Citizenship Act: Mayawati emerges as a peacenik amid violent protests

Peacenik Mayawati

Against the backdrop of violent protests against the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati has emerged as a peacenik and has proposed her own version of non-violent non-cooperation. While firmly opposing the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) and expressing solidarity with the sentiments of the protesters, the Dalit czarina stressed that being “a disciplined party that espoused constitutional values” BSP workers would not hit the road against the CAA. Instead, she suggested, they would “peacefully” hand over a memorandum to their district administration to register their opposition to it.
 

Stalin or Rajinikanth?

Udayanidhi Stalin, son of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President M K Stalin, and the party’s youth wing secretary, has received much flak from his political opponents and fans of Rajinikanth for taking potshots at the actor via social media. Rajinikanth, on Twitter, had advised people not to resort to violence and stand united, without mentioning the protests that are taking place across the country related to the Citizenship Amendment Act. Junior Stalin, while inviting people through his Twitter account to participate in a DMK protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act on December 23, attacked the 69-year-old actor, stating, “Those affluent old people who call a protest for rights as violence can stay at their homes with proper security.” Rajinikanth fans and Udayanidhi’s political opponents thronged the comment box, asking whether Udayanidhi was referring to his father, who is 66 years old.

 
Together we can

Fifteen first-time MLAs of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh have formed a “pressure” group. The reason? Neither the ministers nor the bureaucrats listen to them. Their main grudge is that their requests — however genuine — go unheeded. These MLAs plan to organise regular meetings — one was held just last week — to review pending requests, ensure execution, and, if necessary, escalate the matter all the way up to Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Among the dissatisfied MLAs are Sanjay Shukla, Surendra Singh Shera, Ashok Marshkole, and Bhupendra Maravi; and among the ministers they are particularly happy with are Jaivardhan Singh (state minister for urban development and housing), Priyavrat Singh (energy minister) and Umang Singhar (forest minister).