People 'apprehensive, worried' by 'one-sided' results in 4 Assembly polls, says BSP chief
Lucknow (PTI): A day after the BJP won three of the four Assembly elections, BSP chief Mayawati said the "one-sided results" in the four states have made people "apprehensive, astonished and worried" as she convened a meeting of her party members to discuss the 2024 Lok Sabha polls strategy.
The meeting will be held in Lucknow on December 10.
In a series of posts on X Mayawati also said that during the election campaign in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana there was a feeling that these states would see a close fight. But the results were completely different, she said.
BJP swept the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, rendering a major loss to the Congress which managed to wrest power in Telangana in the results announced on Sunday.
"It is natural for all the people to be doubtful, surprised and worried when the results of the assembly elections in the four states were one-sided. Considering the entire atmosphere of the elections, such a strange result is a matter of concern for the people and very difficult to accept," Mayawati said on X.
"The atmosphere during the entire election was that of a neck-and-neck fight. But the election result being completely different and one-sided is such a mysterious matter that it requires serious thinking and needs to be solved. A terrible 'mistake' in sensing people's mood is a new topic of discussion."
Asking her party members not to be disheartened by the results, she said, "All people of BSP fought this election with full strength... They should not be disappointed by such a result and keep trying to move forward by taking inspiration from the life and struggles of Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar."
To discuss the ground report of this election and to make preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, an all-India meeting of the party will be convened in Lucknow on December 10, Mayawati said.
"The Ambedkarite movement will never lose the courage to move forward," the BSP president added.
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Message of 'live and let live': Sibal hails SC ruling on Section 6A of Citizenship Act
New Delhi (PTI): Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Friday hailed the Supreme Court upholding the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, saying it is a message to all that "live and let live" and conserve the culture of a multicultural and plural nation that India is.
In a significant judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act which grants Indian citizenship to immigrants from Bangladesh who entered Assam before March 25, 1971.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justices Surya Kant, M M Sundresh, and Manoj Misra further underscored the necessity for more robust policy measures to curb illegal immigration.
In a post on X, Sibal said, "Citizenship Act, 1955, Section 6-A, upheld by Supreme Court. Message to all: 'Live and let live'. Conserve the culture of a 'multicultural and plural nation that India is'.
"Bhakts listening? Bajrang Dal listening? Governments listening? Hope so!" Sibal said.
Section 6A was inserted in 1985 into the Citizenship Act of 1955 following the signing of the Assam accord between the then Rajiv Gandhi government at the Centre and the agitating groups led by Prafulla Mahanta, including All Assam Students Union in the state.
The verdict is believed to give a boost to those opposed to grant of Indian citizenship to immigrants who entered Assam after March 25, 1971.
According to the provision, all those who came to Assam on or after January 1, 1966, but before March 25, 1971, from Bangladesh at the time of commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985, and since then are residents of Assam, can register for Indian citizenship.
As a result, the provision fixes March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to migrants, particularly those from Bangladesh, residing in Assam.
While the CJI, Justices Kant, Sundresh, and Misra upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A, Justice J B Pardiwala dissented in a minority verdict.
Holding the cut-off date of March 25, 1971 as rational, the CJI, writing for himself, said Section 6A was included with the objective of reducing the influx of migrants to India and dealing with those who had already migrated.
CJI Chandrachud said Section 6A was not violative of Articles 6 and 7 of the Constitution, which stipulates a cut-off date for conferring citizenship to migrants from east and west Pakistan at the commencement of the Constitution".
"The Assam Accord was a political solution to the issue of growing migration and Section 6A was a legislative solution. Section 6A must not be read detached from the previous legislation enacted by Parliament to deal with the problem of influx of migrants of Indian origin... Section 6A is one more statutory intervention in the long list of legislation that balances the humanitarian needs of migrants of Indian origin and the impact of such migration on economic and cultural needs of Indian states," he wrote.
Justice Surya Kant, writing for himself and Justices Sundresh and Misra, said, Section 6A falls within the bounds of the Constitution and does not contravene the foundational principles of fraternity.
