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Indian Navy puts ban on use of Facebook and smartphones within the naval areas

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This banning step has been attributed to the recent cases where the enemy had targeted the naval personnel using these sites and social media network and had tried to elicit operational information.

Indian navy, Indian Coast

New Delhi: Indian Navy has issued orders to ban the use of social media site Facebook. The order was issued on December 27. This banning order comes on the heels of December 20 arrest of 8 persons, Seven Navy personnel from Vishakhapatnam and a Hawala operator from Mumbai.

The Andhra Pradesh Intelligence Department launched an operation in association with Central Intelligence Agencies and Naval Intelligence and had busted an espionage racket having links with Pakistan.

Apart from banning the use of Facebook, the order bans use of smartphones within the naval areas like all the bases and even onboard ships forthwith.

The ban has been extended to the messaging apps and social networking sites as well. Further, the ban on Facebook is being seen as a ban on all other Facebook-owned sites as well. WhatsApp and Instagram are Facebook-owned. 

This banning step has been attributed to the recent cases where the enemy had targeted the naval personnel using these sites and social media network and had tried to elicit operational information.

The total number of personnel serving in the Indian Navy is 67252. The bigger worry faced by the service will be of a large number of civilian staff working in the harbours and naval dockyard as they do not come under the naval rules and act. 


Maharashtra Cabinet expansion: 10 Congress MLAs including former CM Ashok Chavan to take oath

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The swearing-in will take place at 1 pm in the Vidhan Bhavan (state legislature) premises where a total of 36 ministers are likely to take oath, they said.

Ashok Chavan

MUMBAI: Ten Congress MLAs, including former chief minister Ashok Chavan, will join the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra council of ministers during its expansion on Monday, party sources said.

The swearing-in will take place at 1 pm in the Vidhan Bhavan (state legislature) premises where a total of 36 ministers are likely to take oath, they said.

From the Congress’ side, Ashok Chavan, K C Padvi, Vijay Wadettiwar, Amit Deshmukh, Sunil Kadar, Yashomati Thakur, Varsha Gaikwad and Aslam Sheikh will take oath as Cabinet ministers, the sources said.

Besides, Satej Patil and Vishwajit Kadam of the Congress will be sworn in as ministers of state, they added.

The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray was formed on November 28.

The state Cabinet currently has six ministers, besides the chief minister.

Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut of the Congress, Eknath Shinde and Subhash Desai of the Shiv Sena and Jayant Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP took oath along with Thackeray on November 28.

Maharashtra can have a maximum of 43 ministers.

The size of council of ministers cannot exceed 15 per cent of the total number of MLAs, which is 288 in the state.

The Shiv Sena last month joined hands with the Congress and NCP, its traditional adversaries, after its alliance with the BJP collapsed over the issue of sharing the chief ministerial post.

As per the power-sharing formula decided by the three MVA allies, the Sena will get 15 ministerial berths, excluding the CM’s post, the NCP will also get 15 and the Congress 12.

The Shiv Sena has 56 MLAs, the NCP-54 and the Congress-44 in the 288-member House.

Mary Kom beats Nikhat Zareen to make Indian team for Olympic qualifiers

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The six-time world champion defeated Zareen 9-1 in the much-talked-about bout.

Mary Kom. Nikhat Zareen

NEW DELHI: Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) defeated Nikhat Zareen in a split verdict trial bout to make the Indian team for next year’s Olympic qualifiers in China.

In a bout which had very few clear punches, Mary Kom prevailed 9-1 to make the squad.

In other results, two-time world silver-medallist Sonia Lather (57kg) was upstaged by a swift-moving Sakshi Chaudhary.

Lather, also an Asian medallist, couldn’t cope with Chaudhury’s relentless attack.

In the 60kg category, former world champion L Sarita Devi lost to national champion Simranjit Kaur.

It was once again a battle of pace as Kaur outwitted Sarita with her precise hitting and quick reflexes.

Earlier, Zareen had demanded a ‘fair chance’ to contest the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers. On October 17, Zareen had written to the Sports Ministry challenging the Boxing Federation of India’s (BFI) decision to accommodate world champion Kom by changing its rule of exempting gold and silver medallists from the World Cup.

Kom had won a bronze in the 51kg semi-final at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude in Russia losing out to Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey on October 12 this year.

In tandem with NRC, Citizenship Act may affect status of Indian Muslims: According to US report

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The December 18 report also said that for the first time in independent India’s history, a religious criterion has been added to the country’s naturalization process.

Thousands gathered at Townhall for the Women India Movement against CAA on Thursday in Bengaluru. (Photo | Meghana Sastry/EPS)

WASHINGTON: The amended Citizenship law along with a National Register of Citizens (NRC) being planned by the Narendra Modi government “may affect the status” of the Muslim minority in India, a report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has said.

The December 18 report also said that for the first time in independent India’s history, a religious criterion has been added to the country’s naturalization process.

The CRS is an independent research wing of the US Congress which prepares reports periodically on issues of domestic and global importance for the lawmakers to take an informed decision.

These are not considered as official reports of the US Congress.

“In tandem with a National Register of Citizens (NRC) planned by the federal government, the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) may affect the status of India’s large Muslim minority of roughly 200 million,” said the CRS in its first-ever report on the amended Citizenship law.

According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, non-Muslim refugees who came to India till December 31, 2014, to escape religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship.

Since both houses of Parliament approved amendments to the citizenship law earlier this month, protests – sometimes violent – have taken place across the country during which many protesters have died, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

“India’s Citizenship Act of 1955 prohibited illegal immigrants from becoming citizens.

Among numerous amendments to the act since 1955, none contained a religious aspect,” the CRS said in its two-page report.

The changes sparked significant controversy, including large-scale and sometimes violent protests.

Opponents of the CAA warn that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are pursuing a Hindu majoritarian, anti-Muslim agenda that threatens India’s status as an officially secular republic and violates international human rights norms, it said.

The CRS claims that the amendment’s key provisions “allowing immigrants of six religions from three countries a path to citizenship while excluding Muslims” may violate certain Articles of the Indian Constitution, in particular, Articles 14 and 15.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act was immediately challenged in the Supreme Court by scores of petitioners, but the court has refused to issue a stay on implementation and is deferring hearing petitions until January 22, it notes, adding that the government argues that the three specified countries have a state religion — Islam — resulting in persecution of religious minorities.

“Proponents say that Muslims do not face persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Afghanistan and that the CAA is constitutional because it addresses migrants rather than Indian citizens,” it said.

“Yet it is not clear why migrants from other neighbouring countries with state (or favoured) religions, such as Sri Lanka (where Buddhism is the official religion and Tamil Hindus face persecution) and Burma (where Buddhism enjoys primacy and Rohingya Muslims are persecuted), are excluded from a path to citizenship.

In addition, oppressed Muslim minority communities such as Pakistan’s Ahmadis and Shias enjoy no protection under the CAA,” the CRS said.

“The New Delhi government maintains that the NRC update is a fair and non-discriminatory process driven by the Supreme Court that does not impose a religious test or render any persons ‘stateless’,” it said adding that the United Nations, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, and independent human rights groups have expressed concerns about NRC.

‘Janta curfew’ observed against Citizenship Act in Gujarat’s Modasa town

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Markets as well residential areas in Muslim-dominated localities of the town, the headquarters of Aravalli district, wore a deserted look.

MODASA: To protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Muslim community in Modasa town in north Gujarat observed a self-imposed “Janta curfew” on Friday.

Markets as well residential areas in Muslim-dominated localities of the town, the headquarters of Arvalli district, wore a deserted look.

The Aravalli Muslim Co-ordination Committee had given a call for a bandh (shut-down) as well as a “Janta curfew”.

Its impact was felt in Old City area, Vegetable Market, Kasba, Suka Bajar, College Road and some other areas.

But the bandh call did not receive much response in non-Muslim areas.

“Not a single Muslim came out of house today. All our shops and businesses remained shut. We had given the call for bandh and janta curfew to register our protest in a peaceful yet effective way,” said Maulana Mohsin Sahab of the Coordination Committee.

“We strongly oppose both CAA and NRC as they are against the spirit of our Constitution. We want the government to think over them again and withdraw these draconian measures,” said the cleric.

Citizenship Act protests: Shia cleric meets Yogi Adityanath, demands release of innocents

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Kalbe Jawwad lauded the Lucknow police for controlling the situation which arose after the anti-CAA protests and said that action should also be taken against anti-social elements.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath

LUCKNOW: Shia cleric Kalbe Jawwad met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Saturday and demanded the release of people arrested in “fake” cases related to anti-CAA violence.

He also demanded that students arrested from a Shia Madarsa in Muzaffarnagar should also be released and the action should be taken against erring officials.

The cleric lauded the Lucknow police for controlling the situation which arose after the anti-CAA protests and said that action should also be taken against anti-social elements who instigated the violence.

In a memorandum, Jawwad stated: “The honourable Chief Minister has said that those who have been involved in violence will be brought to book but UP police is arresting innocent people from their homes.”

More than 15 people have died in alleged police firing in UP as unverified videos have surfaced that purportedly show UP police using excessive force against the protesters.

The Shia community which has been reluctant to join the anti-CAA agitation, eventually joined it this week as the religious leaders made a u-turn following a backlash in the Muslim community.

After political row, now DK Shivakumar’s Christ statue project runs into land issue in Karnataka

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Revenue Minister R Ashok says it is gomala land; govt puts project on hold, BJP leaders slam Congress MLA 
 

Senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar

BENGALURU:  Former Minister DK Shivakumar’s project to have the country’s tallest statue of Jesus Christ has landed in a controversy.

Two days after the Congress leader laid the foundation stone for a 114-ft statue in his home constituency, Kanakapura, the Karnataka government has raised objections and sought a report from the Ramanagara Deputy Commissioner. 

On Friday, Revenue Minister R Ashok told reporters that the 10-acre land on which the project is coming up is ‘gomala land’ (government land reserved for cattle grazing) and it cannot be allowed to be used for any other purpose.

“Four years ago, the Harobele Trust was registered and had taken up Kapali betta for development. DK Shivakumar is part of the trust. Since this is government land, one cannot gift it to others. We have learnt that Shivakumar gifted it to build the statue. I have sought a report from the DC of Ramanagara in this regard. The project will be kept on hold till we get clarity,’’ he said. 

Many BJP leaders, including ministers KS Eshwarappa, CT Ravi, MPs Ananth Kumar Hegde and Prathap Simha, slammed the Congress leader and termed it an attempt to please Congress president Sonia Gandhi, as he is lobbying for the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president’s post. 

RDPR Minister K S Eshwarappa said, “They (Congress) are opposing building a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, and are building the tallest statue of Jesus Christ. This is to please their party leader.”

Shivakumar said the foundation of democracy is equality.

“I believe in all religions. In my constituency, there are people from all castes and communities. I don’t need to learn lessons from the people who want to damage Dr Ambedkar’s Constitution,’’ he said. 

He also pointed out that it was the coalition government that had approved the project to build statues of the Siddaganga Mutt seer and Adhichunchungiri swami, both in Ramanagara district.

On the land controversy, Shivakumar said he had made a promise to Christians two years ago, which he is fulfilling now.

“When I was going through a bad time, these people, cutting across caste and religion, prayed for me. In Harobele church, 36 people are working for the cause of Kannada,’’ he said.  

Shivakumar said he had got approval from the government and all the papers are in order.  

“Devotees are giving stones to build the statue. There is no issue with the land,” he claimed, adding that he had also got land to construct temples and even given his own land for an educational institution.

Citizenship Act stir: CID begins inquiry into Mangaluru police firing case

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 The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inquiry into the protests that took a violent turn in Mangaluru on December 19, began on Friday.

RAF personnel and local police at a street after anti-CAA protests turned violent in several areas in Mangaluru

MANGALURU: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inquiry into the protests that took a violent turn in Mangaluru on December 19, began on Friday. Two people were killed in police firing that took place during the protests.

Sources said the five-member team, led by CID SP Rahul Shahpura, which arrived at the police commissioner’s office in the morning, went to Bunder area where the firing happened, for inspection.

Later, they collected details of the incident from the local police and went through the videos and photos related to the incident.

However, sources said the CID has not yet taken over the investigation from the Mangaluru city police which has already started their investigation.

The local police will continue the investigation and the CID will take over the case only after finishing the groundwork. Once they take over the case, the CID will look into whether the investigation conducted by the local police so far, is proper.

Since the government has also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident, Udupi Deputy Commissioner G Jagadeesha is expected to visit Mangaluru on Saturday to start the investigation into the incident.

The government has ordered to complete the investigation in three months and submit a report. 

Mohan Bhagwat’s ‘130 crore Indians are Hindus’ remark: NDA allies miffed at Modi government’s Hindutva push

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There might be a debate on Bhagwat’s statement, but this is not the first time that the BJP’s allies have shown their differences with the party’s Hindutva agenda.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

NEW DELHI: The RSS-BJP push towards the Hindutva agenda appears to be making the NDA allies restive. After the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Akali Dal came out openly against the CAA/NRC, on Friday the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the Republican Party of India (RPI) voiced their disagreement over RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent remark that the Sangh regarded all 130 crore people of India as Hindus, irrespective of their religion and culture.

Union Minister and RPI leader Ramdas Athawale said it was not right to say that all Indians are Hindus.

“There was a time when everyone was a Buddhist in our country. If Mohan Bhagwat means everyone is an Indian, then it is good. In our country, people are from Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Jain, Lingayat faiths and different communities live here,” he said.

Later, LJP chief Chirag Paswan also dissented with Bhagwat’s statement.

“People of all faiths and castes living in India are Indians and the Constitution of the country is secular. It is a gift from the Constitution that we can have faith in any religion and practice it,” Paswan tweeted.

There might be a debate on Bhagwat’s statement in the context of his speech made in Hyderabad, but this is not the first time that the BJP’s allies have shown their differences with the party’s Hindutva agenda.

Only last week, amid violent protests across India against the CAA-NRC, JD-U chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar bluntly rejected the proposed nationwide NRC saying there was no question of implementing it.

Later, Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral voiced dissatisfaction with the way the allies were being treated by the BJP and demanded that the new citizenship Act be amended to include Muslims.

He said that the allies were not consulted over CAA.

Some of the NDA leaders revealed that there was a growing perception among the allies that the Modi government, which worked with a scorching pace in its first tenure for development and economic reforms, had shifted from the tracks.

NDA allies believe the focus of ‘big brother’ BJP seems to be on more aggressively pushing the Hindutva agenda.

“Article 370, Triple Talaq, CAA, fears about NRC and now NPR…Doesn’t this suggest a shift towards aggressively pushing the hardcore Hindutva agenda?” asked an NDA leader. It was other issues, particularly the economic slowdown, that needed urgent attention, the leader averred.

Home Minister Bommai shifts tack, says no detention centre in Karnataka

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Says Sondekoppa facility is meant for African drug peddlers; govt affidavit in HC gives details of centres  

BENGALURU: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is now Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai who is backing off, and claiming that the state does not have a detention centre. Bommai says the centre, located in Sondekoppa village, 40km from Bengaluru, is meant to lodge African nationals found guilty of drug peddling. 

Interestingly, Additional Chief Secretary Rajneesh Goel has, in his affidavit before the high court, said that migrants will soon be shifted to the permanent detention centre in Sondekoppa. A copy of the affidavit is with TNIE. “I respectfully state that in response to the aforesaid letter dated 19-11-2019, the Additional Director General of Police and Inspector General of Police has furnished the temporary foreign detention centre details in Karnataka, including Bengaluru city, till such time the permanent detention centre becomes operational at Sondekoppa Village, Tavarekere, Bengaluru North. The copy of the 35 temporary detention centres with proper address is produced,” the affidavit states. 

Interestingly, Bommai had himself announced in the first week of October that the detention centre was being readied, and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would be implemented in the state. He is now changing tack, “In qualified terms, it is not a detention centre…there is no purpose, per se, to detain someone on the issue of citizenship. I have no information about the facility being operational yet.” 

It must be noted that the state government had submitted to the Centre, locations of the 35 temporary detention centres, and said th at illegal migrants who had been granted bail would be kept in the centres till the one at Sondekoppa was ready. “All the 35 temporary detention centers, including Bengaluru city, will be equipped with basic facilities such as bedrooms, bathrooms, water and electricity, driving water facility, medical facility, food and sufficient police protection as per the requirement in each of the temporary detention centers, till such time they are shifted to permanent detention center at Sondekoppa or they are deported to their country,” the affidavit said. 

The minister claimed he has no information about the centre’s activities. “Please check with the social welfare department. I have no information about it being started. If it is operational, then people should have been there,” he said. However, senior police officials told TNIE that Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao has visited the centre recently, and also done a recce on whether it can be operational soon. 
“The date given to us by our seniors is January 1. We are getting everything ready, including the kitchen. A warden has been appointed,” said an official. 

Asked about this, Deputy Chief Minister and social welfare minister Govind Karjol said, “We were entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of people who will be lodged here, irrespective of which country they belong to. The department will provide food, clothes and accommodation and other facilities till they depart. I don’t know anything about what the home minister is saying.” 

However, a social welfare ministry source said that 30 people are likely to be lodged at the centre soon, and they “might be sending the first 10 to 15 from January 1”. A senior advocate said the state government cannot “lie so blatantly”. “There are court documents in which they have submitted under oath, saying that a permanent detention centre is ready to be operational. Now, they can’t say it is only for African drug peddlers. They will have to explain it to court once bail petitions of these people under the Foreign Regional Registration Act come up for hearing,” he said.

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