Heena Sharma Blog

States cannot say they will not implement a new citizenship law and resolutions some legislatures have passed against it are a "political gesture", said Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday. Tharoor's party colleague Kapil Sibal last week said states cannot deny implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a law passed by Parliament. Sibal later called CAA "unconstitutional", as his statement contradicted the Congress government’s decision in Punjab to pass an Assembly resolution against the law . Tharoor, MP from Thiruvananthapuram, said that in the implementation of the National Population Register (NPR) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NCR), the states will have a vital part as it will be their officials who will conduct the exercise because the Centre doesn't have the required manpower. "That's more of a political gesture. The citizenship is given by the federal government only and obviously no st

The West Bengal unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Tuesday demanded a high-level inquiry into Sunday evening's violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and said the probe could be held under the supervision of the Supreme Court. Terming the clash "unfortunate", ABVP state president Saptarshi Sarkar alleged that the violence was the handiwork of Leftitst forces who want to destabilise the situation in the JNU. More than 35 students and faculty members were assaulted on Sunday evening after masked men armed with sticks and iron rods went on a rampage inside the campus of the institute. The Left-controlled JNU Students Union and the ABVP are blaming each other for the violence. The Delhi Police is now probing the incident. "Whatever happened in the JNU is unfortunate but there is a lack of clarity in the chain of events. We demand a high-level inquiry into the incident," Sarkar told a press conference. Asked who will conduct the

The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to examine the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act but refused to stay its operation. The Act provides citizenship rights to certain class of refugees who have come to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant fixed the pleas, including those filed by the Indian Union Muslim League and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, for hearing on January 22, next year. The bench issued notice to the Centre on the batch of pleas seeking stay on the operation of the law as well as on the main petition challenging the constitutional validity of the controversial legislation. Read More

No fresh incident of violence over amended citizenship law was reported in West Bengal on Wednesday morning, police said. However, a senior police officer and two other personnel were injured when a group of agitators hurled crude bombs at them in Sankrail area of Howrah district on Tuesday night. Howrah City Police Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters) Ajeet Singh Yadav was injured in both his legs after being hit by splinters of the bomb but was discharged from a hospital after he was administered medical aid. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to take part in a protest march against citizenship law from Howrah Maidan to Dorina Crossing in Esplanade area of Kolkata on Wednesday. She has held two protest marches in north and south Kolkata on Monday and Tuesday respectively. The state has witnessed pitched protests against the citizenship law since December 13. Read More

Suspension of internet services in Assam was extended by another 24 hours on Monday to prevent alleged misuse of social media in disturbing peace and maintain law and order in the state, officials said. The state has been under an internet blackout since Wednesday amid violent protests against the citizenship law . "Internet services across Assam will remain suspended till Tuesday," Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Political department) Sanjay Krishna told PTI. This has been done as "social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and You Tube etc are likely to be used for spreading of rumours and also for transmission of information like pictures, videos and texts that have the potential to inflame passions and does exacerbate the law and order situation". Internet services were suspended on Wednesday, initially for a period of 24 hours in ten districts of the state, and was extended for another 48 hours across the state on Thursday. Read