'The Ministry of Law and Justice signed off on the Narendra Modi government’s decision to hastily pass the controversial electoral bond scheme by bypassing the Rajya Sabha, despite putting on record that the government’s strategy was illegal and unconstitutional, documents obtained by HuffPost India establish. In a two-page note, the law ministry said this illegal step was a one-off exception and urged the Modi government to “avoid considering this practice as a precedent”, the documents reviewed by HuffPost India show.
'The management of a school in Bidar has been slapped with sedition charges after its students performed a drama against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) on Sunday. Shaheen Education Institute was on Monday booked under sections 124A (sedition), 504 (provoke breach of peace), 505(2) (statements promoting enmity), 153A (promoting communal hatred) and 34 (act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC, while the FIR named the head of the school and its management as accused.
'Since the last two days, reports have emerged that according to an Enforcement Directorate report, Popular Front of India (PFI) mobilised Rs 120 crores during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). According to an Economic Times report, the agency was investigating the Kerala-based political outfit under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) since 2018. ED has reportedly found that at least Rs 1.04 crore was deposited in several bank accounts across the country linked to the organisation between December 4 last year and January 6, 2020.
'Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who was detained in Hyderabad Sunday ahead of a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, tweeted this morning that he was “being sent to Delhi”. He also claimed that his supporters were thrashed by cops before he was detained. In a tweet in Hindi, Azad wrote, “Dictatorship is at its peak in Telangana. Peoples’ right to protest is being snatched.
'West Bengal Monday became the fourth state to pass a resolution against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. Moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee in the state Assembly, the resolution appeals to the Union government to repeal the amended citizenship law and also to revoke plans to implement NRC and update NPR, PTI reported. Left-led Kerala and Congress-led Punjab and Rajasthan have already passed a resolution against CAA...'
'A day after sedition charges were slapped against Sharjeel Imam, activist and PhD student at JNU, by the Assam and Uttar Pradesh police, fresh charges under the same offence were issued against him in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Delhi, according to a report in the Indian Express. The Assam and Uttar Pradesh police filed sedition cases against Imam for a speech that he had made against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Aligarh Muslim University on January 16. The Assam police have also filed an FIR against Imam under the anti-terror law UAPA.
'A ~2,000-crore fund to set up a chain of modern markets for farmers, announced in the Union Budget 2018-19, has largely gone unspent in what experts see as a sign of how overregulated agricultural markets have kept farmers chained to outdated policies. These markets, essentially village-level bazaars, were meant to act as aggregation points for farm produce, where farmers and traders could transact freely with minimal rules. The aim was to provide an alternative to existing supply chains that are rigged by middlemen and, as a result, drive down farmers’ share of profits.
'...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.
'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.
'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...
