Indian groups in UAE miss deadline to suggest changes in new draft Immigration Act
Dubai, Jan 20 : Several Indian expatriate groups in the UAE have missed the deadline to recommend changes in India's new draft Immigration Act and demanded the extension of the last day for rasing concerns, said a media report.
The new draft bill is slated to replace the Immigration Act of 1983.
Indian Government had invited public feedback for the new draft law that proposes, among other things, mandatory registration of Indians going abroad for work, setting up of an Emigration Management Authority to ensure the welfare and protection of emigrants.
It also proposes strict regulations and penalties to prevent illegal recruitment, exploitation and human trafficking.
Indian organisations in UAE said that the Indian Government should have communicated well to its diaspora regarding the draft bill and the deadline to recommend changes till Sunday, the Khaleej Times reported.
AK Beeran Kutty, president of Kerala Social Centre, said he came to know about the draft bill just three days ago.
"The government should have circulated it through official channels and diplomatic missions. None of us even knew about the tweet put out by the Ministry of External Affairs seeking comments. I think we lost an opportunity to study the draft bill carefully and raise our concerns," he said.
President of India Social and Cultural Centre Ramesh Panicker aired similar concerns and said: "Not everybody is on Twitter. An important draft bill like this should have been made public through official channels".
Panicker hoped that the Indian Government will postpone the deadline for suggesting changes in the draft bill.
"I hope the government will postpone the deadline and allot more time for the diaspora to give their feedback," he said, adding that he would raise the issue at the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, which will begin in Varanasi on January 21.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
