hospital. The Podanur police registered a case for attempt to murder based on a complaint and had also formed special teams to nab the accused. However, no one has been apprehended in that case till now.

Based on the statements given by the accused, the police arrested the two men, seized the two-wheeler they used, two cell phones and the things they used to manufacture the petrol bomb.