Human Rights

New Delhi, Dec 10 (PTI) Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram described the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as "patently unconstitutional" on Tuesday and said with its passage in Parliament, the battleground will shift to the Supreme Court.

He claimed that the elected lawmakers were abdicating their responsibilities in favour of lawyers and judges.

Itanagar, Dec 10 (PTI) Normal life came to a halt in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday due to the 11-hour North East bandh called by NESO in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday night.

Educational institutions, banks, commercial establishments and markets were closed while public and private vehicles were off the road in the state in response to the bandh called by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU), a constituent of North East Students' Union.

Shillong, Dec 10 (PTI) Normal life was affected in Meghalaya on Tuesday due a statewide called by the Khasi Students Union (KSU), a constituent of the NESO, to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Shops, markets and business establishments kept shutters down, while educational and financial institutions remained closed for the day, officials said.

Government offices were open but recorded less than 10 per cent attendance, they said.

Srinagar, Dec 10 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has quashed the detention of two people under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA), officials said on Tuesday.

Justice Ali Mohammad Magray passed orders, quashing the detention under the PSA of Mohammad Ashraf Ganaie of Sopore and Imtiyaz Pahloo of Srinagar, on Monday, the officials said.

While Ganaie was detained under the PSA for his alleged involvement in timber smuggling, Pahloo was detained under the controversial law for his alleged involvement in stone-pelting incidents, they said.

New Delhi, Dec 10 (PTI) The BJP is confident of the passage of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha which will be introduced in the upper house on Wednesday, sources said on Tuesday.

The bill piloted by Union Home Minister Amit Shah was comfortably passed in the Lok Sabha on late Monday night as the ruling BJP enjoys a clear majority in the house.

Sources in the party said that the legislation will also sail through the Rajya Sabha as the ruling NDA has the numbers.

Following text was released by USCIRF yesterday;

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2019

Delhi; 10 Dec 2019 (UMM): Speaking to a gathering at Jawaharlal Nehru University; writer and activist Harsh Mander said that he will declare himse a Muslim if Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) is passed.

Mander was quoted by Ansil KM, a student at JNU, who took to Facebook to publicise the comments, told DoolNews that the former bureaucrat further said he will boycott the NRC process and will not submit any documents.

Lucknow, Dec 9 (PTI) Accusing the BJP of dividing society, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav here on Monday said the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was an insult to country and its constitution.

"I had earlier said that their (BJP's) politics is diverting attention and dividing society. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is an insult to India and the Constitution," Yadav said in a tweet.

The former UP chief minister also alleged that the ruling BJP had failed to fulfil its poll promises.

Mumbai, Dec 9 (PTI) The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is "anti-Constitutional" and the BJP-led Union government is pushing it only for political benefits, Nationalist Congress Party chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said here on Monday.

TheCitizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB)seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there.

09 Dec 2019; MEMO: Russian and Syrian regime fighter jets on Saturday struck what is supposed to be a cease-fire zone in northwestern Syria, leaving at least 19 civilians dead, according to the opposition aircraft observatory, reports Anadolu Agency.

The observatory said Russian jets struck settlements in villages in Idlib, Syria in the southern Marratinnuman district, while regime forces mounted air and ground attacks on the town of Kafranbil and other local villages.