Investor sentiment not dampened by Delhi violence, anti-CAA protests: FM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that investor sentiment has not dampened after the anti-CAA protests and the recent Delhi violence.

Addressing a press conference, she said the investors she met in her recent visit to Saudi Arabia had expressed willingness to invest more in the country. When asked about the Delhi violence and anti-CAA protests, Sitharaman said: “The sentiment of foreign investors has not been dampened.” 

Sporadic violence was reported from riot-hit areas in north-east Delhi, even as an eerie calm prevailed across the neighbourhoods in Jafrabad, Maujpur, Chand Bagh, Gokulpuri and surrounding areas, with the death toll reaching 38 on Thursday.

Two Special Investigation Teams (SITs) have been formed to investigate the rampant violence in parts of Delhi, over the contentious citizenship law, since Sunday.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Thursday that the government will give Rs 10 lakh to the families of those who lost their lives in the communal violence.  He also said that the government will bear the cost of treatment of those injured. Those seriously injured will get Rs 2 lakh, the chief minister said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Delhi High Court (HC) that 48 FIRs have been lodged and there be no judicial intervention till normalcy is restored in the national capital.  A Bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar granted four weeks to the Centre and the police to file replies to the PIL seeking lodging of FIRs against alleged hate speeches by three BJP leaders.  

In the meantime, Delhi HC Judge S Muralidhar was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, days after the Supreme Court made the recommendation. 

The judge was hearing the Delhi violence case and the late evening notification came on a day when a Bench headed by him expressed “anguish” over the Delhi Police’s failure to register FIRs against alleged hate speeches by three BJP leaders. Responding to retaliation, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said the judge was transferred following the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium, asserting that a “well-settled process” was followed.  

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will conduct fresh exams for students who have not been able to appear for papers in other parts of the national capital because of the violence, officials said. 

The board has sought details of students who failed to appear for exams due to the prevailing situation in the city. It has postponed class 10 and 12 exams, scheduled on February 28 and 29, in the affected areas.  

An FIR was registered on Thursday against AAP councillor Tahir Hussain for allegedly being involved in the killing of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma, police said.  He has been suspended from primary membership of the party till completion of probe, say AAP sources.