India News
NRC deadline: Centre asks for extending July 31 deadline, wants reverification of claims
Arguing that lakhs of people may have been included in National Register of Citizens (NRC) list, the Centre and the Assam government today (Friday, July 19) urged the Supreme Court to extend the deadline for publishing the final consolidated NRC by a month.
“The Centre is committed to deal strictly with illegal immigrants. India cannot be a refugee capital of the world,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, adding that the process needs to be tweaked to deal with wrongful exclusions and inclusions.
The Centre and Assam government sought a 20 per cent sample re-verification in districts of the state that border Bangladesh as lakhs of people could have wrongly been included.
Assam NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela said a supplementary list of additional inclusions and final exclusions will be published on July 31 but one more month was needed to publish the final consolidated NRC.
Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, however, said that as per the report submitted by Assam NRC coordinator, about 80 lakh people have already been re-verified in the process of disposal of claims and objections.
“Mr. Hajela’s report says while disposing of claims, 80 lakh names have been reverified. That means at least 27% of names have been reverified, and you are asking for 20%… So, is there need for a sample reverification? If we are satisfied that verification has been done properly, then there is no need for a sample reverification, isn’t it?” Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who is accompanied by Justice Rohinton Nariman on the Special Bench, asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for both Assam and the Centre.
Mehta said the findings in Hajela’s reports may not truly reflect the reality on the ground. “There is a growing perception. They must have done excellent work, but mistakes have crept in. The quantum of people included in certain areas is more… Wrongful inclusions are manifold in the bordering districts, lakhs of illegal immigrants have been included in the draft NRC list. The problem is the border districts are more prevalent,” he submitted.
He said the wrongful inclusions may be because local officers were used in the NRC process and they may have come under local influences.
“There should be proper reverification… There should be no room for a lack of confidence in an NRC exercise that takes away the rights of the people and will uproot them. Though, of course, illegals should be uprooted as India cannot be the refugee capital of the world,” Mehta urged the court.
The Bench asked Mehta to go through what Hajela had to say on the issue of reverification in his reports to the Supreme Court on July 10 and 18.
“Mr. Mehta, you are not the only fountain or source of information [about what is happening]. We have our own sources of information and Mr. Hajela has his own,” Chief Justice Gogoi addressed the Solicitor General.
The court asked Hajela to redact paragraphs in his reports that do not strictly deal with reverification before handing them over to Mehta.
The top court will hear the matter again on July 23.
India News
India’s luxury train Deccan Odyssey makes a comeback, starting services on September 23
The train was inaugurated on September 21 around 1:30 pm at the CST Station in Mumbai but the operation will be starting from Saturday.
India’s luxury train Deccan Odyssey is all set to start its commercial services from September 23. It is a comeback for the Royal Train after 3 years. The operation of this train was stopped in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The train was inaugurated on September 21 around 1:30 pm at the CST Station in Mumbai but the operation will be starting from Saturday.
According to the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) official, notable personalities such as Rahul Narvekar, Deepak Kesarkar, and Girish Mahajan attended the inauguration, with attempts being made to invite Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar as guests of honour.
The official said that after covid, the first seven-day journey, will traverse through royal destinations including Vadodara, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Agra, Sawai Madhopur and culminate in New Delhi.
India News
Indian High Commission, consulates facing threats, Canada’s allegations politically motivated: MEA
Arindam Bagchi further underscored that it is Canada that needs to look into its growing reputation of being a safe haven for terrorists, extremists, and organised crime.
Amidst escalating tension between India and Canada, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated that the allegations by Canada seems to be politically motivated, adding that there’s a degree of prejudice. Diplomatic standoff between both the countries broke out after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday claimed that his country’s security agencies were investigating a link between the Indian government and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Briefing the media regarding the aforesaid allegation, Arindam Bagchi noted that no specific information was shared by Canada on the Nijjar case. He added that the Indian government had shared specific information concerning criminal activities by individuals on Canadian soil but no actions were taken regarding the same.
Arindam Bagchi further underscored that it is Canada that needs to look into its growing reputation of being a safe haven for terrorists, extremists, and organised crime. He asserted that the security situation is owing to the inaction by the Canadian government. He also claimed that there are elements linked to organized crime, terrorists, and extremists who are on a free run and politically condoned.
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson also claimed that the Indian High Commission and consulates are facing security threats in Canada and therefore cannot process visa applications temporarily. He noted that all categories of visas are suspended and that the issue is not about travel to India but about incitement of violence and inaction by the Canadian government. Those who have valid visas and OCI cards can travel freely, he continued.
He conveyed that the Indian government has informed the Canadian government that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in their mutual diplomatic presence. Notably, in a meeting that was held on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada, promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship.
India News
Women’s Reservation Bill can still be sent to Select Committee for including caste quota: RJD MP Manoj Jha
Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha suggested sending the bill to the Select Committee for including the Schedule Caste, Schedules Tribes, Other Backward Castes in the Bill.
Speaking on the Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha, the Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, said there is still a chance to send the bill to the Select Committee for including the Schedule Caste, Schedules Tribes, Other Backward Castes in the Bill as well.
The Rajya Sabha MP said it would have been a revolutionary step if the 33 percent reservation would not be from the existing quota but it should be a separate quota.
He said the government has created a provision to empower women who come from SC, ST, and OBC communities. There is not much for the welfare of women in the religious text, he added. RJD MP Jha suggested the Modi-led BJP government to take a stand and work for the welfare of the women without any hesitation, he further added.
Speaking on surname privilege, he said people often overlook their privilege. He said his surname is a privilege. He added our surname has afforded us privilege. Consider those surnames that lack such advantages. In this country, a name may hold little significance, but everything lies in the surname, the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Early in the day, he said the government doesn’t have a clear intention on this bill. There’s no road map and this bill is being passed in Lok Sabha. You have rejected and excluded a big population. PM Modi and his team need to understand that the discussion is not happening on the passing of the bill but on OBC. He further raised questions on OBC not being included in the bill. He said government should revise their position once again or else people have other options to change their position and their bill, Manoj Jha said.
Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav has also spoken on the Women’s Reservation Bill and said the reservation should be ensured for backward women and minority women. No one knows when it will be implemented because it will be implemented after the census and delimitation, he added.
