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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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
