CM Raje urges fast processing of citizenship to Hindu migrants
Jaipur, June 15: Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has requested Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for fast processing of pending cases to grant citizenship rights to Hindus who migrated to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh.
According to information, Raje met and informed the Union Minister on Thursday that applications of several such migrants residing in different districts of Rajasthan were lying pending.
The Union Home Minister has already authorised the district magistrates of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer to grant permanent resident and citizenship rights to such migrants. For the rest of the districts, the state Home Secretary has been authorised.
These rights are, however, limited for a period extending up to two years since the notification to this effect has been published.
The Chief Minister further suggested for extension of this time window for one more year. Also, she said that District Magistrates of Udaipur, Pali, Jalore, Alwar and Barmer should also be given the authority to grant citizenship rights.
Besides, she suggested that the District Magistrates concerned should also be given the authority for extension of the long-term visa beyond 5 years for the migrants who are willing to have permanent citizenship in the country.
Currently, the authority for visa-term extension is vested in the state government, said an official.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
