Kapil Sibal: No state can deny the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) when it is already passed by the Parliament, said Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Saturday. “If the CAA is passed no state can say ‘I will not implement it’. It is not possible and is unconstitutional. You can oppose it, you can pass a resolution in the Assembly and ask the central government to withdraw it. But constitutionally saying that I won’t implement it is going to be problematic and going to create more difficulties,” said the former minister of law and justice on the third day of the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF).

NATIONAL

Jaising got Rebuttal: The mother of the December 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder victim has hit out at senior lawyer Indira Jaising for asking her to forgive the four men, who are on death row for committing the brutal crime against her daughter. The mother was reacting to Indira Jaising’s tweet on Friday. “Who is Indira Jaising to give me such a suggestion? The whole country wants the convicts to be executed. Just because of people like her, justice is not done with rape victims. I can’t believe how Indira Jaising even dared to suggest such this. I met her many times over the years in the Supreme Court, not once did she ask for my well being and today she is speaking for convicts. Such people earn a livelihood by supporting rapists, hence rape incidents don’t stop,” she said.

Continue Reading

NATIONAL

Nirbhaya case: A Delhi court on January 17 issued fresh death warrants for February 1,  at 6 am against the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora was hearing a plea by one of the four death row convicts in the case, Mukesh Kumar Singh, seeking postponement of the date of his execution scheduled for January 22. Public Prosecutor Irfan Ahmed informed the court that Mukesh’s mercy plea was rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind on January 17. Then the warrant was issued.

KoPT: Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), the oldest operating port in India, is expected to present its own tableau, under the aegis of the union shipping ministry, in the upcoming Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26. The oldest surviving major port in the country, which completed 150 years in November last year, will showcase its rich history under the tagline of ‘Glorious Past Vibrant Future’.

Continue Reading

Kanakapura Chalo: A massive rally of Hindutva outfits, supported by the BJP and RSS, was held in Kanakapura town of Ramanagara district in Karnataka Monday to oppose the building of a Jesus Christ statue by local villagers. Participants of the ‘Kanakapura Chalo’ rally, organised by Hindu Jagarana Vedike, accused the area’s MLA, Congress leader D K Shivakumar, of indulging in “appeasement politics” by laying the foundation stone for the 114-foot statue on Christmas 2019. The statue is to be built in Kapalabetta hill in Harobele village.

Defamation case: Businessman Nusli Wadia on Monday withdrew his defamation suit against Tata group patriarch Ratan Tata a week after the court asked the parties to resolve their differences like “mature people”. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde allowed Wadia to withdraw the petition, which sort Rs 3000 crore in damages, after the court said Tata and others had no intention to defame him, news agency PTI reported.Wadia, chairman of the Bombay Dyeing group, filed a criminal defamation case in 2016 after he was voted out of the boards of three Tata Group companies.

Chanda Kochhar: The ICICI Bank has filed a monetary suit in the Bombay High Court seeking  former CMD Chanda Kochhar`s “termination of appointment” as the bank’s CEO and also sought recovery of various amounts from her. The affidavit, filed on January 10, seeks dismissal of Kochhar’s petition that she had filed challenging her sacking after charges of money laundering surfaced against her. The bank stated that the issue can be decided in a commercial suit.

Continue Reading

Syama Prasad Mookerjee: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday rechristened Kolkata Port Trust after Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.”I announce that the Kolkata Port Trust will now be known as Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. He was the father of industrialisation in India, a man who made sacrifices for one nation and one Constitution,” Modi said, while addressing the ceremony at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.

US airbase attacked-Iraq’s Al Balad airbase, hosting US troops has been attacked by four rockets  on Sunday evening, news agency AFP reported quoting military sources. The sources informed AFP that the attack on the airbase, which is situated north of Baghdad, has resulted in injuries to four Iraqi airmen. Till Irane hasn`t taken the responsibility of the attack.  On the other hand as protests flared up in Tehran following Iran’s admission that its forces errantly downed a Ukrainian jet, reversing three days of denial, United States President Donald Trump warned the Islamic Republic not to kill the protesters or stifle their agitation.

Continue Reading

Mamata meets Modi: After facing protests by students for meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Raj Bhawan Saturday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday said she was the only leader to meet the Prime Minister, who is on a two-day visit to Kolkata, and asked him to rethink about withdrawing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. “I am the only leader who met Narendra Modi and told him that CAA, NRC and NPR cannot be implemented,” Mamata told the students.

Govt ordinance: The government on Saturday announced promulgation of the ordinance for amendment in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act, 1957 and the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 in order to ease auction of coal mines, allow FDI and enhance ease of doing business. The Union Cabinet had recently approved the amendments which intend to open up new areas of growth in the coal and mining sector, an official statement said.

Continue Reading

CAA notified: The provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) came into effect from Friday after the Home Ministry issued a gazette notification. The CAA, which has led to widespread protests in the country, grants citizenship to individuals who are Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain, or Parsi and who entered India from Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Afghanistan by the cut-off date of December 31, 2014. It says :

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 10th January, 2020

S.O. 172(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of the section 1 of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (47 of 2019), the Central Government hereby appoints the 10th day of January, 2020, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.

[F. No. 26011/01/2015-IC-I(Part)]
ANIL MALIK, Addl. Secy

US sancion on Iran: US has imposed new wave of sanctions on the Islamic Republic owing to the recent missile attacks on American troops stationed in Iraq. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were quoted as saying that the new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials involved in “destabilising” activities in the Middle East as well as Tuesday’s missile strike, which itself was a retaliation for the US killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike.

Continue Reading