Hundreds protest in Bengaluru against Israel's actions in Palestine amid flag hoisting restrictions
Bengaluru: Approximately 600 people from various parts of Karnataka gathered at Freedom Park on Saturday to protest against Israel's military actions in Gaza, the West Bank, and the recent bombings in Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and Syria. The protestors called on both the Indian and Karnataka governments to sever ties with Israel and denounced what they termed as complicity in the genocide of Palestinians.
The protest, organized by Bengaluru for Peace and Justice, saw participation from citizens, student activist groups, women’s rights organizations, farmers’ associations, and trade unions. The demonstrators highlighted the staggering humanitarian toll in Palestine, with an estimated 1,86,000 Palestinians killed, including over 16,500 children, and more than 2.3 million people displaced from their homes.
Aishwarya R. from PUCL-K pointed out that the Bengaluru police had threatened to file FIRs against anyone hoisting the Palestinian flag. “The Israeli government banned the Palestinian flag and even the watermelon, as it contains the colors of the flag, turning it into a symbol of Palestinian resistance. Today, we distribute watermelons here as a response to the threats we received,” she said.
Addressing the gathering, Sachin from AISA spoke about imperialism's role in the ongoing conflicts, pointing to Israel’s attacks on multiple Middle Eastern countries. “Despite the devastating loss of lives, Palestinians continue to resist. The Karnataka Police’s fear of the Palestinian flag only exposes their support for a genocidal state,” he remarked.
Shrilakshmi from Students for People’s Democracy expressed concern over the attacks on educational institutions in Gaza and called for increased student solidarity. “The Indian government has clamped down on voices of solidarity across universities in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru,” she said.
Other speakers echoed similar sentiments, condemning India’s military collaborations with Israel and urging the government to take a stronger stance against the ongoing violence. Prakash from CPI(M) criticized the shift in India’s policies under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing India’s increased military cooperation with Israel, including the controversial Pegasus spyware deal.
Yusuf Kanni from Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Karnataka condemned the widespread loss of lives and humanitarian crises faced by Palestinians and neighboring countries. He called for a complete academic and cultural boycott of all state-run Israeli institutions.
Representatives of the protest group issued a set of demands, including a complete embargo on Israel akin to India’s boycott of apartheid South Africa, the withdrawal of Indian workers from Israel, and an end to all military and surveillance technology collaborations with Israeli companies.
The protestors called for an immediate cessation of ties with Israeli institutions, termination of training programs involving Indian police and security forces, and an end to joint operations.
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All-party meet: Govt appeals to all parties to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament
New Delhi (PTI): Amid demands from the opposition to discuss bribery charges against the Adani group, the government on Sunday said the business advisory committees of both Houses will decide on matters to be discussed in the Winter session and appealed to parties to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament.
Ruling party leaders met floor leaders of political parties ahead of the start of the Winter session on Monday.
After the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters that the government appealed to all parties to ensure smooth running of Parliament.
Responding to a question on opposition's demand for taking up the Adani issue, he said the respective Business Advisory Committees of the Houses will decide on matters to be discussed in Parliament with consent from Lok Sabha speaker and Rajya Sabha chairperson.
At the meeting, Congress members raised the issue of bribery charges against the Adani group as well as the situation in Manipur.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said the party wants discussion on Adani as well as ethnic strife in Manipur. He said while the chief minister of Jharkhand was arrested, the government still has confidence in the chief minister of Manipur despite bouts of ethnic violence.
The opposition party also sought a discussion on the issue of rising pollution in north India and train accidents.
Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said his party wanted the issue of Adani to be taken up in Parliament as the first thing when it meets on Monday.
It is a grave issue involving the country's economic and security interests as over Rs 2,300 crore were allegedly paid by the company to politicians and bureaucrats to get favourable deal for its solar energy projects, the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of a scheme to pay USD 265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange of favourable terms for solar power contracts.
The group has denied the charges.
The Congress, he said, also wanted a discussion on issues like severe air pollution in north India, the Manipur situation, which has gone "out of control", and train accidents.
The meeting was convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
BJP president J P Nadda, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Gaurav Gogoi besides T Siva, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Anupriya Patel attended the meet.
The Winter Session of Parliament, beginning Monday, is scheduled to last till December 20.
The government has listed 16 bills, including the Waqf Amendment Bill, for consideration in the session.
The bills pending in the Lok Sabha include the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which has been listed for consideration and passage after the joint committee of the two Houses submits its report to the Lok Sabha.
The panel is mandated to submit its report on the last day of the first week of the Winter session.
Opposition members on the panel are demanding an extension in the timeline to submit its report. They have alleged that committee chair Jagdambika Pal, a BJP MP, is bulldozing the committee meetings and has sought the intervention of Speaker Om Birla.
Rijiju said there is a provision to extend the tenure of the joint committee but as of now, thee have been no discussions. He underlined that that the business advisory committee of the Lok SSbha is the platform to discuss the issue of extension of time for the panel.
The presentation, discussion and voting on the First Batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2024-25 has also been listed.
The other bill listed by the government for introduction, consideration and passage is the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill to enhance the pecuniary (defined as the monetary value of a case) appellate jurisdiction of Delhi district courts from the existing Rs 3 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
It also includes the Merchant Shipping Bill that seeks to ensure compliance with India's obligation under maritime treaties to which New Delhi is a party. Besides, the Coastal Shipping Bill and the Indian Ports Bill have also been listed for introduction and eventual passage.
As many as eight bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, are pending in Lok Sabha. According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, two bills are pending with the Rajya Sabha.
The Rajya Sabha bulletin said an additional bill The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, passed by the Lok Sabha is pending with the Upper House.
A set of proposed bills to implement simultaneous elections in the country are not part of the list yet, though some reports suggested that the government is likely to bring the proposed legislation in the coming session.
