Tag: Modi-government

Inspired by Shaheen Bagh protests, women in Ranchi begin anti-CAA stir.

Source – hindustantimes.com

Inspired by the protest spearheaded by women at New Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh which began on December 15, 2019, an indefinite sit-in led by women against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) kicked off at Ranchi’s Kadru area on Monday.

Holding national flags, hundreds of women, after finishing their daily chores, gathered at Kadru under the banner of ‘Hum Bharat ke Log (We the People of India)’. By evening, the crowds had swelled. The protesters said the agitation was an extension of the women’s protest at Shaheen Bagh.

Temporary camps have been erected and arrangements to cook food have also been made for the women. A bonfire has also been arranged to fight the cold.

A participant at the protest, homemaker Shakina said, “Women from all religions have come together to protest against the CAA, NRC and NPR. I don’t think CAA is against any religion but it will put poor and women in trouble in days to come. So, it is our kind request to the Modi government to repeal the new law.”

“The country witnesses several natural calamities every year such as flood and earthquakes. Poor people face loss of their properties and documents in such situation. On the other hand, women, who move to other houses after marriage and they also have to change their surnames. They also face problems with documents till they revise them. In such situation, laws like CAA and NRC will definitely put them in trouble,” she added.

Another woman, Shagupta Parveen, said the agitation would continue until the government repealed the CAA.

Protesters claimed the Ranchi administration granted them permission by for the protest.

Sub-divisional officer (SDO), Lokesh Mishra said the local police have been asked to ensure the safety of the women.

“Even though organizer of the event did not seek any security, we have alerted the local police station asking to ensure adequate security for the women there. A magistrate has also been deputed for tonight,” Mishra said.

Jharkhand has witnessed sudden spike in rallies, marches and demonstrations both in protest against or in support of the new citizenship law after formation of the Hemant Soren government on December 29. Anti or pro-CAA events are reported every day from one place or the other, which also caused tension in some of the places. A major tension was averted by the Giridih administration on January 12 after stones were hurled at a rally, which was taken out in support of the CAA there.

Even as Muslim organisations, civil society groups and Left-backed organisations have been spearheading protests against the citizenship law, right-wing organisations along with top leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been campaigning in support of the law in the state.

At Ranchi’s Ormanjhi locality on Monday, thousands of people, including women, children and students, under the banner of Rashtriya Ekta Parishad took out a mega rally in support of CAA, NRC and NPR. The participants said rumours are being spread against the law by some political parties for their vested interest.

Protests grow, CM orders cops to ensure law & order.

Source – telegraphindia.com

Chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday attended the meeting of national Opposition parties in Delhi chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to draw up a strategy against the Narendra Modi government’s citizenship matrix, and at the same time ordered the Jharkhand police brass to ensure law and order in the wake of protests.

The meeting in Delhi was called to chalk out strategy to create a consensus among Opposition parties that no state ruled by any Opposition party or combine will implement the NPR — which many say is the foundation on which the NRC will be built — and the NRC. However, six major parties — the DMK, the SP, the BSP, the Trinamul, AAP and Shiv Sena — skipped the meeting.

In an interview with The Telegraph on December 28 last year, Hemant had said in response to a question: “…The decision to implement both (the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Population Register) depends upon whether we can take lives.”

The issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) has triggered protests across the country, including in Jharkhand. In Wasseypur, 5km from the Dhanbad district headquarters, a group of people have been protesting against the CAA, NRC and NPR for 12 days now. In Giridih, Section 144 of the CrPC was clamped on Monday, a day after a pro-CAA rally attended by an estimated 10,000 people sparked violence (See Metro).

Before leaving for Delhi, Hemant directed chief secretary D.K. Tiwari to ensure that law and order in Jharkhand was maintained and action was taken against people for breaking socio-religious harmony of the state.

Tiwari held a closed-door meeting with director-general of police K.N. Choubey besides other senior police and home department officials.

“Maintaining law and order and socio-religious harmony will remain top priority,” a senior Jharkhand police officer said under cover of anonymity. “There is clear-cut instruction from the CM that the administration will have to be sensitive and at the same time tough to deal with people who are involved in creating law and order problems. Police in the districts have been asked to follow the instruction.”

The Ranchi district administration also proclaimed Section 144 on Monday.

“The district administration has prohibited holding of any demonstration and procession on the Main Road right from Shahid Chowk to Ranchi Club, and also on Circular road. It has been seen that different outfits and groups of people organise protests that create traffic chaos. Only such religious processions that are annual features may be permitted to be taken out but only after prior joint approval of the deputy commissioner and the senior superintendent of police,” said a senior Ranchi district administration official.

In Delhi, Hemant is also learnt to have held a closed-door meeting with senior Congress leaders to finalise the Jharkhand cabinet expansion.

Development works initiated under Modi’s leadership will help BJP win Jharkhand polls: Gadkari.

Source – indiatoday.in

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said massive development works initiated under the leadership of Narendra Modi at the Centre and by Raghubar Das-led government in the state will help the BJP return to power with a thumping majority in Jharkhand.

Gadkari — who holds portfolios like road transport, shipping and MSME in the Modi government — in an interview to PTI after an election campaign at Palamu said that the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is fighting this assembly poll on themes like development works and job opportunities created in the state.

The senior BJP leader said that massive development works in the state created enormous job opportunities, including self-employment, for 34 lakh people in the last four years. Opportunities have also been created in form government jobs for one lakh youth, of which 95 per cent are locals, the minister said.

Further, a recruitment process has already been initiated for another 50,000 government jobs, he claimed.

Gadkari said that people of Jharkhand have been benefitted from several schemes initiated by the Modi-led government at the Centre and Raghubar Das in the state.

The efforts by the Centre and the state will reflect in ensuing assembly elections results, the senior leader said.

After the division of Bihar into two states, the BJP got opportunities to serve the people of the state, he said adding that Jharkhand is progressing fast on its way to development and the poor are getting benefitted from government schemes.

On being asked if the BJP was too ambitious in terms of its seats target in Jharkhand polls, particularly when it has not performed as per its own expectations in recently held Haryana and Maharashtra elections, Gadkari said his party will get a comfortable majority and form a stable government under Raghubar Das.

Das, earlier in an interview to PTI, had expressed confidence that the BJP will win 65 seats out of 81 in the forthcoming elections.

In the 2014 state polls, the BJP had 42 seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP and its allies won 12 of the 14 seats.

On Das’ Cabinet minister Saryu Rai being denied ticket, Gadkari said the decision was taken by the party and its parliamentary board which should be accepted as the idea was to give newcomers a chance.

He further said that such things happen in politics, but ultimately workers work for the organisation and the party.

On the debate going on with regard to having a tribal or a non-tribal chief minister in the state, Gadkari said Arjun Munda from the state was already representing tribals at the Centre and the state has been led by Das.

“The idea is ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’ where there is no discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, sex or religion, and efforts are being made to benefit the poor,” he said.

Jharkhand is the first state in the country where on purchase of land or house up to Rs 50 lakh by women, the registry is done at ‘rupee one’, he said, adding that so far more than 1.2 lakh women have been benefitted from the scheme.

Likewise, Jharkhand is the only state where gas stove is given free with gas cylinder under Ujjwala Yojana, he said.

Jharkhand Assembly elections will be held in five phases between November 30 and December 20, and the counting of votes will take place on December 23.

Presently, the BJP is in power in the state, which has a large tribal population. An alliance of opposition parties, mainly the Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, is making a determined bid to oust the BJP government.

Raghubar Das is the first state chief minister to have completed the full term of five years in the state.

The saffron party has asserted that it has provided a stable, clean and development-oriented government in Jharkhand, with the opposition claiming that the state’s progress has stalled under its rule.