Congress in a fix as BSP, SP lock horns over reservation bill

December 11, 2012

New Delhi, December 11: A week after convincing the SP and the BSP to support it during the FDI-in-retail vote, the UPA now has the job of getting the bitter rivals on the same page on the quota bill. BSP leader Mayawati on Monday warned of a tough posture after the SP succeeded in not letting the government table the bill that provides for quotas for the SCs/STs in promotions. “We will see for two-three days more...we will see the government’s stand on the issue, what they do and what the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha says. Then, we will decide and take a tough stand,” she said.

Ms. Mayawati, whose BSP walked out in the Lok Sabha during the FDI vote but voted for the government in the Rajya Sabha, noted that “the SC/ST Bill is a very serious issue for us. It is the government’s duty to run the House properly and get this bill debated and passed.”

The Rajya Sabha could not function post-lunch following the SP’s action. The Congress now seems to be in a fix as its two supporting parties — (pro-Bill) Bahujan Samaj Party and (anti-Bill) SP — have taken intractable positions. As Ms. Mayawati insisted on the bill, Samajwadi Party leaders said they would not let the Rajya Sabha function if the Congress-led UPA government went ahead. SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said: “We will continue to oppose the Bill and we are ready for suspension. If they [the government] are adamant to get it passed, then we will do it [disrupt the House].”

Senior ministers continue to be in touch with both SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ms. Mayawati to end the logjam. Rajya Chairman Hamid Ansari’s meeting with leaders of various parties remained inconclusive. Mr. Ansari is likely to meet these leaders, including Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley, BSP leader Satish Mishra, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Minister of State in the PMO V. Narayanasamy, again in the morning to find a way out to let the Upper House function.

Earlier in the day, when the Rajya Sabha reassembled at 2 p.m., the SP MPs started raising slogans against the bill as Mr. Narayanasamy tried to move the Constitution Amendment Bill on quota in promotion for discussion. Amid the din, Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien asked the SP MPs to oppose the Bill when it came up for discussion. However, as the sloganeering continued, Mr. Kurien adjourned the House for the day.

BJP and SP working together

Later, talking to journalists, Ms. Mayawati accused the SP and the BJP of being hand-in-glove in trying to stall the Bill. “It is sad that to stop this bill, the BJP and company raised the issue of lobbying [by Walmart] in the Rajya Sabha. They allowed the Lok Sabha to function but they did not remember the issue of FDI and lobbying there. It proves that the BJP and its supporters don’t want this bill to be passed,” she added.

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Muslim population rose in India because they got 'special rights': Yogi Adityanath

News Network

January 15,2020

Jan 15: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday that the Muslim population in India increased manifold since the partition because they were given special rights and facilities, according to a report by The Indian Express.

"The Muslim population in India has increased manifold since 1947, it has gone up by seven to eight times. No one has any objection. If they, as citizens of the country, work for development, they are welcome. Their population has increased because they have been given special rights and facilities. All possible steps were taken to ensure their growth," Adityanath said while addressing a rally in Gaya organised by the BJP in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

He asked the audience, "But what happened in Pakistan?" Claiming that the Hindu population in Pakistan had decreased since 1947, he asked why it was so.

Yogi said that the countrywide anti-CAA protests are a "conspiracy" hatched from afar by those resentful of a united and grand India and these are being aided by a "crooked" opposition. He further charged that those opposing the legislation were committing the "paap" (sin) of working against national interests.

"For taking such a step, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah deserve acclaim. Instead, they are being attacked", Yogi lamented.

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He himself contradicts his statements. He claims the Muslim population rose 8-9 (according to him) times since 1947. If he was educated its simple 73 years have passed the population grows. Still, the Muslim population is only a minority against the majority. He talks about special rights and facilities given yes agreed but not by him it's by the Constitution of India and for all the minorities. So it's not you its Constitution of India. The majority of the people are against the act CAA is against the very fundamental of the Constitution of India which PM & HM are taking away from the people. If you disagree, disrespect, go against it then you are against the country itself in Hindi deshdruhi.

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India mulls over deportation of Wall Street Journal journalist, later backtracks

Agencies

March 14,2020

New Delhi, Mar 14: India on Friday was mulling over the option of deporting The Wall Street Journal's South Asia deputy bureau chief for misreporting Delhi riots in which over 50 people were killed last month. However, the government denied that it had made any such decision.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that a complaint was registered against Eric Bellman, the WSJ South Asia deputy bureau chief based in New Delhi, by a private individual on the government's online grievance redressal platform.

"Referring the complaint to the related office is a routine matter as per standard procedure. No such decision on deportation has been taken by the Ministry of External Affairs," Kumar said.

However, government-funded Prasar Bharati News Services had earlier tweeted screenshots of the complaint which was filed by an undersecretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, Vinesh K Kalra, saying that the ministry has asked the Indian embassy in the US to "look into the request for immediate deportation of Bellman for his "anti-India behaviour".

The official had complained to the embassy about Bellman's controversial reportage on the killing of an Intelligence Bureau staffer named Ankit Sharma.

The WSJ had reported that Ankit Sharma's brother had said that he was killed by a mob belonging to a particular religious community. Ankit's brother later told Indian media that he never spoke to the WSJ reporter.

After the Prasar Bharati tweet got circulated widely on social media, the government backtracked and said that no such decision has been taken.

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JNU attack ‘state-sponsored’, VC must be dismissed: Cong fact-finding committee

Agencies

January 12,2020

New Delhi, Jan 12: A fact-finding committee of the Congress on the JNU violence on Sunday said the January 5 attack inside the university campus was "state-sponsored" and recommended Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar be dismissed and criminal investigation initiated against him.

The Congress had appointed a four-member fact-finding committee to carry out a detailed inquiry into the violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Sushmita Dev, member of the committee, said the committee recommended that Kumar should be dismissed immediately and all the appointments in faculty should be probed and independent inquiry should take place.

"Criminal investigation must take place against the VC and faculty members and the security company," the Mahila Congress chief said.

"It is clear that the attack on JNU campus was state-sponsored," Dev said.

She also demanded a complete rollback of the JNU fee hike.

The other members of the fact-finding committee are Hibi Eden, MP and former NSUI president, Syed Naseer Hussain, MP and former president of JNU NSUI and Amrita Dhawan, a former NSUI president and ex-DUSU president.

On January 5 night, masked people armed with rods and sticks stormed the JNU campus and assaulted students and faculty members, and vandalised property, leaving several people injured.

Leftist outfits and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) blamed each other for the violence.

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