Congress demands all-party meeting on NRC
New Delhi, July 30 : The Congress on Monday said the central government should convene an all-party meeting at the earliest to apprise political parties of the situation arising from publication of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) of Assam.
Talking to mediapersons here, Congress leader Anand Sharma said the issue has inter and intra-state dimensions, and can also have external dimensions.
"The government must convene a meeting of all parties to inform them of the situation, the steps it proposes to take until the disposal of the matter," he said.
Sharma said the issue has implications not only for Assam but also for the states of West Bengal, Tripura, Odisha and Meghalaya.
He said the way the NRC exercise has been carried out raises questions on the government's credibility.
"As we have been told, indigenous people have been affected, tea plantation workers have been affected. The government had given a list of 16 documents and any one of them was sufficient. We have been informed an overwhelming number of people had several documents," he said.
Sharma said the issue should not be politicised and the solution can be found in the ambit of the Assam Accord.
The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 between the central and Assam governments on one side, and the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and the now defunct All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP), which spearheaded the movement, on the other, in the presence of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Sharma said jury was out if the central government had presented the case properly in the Supreme Court.
He claimed that Home Minister Rajnath Singh had admitted in his remarks in the Lok Sabha that there were some shortcomings in the process of preparing the NRC.
Singh had said the final draft of NRC that was published on Monday was not the final list and urged the Opposition not to politicise it.
"Whatever work is going on in the NRC, is happening under the supervision of the Supreme Court. To say that the government has done it, and it is inhuman and brutal... such allegations are baseless. It is not the right thing to say," the Home Minister said.
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NCW chief condemns rape-murder of 4-year-old girl in Pune, calls for swift action
New Delhi (PTI): National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has condemned the alleged rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Maharashtra's Pune, calling it "deeply distressing" and a "blot on humanity".
The girl was allegedly raped and killed by a 65-year-old labourer, who has a criminal record, in Bhor tehsil of Pune on Friday. The accused allegedly lured the child to a cattle enclosure on the pretext of giving her food. After raping her, he killed her by hitting her with a stone, according to police.
The accused has been arrested.
In a post on X on Saturday, Rahatkar said the incident in the Nasrapur area in Pune was heartbreaking and has shaken society.
"The brutal torture and murder of a four-year-old innocent girl in Nasrapur (Bhor, Pune) is deeply painful, heartbreaking, and shocking. It is a blot on humanity," she said.
She said Pune Rural police has arrested the accused and noted that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar have assured strict action in the case.
Rahatkar said the NCW has taken cognisance of the matter and written to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), requesting the body to ensure necessary and prompt action.
It has also been recommended that the case be pursued under stringent provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and be closely monitored from the filing of the chargesheet to proceedings in a fast-track special court to ensure time-bound justice, she added.
Ensuring justice for the victim and stringent punishment for the accused is a collective responsibility, the NCW chairperson underlined.
In a post on X, the NCW said it has taken suo motu cognisance of the extremely "heinous" incident.
"This heinous crime causes profound pain and outrage, and it highlights serious concerns regarding the safety of young girls," it said.
Strongly condemning this grave "inhuman act", the NCW said such crimes constitute a serious violation of children's rights and raise questions about society's security system.
