The big news: Amit Shah claims Citizenship Bill has no political agenda, and nine other top stories
Other headlines: The BJP won 12 out of 15 seats in the Karnataka bye-polls, and Delhi Police baton-charged JNU students protesting against fee hike proposal.
A look at the headlines right now:
- Amit Shah says Citizenship Amendment Bill has no political agenda, claims Congress divided India: Several political parties, including the Shiv Sena and the CPI(M), expressed reservations about the bill. Meanwhile, Shah announced that Manipur will be included in the Inner Line Permit system in order to get ‘exemption’ from the bill.
- BJP wins 12 of 15 seats in Karnataka bye-polls, strengthens majority in Assembly: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the results show that voters trust only the BJP for stability and development. Meanwhile, Congress leader Siddaramaiah resigned as his Legislature Party’s leader.
- Students protesting against JNU fee hike baton-charged by police as they march towards Rashtrapati Bhavan: The students tried to jump the barricades in an area that had been cordoned off.
- Eighty-seven percent fewer tourists visited Kashmir Valley in August-November this year, says report: Just about 32,000 domestic tourists and 3,413 foreigners visited the Valley between August and November.
- Telangana High Court asks for bodies of rape suspects to be preserved for four more days after encounter: The court ordered that the bodies will have to be transferred to a Hyderabad hospital in air-conditioned ambulances.
- Maruti Suzuki among top gainers on Sensex as output rises for the first time in 10 months: The car company produced a total of 1,41,834 units last month – 4.3% higher than the same month in 2018.
- ‘Why were ration supplies stopped?’ Supreme Court asks Centre in Bru starvation deaths case: A bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde asked the government counsel to respond to the court’s directive within two weeks.
- Finland’s Sanna Marin set to become world’s youngest prime minister at 34: She will lead an alliance of five parties that are all headed by women.
- Uttar Pradesh to set up 218 fast-track courts for crimes against women and children: Currently 42,389 cases of sexual offences against children and 25,749 cases of rape and sexual crimes against women are pending in the courts.
- WHO refutes Prakash Javadekar, says, ‘we wish air pollution didn’t kill people, but it does’: The environment minister had earlier claimed in Parliament that there was no established link between air pollution and a shorter life span.