Public reaction to CAA 'expected', anger will grow if govt doesn't realise mistake: Amarinder Singh
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said the people's reaction to the "draconian" citizenship law was "expected" and the anger would only increase if the Centre does not withdraw it.
"The public reaction to the CAA had to be expected since the BJP government at the Centre was trying to destroy India's cherished constitutional and social fabric through this draconian legislation," Singh said when queried over the violence in Delhi and other parts of the country.
Fresh violence tore through northeast Delhi, killing six more people on Tuesday and taking the toll in the communal clashes over the amended citizenship law to 11.
Singh said the central government "failed to factor in the possible reaction of the people in its plans to impose the CAA, as well as the NRC (National Register of Citizens) and NPR (National Population Register), on the nation".
"Naturally, there had to be a reaction to the Centre's attempt to trample over the country's democratic ideals of socialism and secularism", he told reporters outside the Punjab Assembly here.
He added that the people's anger would not end but only grow bigger till the central government realised its "mistake" and withdrew the legislation.
Asked about the Centre's decision not to invite Congress president Sonia Gandhi to the banquet hosted for the visiting US President, Singh described it as "unfortunate" and said such a thing had never happened under Congress governments.
Replying to another question, he said the Delhi Chief Minister (Arvind Kejriwal) should have been invited for the US First Lady's visit to the city schools.
Singh said though he was not a supporter of the policies of the Aam Aadmi Party, it was customary for the chief minister to be invited when a VIP, such as US President Donald Trump, was on a visit and his wife was going to a school of that state, he said.
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Former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana to contest bypoll from Gandey assembly seat
Ranchi, April 25: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Thursday announced that Kalpana Soren, wife of jailed former chief minister Hemant Soren, will contest the bypoll from Gandey assembly seat.
The seat in Giridih district fell vacant following the resignation of JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad.
Bypoll to Gandey assembly seat is scheduled on May 20 along with the parliamentary elections in the state.
The party also announced the candidature of Samir Mohanty, the sitting MLA from Baharagora, from Jamshedpur Lok Sabha seat.
Kalpana had embarked on a political journey at the 51st foundation day celebration of JMM in Giridih district on March 4, claiming that a conspiracy had been orchestrated by opponents ever since the Hemant Soren coalition government came to power in 2019.
Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land fraud, subsequent to his resignation as CM.
After the ruling JMM-led alliance proved its majority on February 5 and her husband made a fiery speech in the assembly, Kalpana had taken to X to announce that the "fight against injustice and oppression will continue".
Previously considered a frontrunner for the position of chief minister but facing opposition from Sita Soren, she declared, "I have fought, and I will continue to fight! We have won, and we will win!"
A homemaker with MTech and MBA qualifications, Kalpana completed her education in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district and obtained her engineering and MBA degrees in Bhubaneswar.
Hemant's arrest had sparked speculation that Kalpana would assume leadership. However, a family rift emerged, with his sister-in-law, Sita Soren, openly opposing any move to make Kalpana the chief minister.
Sita questioned Kalpana's political inexperience and objected to her potential candidacy, dismissing it as BJP propaganda. Hemant dismissed speculations of Kalpana contesting from Gandey, labeling it as BJP's fabrication.
Speculations regarding Kalpana's candidacy arose following the resignation of ruling JMM's Gandey MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad in December, with the BJP claiming it was to facilitate Kalpana's candidacy in case of ED summonses.
