The Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday that, as many as 183 civilians and 838 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir since 2014.
Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said that since 2014 till December 31, 2018, there were 1,213 incidents involving terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. “In these incidents approximately 183 civilian lost their lives where as 838 terrorists were neutralised” he said replying a written question.
Ahir also said that, during this period, six other incidents involving terrorists were reported from the other parts of the country in which 112 civilian lost their lives and seven terrorists were neutralised.
Agitators clashed with the police, gheraoed Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s house at his native place in Dibrugarh, blocked national highways and damaged vehicles in Assam during an 11-hour “bandh” called by the AASU to protest against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) activists clashed with the police when they attempted to ransack a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Dibrugarh, prompting the security forces to resort to lathicharge and fire rubber bullets to disperse the protestors.
Nobody was injured in the incident, the police said.
The AASU has called for a statewide “bandh” and it is being supported by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which withdrew support to the BJP-led government in Assam on Monday.
Opposition Congress, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) are also supporting the bandh.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 aims to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to grant Indian citizenship to those Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and entered India before December 31, 2014.
Normal life was hit in the Brahmaputra valley and was partially affected in the Barak valley due to a “north-east bandh” called separately by the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), an umbrella organisation of students’ bodies in the region, of which the AASU is a constituent.
The “bandh” called by the NESO on the same issue is being supported by over 100 organisations in Assam as well as in the other north-eastern states.
The agitators gheraoed Sonowal’s house in his home town, Dibrugarh, to register their protest against the bill. They raised slogans that the chief minister had no reason to continue on his post as he could not protect the interests of the people of the state.
The protesters blocked roads and national highways by burning tyres and smashed the windshields of trucks, cars and autorickshaws at many places, including in Guwahati, the police said.
The picketers squatted on the railway tracks at various places in Guwahati and Dibrugarh district, but the movement of trains, including that of the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express and the Kolkata-bound Kamrup Express, resumed after the Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel removed them from the tracks, railway sources said.
There was no movement of goods-laden trucks on all the national highways, following an economic blockade call issued by the KMSS, sources said.
Private and government vehicles plying on the national highways were being escorted by the police in convoys, they added.
Banners and posters at a BJP office were set ablaze in Golaghat, while a black flag was put up at another office of the saffron party in Lakhimpur district, the police said.
Shops, markets, banks and other financial institutions kept their shutters down, educational institutions, private offices remained closed and private vehicles including long-distance buses kept off the roads in the Brahmaputra valley, the police and official sources said.
The attendance was thin in government offices as the employees faced difficulty in reaching the workplace in the absence of adequate public transport, the sources said.
The “bandh” also evoked response in the Barak valley, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced on January 4 that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 would be passed in Parliament as soon as possible as a penance for past injustices.
Thirty ethnic organisations, besides 69 other groups along with the KMSS, have extended their support to the “bandh”.
AASU and NESO chief adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharyya told reporters, “If Meghalaya and Mizoram can adopt a cabinet resolution opposing the bill, why can’t Assam do the same?
“The people of Assam, for the last 70 years since Independence, have been forced by the Centre to agitate for their rights, language, existence, culture, heritage and infrastructure.”
Dipankar Nath, the president of AASU, which had led the six-year-long Assam Movement against illegal immigrants, said, “Despite wide opposition to it, the BJP government at the Centre has undemocratically imposed the bill on us as they want to win the (Lok Sabha) election by taking the votes of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.”
The “north-east bandh” called by the NESO is being enforced by its member organisations such as the Mizo Zirlai Pawal (MZP), the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU), the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), the Garo Students’ Union (GSU), the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), the All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) and the Twipra Students’ Federation (TSF).
The “bandh” has hit normal life in Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, according to reports from these states.
The Government on Tuesday introduced in Lok Sabha amendments to the POCSO Act, which provides for death penalty for aggravated sexual assault on children, making it gender neutral and introducing provisions against child pornography and for enhancing punishment for certain offences.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019, seeks to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography and provide for establishment of Special Courts for trial of such offences.
The POCSO Amendment Bill, introduced by Minister of State in Ministry of Women and Child Development Virendra Kumar, also provides for stringent punishments for other crimes against those below 18 years of age.
“The said Act is gender neutral and regards the best interests and welfare of the child as matter of paramount importance at every stage so as to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child,” said the statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill.
The Sections 4, 5, 6 of the Act are proposed to be amended to provide the option of stringent punishment, including death penalty, for committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a child.
The Act defines child as any person below the age of 18 years and the amendments are aimed at discouraging the trend of child sexual abuse by acting as a deterrent.
Besides, Section 9 of the Act is being amended to protect children from sexual offences in times of natural calamities and disasters and in cases where children are administered any hormone or chemical substance to attain early sexual maturity for the purpose of penetrative sexual assault.
The Bill proposes a fine of not less than Rs 1,000 for not destroying or deleting or reporting the pornographic material involving a child. In case of subsequent offence, the fine would be not less than Rs 5,000 crore.
The offender can be further penalised with 3-year jail term or fine or both for transmitting, propagating, administrating such material.
“In the recent past incidences of child sexual abuse cases demonstrating the inhumane mind-set of the abusers who have been barbaric in their approach towards young victims is rising in the country. Children are becoming easy prey because of their tender age, physical vulnerabilities and inexperience of life and society,” the Bill said.
It said there is a strong need to take stringent measures to deter the rising trend of child sex abuse in the country.
The proposed amendments make provisions for enhancement of punishments for various offences so as to deter the perpetrators and ensure safety, security and dignified childhood for a child.
No one can save Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Rafale investigation and the entire nation will know “without a shadow of doubt” that he has taken Rs 30,000 crore of people’s money and given it to his “friend” Anil Ambani, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on a day the Supreme Court reinstated CBI Director Alok Verma.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Gandhi said that the CBI chief was removed at 1 am as he was about to begin an investigation into the Rafale jet agreement and Prime Minister Modi and his government cannot run away from a probe into the deal.
“The CBI chief was ousted at 1 am in the night because he was about to begin a probe into the Rafale deal. The CBI chief has been reinstated and we have got some relief. Now let’s see what happens,” he told reporters.
“They cannot run away from Rafale, it is impossible. Modi ji ran away from a debate. He should have discussed with us the Rafale issue, in the people’s court. No one can save them from Rafale, as Rafale is the truth. No one can run away from the truth,” he said.
His remarks come after the Supreme Court reinstated CBI Director Verma, setting aside the Centre’s decision on October 23 to divest him of his powers. The top court, however, restrained verma from taking any major policy decision till the CVC probe into corruption charges against him is over.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the green tribunal’s order of setting aside the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to close Vedanta’s Sterlite copper plant at Tuticorin.
A bench, headed by Justice R.F. Nariman, sought response from Vedanta on the state government’s appeal against the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT’s) order to reopen the plant.
The state had moved to the top court, saying that the NGT has erroneously set aside various orders regarding Sterlite plant which were passed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) last year. It had said that the tribunal had consequentially directed the TNPCB to pass afresh orders of renewal of consent and issue authorisation to handle hazardous substances to the Vedanta Limited.
On December 15, the NGT had set aside the state government’s order for closure of the Sterlite copper plant, saying that it was “non sustainable” and “unjustified”.
Sony is all set to bring out a sequel of the the 2018 science-ficton thriller “Venom”.
As The Hollywood Reporter reported, Kelly Marcel, the writer of the original film, is penning the sequel while its plot details remain undisclosed.
The first film had Eddie Brock, a journalist who “follows people who don’t want to be followed”, attempts to pull down Carlton Drake, the notoriously brilliant founder of “Life Foundation”. While investigating one of Drake’s projects, Eddie comes into contact with an alien venom that shares his body and in return gives him superpowers.
Directed by Ruben Fleischer, the film is based on the famous Marvel character. The cast list of the 2018 movie included Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Woody Harrelson and Jenny Slate.
The fans were treated to the Marvel feature in October last year. While the reviews were disappointing, the film ended up with a pretty decent box office collection of $855 million globally.
BSP chief Mayawati said on Tuesday that the Union Cabinet’s decision to give a 10% reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to the economically backward general section was an election stunt and political gimmick for upcoming Lok Sabha polls. However, she said that her party welcomes the immature move by the government. “It would have been better if the BJP party had taken the decision much earlier, while, now it’s evident that the party is on its way out,” she added.
The Cabinet on Monday cleared the quota for economically weaker sections. The move came as the upper castes, a staunch support base of the BJP, have shown signs of drifting away from the ruling party ahead of Lok Sabha polls which is likely to be held in April-May.
Mayawati said her party has demanded reservation for economically weak Muslims and other minority communities but BJP did not do “justice” to them and that is condemnable. Her reaction came a day after other opposition parties too questioned the timing of the Cabinet decision. But they have also extended support, reflecting the decision’s political significance whereas the BJP has termed the government decision “historic”.
“The party had written a letter in this regard to the government but Centre took a narrow and communal stand and provided the benefit to only a particular section (upper caste), which is injustice for other sections,” Said Mayawati.
“In reality, there should be review of reservation provided to SC/ST and OBC and these sections should be provided reservation as per their population by increasing their quota by amending the Constitution,” Mayawati said, demanding the implementation of quota in promotions.
The Union government is likely to bring a constitutional amendment bill in Parliament to provide the quota over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation.
Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution will have to be amended for implementation of the decision. The benefit of the reservation, when implemented, is likely to be availed by those whose annual income is below Rs eight lakh and have up to five acres of land.
The hit medical series – “Grey’s Anatomy” has bagged three extra additional episodes as ABC has ordered, bringing the total count up to 25.
The show, fronted by Ellen Pompeo, currently ranks as No 1 series in the network from the 2018-19 broadcast season.The showrunner of the series created by Shonda Rhimes is Krista Vernoff.
As the Hollywood Reporter reported, this certain development has the series closing in to become the longest-running primetime medical drama on television ever.
Pompeo, now earning $575,000 per episode, inked a new two-year contract with the ABC Studios for seasons 15 and the potential 16 instalment of the show last January. The deal also gives her a producer tag on the long-running medical drama, along with a co-executive producer credit on its upcoming spin-off.
“Grey’s Anatomy” returns for the second half of season 15 on January 17.
The government on Tuesday introduced a quota bill in Lok Sabha for 10% reservation in educational institutions and job sectors for the economically backward section in the general category.
The Bill, approved by the Union Cabinet on last Monday was brought into Lok Sabha on the last day of the winter session.
Union Minister: Thawar Chand Gahlot introducd the bill in the house amid protests by Samajwadi Party. The deavte regarding the bill is expected to start by 2 pm.
A new government in Bangladesh sworn-in on January 7, 2019, with Sheikh Hasina as the Prime Minister. This is in fact the third consecutive term for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has very successfully transformed Bangladesh into the fastest growing economy in the world. A number of countries already have greeted the newly elected government and renewed their commitment of working with Bangladesh under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina.
The United States has commended the tens of millions of Bangladeshis who voted in Bangladesh’s 11th parliamentary elections on December 30, as well as the decision of all major opposition political parties to participate.
The United States also described it as a positive development after the boycotted election of 2014 and strongly encouraged all parties to refrain from violence and requested the Election Commission to work constructively with all sides to address claims of irregularities.
Robert Palladino, Deputy Spokesperson at the US State Department in a message said, “The United States remains deeply invested in the future of Bangladesh and its democratic development.”
He further applauded Bangladesh’s impressive record of economic development and respect for democracy and human rights are mutually reinforcing.
In its message, the United Kingdom has pledged to continue to support the people of Bangladesh in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous, and democratic future.
It said, “We’ve a broad and important partnership with Bangladesh, and a significant Bangladeshi diaspora in the UK.”
Mark Field, British Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific further said, “It’s vital for the government and all political parties now to work together to address differences and find a way forward in line with the interests of the people of Bangladesh.”
While the United States, United Kingdom, China, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar have already conveyed their renewed support towards the newly elected government in Bangladesh, Russia’s silence in this regard is of greatest dismay. The statement from the United Nations and the European Union are disturbing as well.
It may be mentioned here that, ruling Awami League alone secured 259 out of 299 parliamentary seats that went to polls. Due to its alliance with militancy-linked JIB, Bangladesh Nationalist Party was greatly rejected by the people of Bangladesh during the just concluded election and the party already has been decimated to just five seats. Following this humiliating result, BNP needs to go for immediate soul-searching and disassociate from Jamaat-e-Islami forthwith if it really wants to survive as a major political force in Bangladesh.
Misleading propaganda against Bangladesh:
Michael Kugelman is the deputy director and senior associate for South Asia with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC in an opinion piece in a renowned media house has made some objectionable remarks about Bangladesh stating, “The disputed election outcome could plunge Bangladeshi politics, already poisoned by bitter and often violently expressed partisanship, into a new and dangerous era.”
He also wrote, “The opposition has every reason to be furious. For several years, the AL has engaged in a systematic campaign to undercut the opposition, if not dismantle it altogether. The crackdown has included scores of arrests. Several top figures, including opposition leader Khaleda Zia, are in jail. A weakened Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition party, has become a shadow of its former self. The AL’s unrelenting campaign of political repression made any idea of a level electoral playing field a farce.”
One may find a clear sense of instigation in the aforementioned opinion piece. It is definitely unacceptable to Bangladeshi people, when any foreign news outlet makes such undue remarks on own internal affairs, particularly by twisting the fact. It is surprising that the CNN contributor is seeing “new and dangerous era” in Bangladesh, when the people of the country are in favour of development and prosperity and very much against religious extremism and radical Islam.
Here of course, Michael Kugelman has brought one valid point when he wrote, “To be sure, one could easily take issue with such characterisations. In order to expand its vote bank, for example, the AL has increasingly aligned itself with the positions of several religious parties, including Hefazat-e-Islam, one of the country’s largest Islamist organisations. Additionally, beneath the veneer of strong GDP growth lie several worsening economic indicators, including inequality. But such critiques of the AL’s track record don’t daunt or deter the AL’s rank and file.”
Awami League’s alliance or affiliations with pro-Caliphate groups like Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) does not go with the secularist ideology of the ruling party. If Awami League wants to appease pro-Caliphate groups such as HeI, it may greatly tarnish the image of the party and spoil its vote bank within the religious minorities in Bangladesh. Group like Hefazat-e-Islam is no better than Jamaat-e-Islami. In some considerations, Hefazat even is much worse than Jamaat. Hopefully, the policymakers in the government will take this matter into consideration and refrain from romancing with notorious pro-Caliphate groups like Hefazat. Moreover, Awami League’s perception of Hefazat-e-Islam having its own vote bank is factually wrong. In each of the elections in Bangladesh, we have clearly witnessed, Islamist parties or groups actually do not enjoy the confidence of the voters. A notorious pro-Caliphate group like Hefazat most certainly does not enjoy minimum confidence of the Bangladeshi voters. Instead, Awami League’s romance with Hefazat would simply annoy the younger generation of this country and would ultimately distract the young voters from supporting Awami League.
Why Sheikh Hasina is the most popular leader in Bangladesh?
Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. She has been dedicatedly working for Bangladesh even since she became the Prime Minister in 2008. She had to accept the challenge of improving the economic status of the country, which was left almost in a wrecked condition by the previous BNP-Jamaat’s Islamist coalition government. While Jamaat-e-Islami was busy in promoting and establishing radical Islam in the country, BNP was rather acting like a supporting force to such notoriety. The BNP-Jamaat government had even brought sedition, treason and blasphemy charges against me in 2004 for the “crime” of terming Osama Bin Laden and Yasser Arafat as terrorists. From this specific evidence of spurious case brought against me, BNP and Jamaat have clearly proved – it does not consider Osama Bin Laden as a terrorist. Here my question is how the Western nations can have any sympathy for parties who consider Bin Laden as a hero? It was also documentarily proved that BNP considers Hezbollah and Hamas as their allies and are supportive of these terrorist entities just because, Hezbollah and Hamas talk about the elimination of Israel from the world map.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clearly is against radical Islam. She wholeheartedly denounces and confronts radical Islamic militancy. For this particular reason, Sheikh Hasina is the most dependable ally of the West. At the same time, Sheikh Hasina has been vigorously fighting against terrorism and has repeatedly pledged of not allowing any terrorist entities in using the soil of Bangladesh for any subversive activities.
Huge economic growth of Bangladesh during the past ten years has already made the people of this country eternally indebted to Sheikh Hasina. In their eyes, Sheikh Hasina is a real statesman and the leader who can really transform Bangladesh into a prosperous and powerful nation in Asia.
World needs to support Sheikh Hasina:
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina deserves the support from the international community in multiple ways. She needs support for resolving the existing Rohingya refugee crisis, which already is a huge burden to Bangladesh. Unless there is huge pressure on Myanmar in taking-back almost one million of their citizen, who currently are in Bangladesh, the Rohingya issue may hang unresolved for decades.
At the same time, the international community must extend the fullest support to Sheikh Hasina in her ongoing drive against radical Islamic militancy. Bangladesh may also need the support from the United States and the United Kingdom, in case the Indian government takes the wrong steps of pushing over four million Bangla-speaking Muslims and Hindus into Bangladesh during the next few months.
Bangladesh needs to reshuffle its Middle East policy:
Accepting the global realities, Bangladesh needs to reshuffle its Middle East policy soon and abandon the decade-old rhetoric of unnecessarily having enmity with Israel. It is essential for Bangladesh to note; several Muslim majority nations including Saudi Arabia are now shifting from their previous policies and most possibly going to embrace the Jewish State as their newest ally. For a leader like Sheikh Hasina, who has been fighting radical Islamic militancy, Bangladesh’s blind support towards the Palestinians particularly a mega-terrorist outfit like Hamas is suicidal. Bangladesh also needs to distance itself from countries like Iran.
(The author of the article is a senior journalist and Editor of Blitz.)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
The Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday that, as many as 183 civilians and 838 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir since 2014.
The Government on Tuesday introduced in Lok Sabha amendments to the POCSO Act, which provides for death penalty for aggravated sexual assault on children, making it gender neutral and introducing provisions against child pornography and for enhancing punishment for certain offences.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the green tribunal’s order of setting aside the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to close Vedanta’s Sterlite copper plant at Tuticorin.
BSP chief Mayawati said on Tuesday that the Union Cabinet’s decision to give a 10% reservation in educational institutions and government jobs to the economically backward general section was an election stunt and political gimmick for upcoming Lok Sabha polls. However, she said that her party welcomes the immature move by the government. “It would have been better if the BJP party had taken the decision much earlier, while, now it’s evident that the party is on its way out,” she added.
A new government in Bangladesh sworn-in on January 7, 2019, with Sheikh Hasina as the Prime Minister. This is in fact the third consecutive term for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has very successfully transformed Bangladesh into the fastest growing economy in the world. A number of countries already have greeted the newly elected government and renewed their commitment of working with Bangladesh under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina.