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Brace For what's To Come, Say Firefighters As Australia Bushfire Rages On

With bushland tinder-box dry, authorities warned locals near existing blazes that fires could spread.Sydney, Australia: Firefighters in Australia warned on Tuesday they would not be able to contain some of the 100 fires still ablaze in the country before conditions are expected to deteriorate later this week.Temperatures across parts of the eastern state of New South Wales (NSW) are expected to top 40 degree Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, just shy of a record high for Australia's most populous state.With bushland tinder-box dry, authorities warned locals near existing blazes that fires could spread."People should be under no illusion, we won't contain the fires by the time the weather deteriorates later this week," NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers told Australia's Channel 9."People need to brace themselves in those areas for what's potentially to come."Firefighters are battling more than 120 fires across NSW, including a 60 km (37.2 miles) firefront northwest of Sydney, one many of that have been burning since November.The fires have killed six people, destroyed more than 680 homes and burned nearly 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of bushland.While the bulk of the blazes have been concentrated across Australia's east coast, hot weather has ignited firefronts in other parts, stretching authorities to the limit.In Western Australia, cooler weather has eased the earlier threat of fires, authorities said.Escalating wildfires threaten to blanket Sydney - home to more than 5 million people and better known for its clear skies and blue harbour - in smoke and ash again.Haze in recent weeks had turned Sydney's daytime sky orange, obscured visibility and prompted many commuters to wear breathing masks as air quality plunged to hazardous levels not previously seen in the city.Bushfires are common in Australia's hot, dry summers, but the ferocity and early arrival of the fires last month in the southern hemisphere spring is unprecedented. Experts have said climate change has left bushland extremely dry.The crisis has also put pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who critics say has not done enough to address the impact of climate change.Morrison has defended his government's policies, but some former firefighters chiefs say Australia must abandon its existing strategy that puts the main responsibility for extinguishing blazes in the hands of state and territory governments."Business, as usual, doesn't work and we need a roundtable to get that sort of thinking with all agencies involved," Peter Dunn, former Emergency Services Authority commissioner in the Australian Capital Territory, told reporters in Sydney.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Read the full article

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Not replays, but third umpire - New angle emerges in Ravindra Jadeja’s controversial run out - Report - cricket

2 days after India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s run out in the 1st ODI against West Indies generated a lot of interest both on and off the field, a new side to the incident emerged on Tuesday. On field umpire Shaun George, who was criticized by many including India captain Virat Kohli, apparently changed his mind and went upstairs on the insistence of third umpire Rod Tucker and not because of the West Indies players’ appeal influenced by ‘people outside’, reported ESPNCricinfo.The report stated that George was prompted by third umpire Tucker to refer upstairs despite the former turning down the run out query of Roston Chase. Tucker found the decision ‘tight’. While all this was happening, the West Indies players around the same time decided to appeal – this time with a lot more conviction – after seeing the replays on giant screen, giving an impression that the decision was changed because of the replays and late appeals.Also Read: New coach, No Maxwell; 7 changes from World Cup in Australia ODI squad for India tourThe incident took place in the 48th over when Jadeja tried to steal a single and put Shivam Dube on strike following the dismissal of Kedar Jadhav. Roston Chase picked up the ball and took a shy at the stumps. It was a direct hit, but it appeared that Jadeja has made his ground safely, and the West Indies did not appeal for a run out.The umpire Shaun George, who was having a close look at the throw, did not go for a TV referral either. Chase made a feeble appeal, but was convinced that Jadeja had made his crease. But the video replays showed that Jadeja was outside the crease when the bails came off.The third umpire saw the replay once more and adjudged Jadeja out.A miffed Virat Kohli was seen nearby the boundary ropes as the entire scene played out. Later, India coach Ravi Shastri was also seen in the dugout unhappy with the decision.Also Read: India’s predicted XI for 2nd ODI; Virat Kohli could change bowling attack‘The thought is simple, the fielder asked ‘how is that’ and the umpire said ‘not out’. The dismissal ends there. The people sitting on the TV outside cannot tell the fielders to then tell the umpire to review it again. I’ve never seen that happen in cricket. I don’t know where the rules are, where the line is drawn. I think the referee and the umpires have to take that up, see that incident again. And figure out what needs to be done in cricket. People sitting outside can’t dictate what happens on the field. I think that’s exactly what happened there,’ Kohli said at the post match presentation.The report also stated that the ball was is still in play and the West Indian players had every right to appeal.The MCC’s Laws of Cricket says a team has time until the next ball to make an appeal.Law 31.3, which deals with ‘Timing of the Appeals’ says “for an appeal to be valid, it must be made before the bowler begins his/her run-up or, if there is no run-up, his/her bowling action to deliver the next ball, and before Time has been called.”India lost the first ODI in Chennai by 8 wickets. India and West Indies will face each other in the 2nd ODI of the three-match series in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. Read the full article

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Pakistan Permits Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Other Royal Members To Hunt Endangered Bird Houbara Bustards

Hunting of endangered houbara bustard is used as a foreign policy tool by the Pakistan government. (File)Islamabad: Pakistan has issued special permits to the Emir of Qatar and nine other members of the royal family to hunt endangered bird species houbara bustards, amidst growing criticism in the country against the move, according to a media report today.The allotted hunting areas are spread over Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab provinces. The hunters can hunt 100 houbara bustards in a 10-day safari during the three-month hunting season between November 1, 2019 and January 31, 2020. The permit is person-specific, the Dawn News reported.Quoting sources, the report said the permits have been issued for the 2019-20 hunting season by the foreign ministry's deputy chief of protocol, Mohammad Adeel Pervaiz. The permit holders are Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, his uncle, brother and seven other royal dignitaries of the oil-rich Gulf nation.The permits are issued every year to members of the royal families of the Gulf countries, despite growing criticism in Pakistan against the move, it said.Originally an inhabitant of the colder central Asian region, the houbara bustard, in order to avoid harsh weather conditions, migrates southwards every year to spend the winter in a relatively warm environment in Pakistan.In the wake of its dwindling population, the migratory bird is not only protected under various international nature conservation treaties, its hunting is also banned under local wildlife protection laws. Pakistanis are not allowed to hunt this bird.However, the hunting of houbara bustard is used as a foreign policy tool by the Pakistan government, which allows influential nationals of the Arabian Gulf nations to hunt the bird for a price tag of USD 100,000, the Ary News reported. Read the full article

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‘Like Jallianwala Bagh’: Uddhav Thackeray on police crackdown on Jamia students - india news

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has compared the police action against students of Jamia Milia Islamia University in Delhi to the massacre at 1919 Jallianwala Bagh.“What happened at Jamia Millia Islamia, is like Jallianwala Bagh. Students are like a ‘Yuva bomb’. So we request the central government to not do, what they are doing, with students,” he said, according to news agency ANI.Thackeray is the latest politician to criticise Delhi Police’s action against the Jamia students during Sunday’s protest. The police entered the Jamia university campus after a protest march the students were leading on the streets of Delhi against the new citizenship law turned violent on Sunday. A few policemen were injured in the violence.The cops then entered the university and searched the campus for miscreants - an action which has been widely condemned.The Opposition Congress has led the charge in criticising the police action. The Congress has said that it is a fight to protect the Constitution, which is being “violated and threatened” by the BJP with its “divisive” politics through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The Shiv Sena is ruling Maharashtra in partnership with Congress.Many student bodies have come out in support of Jamia students. They shouted slogans against the government, held placards, issued statements of support and organised rallies to oppose the recently enacted Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, which favours non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on the grounds that they are “persecuted minorities” in those countries.As student anger simmered, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm and said no Indian citizen would be affected by the CAA. “This is the time to maintain peace, unity and brotherhood. It is my appeal to everyone to stay away from any sort of rumour mongering and falsehoods,” he added.The alleged police brutality on Sunday evening left many students at Jamia university injured or hospitalised. The campus resembled a war zone with police fighting pitched battles with protesters and firing tear gas shells. Jamia chief proctor Waseem Ahmed Khan has said the police entered the university by force and thrashed staff members and students.Students also said that police barged into the library beat up pupils, dragging them out. Students could be seen coming out of the university campus with their hands raised even as mobs set fire to buses and vandalised public property.Police have denied all reports of assault and claimed that they did not enter the library buildings and assault students. Delhi Police spokesperson Mandeep Singh Randhawa said, “Our personnel entered the campus while chasing the violent protestors who were pelting stones, tube lights, bulbs, bottles on them, to push them back and contain the situation. No police personnel went inside the library or vandalised it. Tear gas shells may have gone inside the library since it was close to the places from where they were being fired.” Read the full article

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Bihar Woman, Set On Fire After Failed Rape Bid, Dies: Report

The Muzaffarpur Police has arrested the accused. (Representational)Patna: The 23-year old woman, who was set on fire after a failed rape bid in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district on December 7, died in Patna on Monday night.She was undergoing treatment in Patna'a Appolo hospital after receiving 80 per cent burns.The victim's relatives said the woman died around 11.40 pm on Monday night.The Muzaffarpur district administration had assured to bear the entire cost of woman's medical treatment.According to the family members of the victim, her last words were, "I want justice. The person who has committed this crime should be hanged."The accused, Raja Rai, poured kerosene oil on her body for resisting rape attempt on December 7.According to the FIR lodged at the Ahiyapur police station in Muzaffarpur, the woman was with her minor niece and nephew in her house when the accused barged-in and tried to sexually assault her, but failed. The accused then poured kerosene oil on the woman and set her on fire.Police has arrested the accused. Read the full article

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US Wants Turkey To Explain Threats To Close Down Military Bases

Mark Esper noted he was disappointed by the direction Ankara seems to be taking.Washington, United States: US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday he wants an explanation from Ankara over threats to close two strategic military bases used by the United States in Turkey.Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday threatened to close the Incirlik and Kurecik bases while speaking to a pro-government television channel. The two bases sit on Turkey's southwest coast, near the border with Syria.The US air force uses the airbase at Incirlik for raids on positions held by the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria. The Kurecik base houses a major NATO radar station.Mark Esper told reporters he would need to speak to his counterpart, defense minister Hulusi Akar, "to understand what they really mean and how serious they are.""If the Turks are serious about this, I mean, they are a sovereign nation, to begin with... they have the inherent right to house or not to house NATO bases or foreign troops," Mark Esper said on a plane as he flew back from Belgium, where he had attended the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge."I think this becomes an Alliance's matter, their commitment to the Alliance, if indeed they are serious about what they are saying," he added.Mark Esper also noted he was disappointed by the direction Ankara seems to be taking, moving away from NATO and getting closer to Russia.Turkey faces US sanctions over its decision to buy the Russian S-400 missile defense system, despite warnings from Washington.Tensions also rose when Turkey launched a military incursion into northeastern Syria in October against the Kurds, who were US allies in the fight against ISIS.The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee last Wednesday adopted a bipartisan bill that sets tough sanctions against Turkey and its leaders over its offensive in Syria and the purchase of the Russian missile system.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Read the full article

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22-year-old woman dies after falling off train near Dombivli - mumbai news

A 22-year-old woman, on her way to work, died after she fell from a running local train between Dombivli and Kopar stations on Monday morning. The police said Charmi Pasad, who was travelling on the footboard, lost balance owing to overcrowding in the compartment. This is the fourth such accident on the same stretch this year. Pasad lived with her two elder brothers and mother in Dombivli.“Pasad, a resident of Bhopar Gaon, Dombivli (East), fell off the running local around 9am. The victim was taken to Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli, where she succumbed to major head and back injuries. An accidental death report has been registered,” said a Government Railway Police (GRP) officer from Dombivli. According to the GRP police, Pasad had boarded a Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)-bound fast local around 8.53am, from platform no. 5 of Dombivli railway station. “Similar accidents have occurred on the same stretch as many commuters travel on the footboard owing to overcrowded compartments. Even after the fast train leaves Dombivli station, the commuters on the footboard struggle to get into the compartment,” said a GRP officer from Dombivli.According to her brother, Pasad was a regular commuter and was on her way to office on Monday. “She was working in the sales department of a private company in Ghatkopar,” said Mehul Pasad, 35.“The Dombivli station sees large crowds during peak hours. Boarding the local trains, which are already crowded by the time it arrives at Dombivli station, is very difficult and commuters are forced to travel standing on the footboard,” said Mehul Pasad.“I request authorities to form a queue system for boarding and de-boarding locals. Besides, there should be increase in the local services, especially the ladies specials from Dombivli station, during peak hours, added Mehul.“The Railways should examine crowded stations like Dombivli and accordingly increase the frequency of CSMT-bound locals. Trains from stations like Kalyan, Karjat, Kasara, Badlapur and Ambernath are already packed by the time it reaches Dombivli,” said Gaurangi Patil, 34, a regular commuter from Dombivli to Thane.Meanwhile, local railway activists blamed the unfinished 5th and 6th line between Thane and Diva for the increase in such accidents.“The completion of the 5th and 6th line between Thane and Diva would have helped increase more local services on Central line. Besides, after noticing many accidents on this particular stretch between Dombivli and Kopar, we had also demanded the introduction of a trauma centre near the tracks, so as to provide medical treatment within the golden hour,” said Vishwanath Biwalkar, 37, an activist from Dombivli. Read the full article

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Muzaffarpur student, set on fire for resisting rape attempt, dies at Patna hospital - india news

A 20-year-old woman from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, who was set on fire for resisting rape attempt, died at a Patna hospital late on Monday night.The woman was undergoing treatment at Patna’s Apollo Burn Hospital since last Tuesday . Doctors at the hospital had said on Monday that her condition had deteriorated and she was critical. “Her prognosis is zero and it will be a miracle if she survives. Her internal organs have been affected as a result of which her urine output will decrease and she will have breathing problem,” said Dr Sanjay Kumar.The college student had received 95% burn injuries when her neighbour allegedly set her on fire after she resisted the rape attempt. The incident happened on the night of December 7 in Ahiyapur police station area, but came to light after the girl was shifted to the Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur on the next evening in a critical condition. Read the full article

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US man, tried 6 times for murder, freed on bail for first time in 22 years - world news

A Mississippi man whose murder conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court for racial bias was granted his freedom for the first time in 22 years Monday while prosecutors decide whether to retry him for a seventh time.A judge set a bond of $250,000 for Curtis Flowers, but told him he would have to wear an electronic monitor while awaiting a decision by the district attorney’s office to either try him again or drop the charges.Flowers was convicted four times in connection with a quadruple slaying in the city of Winona in 1996: twice for individual slayings and twice for all four killings. Two other trials involving all four deaths ended in mistrials. Each of the convictions was overturned, but Flowers has remained in jail because the original murder indictment is still active.Circuit Judge Joseph Loper said it was “troubling” that prosecutors had not responded to a defense motion to drop the charges against Flowers. He said if prosecutors do not respond, “the state will reap the whirlwind” from him.Assistant District Attorney William Hopper left the courtroom without speaking to news reporters. Earlier, he declined to comment when asked if the district attorney’s office would try Flowers a seventh time.Flowers’ attorney Rob McDuff said after the hearing that a person who wanted to remain anonymous was putting up the standard 10% percent, or $250,000, required for Flowers’ release. McDuff said Flowers could be freed later Monday.Supporters who were among the more than 150 people packing the wooden pews of the 1970s-era courtroom hugged Flowers after the judge announced his decision. His father, Archie Lee Flowers, choked back tears. He said the first thing he would do when his son was released, was pray.The elder Flowers said he frequently visited his son in prison, where they sang and prayed together. He said he has always believed in his son’s innocence.During his sixth trial in 2010, Flowers was sentenced to death. The US Supreme Court overturned that conviction in June, finding that prosecutors had shown an unconstitutional pattern of excluding African American jurors in the trials of Flowers, who is black.After the Supreme Court ruling, Flowers was moved off death row at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman and taken to a regional jail in the central Mississippi town of Louisville.“This case is unprecedented in the history of the American legal system,” McDuff told the judge during Monday’s hearing. He said Flowers had spent 23 years in prison “without a lawful conviction to justify his incarceration” and had an “exemplary” record of good behavior in prison.Hopper had asked the judge to deny bond. He cited several examples of evidence that he said pointed to Flowers’ guilt.Four people were shot to death on July 16, 1996, in the Tardy Furniture store in the north Mississippi city of Winona. They were owner Bertha Tardy, 59, and three employees: 45-year-old Carmen Rigby, 42-year-old Robert Golden and 16-year-old Derrick “Bobo” Stewart.A daughter of Tardy was in court Monday. She sat across the aisle and one row back from Flowers’ daughter, Crystal Ghoston, who sat in the front row.Ghoston, 26, told The Associated Press that she had seen her father only once since he was imprisoned: about 10 years ago, and even then she could only talk to him through a reinforced window. She said they wrote letters to each other and spoke on the phone every few weeks, and that he talked about meeting her 2-year-old daughter, who calls him “Paw-Paw.”“We’re so much alike,” Ghoston said. “We laugh all the time on the phone.”Ghoston, of Grenada, Mississippi, said after her father’s release, they will take their first-ever photo together.Winona sits near the crossroads of Interstate 55, the major north-south artery in Mississippi, and US Highway 82, which runs east to west. It about a half-hour’s drive from the flatlands of the Mississippi Delta. Among its 4,300 residents, about 48% are black and 44% are white. Census Bureau figures show that about 30% live in poverty.In mid-November, four black voters and a branch of the NAACP filed a federal lawsuit asking a judge to permanently order Evans and his assistants to stop using peremptory challenges to remove African American residents as potential jurors because of their race.The lawsuit cites an analysis of jury strikes by Evans from 1992 to 2017 by American Public Media’s “In the Dark” podcast. It found Evans’ office used peremptory strikes, which lawyers typically don’t have to explain, to remove 50% of eligible black jurors, but only 11% of eligible white jurors. The analysis was performed as part of a series of episodes questioning Flowers’ conviction in his sixth trial. Read the full article

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Ex-US NSA Michael Flynn gets sentencing date as judge throws out all challenges - world news

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn will be sentenced next month for lying to federal agents after a judge rejected his request to throw out his case.US District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington also said that Flynn wasn’t entitled to additional evidence.“It is undisputed that Mr. Flynn not only made those false statements to the FBI agents, but he also made the same false statements to the vice president and senior White House officials, who, in turn, repeated Mr. Flynn’s false statements to the American people on national television,” Sullivan said in a 92-page ruling.Flynn, a retired US Army general who served as the president’s first national security adviser, will be sentenced Jan. 28. He was fired three weeks into his job after word of his contacts with then-Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, became public.Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI. His sentencing last year was scrapped in the middle of a hearing because Flynn was still cooperating with prosecutors. The judge also had him admit to his guilt again, after his lawyers suggested investigators had tricked him into making a false statement.Flynn later replaced his lawyers with firebrand conservative attorney Sidney Powell, who sought to rebuild Flynn’s defense by challenging the very basis for the prosecution. She accused the Justice Department of withholding exculpatory evidence and again claimed that Flynn had been deceived by investigators. Powell didn’t return an email seeking comment on Monday.Sullivan was scathing in his rejection of Powell’s claims, noting at one point in his ruling that the lawyer had “lifted verbatim portions from a source without attribution.”The case is US v Flynn, 17-cr-232, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington). Read the full article

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‘If Kuldeep Sengar comes out of jail, he’ll be a threat’: Unnao woman’s kin - india news

The news of expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s conviction brought a smile on Unnao rape survivor’s face but she wanted death penalty for the BJP leader. The survivor is in Delhi under medical observation ever since she was airlifted from Lucknow after she was severely injured in a road mishap in Rae Bareli in July this year. Her sister said, “I told her about the verdict. She smiled. She asked when the accused will be hanged. I had no answer to that.”She added, “We lost our father and aunts in the battle. This man should not be allowed to roam free even after 10 years.”“If he comes out after some years, he can be a threat to us,” she said. Her mother said, “Our family is destroyed, displaced. We lost family members just because they sought justice for my daughter.”Meanwhile, Opposition parties have welcomed Sengar’s conviction. Samajwadi Party MLC (Member of Legislative Council) Sunil Singh ‘Saajan’ said, “We had no faith in the BJP and its government, and had full faith in the judiciary.”Congress spokesperson Zeeshan Haider said, “Sengar, while being a sitting MLA, committed the crime and the BJP sheltered him. It would have been even better had the BJP government acted in time against him. We welcome the court’s verdict.”UP BJP spokesperson Navin Srivastava said, “Sengar’s conviction is a triumph of justice, but it also underscores CM Yogi Adityanath’s zero tolerance on matters as sensitive as this. After the FIR, the BJP government recommended a CBI probe, expelled the lawmaker from the party and didn’t accord any special treatment to the accused. Despite facing similar charges, the Akhilesh Yadav government had taken its minister Gayatri Prajapati along during during election campaign.”Meanwhile Sengar is set to lose his membership of the state assembly. “Kuldeep Singh Sengar stands disqualified from date of his conviction by the court. Under the provisions of Article 191 of the Constitution of India, the Governor will disqualify him from the date of conviction on the report of the Election Commission of India,” said CB Pandey former advisor to governor and a legal expert.In 2013, the Supreme Court had struck down the provisions that allowed the MPs and MLAs three months’ time for filing appeal against their conviction. Read the full article

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Cuba Says It Is Prepared If US Chooses To Sever Diplomatic Ties

Cuba says the US does not have the moral authority to lecture anyone on human rights (Representational)Havana, Cuba: Cuba's Communist government is prepared if the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump decides to sever diplomatic relations although it hopes that does not come to pass, a top Cuban diplomat said on Monday.Relations were re-established five years ago this week under former Democratic President Barack Obama following half a century of hostility, a stance that earned the United States lots of goodwill from Latin America, which has been clamouring for such a detente for years.Washington loosened trade and travel restrictions, Obama visited Havana, and the old Cold War foes looked on track to fully normalizing their relationship.But under Republican Trump all that has changed. Amid an attack on socialism in Latin America, his administration has not only tightened restrictions, such as banning U.S. cruises again, but even imposed sanctions it had never resorted to before.It has, for example, allowed U.S. citizens to bring lawsuits against foreign companies deemed to be trafficking in Cuban properties nationalized after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, damaging investor appetite."There are powerful people today in the U.S. government that want to increasingly apply hostile measures and sever our bilateral relationship," the Cuban Foreign Ministry's General Director for U.S. Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told reporters on the sidelines of an annual U.S.-Cuban academic conference in Havana."If that were to be the case, we are ready to face that reality, but it is not what the people of Cuba want and not what the government of Cuba is seeking."The U.S. says it is pressuring Cuba to end human rights violations such as harassment of opponents of Cuba's one party system. It also wants Havana to stop supporting socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro."While there are no plans to break off diplomatic ties at this time, one thing that has clearly reached a low point is the Castro regime's abuses of its own people," a State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "In addition, the regime is spreading its totalitarian repression to other countries in the region."Havana says the United States does not have the moral authority to lecture anyone on human rights and should not intervene in other countries' domestic affairs.Analysts say Cuba paradoxically often clamps down more on dissent when it feels under siege from the United States. Activists have complained of an increase in repression of late.Some believe Trump is eyeing the 2020 election, with the swing state of Florida home to many Cuban-American exiles who welcome the harder line on Havana.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Read the full article

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Activists, Academicians Move Supreme Court Against Citizenship Law

The plea filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan sought direction to declare the Act as illegal (File)New Delhi: Activists Harsh Mander, Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, historian Irfan Habib, economist Prabhat Patnaik and some organisations on Monday approached the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and sought direction to strike it down.The plea filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan sought direction to declare the Act as unconstitutional and illegal."These notifications and the Amendment Act are unconstitutional as they are discriminatory and violate the right to equality of all persons under the constitutional scheme. They are discriminatory towards illegal migrants from other countries in the neighbourhood of India apart from the three countries as well as discriminatory towards other minority communities such as Muslims, Jews, Ahmadiyas or Atheists who do not identify with a religious group," the plea said.The activists further said that this classification on the basis of religion, country of origin or kind of persecution or date of entry or place of residence in India, is an unreasonable classification and hence discriminatory."Granting citizenship on the basis of religion goes against the grain of our Constitution. Religious pluralism and secularism have been the foundation of our country since Independence," it added."Our constitutional scheme does not allow discrimination on the basis of religion or country of origin or kind of persecution. This cannot be the basis of granting citizenship. The religious basis of citizenship would be a negation of the secular and inclusive fabric of our Constitution," it added.The petitioners said that the Act also violates Article 21 of the Constitution as it violates the right to live with dignity of individuals who are not covered under the special dispensation of the Amendment Act, solely on the basis of their membership to a particular religion.Muslim Advocates Association, a registered society, has also approached the Supreme Court challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 asking to declare the new law as unconstitutional.The Act violates Articles 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution, as well as the Constitution's basic structure, the association plea said.Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) also challenged the Act, while seeking direction to declare it in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution as it is discriminatory, manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable and irrational.DYFI's plea said the Act is challenged wherein first-time religion is introduced as a reference point, condition for acquisition of Indian Citizenship for illegal/ undocumented migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan."Citizenship is being extended to certain a class of illegal/undocumented migrants belonging to the religion of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Such classification on the basis of religious identity of the individual clearly violates Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution. Moreover, the classification based on the religious identity of the individual offends the fundamental principle of ''Secularism'', which is enshrined as the basic structure of the Constitution," the plea added.During the day, two more petitions were filed in the top court, one by the Makkal Needhi Maiam, a political party-led by actor-turned-politician Kaman Haasan and another by Padi Richo, former MLA and a resident of Arunachal Pradesh.Both petitions said that the exclusion of Muslim beneficiaries from the purview of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is violative of Articles 14 and 21, apart from contravening basic principles of secularism. Read the full article