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No comment on CAB but governments must pursue non-discriminatory laws: UN chief’s spokesperson

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The Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha with 311 members favouring it and 80 voting against it, will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for its nod.

Antonio Guterres

UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Antonio Guterres will not comment on India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Bill while the domestic legislative process is still underway, his spokesperson has said, stressing the need to ensure that all governments pursue non-discriminatory laws.

The Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or CAB, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution there.

The Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha with 311 members favouring it and 80 voting against it, will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha for its nod.

“As far as I’m aware, this is legislation that is continuing to go through the legislative process.

“So, we wouldn’t have any comment while the domestic legislative process is being carried out,” Guterres’ Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said on Tuesday at the daily press briefing here.

Haq was responding to a question on whether the UN Secretary-General has any comment on the passage in the Lok Sabha of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which the reporter said discriminates against Muslims.

“At the same time, you’re aware of what our concerns are about making sure that all governments pursue non-discriminatory laws,” Haq said.

According to the proposed legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

Forget CAB, it’s cabinet expansion time for Yediyurappa

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After winning stability in Karnataka with the bypoll sweep, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa too faces the problem of  ‘cab’ .

BENGALURU/BELAGAVI: After winning stability in Karnataka with the bypoll sweep, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa too faces the problem of  ‘cab’ . While the entire country is consumed with CAB (cabinet amendment bill), the CM is focusing on expanding his cabinet before December 14 and is likely to visit New Delhi in two-three days to get the central leadership’s nod. The process of the much-talked-about ministry expansion has been set in motion and the CM is said to be keen on completing the process in the next few days. He is trying to get the list of MLAs to be inducted into the cabinet cleared by party president Amit Shah by Wednesday.

But as PM Narendra Modi and Shah are busy with the upcoming Jharkhand assembly polls and parliament session, the CM may not be able to meet them personally but the list of ministers is likely to be cleared by them at any moment, sources said. If the list gets Shah’s nod by Wednesday, the cabinet expansion is likely to take place on December 12, sources said. However, if the ministry expansion is not done before December 16 when Dhanurmasam (inauspicious month) will start, it is likely to be delayed till ‘Sankranti’ on January 14, according to sources.  Normally, important works are not be taken up during Dhanurmasam.

On Tuesday, Yediyurappa reiterated his commitment to induct newly elected legislators, who had helped the BJP form government in the state. These 11 formerly disqualified legislators, won the bypolls as the BJP candidates. Senior BJP leaders Umesh Katti and Aravind Limbavali are also likely to be inducted if the CM gets a go ahead from the central leadership. 

Meanwhile, Ramesh Jarkiholi, BJP MLA from Gokak, who played a crucial role in the collapse of the JDS-Congress coalition government and also in the formation of the BJP government in the state is likely to be rewarded with the plum Water Resources portfolio. However, it is still not clear if he will also be made Deputy Chief Minister.  

Already, several MLAs from Belagavi have listed the irrigation projects which they want Jarkiholi to implement on top priority soon after taking over as Water Resources Minister.Besides Jarkiholi, Yediyurappa is expected to induct MLAs Mahesh Kumathalli, Shrimant Patil and Umesh Katti from Belagavi in his cabinet. Sources said, the BJP may even drop Kumathalli in order to accommodate some of senior MLAs including Umesh Katti. In that case, Kumathalli may have to be content with the post of chairman of one of the noted local bodies which the government may offer him as an alternative.

Energy, another important portfolio, is likely to be given to an MLA of Belagavi. Jarkiholi is said to be keen to hold the plum portfolios which his political bete noire D K Shivakumar held in the previous coalition government. Jarkiholi may be also be given Energy portfolio, according to sources.Meanwhile,  the newly elected BJP legislators — Byrati Basavaraj, K Gopalaiah and ST Somashekar — from Bengaluru are said to be lobbying for the plum Bengaluru Development portfolio.

Lobbying on for Bengaluru Development portfolio
The newly elected BJP legislators — Byrathi Basavaraj, K Gopalaiah and ST Somashekar — from Bengaluru are said to be lobbying for the plum Bengaluru Development portfolio

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar urges Centre to grant citizenship to over 1 lakh Lankan Tamils

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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar urges Centre to grant citizenship to over 1 lakh Lankan Tamils

Chennai, Dec 10: Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Tuesday urged the Centre to consider giving citizenship to more than a lakh Sri Lankan Tamils living in the country as refugees for more than three decades.

“I request the Government of India to consider giving citizenship to more than one lakh Tamil Sri Lankans who are living in this country as refugees for the last 35 years.

I request the Government of India to consider giving citizenship to more than 1 lakh Tamil Sri Lankans who are living in this country as refugees for the last 35 years.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s plea to the Centre comes a day after the Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

According to the proposed legislation, members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan by December 31, 2014 and faced religious persecution in those countries, will not be treated as illegal immigrants and given Indian citizenship.

Tamil Nadu has a significant number of Sri Lankan Tamils living in various parts of the state, including in government camps.

Centralisation of power in PMO not good for economy: Shiv Sena

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Centralisation of power in PMO not good for economy: Shiv Sena

Mumbai, Dec 10: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday said centralisation of power in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was one of the main reasons for the “poor” economic health of the country.

The central government wants the finance minister and RBI governor under its control, an editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamna’ claimed, adding that the present BJP-led dispensation is not ready to listen to economists as it considers the economy as a “share market gamble”.

It supported concerns raised by former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, who recently said India is in the midst of a “growth recession” with signs of deep malaise in the economy that is being run through extreme centralisation of power in the PMO and powerless ministers.

India’s economic growth slowed to a six-year low of 4.5 per cent in the July-September quarter. With inflation rising, fears of stagflation — a fall in aggregate demand accompanied by rising inflation — have resurfaced.

The Shiv Sena said former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi cannot be held responsible for the country’s present economic situation.

“Centralisation of power in PMO and powerless ministers – this situation is not good for the economy,” the Marathi publication said.

“The present government is not ready to listen to economists as it considers the economy like a ‘share bazaar satta’. What is Nirmala Sitharaman’s contribution as finance minister – ‘I don’t eat onion, you also do the same’,” the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said in taunting remarks.

The government wants the finance minister, RBI governor, finance secretary and Niti Ayog chairman under its control, it claimed, adding that this is the main reason for the country’s “poor” economic health.

The economy is “paralysed”and former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan’s “diagnosis” is absolutely correct.

“The government is not ready to accept the economic slowdown. When the onion prices touch Rs 200 per kg, the finance minister says ‘I don’t eat garlic, onion, so don’t ask me’,” it quipped.

The Sena said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “not trying” to improve the situation.

“When he was the chief minister of Gujarat, he had expressed concern over the rising onion prices,” it noted.

The Sena claimed that when Modi was the CM of Gujarat, he had said onion is an essential commodity and it has become so costly that it will have to be “kept in lockers”.

“The situation has changed and Modi is now the prime minister and the economy is in a ‘crisis’. An unconscious person is brought back to senses by being made to smell onion, but this is not possible now since onions have disappeared from markets,” it said in sarcastic comments.

The Sena also blamed decisions like demonetisation and “unnecessary focus” on projects such as the bullet train for the current economic situation.

“Whatever Pandit Nehru and his colleagues earned for the country, this government is selling it off,” it said, apparently referring to the proposed sale of public sector undertakings like the BPCL and Air India.

Comedian Kapil Sharma, wife Ginni Chatrath welcome baby girl

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Comedian Kapil Sharma, wife Ginni Chatrath welcome baby girl

Kapil Sharma with Ginni Chatrath

Mumbai, Dec 10: TV host-comedian Kapil Sharma and wife Ginni Chatrath on Tuesday welcomed their first child, a baby girl.

The popular comic took to Twitter to share the update with his fans.

“Blessed to have a baby girl, need your blessings, love you all, Jai Mata Di,” Sharma tweeted.

Sharma and Chatrath became parents two days ahead of their first wedding anniversary. The couple tied the knot on December 12, 2018.

Three cheers for BJP in Bengaluru, one for Congress

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The BJP regained its hold on the state capital after more than a decade, with emphatic wins in three out of the four constituencies which went to bypolls.

BENGALURU: The BJP regained its hold on the state capital after more than a decade, with emphatic wins in three out of the four constituencies which went to bypolls.BJP romped home in KR Puram, Yeshwanthpura and Mahalakshmi Layout, the relatively new constituencies formed in 2008. Congress managed to win Shivajinagar seat.

Now the BJP tally from the city has gone up to 14 in the state assembly. Just a year back, Congress had 14 MLAs, JDS two and the BJP 11. The city has 27 assembly constituencies excluding RR Nagar where byelection was not held. Following the resignation of rebel MLAs and their subsequent disqualifications, BJP had won the recent mayoral elections in BBMP taking the civic body into its hold.

According to data provided by state Chief Electoral Office, the BJP vote share in the three assembly constituencies it won on Monday has gone up from 2.09 lakh in 2018 to 3.7 lakh. With Byrathi Basavaraju, ST Somashekar and Gopaliah being its candidate this time, the party managed a neat 1.61 lakh more voters than its nominees had polled more than a year ago.

Rizwan only face-saver for Cong in city
Bengaluru: Thirty-nine-year-old Rizwan Arshad who won from Shivajinagar assembly constituency is the only face-saver for the Congress in Bengaluru city.  The BJP did not induct Roshan Baig, who has been MLA three times from the constituency, into its fold and instead it fielded former councillor Saravana who came second best against Rizwan.  A senior Congress leader said the absence of Baig proved to be advantageous for Rizwan who is a complete ‘’outsider’’ to Shivajinagar.

Arms sales worldwide up nearly 5%, says new report

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The turnover of the 100 biggest arms manufacturers came to $420 billion, thanks in large part to the US market, said the report. US manufacturers alone accounted for 59 percent of the market.

The Trump administration is proposing to ban bump stocks, which allow guns to mimic fully automatic fire.

STOCKHOLM: Arms sales rose by nearly five per cent worldwide in 2018 in a market dominated by the United States, according to a new report published Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The turnover of the 100 biggest arms manufacturers came to $420 billion, thanks in large part to the US market, said the report.

US manufacturers alone accounted for 59 per cent of the market, or a turnover of $246 billion, up 7.2 per cent on the previous year.

“This is a significant increase over one year considering the already high levels of US combined arms sales,” Aude Fleurant, the director of SIPRI’s arms transfers and military expenditure programme, told AFP.

US firms were benefitting from the Trump administration’s decision to modernise its armed services to reinforce its position against China and Russia.

Russia was second in the rankings for arms production, with 8.6 per cent of the market, just ahead of the United Kingdom on 8.4 per cent and France on 5.5 per cent.

The study did not include China, for which there was insufficient data, but SIPRI’s research estimated that there were between three and seven Chinese businesses in the top 100 arms manufacturers.

Two major European companies, Airbus and MBDA were also responding to “demand due to ongoing armed conflicts and severe tensions in several regions”, Fleurant added.

China has spent 1.9 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence every year since 2013.

The top-ranked Russian firm, Almaz-Antei, jumped to ninth on the list with a turnover of $9.6 billion — 18 per cent up on the previous year.

“This increase was based not only on strong domestic demand, but also on continuing growth in arms sales to other countries, in particular exports of the S-400 air defence system,” said the report.

One of the buyers of this system is NATO member Turkey, which took the deal despite a US threat of sanctions.

Turkey’s arms industry had two businesses in the top 100 and turnover of $2.8 billion, up 22 per cent on the previous year.

Turkey was “driven by the goal of being self-sufficient in arms supply and therefore develop arms production capabilities in all segments (land systems, air systems, naval systems, missiles, etc.),” said Fleurant.

“Turkey is also involved with an enduring armed conflict with the Kurds, which also tends to increase demand for arms,” she added.

The world’s largest arms maker remains the US firm Lockheed Martin, as it has been since 2009, this last year with turnover of $47.3 billion. 

Its sales alone account for 11 per cent of the world market.

Hundreds in Rajasthan protest over ‘wrong facts’ in ‘Panipat’

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People also protested against the use of Rajasthani and Haryanvi in the film, saying they speak Braj language (western Hindi language).

Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor in 'Panipat'.

JAIPUR: People in Rajasthan have protested against Panipat, the film which was released on Friday, alleging distortion of history. They have claimed that the movie portrays Maharaja Surajmal in wrong light. He is shown as a greedy ruler which he never was.

As per the film, Maratha warrior Sadashiv Rao Bhau (a character played by Arjun Kapoor) asked Maharaja Surajmal for help to defeat the Afghans, but he demanded the Agra Fort in return.

As his demand remained unfulfilled, he refused to help Sadashiv.

They are also protesting against the use of Rajasthani and Haryanvi in the film, saying they speak Braj language (western Hindi language).

Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal in his tweet has requested the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to look into it. “I request #CBFC @PrakashJavdekar @prasoonjoshi_ to look into the matter #panipatmovie to avoid protest, law & order problem. No film or art can misreport history,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh, who belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Bharatpur, tweeted: “I have woken up to an astonishing amount of tweets, Facebook posts and messages seeking my opinion on the portrayal of my ancestor and the founder of Bharatpur – Maharaja Surajalmal Ji – in the recently released Panipat movie.”

“I have not seen the movie yet. I will watch the film this afternoon and will express my opinion this evening. What I can say though is that Maharaja Surajmal Ji’s dialect in the film is incorrect. We are proud of our Brij heritage and he always spoke and wrote in Brij and not the dialect portrayed in the film. More after I watch the film,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Twitter is going berserk with Rajasthan locals protesting the representation of wrong facts in the film.

Jat leader Nem Singh Faujdaar on Saturday burnt an effigy of film director Aashutosh Gavarikar at the Surajmal Square on Saturday amid presence of hundreds of people who raised slogans against him.

Maharaj Surajmal had been portrayed as a greedy ruler, which we couldn’t tolerate, he said.

Historian Ramveer Sharma, who has written many books, said Agra was already under king Surajmal and what had been showed in the movie was wrong.

“Maharaj Surajmal went to the Maratha camp and saved many women and children who were taken to Gwalior and Deeg forts,” he said.

Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Saturday tweeted displeasure over misrepresentation on facts. “The wrong picturisation of a king who was full of self-respect, honest and courteous is condemnable,” she tweeted.

NOTA scores big this polls

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A total of 24,073 voters chose the NOTA option from the 15 constituencies, and interestingly, NOTA secured more votes than the JDS candidates in three assembly constituencies.

BENGALURU: The ‘none of the above’ (NOTA) option emerged as one of the strongest contenders in this byelection, as indicated in the results announced on Monday. Of the 15 assembly constituencies that went to polls, NOTA stood in the third position in four assembly constituencies.

The higher vote-share to NOTA in many constituencies reflected the people’s disenchantment with candidates. NOTA was either in third or fourth spot, replacing candidates in eight constituencies.

A total of 24,073 voters chose the NOTA option from the 15 constituencies, and interestingly, NOTA secured more votes than the JDS candidates in three assembly constituencies.

In Yellapur assembly constituency, a total of 1,444 people chose the NOTA option, which was more than what JDS candidate A Chaitra secured (1,235) votes.

In KR Puram, JDS’ Krishnamurthy won 2,048 votes, while 5,181 people opted for NOTA. In Hirekerur constituency, NOTA stood in the third spot after BJP and Congress, as 789 people chose NOTA, less than what Independent candidates and candidates from other parties secured. Sources in political circles say that the high-vote share for the NOTA option depicts the voters’ dissent and anger towards rebel MLAs who defected to the BJP.

Moments after winning bypolls, CM promises to tackle Bengaluru’s garbage problem

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Just minutes after winning 12 seats in the bypolls, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said that tackling the garbage problem in the city was his top priority.

BENGALURU: Just minutes after winning 12 seats in the bypolls, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said that tackling the garbage problem in the city was his top priority.BJP won three seats in Bengaluru in the bypolls — Yeshwanthpur, K R Puram and Mahalakshmi Layout. BJP lost its seat in Shivajinagar to Congress leader Rizwan Arshad.

BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar said told TNIE that during the last meeting, they decided on what needs to be done. Following this, in a couple of days, tenders are going to be called to install GPS in all vehicles carrying garbage and they will be tracked on real-time basis round the clock. GPS is being fitted on auto tippers and compactors will be tracked till they reach the landfills. It will also track the time they leave the place. He said that the movement of vehicles will be tracked through the command centre.
Commissioner said the BBMP was also working on increasing the input till 1,500 metric tonnes at the bio-methanisation plants. The government has also directed to ensure that all bio-methanisation plants are operational and reduce the stress on landfill sites by having more waste to energy plants.

Randeep D, BBMP Special Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, said, “Government has also granted over Rs 900 crore for a duration of three years for handling solid waste management and the preparation of the tender document is also underway.”

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