Lok Sabha Passes Citizenship Amendment Bill, Shut Down In Northeast & Other Top Stories

Lok Sabha Passes Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 With 311 Votes In Favour

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they faced religious persecution there, was passed in the Lok Sabha with 311-80 votes on Monday night, after more than seven hours of debate and discussions. Read here...

Citizenship Amendment Bill: Federal US Commission Seeks Sanctions Against Amit Shah

A federal US commission on international religious freedom has said that the Citizenship Amendment Bill is a "dangerous turn in wrong direction" and sought American sanctions against Home Minister Amit Shah. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they faced religious persecution there, was passed in the Lok Sabha with 311-80 votes on Monday night, after more than seven hours of debate and discussions. The Bill will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for its nod. Read here...

Northeast Shuts Down To Protest Against Citizenship Amendment Bill

The 11-hour Northeast bandh called by an umbrella body of students' organisations of the region to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill began at 5 am on Tuesday. The North East Students' Organisation (NESO), backed by various other bodies and political parties, will observe the shutdown till 4 pm. Security was beefed up in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. Read here...

Deployed On Poll Duty, CRPF Constable Shoots Assistant Commandant Dead In Bokaro

In yet another fratricide firing incident, a CRPF constable an assistant commandant dead in Jharkhand’s Bokaro. The accused was deployed on election duty in the state. News agency ANI has identified the accused as one Deepender Yadav. The news agency says that Yadav attacked Assistant Commandant Sahul Harshan and killed him on the spot. Two others were also injured in the firing incident. However, other security personnel fired at Yadav and managed to overpower him. THE CRPF issued a brief statement confirming the incident. “Injured have been evacuated to Ranchi. Reason for the incident not known. Enquiry has been ordered,” the CRPF statement said. Read here...

Afghan War Can End In Few Weeks If Pak Denies Safe Heaven To Taliban, Says US Senator

The war in Afghanistan would end in few weeks if Pakistan denied the Taliban safe heaven in its territory, a top US Senator has said.  Senator Lindsay Graham said that the US should negotiate with Pakistan instead of the Taliban to see an end to the war in Afghanistan. “As to negotiating with the Taliban, I think we got this wrong. I think what we should do is start negotiating with Pakistan. If Pakistan denied the Taliban safe haven in Pakistan, the war in Afghanistan would end in a matter of weeks,” Graham said in an interview to Fox Channel on Monday. Read here...