Senior NCP leader DP Tripathi dies at 67, party leaders and rivals condole his demise

Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and former MP DP Tripathi died in Delhi on Thursday after a prolonged illness, ANI reported. He was 67. Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar joined leaders from across the political spectrum to pay tributes to Tripathi, terming it a personal loss.

India told other countries that CAA does not alter Constitution: Ministry of External Affairs

India has reached out to countries around the world about the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. “We shared that this was a matter internal to India,” the ministry’s spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. “We emphasised that the Act [Citizenship Amendment Act] just provides expedited consideration for Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities, already in India, from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It does not alter the basic structure of Constitution.”

Calling Faiz’s poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ anti-Hindu is absurd, says Javed Akhtar, criticises IIT-Kanpur

Hindi film lyricist Javed Akhtar on Thursday termed absurd and funny the decision of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur to set up a panel to decide if legendary poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s poem Hum Dekhenge offends Hindu sentiments. Akhtar told ANI that it was difficult to seriously discuss the institution’s decision.

CAA: Assam CM says he won’t allow new foreigners in state, adds the Act won’t affect its demography

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Thursday that he will not allow foreigners to settle in the state. At a press conference that he shared on Facebook, the BJP leader said that as a “son of the soil” of Assam, he would never allow a foreign immigrant to settle in his land. He added: “No foreign immigrant can come to Assam as a result of the Citizenship Amendment Act, nor shall we let them come in. By no means can the Act affect the demography of Assam.”

Kota infant deaths: Mayawati criticises Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi for their silence

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Thursday lashed out at senior Congress leaders for their silence on the deaths of 100 infants at a hospital in Congress-ruled Rajasthan’s Kota. “It would have been great if she had met the mothers of the dead infants, who have lost their children just because of the uncaring attitude of the Congress-led state government,” Mayawati tweeted referring to Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Citizenship Act protestors need to expose activities of Pakistan, not oppose Indian Parliament: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday told people protesting against the amendments to the Citizenship Act to expose the activities of Pakistan instead of opposing the legislation, ANI reported. Modi said Pakistan was formed on the basis of religion and religious minorities were persecuted there. The Congress, its allies and the eco-system created by them “are standing against the Indian Parliament”, Modi alleged.

DMK leaders seek resolution against Citizenship Act in Tamil Nadu Assembly after Kerala does it

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam legislators on Thursday submitted a representation to Tamil Nadu Assembly Secretary K Srinivasan seeking to adopt a resolution against the amendments to the Citizenship Act. The Assembly will next convene on January 6. The move came days after the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution demanding the withdrawal of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Shiv Sena admits tussle over Maharashtra Cabinet expansion, says ‘list of probables’ was huge

The Shiv Sena admitted on Thursday that there was a tussle among senior leaders of its party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress over key Cabinet berths in Maharashtra. In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the party said some MLAs could not be inducted as ministers as the “list of probables” was huge.

CAA: Kerala governor says Assembly resolution for withdrawal of law is illegal, unconstitutional

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Thursday said the resolution passed by the state Assembly demanding the withdrawal of the Citizenship Amendment Act has no constitutional or legal validity, India Today reported.

UP: Activist couple, 56 others in Varanasi granted bail two weeks after Citizenship Act protests

Activist couple Ekta and Ravi Shekhar, who were among over 60 people arrested in Varanasi for protesting against the amendments to the Citizenship Act on December 19, were granted bail by a court in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, PTI reported. Fifty-six other people were also granted bail.

Gross GST collection for December crossed Rs 1 lakh crore

The Centre collected a gross Goods and Services Tax revenue of Rs 1,03,184 crore in December last year, the Union Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. Of this, CGST was Rs 19,962 crore, state GST was Rs 26,792 crore, integrated GST was Rs 48,099 crore and Cess Rs 8,331 crore.

‘Let bygones be bygones’: BJP leader Sushil Modi extends olive branch to JD(U)’s Prashant Kishor

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday expressed hope that the “bitterness, ill-will and mistrust” caused by his recent exchanges with Janata Dal (United) leader and political strategist Prashant Kishor will fade away ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

Ambala: Passport officer rapped for seeking nationality certificate from sisters who ‘looked Nepali’

The Ambala deputy commissioner has reprimanded the Regional Passport Office for demanding nationality certificates from two sisters based on their appearance, The Times of India reported on Wednesday. On September 16, 2019, the regional passport office had asked the Ambala-based sisters, Heena and Santosh, to get a nationality certificate from the deputy commissioner’s office because the “applicant seems to be Nepali”.

Marginal respite from cold spell in North India, over 20 trains delayed due to low visibility

The India Meteorological Department on Thursday said temperatures in parts of northern India showed slight improvement, ANI reported. However, low visibility conditions delayed 21 trains in the Northern Railway region, officials said.

Tata Sons moves SC against Cyrus Mistry’s reinstatement as executive chairperson, director

Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, on Thursday moved the Supreme Court against the reinstatement of Cyrus Mistry as the executive chairperson and also against his immediate reinstatement as director of the Tata Sons and three group companies – Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Industries Limited and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, Mint reported.

Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo call for a rethink on NRC, Citizenship Act

The amended Citizenship Act and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens are not signs of minimal government or maximal governance, Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo said in an article in The Indian Express published on Thursday.

Automobile sales dip sharply in December 2019, manufacturers say figures were expected

Sales of several automobile manufacturers dipped sharply in December 2019 compared to the same month in December 2018, BloombergQuint reported on Wednesday. Tata Motors reported a decline of 13.8% in December sales, compared to December 2018. While the automaker sold 54,439 units in December 2018, this declined to 46,903 units. Domestic vehicle sales fell by 12% to 44,254 vehicles in December, compared to 50,440 units in December 2018.

Delhi: Several feared trapped as factory collapses while blaze rages

Several people, including fire brigade personnel, were feared trapped after a factory building caught fire and collapsed in West Delhi’s Peera Garhi on Thursday, PTI reported, citing an official. Thirty-five fire engines are at the site and rescue operations are underway. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he is closely monitoring the situation.

‘Hindus and Sikhs cannot go to Italy’: Union minister attacks Congress over opposition to CAA

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said on Wednesday that minorities, including Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, do not have any other country to go to, and therefore India must provide them shelter, the Hindustan Times reported.

‘Stay in Pakistan for a month,’ UP BJP chief hits out at Akhilesh Yadav for opposing NPR-NRC

Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party President Swatantra Dev Singh on Wednesday lashed out at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav for opposing the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens, PTI reported. He said Yadav should stay in Pakistan for a month to understand the “atrocities” faced by Hindus.

‘Hindus and Sikhs cannot go to Italy’: Union minister attacks Congress over opposition to CAA

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said on Wednesday that minorities, including Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, do not have any other country to go to, and therefore India must provide them shelter, the Hindustan Times reported.

“If minorities including Hindus and Sikhs don’t come to India, where would they go?” Reddy asked at an event in Varanasi. “Italy will not accept Hindus. Italy will not accept Sikhs. They are poor. They can’t go there.” This was a jibe at the Congress, whose Interim President Sonia Gandhi is of Italian origin.

‘Stay in Pakistan for a month,’ UP BJP chief hits out at Akhilesh Yadav for opposing NPR-NRC

Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party President Swatantra Dev Singh on Wednesday lashed out at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav for opposing the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizens, PTI reported. He said Yadav should stay in Pakistan for a month to understand the “atrocities” faced by Hindus.

His comments came after Yadav had on December 29 said he would not fill the NPR form.

IIT-Kanpur sets up panel to investigate if Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ is ‘anti-Hindu’

Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur has set up a panel to investigate if Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s iconic poem Hum Dekhenge is “anti-Hindu”, PTI reported on Wednesday. The poem was recited by students on campus on December 17 during a solidarity march held for their counterparts at Delhi’s Jamia Milia University, institute’s Deputy Director Manindra Agarwal said.

Tamil orator Nellai Kannan arrested for remarks against Narendra Modi, Amit Shah after BJP protests

Tamil orator Nellai Kannan was arrested on Wednesday after he was accused of making provocative comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, PTI reported. A police team held Kannan from Perambalur district, nearly 300 km from Chennai.

Bangladesh restores telecom services along India border

The Bangladesh government on Wednesday reversed its decision to shut down mobile services along the border with India, two days after ordering telecom operators to do so citing security concerns, The Dhaka Tribune reported.

Centre rejects West Bengal’s Republic Day tableau proposal

In what could lead to fresh tensions between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Narendra Modi-led government, the Defence Ministry on Wednesday rejected her state’s Republic Day tableau proposal, after two rounds of meetings of an expert committee.

PM Modi calls up leaders of five neighbours to discuss bilateral ties but not Pakistan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called up his counterparts in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Maldives to exchange New Year greetings. Pakistan was conspicuous by its absence from Modi’s call list.

Modi told his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina that close relations between the two countries were a priority for his government. The conversation came amid a strain in the ties between the two countries over India’s Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens.