'About 70 lakh people lined up to form a 620km human chain across the length of Kerala on Republic Day, read out the Preamble to the Constitution and took an oath to preserve the country’s secular and democratic character. Men and women, young and old participated in the Great Human Chain organised by the state’s ruling Left Democratic Front, mostly along a national highway...'
'Elections for the students union in the Central University of Gujarat saw all five candidates fielded by the ABVP, the student wing of the ruling BJP in the State, losing. Three seats were won by Left-leaning student outfits and the NSUI, while one seat went to an independent candidate. All the five candidates fielded by the ABVP lost...'
'Left-leaning groups in the European Parliament have moved four motions for a resolution on India's controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) calling the law discriminatory, divisive and raising concerns about human rights violations. The draft resolution, moved on January 22 by the 154-member Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group of the European Parliament, called upon the EU to raise the issue of ethnic and religious minorities’ discrimination in their dialogues with the Indian authorities.
'The BJP, which has been riding high on last year's Lok Sabha election victory, may have something to worry about in the states. According to the IANS-CVoter's 'State of the Nation' Republic Day survey, four of the five most under-performing state governments are ruled by the BJP and its allies. The Goa government, led by the BJP, has been the worst-performing among all.
'Well-known multi-lingual actor and activist Prakash Raj, Communist leader Brinda Karat and former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy have been threatened with death for opposing communal forces of the 'Sangh Parivar.' The threat was posted in a letter penned in Kannada on Raj's Twitter handle dated yesterday, the actor said in a post on Sunday. It is addressed to Nijagunanada Swamiji, a prominent anti-communal crusader and an outspoken voice against the RSS and its affilliates...'
'More than 150 lawmakers of the European Union have drafted a five-page resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act, contending that it "marks a dangerous shift in the way citizenship will be determined in India and is set to create the largest statelessness crisis in the world and cause immense human suffering". Accusing the government of "discriminating against, harassing and prosecuting national and religious minorities and silencing any opposition, human rights groups...
'From politicians, writers and celebrities to men, women and children, lakhs of people came out to form a human chain from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) headed by the CPI(M) organised the protest with leaders of the coalition parties leading it at different points... According to the LDF, 70 lakh people participated in the human chain that stretched across 620 kilometers.
'Activist Sharjeel Imam, who has been charged with sedition for calling on protestors to “cut off Assam from India” during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, on Sunday clarified that he had asked people to peacefully block roads wherever possible, The Indian Express reported. Imam, a former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, is facing sedition cases in Assam and Uttar Pradesh for a speech he had given at Aligarh Muslim University on January 16.
'...Earlier this week, police officials from Marathahalli police station arrested three people belonging to a family in Munnekolala alleging that they are illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. In addition, Marathahalli police officials also detained and later released four other Bengali-speaking migrants after questioning them. The arrests and detentions are part of renewed efforts by police officials in Bengaluru’s Whitefield division to identify alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and register cases against them.
'BJP leader MP Renukacharya who is political secretary to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, stoked a fresh controversy by stating that he will cut all facilities given to minorities in the Honnali Assembly constituency as they "have not voted for him in the elections". "They did not vote for me in 2018 elections and I am sure that they will not vote to me in future as well. That's why I want to find places where they live in the constituency and I will cut the facilities given to them in Honnali," Renukacharya said in a public meeting in his constituency.
