Congress' 'guarantees' will help change lives of women: Sonia Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday assured people that the "guarantees" listed by the party in its Lok Sabha poll manifesto will change their circumstances in this "difficult time".
In a video message, which was shared by the Congress on social media, she said women of the country are facing tough times in the wake of a "severe crisis" and the party's 'Mahalakshmi scheme' for them will help change their lives.
"My dear sisters, women have made a huge contribution, from the freedom struggle to the creation of modern India. However, today our women are facing a crisis amid severe inflation. To do justice to their hard work and penance, the Congress has come up with a revolutionary guarantee," Sonia Gandhi said.
"The Congress' 'Mahalakshmi' scheme guarantees that we will give Rs 1 lakh every year to a woman from a poor family," she said in her message, an appeal to people voting in the ongoing fourth round of the seven-phase general elections to support the Congress.
Sonia Gandhi said the Congress' "guarantees" have already changed the lives of crores of families in Karnataka and Telangana, where it has also implemented the scheme.
The Congress is in power in these two southern states.
"Be it MGNREGA, Right to Information, Right to Education or through schemes like Food Security, the Congress party has empowered millions of Indians. The 'Mahalakshmi' is the latest guarantee to take our work forward," Sonia Gandhi said.
"In this difficult time, I want to assure you that the hand of Congress is with you and this hand will change your circumstances. Thank you. Jai Hind," the former Congress president said, referring to her party's symbol.
Her appeal was shared by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former party president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on their X handles.
Rahul Gandhi, while sharing his mother's message, said, "Women from poor families remember -- your one vote is equal to Rs 1 lakh annually in your account."
"The Congress' 'Mahalaxmi' scheme is going to be a lifesaver for women struggling amid terrible inflation and unemployment. With Rs 8,500 being deposited directly into bank accounts every month, women of India will become free from financial dependence and will be able to write their own family's destiny," he said.
"So vote and change your circumstances," Rahul Gandhi said while sharing Sonia Gandhi's message.
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Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship
Seattle (AP): A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents' immigration status.
US District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argue the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship.
The case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country. The suits include personal testimonies from attorneys general who are US citizens by birthright, and names pregnant women who are afraid their children won't become US citizens.
Signed by Trump on Inauguration Day, the order is slated to take effect on February 19. It could impact hundreds of thousands of people born in the country, according to one of the lawsuits.
In 2022, there were about 255,000 births of citizen children to mothers living in the country illegally and about 153,000 births to two such parents, according to the four-state suit filed in Seattle.
The US is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil” — is applied. Most are in the Americas, and Canada and Mexico are among them.
The lawsuits argue that the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees citizenship for people born and naturalised in the US, and states have been interpreting the amendment that way for a century.
Ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War, the amendment says: “All persons born or naturalised in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Trump's order asserts that the children of noncitizens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and orders federal agencies to not recognise citizenship for children who don't have at least one parent who is a citizen.
A key case involving birthright citizenship unfolded in 1898. The Supreme Court held that Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a US citizen because he was born in the country. After a trip abroad, he faced being denied reentry by the federal government on the grounds that he wasn't a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act.
But some advocates of immigration restrictions have argued that case clearly applied to children born to parents who were both legal immigrants. They say it's less clear whether it applies to children born to parents living in the country illegally.
Trump's executive order prompted attorneys general to share their personal connections to birthright citizenship. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, for instance, a US citizen by birthright and the nation's first Chinese American elected attorney general, said the lawsuit was personal for him.
“There is no legitimate legal debate on this question. But the fact that Trump is dead wrong will not prevent him from inflicting serious harm right now on American families like my own,” Tong said this week.
One of the lawsuits aimed at blocking the executive order includes the case of a pregnant woman, identified as “Carmen,” who is not a citizen but has lived in the United States for more than 15 years and has a pending visa application that could lead to permanent residency status.
“Stripping children of the priceless treasure' of citizenship is a grave injury,” the suit says. “It denies them the full membership in US society to which they are entitled.”
