'...Naqshband, an activist, academic and researcher, is among a growing number of Indians in Germany opposed to the latest measures, such as Harpreet Cholia, a Sikh and President of the Refugee Council of the state of Hesse in Frankfurt am Main. "Not only are the recent developments discriminatory towards Muslims but the CAA is also a divisive law. Although its premise is to protect minority religions in majority Muslim countries, it does not protect all religious minorities. The category of citizenship cannot be be given on grounds of religion." Kerti P.
'Kailash Vijayvargiya, the national general secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, on Thursday said that the construction workers at his house had “strange eating habits” that aroused suspicions about their nationality, PTI reported. The labourers were only consuming poha, a popular dish made from flattened rice, Vijayvargiya said at a seminar on the Citizenship Amendment Act in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. “I suspected these workers were residents of Bangladesh,” he said. “Two days after I became suspicious, they stopped working at my house.”...'
'Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra on Thursday claimed there will be a match between India and Pakistan on the streets of Delhi on February 8. He was referring to the Delhi Assembly elections, which will be held on February 8, and the results of which will be out on February 11... In another tweet, with which he shared a link to an article in which Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said he stood with protestors at Shaheen Bagh, Mishra claimed: “Aam Aadmi Party and Congress have created mini-Pakistans like Shaheen Bagh. In response, Hindustan will face them on February 8.
'India has plummeted 10 places down in global democracy index, released by The Economist Group. This global index which was launched in 2006 has been drawn out by the Economist Intelligence Unit of The Economist Group, which is a sister company of The Economist newspaper. India ranks lower than South Africa, Malaysia and Columbia as well.
'A leader who is fast developing a repute for controversial lines, BJP’s West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh said on Sunday that the government is committed to implementing the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens and will send back a crore Bangladeshi Muslims living in the state illegally. Addressing a series of rallies in the North 24 Parganas district, Ghosh said that those opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are anti-Bengalis and against the idea of India. He said one crore illegal Muslims in the state are “thriving” on the government’s Rs 2 per kg subsidised rice.
'Days after BJP MLA Arvind Limbavalli tweeted a video of shantytowns in North Bengaluru’s Kariyammana Agrahara area, claiming that the settlements belong to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, the houses were razed to the ground on Sunday and rendered thousands homeless. The electricity and water supply to the location was cut off three days ago. After the demolition of the shanties, the residents, mostly migrants from Assam, Tripura, some even from North Karnataka, were allegedly asked to vacate the land... All the residents have valid identity cards, including Aadhaar, pan and voter ID.
'The economic slowdown in India was the primary reason behind global growth estimates being downgraded in the latest World Economic Outlook, said International Monetary Fund's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath. In its World Economic Outlook (WEO) released on Monday, International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed global growth projections for 2019 to 2.9 per cent and for 2020 to 3.3 per cent. India's growth forecast was also downgraded for 2019 to 4.8 per cent from 6.1 per cent on the back of sharp decline in consumer demand, stress in the NBFC sector and sluggish credit growth...'
'An unsuspecting 56-year-old Swedish woman tourist was fined over ₹2.5 lakh after she was found in possession of over ₹50,000 in demonetised currency notes at the Cochin International Airport Limited on Tuesday. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the airport, which had beefed up the security and tightened baggage screening ahead of the Republic Day, detected 49 demonetised notes of ₹1,000 and another five notes of ₹500 in the woman’s luggage. The invalid and now illegal currency was later handed over to the Customs authorities...'
'In a statement, a group of human and civil rights lawyers of South Asian descent have expressed grave concerns about “ongoing legal abuses and human rights atrocities” in India. Their statement covers the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens, and the way protests against the two have been cracked down on by the government, as well as the Central governments actions in Kashmir.
'On 8 January 2020 evening, I attended a Concord, New Hampshire town hall for presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard and raised signs regarding her association with the Nazi-inspired RSS paramilitary. I was immediately violently assaulted by Gabbard campaign thugs, who attacked me for quietly and peacefully holding signs reading “Tulsi: Mascot of India’s KKK” and “Tulsi Whitewashes India’s KKK.” Before that point, I was silent and doing nothing but holding signs. I was joined by five other people doing the same thing.
