Newsletter 2 March

Top 5 News

1-   Death toll reached 47 in violence, in NE Delhi
2-   Both Houses Adjourned after ruckus by Opposition
3-   Two more cases of nCOVID19 Reported
4-   Rapist Pawan’s mercy petition has been rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind
5-   Five terrorists arrested in separate incidents at Kashmir, terror module busted in Budgam

National

Death toll reached 47 in violence, in NE Delhi

Delhi Police officials at the spots confirm that three bodies have been recovered today; one from a canal in Gokalpuri and two from Bhagirathi Vihar canal.
More than 300 FIRs and, 903 arrests have made in this connection.
A compensation amounting 1 Cr is announced by the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and offered a Govt job of one person from the Family of IB personal, Ankit Sharma in the riot.
- Death toll rises to 47 now; (38 at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, 3 at Lok Nayak Hospital, 1 at Jag Parvesh Chander Hospital and 4 at Dr. RML Hospital) in North East Delhi violence.
On Sun evening, some rumors spared regarding further violence in certain part of Delhi, which has been controlled well before time by security forces.
- Delhi Police: action has been initiated against 18 persons and 2 cases have been registered under relevant sections. 2 people arrested from the Central district, 21 people arrested from the North West district and 1 person arrested from Rohini district, total of 24 persons arrested, in connection with rumor-mongering on 2^nd
- Delhi police asked the details of some 71 tweeter accounts from Tweeter Corp.
Some 1300 mobile numbers, 13000 WhatsApp no, 1346 tweeter accounts, 4639 Facebook numbers are under scanner, as these numbers have been MHA shared with Ministry of Telecom.
G Kishan Reddy MoS (Home) said on Sun that Modi govt is determined to go to the bottom of the truth to unveil conspiracy, if any, to trigger riots. I will reiterate, CAA is not to take away citizenship of any Indian but to give citizenship to persecuted religious minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
WB CM Mamata Banerjee said that “We are sad and depressed, and condemn the incident that happened in Delhi. I think it’s a planned genocide.
She further added, “In Delhi, BJP leaders who gave provocative slogans have not been arrested, but I got three of the BJP workers arrested (on charges of raising ‘desh ke ghaddaron ko…’ slogans in Kolkata) last night.
Protest In London, Paris, 16 Other European Cities Against Delhi Violence [NDTV]The protests, attended by around 1,500 people, were held in cities including Brussels, Geneva, Helsinki, Krakow, The Hague, Stockholm, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Glasgow and London.

Both Houses Adjourned after Ruckus by Opposition

Parliament started for the second phase of Budget Session to begin Mon.

Indian National Congress (INC), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have given Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha, over violence in Delhi demanding resignation of Home Min.

Congress MP’s show placards and raise slogans in Lok Sabha demanding resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah over Delhi Violence.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Pralhad Joshi in Lok Sabha said “Those who didn’t take any action even after 3000 people were killed in 1984, the same people are today creating a ruckus here”. I strongly condemn this attitude.

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm after an obituary reference to Baidyanath Prasad Mahto, JD(U) MP from Valmiki Nagar, Bihar who passed away on 28^th Feb.

Uproar by opposition MP’s in Rajya Sabha over Delhi Violence.

Two more cases of nCOVID19 Reported

Under the travel advisory, existing visas including e-visas will remain suspended for China and Iran.

As the situation develops, the travel restrictions may be further extended to other countries also.
As per ANI, Two more cases of nCOVID19 reported, one each from New Delhi and Telangana. Both the patients are stable and being closely monitored.
The person from Delhi has a travel history from Italy, while the one from Telangana has a travel history from Dubai, the Union Health Ministry said.
The total coronavirus cases in India to five, weeks after the first case was reported in Kerala.
The global death toll from the outbreak crossed 3,000 on Monday after dozens more were killed in China and cases soared around the world with a second fatality in the United States.
The deadly virus, first detected in China in December last year, has spread to more than 60 countries and infected more than 88,000 people.
“Working out a strategy to bring back Indians from Iran” Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister said.

Courts can’t stop things from happening, says CJI Bobde on Delhi violence

He said courts come into the picture only after an incident happens

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde on Mon said courts were not “equipped” to handle palpable public “pressure” being created to somehow step in and even prevent communal violence from happening in Delhi.

“We are not saying people should die. But this kind of pressure we are not equipped to handle. We cannot stop things from happening. We cannot give preventive reliefs. We feel a kind of pressure on us… We cannot handle that. It is as if the court is responsible,” the CJI said.

The oral observations came when senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for riot victims and families, made a mentioning before the CJI to urgently intervene and pass directions to prevent communal violence from spreading. He said there were five or six prominent people who were instigating violence.

Continuation of HM visit to Kolkata

Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressing National Security Guards (NSG) in Rajarhat on Sun.
It is the work of NSG to develop fear in people who think and work towards dividing and disrupting peace in our country.
And if these people still don’t stop, then NSG should retaliate.
Shah in public rally, “Give Modi government five years and we will make the state ‘Sonar Bangal’. Join the ‘Aar Noi Anyai‘ campaign which we have launched today, and make this state, an atrocity free state.
Thereafter he went Kali Ghat Mandir and offered prayer in the temple.

'India is not my country' poster in name of SFI seen on walls of two Kerala govt colleges, case registered

The Kerala police have registered a case after a poster stating “India is not my country”, was pasted on the walls of the Government Brennen college, Thalassery and the Government ITI college in Malampuzha, Palakkad. The poster was put up in the name of Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

You might remember, on Sat, at least six boys were detained by the Delhi Police after ‘Desh ke gaddaron ko goli maro saalon ko’ slogans were heard at Delhi’s busiest metro station Rajiv Chowk at around 10:40 am.

Government notifies new rules, WiFi will be now allowed in domestic flights in India

The government amended the aircraft rules to allow in-flight WiFi last week
Cellular services have still not been allowed for in-flight usage
DoT had also approved of WiFi services on flights, back in 2018

Rapist Pawan's mercy petition has been rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind

Even in morning, the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, one of the convict Pawan’s curative petition has been dismissed by the Supreme Court. The petition had sought commutation of his death penalty to life imprisonment.
He was only one out of four, who had this option.
All others have already been exhausted their all such rights.
Nirbhaya case: Rapist Pawan’s mercy petition has been rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind, in the afternoon.
However, as per Law of Land, they will be given 14 days after rejection of mercy petition, so the death warrant which is to be executed on Mar 3^rd, can be extended.

Five terrorists arrested in separate incidents at Kashmir, terror module busted in Budgam

Ganderbal/ Budgam (JnK) on Mar 1, security forces claimed that Five terrorist associates were arrested from Ganderbal and Budgam on Sun said Kashmir Zone Police.

“Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition have been recovered from their possession,” said Kashmir

Zone Police in a statement. Cases have been registered and further investigation is underway. (ANI)

As per some media sources, acting on a tip-off, the Budgam police with the help of Rashtriya Rifles raided the hideout, detained the militants and recovered arms and ammunition from them.
On preliminary enquiry, it was found that these terror associates are affiliated with terrorist outfit Ansarul- Gazwatul Hind (AGH) and are involved in providing shelter and logistic support to terrorists.
The four have been identified as; Mir Muzamil Nabi, Umar Ajaz Ahangar both are residents of Kanihama and Raouf Ahmad Bhat, Ishfaq Ahmad Bhat residents of Kantebagh.
In this regard, a case under relevant sections of the law has been registered in Magam police station and an investigation has begun.

UK's House of Lords debates CAA, expresses concern over impact

The peers in the Upper-House of the UK-Parliament held a debate over the impact of India’s CAA and sought representations by the UK government to counterparts in India over arising concerns around minority-rights. The UK government, in response, said it has been closely monitoring the situation as the act has “clearly been divisive in India” and there are some concerns over its full impact.

[For detail, see link 1]

The peers in the Upper House of the UK Parliament held a debate over the impact of India’s CAA and sought representations by the UK government to counterparts in India over arising concerns around minority rights.
The House of Lords debate in London on Tue evening, tabled by crossbench peer John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, called on the UK government to urge PM Narendra Modi to conduct a review of the CAA and its effects on Indian society amid the deaths associated with mass protests against the act in the country.
- The UK government, in response, said it has been closely monitoring the situation as the act has “clearly been divisive in India” and there are some concerns over its full impact.
- “Ongoing protests against the act across India leave no doubt that this legislation is divisive. I know that people in this country – including in this House as has been made clear today – feel strongly about it.
- For our part, the UK government has concerns about the impact of the legislation,” said Baroness Liz Sugg, the parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

“Its full impact remains unclear. We hope and trust that the government of India will address the concerns and protect the rights of people of all religions, in keeping with India’s Constitution, its democratic values and its inclusive traditions,” she said, adding that the government would continue

to “follow and monitor events closely” and raise any concerns with “close friend and partner” India.
The debate was opened by the Earl of Sandwich with references to his own time spent in India, as he also called for an assessment of the CAA’s impact on UK citizens given the strong India-UK relationship.
“The CAA 2019, which passed through the Lok Sabha in Dec, granted an amnesty to illegal immigrants from three neighboring countries – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh – but not to Muslims from those countries. Unsurprisingly, there have been riots and protests in New Delhi, Aligarh and all over the country, and not only from the Muslim community,” Montagu said.
“The regular migration of families between our two countries suggests that there is more sensitivity to discrimination than ever within our Asian minorities. This hits the Muslim community hardest,” he said.
Indian-origin peer Lord Meghnad Desai sought to highlight that the reactions to the act reflect a “conjectural fear” because neither the act nor the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) have been implemented.
“It is said that the act is unconstitutional, but we do not know that yet because the Supreme Court of India has not yet heard on that issue People are saying that the CAA has been passed for no other reason than to let the Hindus with dubious papers to go through but not anyone else. This has not yet happened – it is a conjectural fear,” said Lord Desai, who also informed the House of his regular newspaper columns in India on the subject.
Fellow Indian-origin peer Lord Raj Loomba stressed that the CAA was passed through an “open, transparent and fully democratic process“.
“The government of India has repeatedly clarified that the CAA is to grant citizenship on a one-time basis to a group of persons with no alternative options and not to take away the citizenship of anyone, much less an Indian Muslim,” he said.
However, another Indian-origin peer Lord Indarjit Singh warned that the new act could offer a legal route to discrimination against Muslims and, ultimately, against all non-Hindus.

“I appeal to our own government to work directly, and through the Commonwealth, to add to this positive momentum for tolerance and respect for all people, in a wonderful country,” he said.

NRC won’t have implications on Bangladesh, says Foreign Secretary Shringla

‘Updation of National Register of Citizens is a process that is entirely internal to India’ he added.
India on Monday assured Bangladesh that the updation of the National Register of Citizens will have no implications for its people, asserting that it is a process that is entirely internal to the country.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan cancelled
their visits to India in Dec over prevailing situation following passage of the new citizenship bill.
Bangladesh was also apparently upset following the roll out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam even though India conveyed to it that the issue was an internal matter of the country.

International

US deal in Afghan hits 1st roadblock, Ghani says not committed to release 5000 Taliban prisoners.

The US-Taliban peace agreement hit its first hurdle with Afghan president Dr Ashraf Ghani on Sunday saying that his government was not committed on the release of 5,000 insurgent prisoners, one of the key components of the peace deal that was signed in Doha in Qatar on Saturday amid the presence of representatives of several countries.
- According to the US-Taliban agreement, up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners should be released by March 10 in order to facilitate the intra-Afghan negotiations. March 10 has been slated as a date for commencement of the intra-Afghan dialogue, involving Taliban, a delegation of Afghan government and representatives of the Afghan society, reportedly in Oslo. The Taliban would release up to 1,000 prisoners. Until recently, the Taliban had refused to speak to the Western-backed Afghan government, saying it was a “puppet regime”.
- Addressing a press conference in Kabul, the Afghan president criticized the US-Taliban deal, saying an agreement that was signed behind closed doors will have basic problems in its implementation “tomorrow”.
- Ghani said that Washington was not authorized to speak, discuss or agree with Taliban on release of prisoners. “Any prisoner release is not in the authority of the US. It is the authority of the government of Afghanistan to make any such decision,” Ghani said.

US-Taliban peace deal didn’t come as a surprise for Us: S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Mon said that the recently reached agreement between the United States and the Taliban did not come as a surprise as everybody knew what would happen. He also said that India would have to watch and see how things play out in the wake of the peace deal.

The US-Taliban deal was reached after Over 18 months of talks. It is aimed at paving the way for peace in Afghanistan and the departure of foreign troops. (ANI).
‘Support all opportunities that end violence in Afghanistan’: India on US-Taliban peace deal
The MEA spokesperson added that the as a contiguous neighbor, India will “continue to extend all support to the government and people of Afghanistan in realizing their aspirations for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future”.
- New Delhi’s response came following the Taliban and the United States signing a landmark peace deal in Doha and the joint declaration between the Afghan and US governments in Kabul which aim at withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan and end 18 years of war in that country.
- The peace deal was signed by US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in the presence of US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in Qatar’s capital Doha.
- Under the agreement, the US would draw its forces down to 8,600 from 13,000 in the next 3-4 months, with the remaining forces withdrawing in 14 months. The complete pull out, however, would depend on the Taliban meeting their commitments to prevent terrorism.
- The US invaded Afghanistan in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. About 2,400 US soldiers have been killed in the conflict that has cost America billions of dollars in fighting and rebuilding Afghanistan.

Indians will pay $50,000 more for US investor visa from April

Beginning Apr 1, 2020, Indians wishing to immigrate to America will now have to pay an additional $50,000 for the EB-5 or the US investor visa, a media report said.

Although, this additional tax would impact all visa categories, it will predominantly create a barrier for people investing in the EB-5 visa program, the American Bazaar daily said in the report on Friday.

In 2019, the EB-5 investor visa program, for the first time since the 1990’s, increased the minimum investment amount to 900,000 USD.
With this increase in minimum investment, the new 5 per cent additional tax would mean that applicants would have to pay the extra $50,000, when they move money to an escrow account in the US to fulfil their application criterion.
“The changes to the tax on remittances is a reminder to Indians to carefully plan their tax position before making the move to the US,” the American Bazaar quoted Mark Davies, Global Chairman, Davies & Associates LLC, as saying.
“People seeking to emigrate who do not wish to pay this tax at source and rather account for it later may wish to move their money ahead of the new rules coming into effect.

KUALA LUMPUR (Muhyiddin Yassin became Malaysia’s next prime minister, the country’s king said on Saturday, saying he may have the majority support among lawmakers in parliament. Reuters. Muhyiddin sworn in on Mar 1st, the palace said in a statement.

As per Ary news, People have called for Prime Minister Imran Khan to be given Nobel Peace Prize following the historic peace deal signed between the United States and Afghan Taliban in Qatar, marking an end to the 18-year-war in Afghanistan.

Two missiles strike Baghdad's green zone near US Embassy

At least two missiles strike Baghdad’s Green Zone which houses the US embassy
No casualties or structural damage in the attack have been reported so far
Alarm sirens were triggered after two loud explosions were heard in the Iraqi capital
US-Iran tensions
- Tensions soared between the two countries after top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was assassinated in a targeted airstrike, at the behest of US President Donald Trump.
- In retaliation to Soleimani’s killing, Iran had fired on Iraqi bases housing US troops raising fears of war. According to figures released by Pentagon, 64 American soldiers were injured in the attack.
- However, President Trump had initially said no Americans were hurt by the missiles fired on a base housing US soldiers in the country’s west on Jan 8.

Pak Doctor, Who Helped CIA Track bin Laden, On Hunger Strike In Jail Shakil Afridi was jailed for 33 years in May 2012 after he was convicted of having ties to terrorists, a charge he has always denied.

States

Assam teacher arrested for derogatory post on Facebook against PM, BJP: Police

Souradeep Sengupta, a guest lecturer in the Physics department at Gurucharan College, was arrested from his residence in the Itkhola area on Fri’s night after a case was lodged against him based on a complaint filed by a student, they said.

He also allegedly targeted a particular community in his Facebook post, which his family said was later deleted.

Charges of malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, promoting enmity between different groups and criminal intimidation, among others, have been brought against Sengupta, police claimed.

Mumbai Police: Anti extortion cell arrested Nadeem Lakdawala, a close aide of gangster Ejaz Lakdawala from Mumbai Airport yesterday. Nadeem was produced before a court today and has been sent to police custody till March 3rd.

Dr Sharanppa SD, DCP East, Bengaluru on ‘Free Kashmir’ graffiti found near Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Enclave: Some objectionable writings were found on the compound walls in the city. We are registering a case under the Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act.

Bengaluru: Anti-Modi graffiti was found on the defense office compound wall in Bengaluru. It is to be noted that the graffiti popped up on the walls of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Officer’s Enclave.

Anti-CAA graffiti was seen painted on the walls adjacent to the college building. Another Free-Kashmir graffiti was found on the compound wall of the NCC wall, which is 200 meters away from Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Officer’s Enclave. It is unclear who painted the graffiti in Bengaluru. Days ago, a girl from Mysuru was served notice after she was spotted carrying a Free-Kashmir poster in an anti-CAA-NRC rally.

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on income-tax raids in Chhattisgarh from 27^th Feb to till date.

The letter states, “….the method, manner and intent with which raids conducted, invites questions”.

However, raids conducted on officers only.

Rajasthan: Farmers stage ‘zameen samadhi satyagraha’ (half-bury their bodies in the ground) to protest against provisions of acquisition of their land by Jaipur Development Authority (JDA), at Nindar village in Jaipur.

India in International Frame

BBC

Delhi endures tense night amid false rumours of violence

Reuters

India reports two more cases of coronavirus, taking tally to five

Dawn

Congress demands that Home Minister Amit Shah resign; many party supporters detained by police during protest