Indian Citizenship: Anyone born in India before July 1, 1987 or whose parents were born before that date are bona fide Indian citizens according to law and need not worry due to the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 or a possible countrywide National Register of Citizens, a top government official said on Friday. Those who are born in India before July 1, 1987 or whose parents were born in the country before that year are considered Indians under naturalisation as per the law, the official said. In case of Assam, the cut off date for identification of an Indian citizen is 1971. Previously on December 11, 2019 Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to a question regarding citizenship to refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Rajya Sabha today, said that 391 Afghani and 1595 Pakistani migrants have been granted Indian Citizenship during last three years (2016 to 2018). He added that in 2019, 40 Afghani and 712 Pakistani migrants have been granted Indian Citizenship till 6th December 2019
BJP: The BJP on Saturday announced a mass contact programme over the amended citizenship law as the party geared up to mobilise support for the contentious legislation amid widespread protests against it. Party general secretary Bhupender Yadav told reporters that the BJP, within the next 10 days, will contact more than three crore families, organise a rally in every district and hold over 250 press conferences across the country to expose opposition parties’ “lies” and inform masses about the new law.
Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP government in Assam Saturday decided that it will introduce legislation to bar non-indigenous people from buying land in the state. The decision to frame a law to protect the ‘indigenous’ population in the state comes on the heels of apprehensions in Assam about the influx of migrants in the state, which the natives fear, will compromise the Assamese cultural identity.
CAA support: More than 1,000 academicians from universities across the country release statement in support of Citizenship Amendment Act scholars from various universities across India and abroad as well as prominent persons released a statement in support of the amended Citizenship Act on Saturday. The statement which is duly signed by such distinguished academicians including names like Dr Anand Ranganathan, a faculty in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Kanchan Gupta- Senior Journalist, Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, J Sai Deepak- Advocate, Supreme Court etc. Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship Bill on 9th December. While introducing the Bill in Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, will give a new ray of hope to persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have migrated to India after facing persecution on the ground of religion in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Shri Shah reiterated that the Bill is not against any Minority in India and the rights of each Indian Citizen will be equally protected. He said that Narendra Modi government is committed to protect rights of each citizen of the country. The only religion that Modi government follows is the Constitution of India. He added, “We are not here only to run the government but to solve the genuine problems of the common man”
Bail plea rejected: A Delhi court Saturday dismissed the bail plea of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who was arrested for allegedly “instigating the crowd” at Darya Ganj, and remanded him in 14 days judicial custody. Azad sought bail from the court on the ground that there was no evidence that he instigated the Jama Masjid crowd to go to Delhi Gate, where the protesters had turned violent. The Court sent Bhim Army chief to 14-day judicial custody
Loan waiver: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Saturday announced crop loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh pending till September 2019. Addressing the state Assembly, CM Thackeray stated that the pending crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh of each farmer would be waived off. He also said that a special incentive scheme will be announced in the next 15 days for the farmers who are paying the loans regularly.
Indo-China: India and China on Saturday resolved to intensify efforts to achieve a “fair”, “reasonable” and mutually acceptable solution to the vexed boundary issue and agreed that its early settlement will serve the fundamental interests of both countries. There was a consensus during “constructive” border talks here between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval that both sides should respect each other’s sensitivities and concerns in order to build mutual trust, according to the External Affairs Ministry.
India- Oman Relationship: An agreement on cooperation in maritime transport will be signed during external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Oman on December 24. Jaishankar will travel to Oman after a visit to Tehran during December 22-23 to co-chair the 19th Joint Commission Meeting with Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif. Jaishankar is also expected to call on President Hassan Rouhani.
Pakistan: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said, “Over the last 5 years of Modi’s government, India has been moving towards Hindu Rashtra with its Hindutva Supremacist fascist ideology. Now with the Citizens Amendment Act, all those Indians who want a pluralist India are beginning to protest and it is becoming a mass movement.”
Brexit: Boris Johnson insisted that Britain would not follow any EU rules after Brexit as he set up a showdown with Brussels over a trade deal. He made clear that he would pursue a hard Brexit by saying there would be “no alignment” between the two sides, defying the EU’s claim that it was a “must” for any future relationship.
Uighur Muslims: Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’’s crown prince, on Friday said, “China has the right to carry out anti-terrorism and de-extremisation work for its national security,” in connection with Uighur Muslims. Prince Mohammed, who has been in China signing multi-million trade deals much to the annoyance of his Western allies, was quoted as saying on Chinese state television.
