Category: NATIONAL NEWS

Assam Trinamool Congress (TMC) president Dwipen Pathak and two other party leaders resigned today in protest against party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to the final draft of the NRC, which has evoked a sharp reaction from different parties and organisations in the state. Pathak’s resignation came within hours of a TMC delegation arriving at the Silchar airport in the Bengali-dominated Barak valley at Banerjee’s instructions and being stopped from exiting it by the police. Diganta Saikia, a TMC leader from Golaghat and who was among the three to resign, even…

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The Kolkata Police today granted permission for BJP president Amit Shah’s proposed rally here on August 11, police said. The development came hours after the BJP Yuva Morcha alleged that they are yet to receive any communication from the Kolkata Police regarding permission for Shah’s rally. The ruling Trinamool Congress took a swipe at the BJP and Shah, claiming that they had become nervous and wished them “happy journey to the land of peace and harmony”. “Some unwarranted speculation in social media about denial of permission to a political party…

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The Union Cabinet today gave its nod to a bill to restore the original provisions of a law on atrocities against Dalits and tribals, acceding to a key demand of Dalit groups ahead of their call for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ on August 9, a top government source said. The bill to restore the original provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act will be brought in Parliament, he said. The Supreme Court in a ruling in March had introduced safeguards which, Dalit leaders and organisations said, diluted…

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today alleged that the National Registrar of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Assam was done with a “political motive” to divide people and warned that it would lead to bloodbath and a civil war in the country. Attacking the BJP, she said the saffron party is trying to divide the country and asserted this will not be tolerated. “The NRC is being done with a political motive. We will not let this happen. They (BJP) are trying to divide the people. The situation cannot be…

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said his government was working on the demand for reservations to the Maratha community, but that the legal process could not be curtailed. Speaking at a function here to release a book on Chhatrapati Rajaram, King Shivaji’s descendant, Fadnavis said the decision cannot be taken only on the basis of sentiments. He described as lamentable the incidents of violence and alleged suicides for the quota demand reported during the ongoing agitation by Maratha organisations in the last few days. “If sentiments are aroused, there…

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Yavatmal (Maha), Jul 30 (DIN NEWS) The central government will soon bring a bill proposing death penalty for the crime of lynching, Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said here today. The proposed bill will be on the lines of a legislation seeking capital punishment to those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years, he said. “Lynching is a barbaric crime and no civilised society can accept it. The Union government will soon bring a bill proposing death penalty for lynching. “The proposed bill will…

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New Delhi, Jul 30 (DIN NEWS) A crucial bill seeking to provide death penalty to those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years and making the law against such sexual offences more stringent, was passed by the Lok Sabha today. The bill replaces the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated on April 21, following an outcry over the rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and the rape of another woman at Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. Although the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill…

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Guwahati, Jul 29 (DIN NEWS) Leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, today criticised the AGP, a coalition partner of the ruling BJP, for having “misguided” the people of the state by using the illegal migrants issue for achieving their political objectives for over 30 years. After the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) had formed the government in Assam in 1985 following signing of the Assam Accord, an ‘intensive revision’ of the electoral rolls of Assam was undertaken under the supervision of the Election Commission, Saikia said in a…

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Chennai, July 29 (DIN NEWS) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today visited a private hospital here to inquire about the health condition of DMK chief M Karunanidhi. The DMK, meanwhile, released a photograph,the first after Karunanidhi’s hospitalisation early yesterday, showing Naidu standing beside the 94-year-old leader in his hospital bed. Party cadres outside the hospital were enthused by the release of the image. They said the picture did not feature any “life support system like a ventilator” and it was reassuring that their Thalaivar (leader) was recuperating well. DMK had,…

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New Delhi, Jul 28 (DIN NEWS) As many as 465 people have lost their lives due to floods and rains in five states during the current monsoon season so far. According to the Home Ministry’s National Emergency Response Centre (NERC), 138 people have died in Maharashtra, 125 in Kerala, 116 in West Bengal, 52 in Gujarat and 34 in Assam due to the floods and rains. The deluges and rains have hit 26 districts in Maharashtra, 22 in West Bengal, 21 in Assam, 14 in Kerala and 10 in Gujarat…

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