"Put CAA aside, don't let country burn to save ego", says Chetan Bhagat
Mumbai: Author Chetan Bhagat tweeted in support of activists protesting the controversial citizenship law and NRC (National Register of Citizens) today, urging the centre to "put CAA aside... announce NRC won't come... (to not) let a country burn to save ego". In his tweet Mr Bhagat also advised the government to focus on fighting challenges facing the Indian economy and expressed support for students brutally attacked by masked goons wielding iron rods and sledgehammers at Delhi's JNU last night.
Massive protests have broken out across the country since the government pushed the CAA through parliament last month. At least 21 people died in Uttar Pradesh alone - some in police firing - and deaths were also reported from Kerala and Assam, while reports of arson came in from Bengal - where five empty trains were set on fire - and other states.
"Time to see obvious... Put CAA aside, officially. Announce NRC won't come, as execution issues, anxiety created and the chances of abuse means we are not ready for it," Chetan Bhagat tweeted early this morning.
Time to see obvious.
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) January 6, 2020
Put CAA aside, officially. Major communication gaps.
Announce NRC won’t come, as execution issues, anxiety created and the chances of abuse means we are not ready for it.
Focus on upcoming budget.
It’s not worth it. Can’t let a country burn to save ego.
"Focus on upcoming budget... Not worth it. Can't let a country burn to save ego," he added.
Mr Bhagat's tweet comes amid an apparent hardening of the centre's stand on this issue, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah refusing to back down.
Late last month the Prime Minister hit out at the opposition Congress and its allies - "some urban Naxals" - for spreading rumours about the citizenship law affecting Muslims.
Addressing a rally in Delhi's Dwarka last month, on the same day fresh protests broke out in Seelampur in the national capital, Mr Shah said: "Come what may, the Modi government will ensure that these refugees get Indian citizenship and live as Indians with honour".
Opposition leaders and Chief Ministers have hit out at the CAA, insisting that neither the law nor programmes like the NRC and NPR (National Population Register) will be implemented in their respective states. The Chief Ministers of Kerala and Bengal - Pinarayi Vijayan and Mamata Banerjee - have written to their counterparts urging them to unite.
Critics of the CAA have also pointed out the enormous expenses involved and question the need for such a programme at a time when the Indian economy is struggling. Last week an American economist said India would "struggle" to achieve 5 per cent GDP growth this year.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, makes religion the test of citizenship for the first time. The government says it will help non-Muslim refugees, fleeing religious persecution, from three Muslim-dominated neighbouring countries. Activists say it discriminates against Muslims and violates secular tenets of the Constitution.
Courtesy: www.ndtv.com
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Attack on Constitution defeated, says Rahul Gandhi as bill to amend women’s quota law fails LS test
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the Constitution amendment bill brought by the government to tweak the women’s quota law was an attack on the Constitution, which the opposition has defeated.
The bill was not aimed at providing women reservation, but an attempt to change India's electoral structure, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha said.
Talking to reporters after the Constitution amendment bill failed to secure two-third majority in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi also said that if the prime minister is serious in providing women reservation in Parliament, he should bring the 2023 law and the opposition would extend its support outrightly.
"As I have said, it was an attack on the Constitution and we defeated that,” he said outside Parliament.
"We clearly said that this was not a women's bill, but an attempt to change India's electoral structure which we have stopped," he added.
In a direct message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said if he wants the women's bill to be implemented, he should bring the 2023 law and implement it from today.
"The entire opposition will support you and ensure women's reservation from today itself," he said.
Later, in a post on X in Hindi, Gandhi said, "The amendment bill has fallen. They used an unconstitutional trick in the name of women to break the Constitution."
"India has seen it. INDIA has stopped it. Hail the Constitution," the Congress leader said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the manner in which the government sought to link the bill to delimitation can never be accepted.
"The way the Modi government presented women's reservation made its passage impossible. The BJP government linked women's reservation to delimitation and the old census, in which the OBC category was not included.
"We can never agree to this. What happened today is a huge victory for the country's democracy and its integrity," she told reporters.
Asked about the BJP leaders accusing the Congress of being anti-women, Priyanka said, "Those who did nothing in Hathras, those who did nothing in Unnao, those who did nothing in Manipur and those who did nothing for women wrestlers are now talking about anti-woman mindset?"
The Constitution amendment bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats was defeated in the Lower House on Friday.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
The bill proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in states and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
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