Party leaders feel that the BJP is not invincible and can be defeated if like-minded parties get together.

NEW DELHI: The victory of the JMM-Congress alliance in Jharkhand has come as a moral booster for opposition unity and for the grand old party seeking to become relevant again in Indian politics after suffering two successive defeats in general elections.

Party leaders feel that the BJP is not invincible and can be defeated if like-minded parties get together.

This, they feel, has been proved right in some states and the experiment can be implemented in upcoming polls.

The poll results indicate that local and real issues of farm crisis, economy and unemployment have found more resonance at the ground and that bodes well for the opposition in future polls to win back states from the BJP.

The Jharkhand poll results also show that the caste equations against BJP are consolidating.

A Congress leader said the BJP has lost the support of tribals by installing a non-tribal chief minister in the tribal-dominated state.

Though the Congress has returned to power in seven states with the latest victory in Jharkhand, its last two successes have come primarily with the support of allies.

While Congress is in power in the states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry on its own, it has come to power in Maharashtra and Jharkhand jointly with the support of its allies Shiv Sena and NCP and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

Party leaders feel the latest victory in Jharkhand is a lesson taught by the people of the state to the “arrogance” of the BJP and its leadership.

Some feel it is also the defeat of BJP’s “corruption”.

They feel the alliance of like-minded parties in some states can bring opposition unity in states and oust the BJP from power.

Congress leader and in-charge for Jharkhand affairs, RPN Singh said the Congress and the alliance leaders raised the local issues of unemployment, farm distress, economic distress and increased debts and these issues touched the people of Jharkhand, who came out in favour of the alliance.

“We raised the issues of Jharkhand which are also the issues of the people of India.

Unemployment, farm distress, economic crisis and rising debts, starvation deaths are issues that touched the people of Jharkhand.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah tried to divert and distract from the real issues but that failed to cut ice with the common people.

On opposition unity, he said it worked out well on the ground as workers of the alliance partners performed unitedly at all levels that gave good results.

“The opposition unity and better coordination can be replicated in other state elections too and this will give positive results,” he said.

Party leaders feel the opposition needs to work closely and grab power in states through better coordination in state elections.

With Jharkhand joining the growing list of states slipping out of BJP’s rule, the party now governs mere 35 per cent of the country’s landmass in comparison to over 71 per cent during its peak in 2017 when it was in power in the entire Hindi-speaking heartland.

Its string of losses in states despite the massive victory in the April-May Lok Sabha elections may force the party’s top brass to revisit its strategy for the assembly polls as it prepares for the upcoming battles in Delhi and Bihar.

The incident happened late Sunday night when the students were holding a demonstration in front of Baghajatin I Block, a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said.

KOLKATA: A group of Jadavpur University students who were protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Kolkata’s Baghajatin area was allegedly thrashed and some of the women taking part in the agitation were molested, police said on Monday.

The incident happened late Sunday night when the students were holding a demonstration in front of Baghajatin I Block, a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said, adding that three persons have been arrested.

“A group of eight people allegedly attacked them with wooden sticks and thrashed the male students and molested the women demonstrators. The attackers also broke their camera and further threatened them,” the officer said.

The students then went back to the Jadavpur University campus, around 2 km away, after which a police complaint was lodged.

“Acting upon credible inputs, three persons have been arrested. They have been booked under relevant sections of the IPC and we are further investigating the matter,” the officer said.

Bijnor was among the Uttar Pradesh districts where violence broke out on Friday over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

BIJNOR: An IAS aspirant was among those killed in the anti-CAA protest that claimed two lives in last week’s violence in Uttar Pradesh.

While the UP DGP O.P. Singh maintains that ‘not a single bullet was fired’ during the unrest, the Bijnor police for the first time has admitted to have opened fire in self-defence during the protests.

Bijnor was among the Uttar Pradesh districts where violence broke out on Friday over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Bijnor Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Tyagi told a news channel, “When one of our constables moved ahead to take back the gun that was snatched away by the protesters, a member of the crowd opened fire at him. He had a narrow escape. In retaliatory and self-defence firing, one person was shot at. His friends had taken him away. His name is Suleman and he died. One more protester, Anis, died in firing from the crowd.”

Suleman, 20, was preparing for his civil services entrance exam and that he had nothing to do with the protests.

“My brother had gone to offer namaaz. He was returning home after the namaaz to eat something. He had fever for the last couple of days. He did not go to the mosque near our home. He went to another mosque. When he stepped out, there was lathi-charge and tear-gassing by the police. The police picked him up and shot at him,” said Suleman’s brother Shoaib Malik.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had visited Bijnor on Sunday and had met the families of Suleman and Anis.

The families claim the police intimidated them after the incident and warned them not to speak to anyone about the incident.

Eighteen people have died in the state, many of them from bullet injuries, but the state police has maintained that it has not fired a single bullet at protesters anywhere.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, for the first time, makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they come to India because of religious persecution.

Elated with the recent trends, the Opposition camp has started blaming the ruling BJP of neglecting people of this state due to which they were given a befitting reply.

RANCHI: The JMM-Congress alliance is moving towards a clear majority as per the current trends of the counting of Jharkhand Assembly elections. 

The advantage seems to be with the JMM-Congress combine.

Elated with the recent trends, the Opposition camp has started blaming the ruling BJP of neglecting people of this state due to which they were given a befitting reply.

“BJP considered people of this State as a burden due to which they were saying that they have put a double engine government as it was a liability to them. The double engine is put only to pull extra burden,” said State Congress Working President Rajesh Takur. 

He, however, hinted of taking other regional parties together even if they succeed in securing a majority in the state.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 71.15 then fell to 71.17 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 5 paise over its previous closing.

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee opened on a flat note and fell 5 paise to 71.17 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday tracking muted opening in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 71.15 then fell to 71.17 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 5 paise over its previous closing.

The Indian rupee on Friday had closed at 71.12 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.32 per cent to USD 65.93 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, as they purchased shares worth Rs 338.86 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note on Monday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 22.14 points down at 41,659.40 and Nifty lower by 10.75 points at 12,261.05.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.04 per cent to 97.65.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.58 per cent in morning trade.

Meanwhile, on the global front, Beijing will lower import tariffs on over 850 products, including frozen pork, from January next year, the finance ministry said on Monday, which may help ease the pressure on the country’s depleted pork supply.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also appealed to people to join them at Rajghat in ‘this fight for saving’ the Constitution.

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday urged students and youths to join him at Rajghat to protest against the “hate and violence unleashed by Modi-Shah” and show that they will not allow India to be “destroyed by hatred”.

“Dear Students and Youth of India, It’s not good enough just to feel India. At times like these, it’s critical to show that you’re India and won’t allow India to be destroyed by hatred.”

“Join me today at 3 PM at Raj Ghat, to protest against the hate and violence unleashed on India by Modi-Shah,” he said on Twitter.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also appealed to people to join them at Rajghat in “this fight for saving” the Constitution.

“This country is a collective bond, a collective dream. We have nurtured this land with Labour.”

“We have to save the country from the politics of divide and rule. Let us join at 3 PM at Bapu’s memorial at Rajghat and be a part of Constitution recitation,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi.

Parts of the state are still under prohibitory orders and internet has been unplugged and so far 879 people have been arrested and the police have filed 131 cases.

MUZAFFARNAGAR: More than 67 shops in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar have been sealed as the state government has started the exercise to identify protesters involved in the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act stir.

The shops reportedly belong to those who were involved in violent protests and the government spokesman said that the shops would be seized if their involvement was confirmed during investigations.

The crackdown by the state administration comes after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath promised to recover the losses from those involved in violence by imposing fines or attaching their properties.

“There has been violence and public and private property has been destroyed in several districts in the state and we will deal with it strictly. All properties of those involved in damaging public assets will be seized and auctioned to compensate for the losses,” Yogi Adityanath had said.

He said that most of the offenders were being identified through the CCTV footage and video recordings of the incidents.

It is not known yet how the owners of the shops in Muzaffarnagar were identified as offenders by the administration. “The mob had gathered outside these shops and we are still investigating who are responsible for the violence,” said Abhishek Yadav, Senior Supeintedent of Police (SSP) Muzaffarnagar.

Muzaffarnagar had witnessed violence on Friday, along with 12 other districts in the state. The violence had started in the afternoon, soon after Friday prayers.

Around 10 bikes and several cars were torched and public property was vandalised. Around 30 people were injured, 12 of them police officers.

Parts of the state are still under prohibitory orders and internet has been unplugged. So far 879 people have been arrested and the police have filed 131 cases.

Since the Yogi Adityanath government came to power in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh, his government had sought closure in over 100 cases related to the Muzaffarnagar riots that took place in 2013. The government has sought permission from courts to close at least 74 of these 100 cases, but all of these are pending decisions.

In Lucknow and Sambhal, the process of sealing property is yet to begin though the district magistrate has set up a four-member committee to complete the process within 30 days.

The NCP chief questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.

PUNE: NCP president Sharad Pawar slammed the NDA government on Saturday, saying the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens were “ploys to divert” attention from serious issues plaguing the country.

“CAA and NRC are ploys to divert people’s attention from serious issues that the country is facing,” he told reporters here.

“Not just minorities, but those who care for the country’s unity and progress are opposing CAA and NRC. The new citizenship law will disturb and hurt religious and social unity and harmony of the country,” he said.

He questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Eight states, including Bihar, ruled by an NDA ally, have refused to implement the law and Maharashtra should also take a similar stand, Pawar said in response to a query.

“The CAA may be a central act, but the implementation will be done by the state agencies. But do the states have resources and machinery to do so,” he asked.

The former Union minister also sought an SIT probe, headed by a retired judge, into Pune police’s action against activists in the Elgar Parishad case.

Priyanka said the government wants every Indian to stand in line to prove one’s citizenship in the same manner in which they did after note ban.

NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday joined the students protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and a proposed countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC) at the India Gate, saying the measures are “anti-poor”.

She said the government wants every Indian to stand in line to prove one’s citizenship in the same manner in which they did after note ban.

Priyanka Gandhi was accompanied by her daughter Miraya at the protest.

This is the second time the Congress leader protested at the India Gate this week against the law.

She earlier protested in a sit-in at the India Gate in support of Jamia students who were allegedly attacked by the police on Sunday.

“This is basically anti-poor. The most affected will be the poor. If someone has to take out old documents about their land, will they be able to do that? Will your grandparents be able to show?  In what state are they putting the country into. The way they put the entire country in line after note ban (demonetisation), they are now wanting to put the entire country in line the same way. Who will be affected by this. The rich will show their passports, but the poor will suffer,” she told reporters after joining the students protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed NRC at the India Gate.

Priyanka Gandhi also said that she had come to show solidarity with the protesters.

She also said demonstrations should be held peacefully as in a democracy everyone has the right to protest.