Tag: NRC

‘Can’t Differentiate Miscreants Through Their Attire’: Mamata Banerjee Responds to Modi’s Charge.

Source – news18.com

Kolkata: Terming the ongoing violence and arson in the state over the citizenship law as a “few minor incidents”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said just because the BJP has requisite numbers in Parliament, it cannot bully the states into enforcing the law.

Addressing a gathering against the Citizenship Act and the National Register for Citizenship (NRC), Mamata said, “They (BJP) are distinguishing people with their caps. They are identifying you with the clothes you wear. The country is passing through its worst phase and they talks about clothes.”

“Can they tell me who I am with the dress I am wearing? Can they tell me who is he (pointing at film director Gautam Ghose) with the dress he is wearing? What is going on?” she fumed.

Mamata’s comments came after Modi in a rally in Jharkhand had blamed the recent violence over the Citizenship Act blamed the Congress and “their allies” saying that those who are responsible can be identified by their clothes.

” Whatever the BJP is doing is for their own vested interest. They are indulging in divisive and hate politics, the result of which is in front of everyone. Look what is happening in Assam. Look what is happening in Tripura. In the coming days, even the citizens of BJP ruled states will also oppose this. According to them, we are not Indians. According to them, those who have fought for the freedom struggle are not Indians and they (BJP leaders/workers/supporters) are the only Indians,” Mamata said.

The Trinamool Congress supremo also spoke about the situation in Assam saying that nearly 100 people have committed suicide while others were shot dead.

“In Bengal 30, people have committed suicide due to NRC. Who will take the responsibility of their deaths?” she said and urged people to protest but not to take law and order in their own hands.

Mamata also claimed that the Centre has stopped railway services in the state over “one or two minor incidents” of violence. “Owing to one or two small incidents, the Centre has stopped railways services in Bengal. It is the duty of the Railway Protection Force personnel to protect railway property, yet we provided them support.

Condemning the violence at Jamia Millia University in Delhi, the CM said the “torture meted out to the students at the varsity was unprecedented”.

Alleging that the BJP was instigating violence in the country, she said the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in a hurry in Parliament. “The BJP didn’t give opposition parties time to think and discuss the bill. It sought its passage in a hurry,” she added.

A day before Mamata had spoken staunchly against the Citizenship Act and asked the protestors to write a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind, in which they should etch their names in blood.

“I would like to tell the ‘majority section’ that this battle is not for the ‘minorities’ alone. This is a battle for all. This is a battle for our existence. Go for signature campaigns holding black flags,” she added.

In opposition to the Centre’s order, she also stayed orders on work related to the National Population Register (NPR) across the state.

An official order issued by the additional secretary of Home and Hill Affairs Department read, “I am directed to inform you that all activities regarding the preparation and updation of the National Population Register (NPR) are hereby stayed in West Bengal. No activity regarding NPR may be taken up without prior clearance from the state government. The order has been issued in the interest of public order”.

No NRC in Bihar? People Apprehensive Despite CM’s ‘Assurance’.

Source – newsclick.in

Patna: Two days after Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United) national vice-president Prashant Kishor was assured by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not be implemented in Bihar, many including minorities, are apprehensive about this promise.

After JD-U supported Citizenship (Amendment) Bill [CAB] in both the houses of Parliament, Kishor had reportedly offered to resign from his post.

“Who will believe Nitish Kumar, who is a known paltu ram (a turncoat)? He was opposing NRC publicly till the last month and later, his party supported CAB in Parliament. He has now assured that he will not implement NRC in Bihar. Was he sleeping when the JD-U supported CAB?” questioned Afroj Alam, a retired government employee and a resident of Phulwarisharif.

Mohd Munna, a rickshaw-puller, said that Nitish Kumar no longer has people’s trust, as he says something and does something else. “We had voted for his party, but later, he joined hands with the BJP. How can we trust him now?” he asked.

Arshad Azmal, vice president of Sahulat, a mico-finance society in Patna, said “The CM is not saying anything to the people of the state; so, there is skepticism.” He added that after JD-U supported CAB in Parliament, even vocal Muslim supporters of Nitish Kumar appear hesitant to stand with him.

“How can we take his assurance seriously now because it was Nitish, who had publicly declared to work for RSS-free India and had announced ‘mitti mein mil jayenge Magar BJP se hath nahi milayenge (We’d be rather reduced to ashes than work with BJP)’,” said Mahendar Yadav, convenor of Koshi Nav Nirman Manch.

Danish Ahmad Khan, a social activist fron Gaya, said “Nitish Kumar is trying to fool the people. NRC is a central subject and no state government has the right to disobey or overruled it. He displayed his motives while voting for the Bill in Parliament.”

Danish alleged that Nitish has his reasons to support CAA, as he is embroiled in various scams: from multicrore Srijan to Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.

Ranjeev, a green activist, told NewsClick that this is nothing but another jumla ahead of Bihar Assembly polls. “Times have changed. Earlier, JD-U was critical of controversial issues like Ram Temple, Article 370, Triple Talaq. Now, the party has supported controversial CAB despite some party leaders’ opposition,” he said.

Three senior JD-U leaders including national general secretary K C Tyagi and two Bihar ministers, Ashok Choudhary and Shayam Razak, had opposed NRC. “If NRC can’t be implemented in Assam, how can it be implemented in Bihar? We can assure [the people] that NRC will not be implemented in the state,” Choudhary said.

Protests against CAA and NRC continued in Bihar on Monday as well. The Left parties have called for a statewide bandh on December 19, while the RJD will observe a shutdown on December 21 against the controversial Act.

However, notwithstanding the protests, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh has said that NRC should be implemented across the country—including Bihar.

Won’t implement CAA, NRC in Jharkhand: Hemant Soren.

Source – thehindu.com

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at the Opposition here over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, Hemant Soren, the chief ministerial face of the grand alliance in Jharkhand, said if voted to power his government would review both the CAA and National Register of Citizens and not implement them if they had potential to trigger violence in the State.

“Both the CAA and NRC sound similar. They will be evaluated afresh. If we feel Jharkhand could plunge into violence, both CAA and NRC will not be put into practice,” Mr. Soren told The Hindu here on Monday.

When his attention was drawn to the BJP’s concern over illegal immigration of Bangladeshis into Jharkhand through West Bengal and the porous international border, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president said, “The BJP came to power in many northeastern States highlighting the issue of infiltration of Bangladeshis. Now, the northeastern States are burning. They have backstabbed people there by bringing in CAA”

“This BJP-led government does not have any work to do. It has been raising divisive issues strategically and from time to time. The issues which can flare up people’s emotions are carefully chosen. Those are intended at dividing people on caste and religion lines leading to violence,” alleged Mr. Soren.

He observed, “They will not talk on unemployment, crumbling economy, losses being incurred by major public sector units, poverty and violence against women. The focus of the present government is only on dividing society as Hindu-Muslim and tribal and non-tribals.”

Alleging that that BJP always tries to reap political dividends through non-issues, Mr. Soren said, “In 2014, they came to power giving the wrong impression on the economy and law and order. When they miserably failed to find a solution to the issues they had highlighted, they came up with the revenge attack for the Pulwama terror strike. They stirred up people on India-Pakistan sentiments just before the 2019 elections.”

“Now, the BJP is preparing for the 2024 elections with these legal instruments. They have constructed a huge statue of Sardar Valabhbhai Patel although they do not have anything to do with the ideology of this great leader. They are now talking about construction of a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya. They know how to hoodwink people without delivering on genuine problems,” he charged.

Addressing an election rally at Dumka, where the JMM chief is contesting, Mr. Modi on Sunday had said violence over CAA was being stoked by the Congress and its allies and it was wrong as the Bill was cleared by Parliament.

The JMM, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal have stitched up a pre-poll alliance in Jharkhand where polling will come to end on December 20 and results will be declared on December 23.

NRC demand in Bihar makes NDA a divided house

Source: hindustantimes.com

First came the opposition to the triple talaq bill. Then the disagreement on the abrogation of Article 370. And when things seem to be settling down within the NDA, the BJP’s demand for National Register for Citizens (NRC) in the Seemanchal region has once again brought uneasiness in the alliance in Bihar.

The two alliance partners, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal(United), have come face-to-face after the BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and senior RSS leader Rakesh Sinha initiated the demand for NRC in four Bihar districts bordering West Bengal that have strong Muslim population.

While Sinha and few other BJP leaders are insistent that the influx of foreigners in these four districts has adversely impacted their local demography, JD(U) leaders, especially its minority face Gulam Rasool Baliyawi and party principal general secretary KC Tyagi, have criticised it as a case of minority hunting. The JD(U)’s vice-president Prashant Kishor had also criticised NRC in his recent tweet.

“We strongly favour NRC in the Seemanchal region. The region is replete with Bangladesh nationals, who have illegally migrated and settled there over the last several years,” said Sinha, who had been one of the most vocal protagonists of Hindutva politics. “There is an urgent need for NRC in Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnea and Araria districts,” he added.

Though no senior BJP leader has come out strongly in support of Sinha’s demand, none of them has opposed it either. In fact, Sinha has the silent support of several of his party’s leaders, who are only preferring to stay away from making any statement.

The BJP and RSS have been eyeing to consolidate their position in Seemanchal for a long time but have failed to penetrate because of the high Muslim population in the region. Muslims account for 67.70% of the population in Kishanganj, 38% in Purnea, 43% in Katihar and more than 40% in Araria. However, Muslims only form 16.5% of Bihar’s 105 million population as per 2011 census.

The BJP, in a tactical move and taking into account the Muslim factor, gave four Lok Sabha seats to the JD(U) and contested only Araria earlier this year. The JD(U) won Purnia, Katihar and Madhepura and the Congress managed to win the Kishanganj seat, a traditional Congress bastion which it has won eight times so far. The BJP and JD(U) together won 17 and 16 seats respectively out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

In the 2015 assembly elections, the Grand Alliance, of which the JD(U) was then a part, had won 29 seats out of 37 seats in the Seemanchal and Kosi regions. Out of these, the JD(U) had won 14, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) seven and Congress eight. The BJP could manage to win just seven seats, while one seat had gone in favour of CPI(ML).

The assembly elections in Bihar are due in 2020. The GA comprising the RJD, JD(U) and Congress had won 178 out of 243 seats while the BJP could win 53 seats only in the last state polls. The JD(U) returned to the NDA’s fold in 2017. The alliance, also comprising the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), won a whopping 39 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, almost clean-sweeping the polls.

“The BJP’s demand for NRC is irking,” a JD(U) leader, who did not want to be named, said.

“The 2020 polls are knocking at the doors and such announcements will only displease the minorities, who have in the LS polls, voted for NDA in large numbers,” he added.

The JD(U)’s prominent Muslim face Baliyawi went on to seek NRC across the country. “Muslims in Seemanchal are not afraid of NRC but my question is why the minorities are being targeted through such absurd steps,” he asked.

Another senior JD(U) leader and Bihar industries minister Shyam Rajak said there is no outsider or foreigner in Bihar. “All those living here are Biharis,” he said.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who is also the JD(U) president, has repeatedly said that his party is not in favour of NRC.

“NRC is a very sensitive issue and it was implemented in Assam following clearance from the Supreme Court. But there is no need for NRC in Bihar or other states in the country. Our party is fully against sending citizens outside the country in the name of NRC,” said JD(U)’s principal general secretary Tyagi.

Prashant Kishor, who is an election strategist and close aide of Nitish Kumar, had two days ago opposed NRC, saying that it is a ‘botched up’ process meant to leave lakhs of people as foreigners in their own country.

Assam NRC: 45-Year-Old Woman Of Bihari Origin Declared ‘Foreigner’, Sent To Detention Camp

Source: newscentral24x7.com

On June 15, 45-year-old Amila Shah was sent to a Tezpur detention camp for “foreigners” in Assam. As per a report in The Hindu, Amila, wife of Ram Dulal Shah, a trader based at Dhalaibeel near Jamugurihat in north-central Assam’s Sonitpur district, was sent to the detention centre after she asked to appear before a Foreigners’ Tribunal.

Amila’s family, speaking to the daily, said that their ancestors had come from Bihar and settled down near the Pertubghur Tea Estate east of Jamugurihat during the British rule. In fact, Amila’s father Kesav Prasad Gupta’s name figured in the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC) that is being updated in Assam.

A family member told The Hindu that despite providing all documents establishing her citizenship, the Border Police marked her as a suspected foreigner who entered Assam after March 24, 1971. “She was summoned to the FT2 in Tezpur (Sonitpur district headquarters) on June 4, 2018, where all our papers were submitted with elders in the family telling the tribunal we are originally from Bihar, which is very much a part of India,” they added.

Political parties, activists, journalists etc. in Assam have been criticising the Foreign Tribunal and implementation of the NRC for some time now. They have time and again expressed concern over false objections raised by persons with vested interests to harass genuine Indian citizens”, whose names have appeared in the draft NRC.

Opposition parties such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the All India United Democratic Front have criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam government for targeting specific communities and putting them behind bars in the name of detecting foreigners.

Last month, on May 23, retired Army captain Mohammed Sanaullah was detained by the police in Assam. The 52-year-old was sent to a detention camp after a tribunal declared him to be a foreigner. The veteran, in response to the detention, had said, “This is the reward I got after serving for 30 years in the Indian army.”