Passage of CAB: India’s tryst with bigotry, says Priyanka Gandhi
In a sharp attack on the government, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said “India’s tryst with bigotry and narrow minded exclusion” was confirmed as the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha at midnight on December 9.
“Last night at midnight, India’s tryst with bigotry and narrow minded exclusion was confirmed as the CAB was passed in the Lok Sabha. Our forefathers gave their lifeblood for our freedom,” she said in a tweet, recalling her great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech on the midnight of August 14-15, 1947, when India rang in its Independence.
In that hard fought freedom is enshrined the right to equality, and the right to freedom of religion, Priyanka Gandhi said.
“Our constitution, our citizenship, our dreams of a strong and unified India belong to all of us,” she said in another tweet.
“We will fight against this government’s agenda to systematically destroy our constitution and undo the fundamental premise on which our country was built with all our might,” she added. — PTI
We won't support Citizenship Bill unless things are clear, says Uddhav
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Tuesday, said "If any citizen is afraid of this Bill than one must clear their doubts. They are our citizens so one must answer their questions too."
"Shiv Sena's queries in Lok Sabha on Citizenship Amendment Bill unanswered," says the Chief Minister
Mr. Thackeray said "We will not give support to the Bill (Citizenship Amendment Bill) unless things are clear.' -- Alok Deshpande
Centralisation of power in PMO not good for economy: Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena on Tuesday said centralisaton of power in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was one of the main reasons for the “poor” economic health of the country.
The central government wants the finance minister and RBI governor under its control, an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana claimed, adding that the present BJP-led dispensation is not ready to listen to economists as it considers the economy as a “share market gamble“.
The Shiv Sena said former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi cannot be held responsible for the country’s present economic situation.
“The present government is not ready to listen to economists as it considers the economy like a ‘share bazaar satta’ What is Nirmala Sitharaman’s contribution as Finance Minister - ‘I don’t eat onion, you also do the same’,” the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said in taunting remarks.
The government wants the Finance Minister, RBI Governor, Finance Secretary and Niti Aayog chairman under its control, it claimed, adding that this is the main reason for the country’s “poor” economic health.
The economy is “paralysed“and former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan’s “diagnosis” is absolutely correct.
“The government is not ready to accept the economic slowdown. When the onion prices touch Rs 200 per kg, the finance minister says ‘I don’t eat garlic, onion, so don’t ask me’,” it quipped.
The Sena said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “not trying” to improve the situation.
“When he was the chief minister of Gujarat, he had expressed concern over the rising onion prices,” it noted.
The Sena claimed that when Modi was the CM of Gujarat, he had said onion is an essential commodity and it has become so costly that it will have tobe “kept in lockers“.
“The situation has changed and Modi is now the prime minister and the economy is in a ‘crisis’ An unconscious person is brought back to senses by being made to smell onion, but this is not possible now since onions have disappeared from markets,” it said in sarcastic comments.
The Sena also blamed decisions like demonetisation and “unnecessary focus” on projects such as the bullet train for the current economic situation.
“Whatever Pandit Nehru and his colleagues earned for the country, this government is selling it off,” it said, apparently referring to the proposed sale of public sector undertakings like the BPCL and Air India. — PTI
CAB patently unconstitutional, battleground shifts to Supreme Court, says Chidambaram
Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday asserted that the Supreme Court would now be the ‘battleground’ for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) that has been cleared by the Lok Sabha and now awaits passage in the Rajya Sabha.
“CAB is unconstitutional. Parliament passes a Bill that is patently unconstitutional and the battleground shifts to the Supreme Court,” he said in a tweet.
“Elected Parliamentarians are abdicating their responsibilities in favour of lawyers and judges,” added the former Union Minister.
Can’t comment on Rajini till he starts a party: Muralidhar Rao
The BJP is preparing to fight the local body polls either as part of the AIADMK alliance or alone, says the party’s national general secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, Muralidhar Rao. Mr. Rao also talks about actor Rajinikanth’s politics and Tamil in the BJP’s scheme of things.
When asked about his views on the possibility of Rajinikanth-Kamal Haasan alliance, Mr. Rao said: “Talking about Rajinikanth and his future activities…even today, I don’t think it is reasonable. A man has to come out and float a party. Then, based on his policies, programmes and objectives, I can understand [the need for talking about him]. Now nothing has happened. It won’t be appropriate to comment on the matter based on speculation.”
BJP’s thumping win will bolster Yediyurappa’s position in party
The massive victory scored by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the bypolls has not only made the State government secure, but has also given Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa a shot in the arm to assert himself within the party where he earlier felt hemmed in, especially from the party high command.
Now an assertive Mr. Yediyurappa is expected to have more bargaining power in the Cabinet expansion and a free hand in administration, sources in the party believe.
Not only is 76-year-old Mr. Yediyurappa credited with toppling the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government by wooing MLAs from their fold, without much support from the party’s central leadership, but also with getting most of the defectors re-elected now. “His gamble has paid off and has proved him to be the only mass leader of the party in the State,” a senior party leader said. “The way BJP swept all seats in north Karnataka, even those that the party initially thought it would lose, like Ranebennur and Kagwad, following the Chief Minister’s appeal to the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community, has proved his continued hold on the community, the party’s big vote bank,” one of his close associates said.
Hats off to KCR, TS police, says A.P. CM Jagan Mohan Reddy
Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday showered praise on his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao for his handling of the sensational Disha case. Credit also goes to the Telangana police, he said.
“The incident happened. The media showed the wrong committed and the Telangana government reacted. Hats off to KCR and Telangana police officers,” Mr. Jagan said, intervening in a short duration discussion on ‘security of women in the State’ in the Assembly.
The Chief Minister said that he was deeply moved by the ghastly incident. Everyone felt that the killing of the four accused was justified, but, someone from Delhi would descend in the name of the National Human Rights Commission questioning the encounter. “They will say this is wrong, it should not happen like that. And they question why did they do this,” he said, adding, “if the hero in a film kills someone in an encounter, we all clap and say the film is good, but if a daring person does that in real life, it is questioned.”
Poll petition: Chidambaram to appear before HC on Feb. 7
The Madras High Court on Monday accepted a request made on behalf of former Union Minister P. Chidambaram and permitted him to appear before it on February 7 for cross examination in a case challenging his victory from the Sivaganga Parliamentary constituency in 2009 by a margin of 3,354 votes.
Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana acceded to the request made by senior counsel R. Thyagarajan and G. Masilamani on behalf of Mr. Chidambaram, and urged all parties to cooperate for the early disposal of the election petition, since it had been pending in the court for over a decade.
The former Union Minister was originally expected to appear for cross-examination on August 30, but he couldn’t make it as he was arrested by the CBI in the INX Media case on August 21 and was released on bail only on December 4.
(With inputs from our correspondents, agencies)
