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JuD chief Hafiz Saeed denies tweets inciting JNU protesters

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Hafiz Saeed

New Delhi: Hafiz Saeed, has released a video saying that he has nothing to do with the JNU protest. According to ANI, he said in a video: “I felt very odd when I heard that the Indian home minister had said that I or my tweet was behind the JNU slogans. This is a fake twitter account. I have not said anything via a tweet.”

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had brought in Hafiz Saeed into the public debate on the ‘anti-India’ JNU protests, suggesting that those speaking in support of the JNU students were on the same side as Saeed.

“The incident at JNU has received support from Hafiz Saeed . This is a truth that the nation needs to understand,” Singh told reporters in Allahabad on Sunday. The home minister’s comments had come days after a tweet, on a fake twitter handle, appeared under a hashtag asking Pakistanis to support the JNU protests.

The opposition reacted sharply to the home minister’s remarks.

The Congress and the Left parties slammed the home minister and asked him to provide proof of what he had claimed. The CPM’s top leader, Sitaram Yechury, accused the government of “scaring us off” and crushing dissent, after protesters attacked the CPM party office.

(Agencies)

Ruckus in Lok Sabha as CPI-M nails Rajnath’s ‘first Hindu ruler after 800 years’ remark

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Rajnath-Salim

New Delhi: There was uproar in the Lok Sabha on Monday after CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim targetted Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for allegedly describing Prime Minister as India’s ‘first Hindu ruler after 800 years’.

“I was quoting from a magazine. If Rajnath Singh is denying it, then let him send a legal notice to the publication,” said Salim.

“Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that for first time in 800 years, a Hindu has become India’s PM,” he added.

Salim further quoted Rajnath Singh, as saying in that article, that “after Prithviraj Chauhan, we have a Hindu ruler after 800 years.”

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Saugata Roy said, “It is true that notice should be given. Outlook magazine is dated November 16, two weeks have passed. If it was not true, home minister should have taken note and issued a denial letter. Why did he not do it?

The Home Minister, on his part, expressed his disappointment over the CPI (M) leader’s remark, saying he has never been hurt as much as today in his entire parliamentary career.

“If a Home Minister gives such a statement, then, he should not be in such a position,” he added.

The Lok Sabha is presently holding a debate on the situation arising out of incidents of intolerance in the country under rule 193.

(Agencies)

With no majority in RS, can't pass law for Ram temple this time: Rajnath Singh

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babri-masjid

Ayodhya: A dearth of majority in the Upper House of Parliament was coming in the way of BJP to bring in a motion and make law for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, Union Home minister Rajnath Singh today said.

Construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya was among the promises made by BJP in its election manifesto which it had released in the run up to last year’s General elections.

Some other contentious issues like abrogation of Article 370 which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir and enactment of Uniform Civil Code were also promised in the party’s manifesto.

“BJP does not have a majority in Rajya Sabha, so this time it is not possible to bring motion in the Parliament to make law for the construction of Ram temple,” the senior BJP leader said.

He was here to take part in a programme of senior Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Nritya Gopal Das. When asked if BJP will bring the motion for a Ram temple if it gets a majority in Rajya Sabha in the days to come, Singh said,”It is an imaginary question.”

The ruling party has 45 members in the Upper House and it is unlikely that it will have the numbers during its current tenure. In the House of 243 members, Opposition has at least 132 MPs.

Reacting to a question on underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Singh said he will speak “some thing on Dawood in a day or two.” The government was left red-faced for its contradictory reply in Parliament on the whereabouts of Dawood Ibrahim.

Later, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said the underworld don lives in Pakistan and the Centre would continue to pursue the case very seriously.

(PTI)

Rajnath backs national ban on cow slaughter

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Rajnath Singh

Indore: The NDA government will try its “level best” to bring in a countrywide ban on slaughter of cows by evolving a consensus, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday.

“Cow slaughter cannot be accepted in this country. We will make all-out efforts to ban it and will also try hard for a consensus,” he told a gathering of spiritual leaders of Shwetambar Jains, a prominent sect of Jainism.

Referring to the cow slaughter ban in the BJP-ruled States of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the senior BJP leader said nobody should doubt the government’s commitment in this regard.

“The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh enacted a tough law; so has the Maharashtra government. We didn’t waste any time in sending the Bill passed by Maharashtra government to the President for his assent,” he said referring to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act, which also extends the ban to slaughter of bulls and bullocks.

On the occasion, Acharya Shivmuni wanted the Centre to bring in legislation in the current Budget Session of Parliament for banning slaughter of buffaloes also.

To this, Mr. Singh said the government needed to have an absolute majority in both Houses of Parliament to enforce a complete ban. “You must be reading in the newspapers how the government has to struggle to get various bills passed in Parliament.” The BJP lacks the numbers in the Rajya Sabha.

Mr. Singh recalled that when he was Agriculture Minister in 2003, his Ministry had prepared a Bill for a total ban on slaughter of cows. “But the moment I rose to present it in Parliament, there was an uproar. That is why we couldn’t get the Bill passed,” he said.

‘Gem of Indian culture’

Describing Jainism as the “gem” of Indian culture, he said: “The entire world is affected by the scourge of terrorism, origin of which lies in the mentality of violence. And this mentality can be fought with the teachings of Jainism.”

(PTI)

Rajnath Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav hospitalised

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav

Home Minister Rajnath Singh and SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav

Gurgaon: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav have been admitted to a private hospital in Gurgaon owing to different ailments.

Rajnath Singh was brought at Medicity Medanta hospital around 9.15 a.m. on Saturday and was admitted to the ICU following a heart problem, IANS reported. The team of doctors treating him refused to say anything about his condition.

Sources told IANS that R.R. Kashvini and his team is taking care of the Home Minister. A.K. Dubey, medical superintendent of Medicity Medanta hospital, declined to comment on the Singh’s condition.

Meanwhile, PTI reported that Mulayam Singh Yadav was admitted to the same hospital late last night after he complained of uneasiness and breathing difficulty. The 75-year-old has been advised rest and there is no need to panic, Samajwadi Party Spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said here today.

“Mulayam Singh Yadav is being examined in Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon under the supervision of Dr Naresh Trehan”, he said. “The party chief has been advised three days rest by the doctors and there is no need to panic with regard to his health”, Chaudhary said.

Party sources said Yadav complained of uneasiness and breathing difficulty last night after which he was taken to Gurgaon. Earlier this week, Yadav was admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) here and was discharged after an overnight stay in the hospital after some tests.

On the advise of doctors, Yadav had stayed back in Lucknow during the Holi celebration cancelling his programme to visit his native Saifai village in Etawah.

(With inputs from PTI and IANS)

Kejriwal discusses Delhi's statehood with Rajnath; AAP receives IT notice

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Delhi CM designate Arvind Kejriwal meets Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Delhi CM designate Arvind Kejriwal meets Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Photo: ANI

New Delhi: A day after registering a landslide victory in the Delhi assembly election, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday discussed the issue of full statehood for Delhi with Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Kejriwal, accompanied by party leader Manish Sisodia, had about an half-hour meeting with the home minister at the latter’s official residence.

“We have discussed various issues with the home minister, including the issue of full statehood for Delhi,” Sisodia told reporters.

He also said that the union minister assured them of the central government’s full support, saying that “the party line would not come in between working of the two governments”.

Earlier in the day, the AAP leaders called on union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu at his office and discussed various issues concerning the national capital.

During this meeting, the issues related to granting of full statehood to Delhi and granting land by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for building schools, parking and play grounds were discussed.

The AAP leaders also spoke about regularisation of unauthorised colonies in the city.

Kejriwal, to be sworn in as chief minister Saturday at the Ramlila Ground for the second time, is scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan later Wednesday.

Aam Aadmi Party, Congress served IT notice over funding

The Income Tax Department has served a notice on Aam Aadmi Party seeking an explanation on charges of receiving funds from dubious sources as alleged by a splinter group — a charge that had already been denied by the party.

A similar notice has also been served on the Congress, a party spokesperson said.

The department, that functions under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) of the ministry of finance, has asked the party to furnish its reply by Feb 16 — two days after Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to take oath as Delhi chief minister following a stunning win in the assembly polls.

In the run-up to the elections, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had alleged that the AAP was caught red-handed in receiving dubious funds from companies that did not have any business, and accused its leadership of adopting diversionary tactics to deflect attention.

He said such donations amounted to Rs.2 crore through cheques of Rs.50 lakh each from four firms.

The Aam Aadmi Party had protested such allegations. “Mr. Finance Minister. Stop throwing muck. Act. Arrest me if i am guilty,” Kejriwal tweeted. “Fin min (finance minister) says we took hawala money. Hawala money in cheques? I dare Fin min to arrest me if we took hawala money.”

He had also written to Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu and urged him to set up a special probe team to probe investigate not just his party, but also the BJP and the Congress for the Delhi elections.

The Congress party said it has also received a similar missive from the IT Department.

“Yes, we have been served a notice. It is clearly a sign of political vendetta. Let me ask: Why has a similar notice not been served on BJP? Why single us and the AAP out. BJP has also spent crores of rupees on elections,” a party spokesperson told IANS.

At a press conference here last week, the AAP Volunteer Action Manch (AVAM), a breakaway group of the party, had questioned the sources of funding for the Kejriwal-led party and alleged some of it could be sourced to what it described as “fraud” companies.

It said claimed the money donated on the midnight of April 15 last year.

(IANS)

Rajnath promises to examine visa denial to Vatican officials

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Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: Under attack for denial of visa to two Vatican officials, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today promised to examine the issue and take necessary action.

This was conveyed by Singh to a delegation of Christian leaders who called on him at his North Block office here.

“The Home Minister told the delegation that he would ask the concerned officials to give a report as to why the visa was denied to the Vatician officials,” a Home Ministry official said.

The two Vatican officials, who were to address the 27th national assembly of the ongoing Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) in Bengaluru, have been denied visas.

The decision to issue or deny visa is taken taken by the Foreigners’ Division of the Home Ministry. So far, there is no official communication from the Home Ministry as to why the visa was denied to them.

CCBI deputy secretary general Stephen Alathara claimed that the duo had applied for visas in December 2014 and were awaiting response from the Indian government.

However, on the travel day they were informed that their visa applications had been rejected due to technical reasons.

Vatican officials were to arrive in Bengaluru on Tuesday for the conference between February 3 and 9. It is being attended by 140 bishops from different parts of the country.

Archbishop Arthur Roche, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, and Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, president of the Pontifical Mission Societies and Adjunct Secretary to the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, were key speakers at the conference on the ‘Liturgy and Life’ session. The CCBI now plans to hold the session through video conferencing.

(PTI)

Rajya Sabha logjam over conversion row persists for fourth day

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Conversion Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha was Thursday stalled for the fourth consecutive day over the conversion row as the opposition insisted Prime Minister Narendra Modi should reply to a debate on attack on the country’s secular fabric and the government blamed them for shying from the discussion.

The first adjournment came during zero hour, and then question hour saw a 15 minute adjournment even as the prime minister was present. At 1 p.m., still unable to take up the debate, the house was adjourned for lunch.

The post-lunch session saw a 15 minute break again before it was adjourned for the day.

Modi was present in the house during question hour, and despite Chairman M. Hamid Ansari allowing the debate, it could not be taken up as the opposition insisted on an assurance first that the prime minister would reply to the debate.

Later, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the prime minister could have intervened in the debate if it had been taken up while he was there in the house.

“In the pre-lunch session, there was a general consensus that a discussion should take place. PM was here. I would have replied, and wherever needed, if the members were not satisfied, PM could have intervened,” said Rajnath Singh.

“I am sorry that the PM was present but opposition did not allow the debate. There is some prestige of the prime minister’s post,” he said.

The house witnessed repeated disruptions, adjournments and angry exchanges between ruling and opposition sides.

Members from both the opposition and treasury benches created a din and the debate could not be taken up despite the chair repeatedly asking the members to start the discussion.

Congress leader Anand Sharma accused the government of heckling the opposition.

“Treasury benches are not allowing our members to speak. They are heckling us,” he said.

An angry Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi accused opposition benches of running away from the debate.

“Look at your members. You come out with a new condition every time. You are running away from a debate,” he said.

Earlier, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley slammed the opposition, saying it appeared to be only interested in creating roadblocks in the functioning of the house.

“The notice for this discussion under Rule 267 (adjournment of question hour) came Monday. We agreed for a debate,” he said.

“But the opposition wants to decide how the debate will happen, who will respond,” he said.

He said even after the last statement by the prime minister, the house was not allowed to function.

“The (prime minister’s) response was conciliatory. It indicated the house should go on. But someone said this is not acceptable, and that is where competitive politics of disruption started,” said Jaitley.

(IANS)

IS banned in India, minority youths discouraged from joining: Rajnath

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Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday said the Islamic State (IS) terror group has been banned in India, and congratulated the Indian minorities for discouraging their youth from joining the outfit.

“We have banned the ISIS as a first step. I will like to inform (the house) that the group has been banned under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Amendment Act 62,” he told the Lok Sabha, referring to the terror outfit by its earlier name ISIS.

Rajnath Singh said the group has been proscribed under the provisions of the UAPA that relates to organisations listed in the schedule to the UN Prevention and Suppression of Terrorist (Implementation of Security Council Resolutions) Order, 2007 made under section 2 of the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1947 and amended from time to time.

The home minister said the government had taken cognizance immediately after the IS activities began to spread in various parts of the world.

“There are only a handful or negligible number of people involved in ISIS activities in India. Their involvement too has not been direct. I congratulate the Indian minorities for discouraging their youth,” he said during question hour in the Lok Sabha.

In many developed countries like Britain and France, minority families were encouraging youth to join the IS, but Indian minorities were discouraging their children, he said.

“I congratulate the minority community for discouraging youth from getting radicalised,” Rajnath Singh said.

Responding to a supplementary question on steps taken by the government to prevent the spread of the IS, he said India has already banned the outfit and was monitoring the cyberspace to stop its propaganda.

“Cyberspace is a very serious issue. To monitor this system, it needs to be strengthened and I have asked for a committee to be constituted to monitor this.”

“We will ensure that it is properly monitored,” he added.

Mehdi Masroor Biswas, a pro-Islamic State (IS) tweeter, was arrested Saturday from Bengaluru after a British news channel Dec 11 unmasked the 24-year-old executive as a supporter of the outfit through social media and Twitter handle @ShamiWitness.

The home minister also assured the Lok Sabha that no innocent person from the minority community would be taken into custody with regard to suspected terror activities. If there were such instances, they could be brought to his notice.

Responding to another query on the IS, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said the matter was “very, very sensitive and the details cannot be discussed”.

(IANS)

ISIS our biggest challenge: Rajnath Singh

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Rajnath Singh

by Manoj Anand, Asian Age

Union home minister Rajnath Singh said here on Saturday that the growing threat of Islamic State (ISIS) in the Indian subcontinent was the biggest challenge, especially in the wake of some youth being lured by them.

Referring to the attack in Arnia sector, Mr Singh said that Pakistan claims “non-state” actors are behind such incidents, which is not true.

“I want to ask Pakistan if its intelligence agency the Inter-Services Intelligence, is also a ‘non-state actor’,” Mr Singh said, reiterating that Pakistan was engaged in destabilising India.

The Union home minister also pointed out, “Though ISIS was born in Syria and Iraq, it is a fact that the Indian subcontinent is not outside its radar, especially as some Indian youth are also getting attracted to it.”

He said, “Moreover, the Al Qaeda had recently announced the formation of a new outfit, Qaeda-ul-Jihadi, with the intention of specifically targeting Gujarat, Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir and Bangladesh.”

He said, “India cannot remain unaffected by international terrorism, (and the) activities of the Islamic State. We can’t take Al Qaeda’s threat of turning India into an Islamic country lightly, we should consider it a challenge.”

Asserting that India was capable of handling these threats, Mr Singh, in his inaugural address at the 49th police conference, however, asserted, “There might be many terrorist organisations in the world, but we will not allow them to get a foothold in our country.”

Mr Singh also expressed confidence that these Islamic terror groups will never be able to succeed in India and said that the majority of Indian Muslims will not side with them. “I am sure these terror groups will never succeed in India. They may try to convert India into an Islamic country on the assumption that a large number of Muslims will support them. But the fact remains that Indian Muslims had fought and sacrificed equally with others for India’s independence,” Mr Singh said.

The home minister, at the meeting attended by police chiefs from across the country as well as senior officials from intelligence agencies, also urged states to fill up vacancies in police forces and assured them of all possible help.

Speaking about modernising police forces, Mr Singh stressed the need to make the police people-friendly.

“Our coastal security network is inadequate and it should be strengthened,” he said while expressing his concern on the growing use of cyberspace by anti-national and anti-social forces. He asked the police chiefs to deliberate on strategies and steps to monitor cyberspace. He admitted that the biggest stumbling block in this direction was that the majority of servers are outside India. “We should work out a strategy on how to handle it,” he said.

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