BJP leader and Netaji's nephew Chandra Kumar Bose wants Muslims included in CAA
Kolkata, Jan 20: An "atmosphere of fear" is being created by both the ruling and opposition parties over the new citizenship law, West Bengal BJP vice president Chandra Bose said on Monday, and urged the Centre to grant citizenship even to Muslims under the amended citizenship act.
He also said the government should issue a written clarification on the issue.
"An atmosphere of fear is being created on the issue of citizenship. This applies to both the ruling party and the opposition parties.
"Just because it (the law) has been passed by Parliament, it can't be used to bulldoze people by ignoring the protests. The same applies to opposition parties which are deliberately misleading the masses," He told PTI.
Bose, a grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have categorically noted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is not based on religion.
However, statements made by some other leaders are creating confusion.
"In order to deal with this, I think that this clause should be included (in the new law) that the CAA is not based on religion....and Muslims should also be included in it," he said.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act aims to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who entered India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, having fled religious persecution in their countries.
"Now what will happen to the Muslims who had come to this country before that date? There is a confusion. The Centre must take steps to remove that confusion," Bose said.
A few state BJP leaders PTI approached declined to comment on Bose's statements.
Bose had pitched for the inclusion of Muslims in the CAA earlier also.
"If CAA, 2019 is not related to any religion why are we stating Hindu, Sikh, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains only! Why not include Muslims as well? Let's be transparent," he had tweeted last month.
"Don't equate India or compare it with any other nation - as it's a nation Open to all religions and communities," he had said in another tweet.
West Bengal has been witnessing relentless protests over the CAA, a pan-India NRC and updation of the National Population Register, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leading the charge against the government on these livewire issues.
The protests, though initially very violent, have acquired a somewhat milder tone but are continuing. Scuffles have been reported from several campuses including the prestigious Jadavpur University and Visva Bharati.
Today @BJP4India under the leadership of @narendramodi ji is an inclusive party embracing all religions & communities. My humble request is to include all religions & communities under the ambit of #CAA . Jai Hind! @PMOIndia
— Chandra Kumar Bose (@Chandrabosebjp) December 30, 2019
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
