West Bengal becomes fourth state to pass resolution against Citizenship Amendment Act

The West Bengal Assembly on Monday became the fourth state legislature to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The amendments, cleared by Parliament last month and notified on January 10, have been strongly opposed by states ruled by parties not part of the National Democratic Alliance.

Air India sale: Subramanian Swamy threatens to move court, Congress says BJP selling valuable assets

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday castigated the Narendra Modi government to sell its entire stake in Air India. Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Sandeep Dixit also slammed the move, saying it shows that India was on the “brink of bankruptcy”.

‘EVMs will be pressed with love’: Prashant Kishor responds to Amit Shah’s Shaheen Bagh remark

Janata Dal (United) leader Prashant Kishor on Monday responded to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s suggestion to “press the button with anger” during the Delhi Assembly elections to make a point against the Citizenship Amendment Act protestors at Shaheen Bagh. Kishor is also the political strategist for the Aam Aadmi Party this time.

Assam: Centre signs tripartite Bodo peace agreement, Amit Shah says ‘golden future’ awaits state

The Centre and the Assam government on Monday signed an accord with banned insurgent group National Democratic Front of Bodoland, promising to fulfil the outfit’s key political and economic demands, including safeguarding the Bodo language and culture. A sports university and job-oriented higher-education institutions are expected to be part of the pact.

Shaheen Bagh offering platform to ‘tukde-tukde gang’, alleges Union minister; AAP hits back at BJP

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday lashed out at anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protestors at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh locality, saying the demonstration was a cover for people who want to divide India, PTI reported.

“Shaheen Bagh is not an area anymore – it is an idea where the Indian flag is being used as a cover for the people who want to divide the country,” Prasad said at a press conference. “It is offering platform to ‘tukde-tukde gang’ elements under the garb of opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act. This protest is not just a protest against CAA, it is a protest against Modi.”

Muslim personal law board moves SC against PIL seeking ban on nikah halala and polygamy

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Monday filed a petition in the Supreme Court opposing a public interest litigation plea challenging the validity of the practices of nikah halala and polygamy in the Muslim community, reported Live Law. The board urged the court to include it as a party in the matter. The PIL plea was filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

‘Deeply troubled’ by Omar Abdullah’s photo, says DMK chief, calls for Kashmiri politicians’ release

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief MK Stalin on Monday said he was “deeply troubled” to see former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s photograph showing him sporting a grey beard. Scroll.in was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the photograph.

Stalin also voiced concern about two other former chief ministers – Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti. “Equally concerned about Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and other Kashmiri leaders who are incarcerated without trial or due process,” the DMK president tweeted. “Union government must immediately release all political prisoners and restore normalcy in Valley.”

Citizenship Act: Police raid activist Sharjeel Imam’s house in Bihar

A joint team of Delhi, Aligarh and Bihar Police on Sunday night raided the ancestral house of activist Sharjeel Imam, who has been charged with sedition for calling on protestors to “cut off Assam from India” during agitations against the Citizenship Amendment Act, reported The Times of India. Imam was not found at his house but two of his relatives and their driver were detained for interrogation, Jehanabad Superintendent of Police Manish Kumar told PTI. The three were released later.

CAA: Most EU parties condemn India’s law, warn it will cause ‘largest statelessness crisis’

The European Parliament will on January 29 take up for debate six resolutions on the Citizenship Amendment Act, of which five are critical of the new law, the Hindustan Times reported on Monday. The Parliament will also vote on the matter on January 30. The European Parliament is the legislative arm of the European Union.

Economist Abhijit Banerjee says he probably would not have won the Nobel Prize if he was in India

Economist Abhijit Banerjee on Sunday said that he probably would not have won the Nobel Prize if he was in India. “I benefited enormously from a place [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] where I had the world’s best potential PhD students,” Banerjee said on the sidelines of the 13th Jaipur Literature Festival, reported News18. “And that is important. All this work that I am taking credit for is mostly done by others. My students, collaborators, and friends and that is what makes it valuable. It is not that there is dearth of talent here, but bringing together of people on a large scale changes it. It is hard to do it alone.”

Andhra Pradesh Cabinet decides to abolish state’s Legislative Council

The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday decided to abolish the Legislative Council, The News Minute reported. The YSR Congress Party-led Cabinet passed a resolution to the effect at a meeting in the state capital Amaravati.

2012 Delhi gangrape case: Convict’s plea for judicial review should be top priority, says CJI Bobde

Chief Justice of India SA Bobde on Monday said a petition filed by one of the convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang rape case challenging the rejection of his mercy plea by President Ram Nath Kovind should be “top priority” since the execution is scheduled for February 1. Bobde asked Mukesh Singh’s counsel to mention the matter to the top court’s registry.

More than 100 women begin Shaheen Bagh-like protest in Mumbai to oppose CAA, NRC

More than 100 women and men began an indefinite sit-in on a street in a residential area of Central Mumbai on Sunday night, demanding that the government repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act that was passed in Parliament in December 2019.

Several more protesters joined the group on Monday morning and their numbers are expected to rise during the day. Titled “Mumbai Bagh”, the protest has been inspired by Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, where hundreds of women have been protesting the new Citizenship Act continually for last six weeks.

CAA: Bhim Army chief says ‘dictatorship at its peak’ after being sent back to Delhi from Hyderabad

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Monday said “dictatorship” was “at its peak” in Telangana, adding that he was being sent back from Hyderabad to New Delhi. Azad was detained on Sunday, before he arrived at the Crystal Hall in Hyderabad to take part in a rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

“Dictatorship is at its peak in Telangana,” Azad tweeted. “People’s right to protest is being snatched, first our people were beaten with sticks, then I was arrested, now I have been brought to the airport and being sent back to Delhi. @TelanganaCMO Remember Bahujan society will never forget this insult. Will be back soon.”

Congress sends Constitution to PM, asks him to read when he has time off from dividing the country

The Congress on Sunday sent a copy of the Constitution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day. “When you get time off from dividing the country, please do read it,” the party tweeted along with a screenshot of an Amazon receipt that stated that the book was being dispatched to the Central Secretariat.

The Congress also tweeted videos of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reading the Preamble at a protest at Rajghat.

Coronavirus: Two people suspected of infection admitted to hospitals in Patna, Jaipur

A 29-year-old-woman from Bihar’s Chapra district was admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital on Monday morning, after being suspected of having contracted the Wuhan coronavirus. Another suspected case was reported in Rajasthan. A doctor who recently returned from China has been kept in isolation at the SMS Hospital in Jaipur.

Delhi polls: ‘Press the button with such anger that current is felt at Shaheen Bagh,’ says Amit Shah

Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah on Sunday urged an audience in Delhi to “press the button with such anger that the current is felt at Shaheen Bagh”, NDTV reported. Shah was referring to the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Shaheen Bagh in the national Capital, and the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections on February 8. The results of the polls will be declared on February 11.

Police complaint filed against Visva Bharati VC for allegedly encouraging attack on Left students

A group of students of Visva Bharati University in Shantiniketan in West Bengal’s Birbhum district have filed a police complaint against Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty after a video emerged in which he was allegedly heard telling people at a public meeting to “teach a lesson” to some Left-leaning students, PTI reported on Sunday.

Mann ki Baat: North East insurgencies have considerably reduced, claims PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed insurgencies in the North East had “considerably reduced”. He made the remark during his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat. This was the prime minister’s first radio address of the year and the 61st edition of his programme.

Death threat received by Prakash Raj, Brinda Karat, HD Kumaraswamy and 12 other public figures

Fifteen public figures, including actor Prakash Raj, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat, and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, have received a death threat in a letter that labelled them “traitors”, The Indian Express reported on Sunday.