Protest march held in Kolkata over people's 'harassment' during Bengal SIR
Kolkata (PTI): An organisation led by West Bengal minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury took out a march here on Tuesday to protest against the alleged harassment of people during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
The procession by Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Hind began in the Rajabazar area of north-central Kolkata and culminated at Esplanade in the central part of the city, covering a distance of about 4.5 kilometres.
A large number of protesters, including women and elderly persons, participated in the march and raised slogans against the Centre and the Election Commission.
Chowdhury alleged that residents of West Bengal, including senior citizens, were being forced to stand in long queues for hours for verification, which is "inhuman".
"We will continue our fight through democratic means. Injustice is being meted out to us, which is not acceptable," said the state minister for mass education extension and library services.
He alleged that the central government was pressuring the Election Commission to conduct the SIR ahead of the state assembly elections this year.
Responding to a question on whether minorities were being selectively targeted during the voter list revision exercise, Chowdhury said the protest was "against oppression and the undermining of the independence of an autonomous constitutional institution".
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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member
New Delhi (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha, marking the end of his two-decade rule in the eastern state and paving the way for a new chief minister.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan in his chamber at a brief ceremony. The Chairman later welcomed him as a member of the Upper House and also on his return in Parliament.
Kumar took the oath in Hindi in the presence of Union Minister J P Nadda, who is also leader of the house, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary was also present at the oath-taking.
JDU leader and party's working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh, besides BJP MP and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and BJP chief whip in Lok Sabha Sanjay Jaiswal, were among those present during the oath-taking.
"Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, administered the oath to Shri Nitish Kumar as an elected Member of Rajya Sabha, from Bihar, at Parliament House today," the Vice President's office said on X, while sharing pictures of the oath-taking.
After the oath-taking, Kumar came out of the new Parliament building and spoke about the time he was a member of the Lok Sabha and sat in the old Parliament building.
As Kumar assumes the Rajya Sabha role, it marks the end of his long two-decade rule in Bihar. Kumar will soon resign as chief minister and the NDA is likely to elect a new chief minister of Bihar on April 14.
He has already resigned as a member of the State Legislative Council on March 30 after he was elected to Rajya Sabha.
The JD(U) supremo was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16, and he had to quit as an MLC in the 14-day period after his election.
