Page 11 - Protests

Youth Congress holds protest in Delhi over Manipur violence, inflation

The Indian Youth Congress on Tuesday held a protest against the Centre over several issues, including the violence in Manipur, inflation and unemployment. Scores of Indian Youth Congress leaders and activists gathered at Jantar Mantar for a 'Sansad gherao' protest with posters and raised slogans against the Centre. The protesters were led by the organisation's national president Srinivas BV. Congress leaders, including Pawan Khera, Alka Lamba and Supriya Shrinate, were also present at the protest. "This is a call to save Manipur from the violence that has been unleashed under the nose of the BJP government," the protesters said. Shrinate said the "truth cannot be hidden" for long and added that "Manipur's voice will soon echo in Parliament". More than 160 people have been killed in the ethnic clashes in Manipur since May 3.

Manipur women stage protest demanding removal of security forces from Moreh

Over 1,000 women on Monday staged a protest in Manipur's Churachandpur demanding immediate removal of state police forces from Moreh town. They have threatened to launch a massive agitation in all the hill districts if their demand is not met. On July 28, thousands of Kuki-Zo women in Tengnoupal district had blocked the road to Moreh, bordering Myanmar, to stop police forces from entering the town. A convoy of ten vehicles of security forces including the Indian Reserve Battalion, Manipur Rifles and commandoes were heading towards Moreh town when the womenfolk obstructed them at Tengnoupal. The protest by the women of Churachandpur comes a day after the opposition bloc INDIA on Sunday said if the conflict in Manipur is not resolved soon, it may create security problems for the whole nation. A delegation of the non-BJP coalition, which visited Manipur state for two days from Saturday, slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "silence", showing "brazen indifference" to the ongoi

Why fierce protests have been rocking Israel for seven straight months

Oceans of Israeli flags, steady drumbeats, cries of Democracy! Water cannons, police on horseback, protesters dragged off the ground. For seven straight months, tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in the most sustained and intense demonstrations the country has ever seen. The protesters are part of a grassroots movement that rose out of opposition to a contentious judicial overhaul spearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies. The overhaul calls for sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary, from limiting the Supreme Court's ability to challenge parliamentary decisions, to changing the way judges are selected. While the government says the overhaul is needed to reduce the powers of unelected judges, protesters, who make up a wide cross section of Israeli society, say the overhaul will push Israel toward autocracy. With a key portion of the overhaul nearing a final vote early next week, protesters are vowing furth

Manipur Police makes fifth arrest in connection with parading of two women

Manipur Police has arrested a fifth person in connection with the May 4 parading of two tribal women in Kangpokpi district of the state, officials said on Saturday. The two women are alleged to have been sexually assaulted before being set free by a mob. A 26-second video of the incident surfaced on Wednesday. A man who was part of the mob that paraded the women at B. Phainom village and was seen dragging one of them was among four people arrested on Thursday as the incident drew widespread condemnation.

BJP leader dies during protest in Patna, party alleges police brutality

BJP leaders were arrested as demonstrations, against the Bihar government's teacher recruitment policy, turned violent

Bihar cancels leaves of teachers amid BJP protest over recruitment policy

The Bihar government cancelled the leaves of all teachers for a week, according to an official document. The Education Department also asked the district magistrates to inspect all state-run schools on Thursday to check the attendance of teachers. "The attendance/presence of teachers in all government schools must be 100 per cent on July 13... Strict departmental action, including suspension, should be taken against those teachers who are found absent during inspection on July 13," said the letter by KK Pathak, the additional chief secretary (ACS-Education), on Wednesday. The department also asked district education officers to cancel the leaves of all teaching staff for a week. "Only in emergency situations, permission (of leave) can be taken directly from the ACS only," said the letter, which was also issued on Wednesday. The reasons behind the directives were not specified by the department in the letters. However, the opposition BJP claimed that the directions were given to .

Unrest grips France's countryside as rioting now spread to small towns

After a pleasant evening of wine-tasting joyfully billed Grapes and Friends! with a hundred or so people and oysters, charcuteries and cheeses, the mayor of the picturesque French town of Quissac was on his way home. Then his phone rang: Urban unrest that was engulfing France after the deadly police shooting of a teenager on Paris' outskirts, hundreds of kilometers (miles) and a world away to the north, had careened into Quissac's tranquility, too. In a quick hit-and-run, a small group of people seemingly no more than four, the mayor says bombarded the local gendarmes' barracks on Quai de la Gare road with powerful fireworks, denting its metal shutters and setting fire to a cypress tree. In the grander scheme of things, it wasn't much compared to orgies of destruction, arson, looting and rioting unleashed on multitudes of other communities across France in six nights of mayhem. Still, for the town of 3,300 people in the Gard region of southern France, it was a first. Quissac's

AAP protests, burns effigies of govt's services ordinance in Delhi streets

Aam Aadmi Party MLAs protested against the ordinance passed by the central government and demanded its immediate withdrawal

Thunberg charged with disobeying law enforcement during protest in Sweden

Swedish prosecutors have charged climate activist Greta Thunberg with disobedience to law enforcement in connection with a protest in Malm last month. Local newspaper Sydsvenskan reported Wednesday that Thunberg was detained with other activists after they stopped traffic in the oil terminal of the port in Malm on June 19. A short statement by Swedish prosecutors on Wednesday said a young woman was charged with disobedience because she "refused to comply with police orders to leave the scene during the protest. The statement didn't identify the woman, but Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Annika Collin confirmed that it was Thunberg. Sydsvenskan said the 20-year-old Swedish activist will be called to trial at the end of July. Prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen told the paper that the crime of disobedience is typically punishable with fines. Thunberg's media team didn't immediately answer a request for comment. Thunberg inspired a global youth movement demanding stronger efforts

French rioting appears to slow on 6th night after teen's death in Paris

Unrest across France sparked by the police shooting of a 17-year-old appeared to slow on its sixth night, but still public buildings, cars and municipal trash cans were targeted nationwide by fires and vandalism overnight into Monday. In all, according to the Interior Ministry, there were 157 arrests overnight, out of a total of 3,354 arrests in all since June 27, and two law enforcement stations were attacked, among other damage. Around 45,000 officers were deployed nationwide to counter violence fuelled by anger over discrimination against people who trace their roots to former French colonies and live in low-income neighbourhoods. Nahel, the teenager killed last Tuesday, was of Algerian descent and was shot in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Across France, 297 vehicles were torched overnight along with 34 buildings. A 24-year-old firefighter died of a heart attack while responding to a blaze in an underground garage that spread to the apartment building above, according to a ...

Manipur CM Biren Singh backtracks on resignation after high-voltage drama

High-voltage drama unfolded in Imphal after thousands of demonstrators blocked Manipur Chief Minister Biren N Singh's convoy from proceeding towards Raj Bhavan. However, after women leaders came out of his residence and told the crowd that the CM has assured them that he is not resigning, the mob slowly dispersed from his residence. Unconfirmed reports said that the CM had typed out a resignation letter but was persuaded by his supporters to tear it up. Earlier in the afternoon, hundreds of youth wearing black shirts and women sat down in front of the CM's residence demanding that Biren Singh should not resign. Sources said there were strong rumours in Imphal since morning that the chief minister was contemplating resigning from the post after renewed violence in the state on Thursday that claimed three more lives and left 5 injured. Kshetrimayum Shanti, a women leader said, At this critical juncture, the Biren Singh government should stand firm and crack down on troublemakers. T

600 arrested, 200 police officers hurt on France's 3rd night of protests

Protesters erected barricades, lit fires and shot fireworks at police in French streets overnight as tensions grew over the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old that has shocked the nation. More than 600 people were arrested and at least 200 police officers injured as the government struggled to restore order on a third night of unrest. Armored police vehicles rammed through the charred remains of cars that had been flipped and set ablaze in the northwestern Paris suburb of Nanterre, where a police officer shot the teen identified only by his first name, Nahel. On the other side of Paris, protesters lit a fire at the city hall of the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and set a bus depot ablaze in Aubervilliers. The French capital also saw fires and some stores ransacked. In the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, police sought to disperse violent groups in the city center, regional authorities said. President Emmanuel Macron planned to leave an EU summit in Brussels, where France play

Sena (UBT) leaders meet police officials to discuss protest march route

A Shiv Sena (UBT) delegation on Tuesday met senior officials of Mumbai Police to discuss the route of the party's march on July 1 to protest against alleged irregularities in the Mumbai civic body. Party leader and Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant told reporters that police requested the party to take the 'morcha' to Azad Maidan in south Mumbai. The party did not oppose it but it would be little inconvenient as the road leading to Azad Maidan is narrow, he said. We suggested that the march will start from Metro Cinema, take a turn at Crawford Market and end near the Times of India office. We will have a stage there. They have not given a reply," Sawant added. Police have not denied permission to the march either, he said. The party has planned a mega march led by Aaditya Thackeray to protest against "scams" in the civic body which is currently under an administrator, blaming the Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for the state of affairs.

Protests continue in Assam against delimitation proposals amid dissent

Protests against the delimitation proposals continued in Assam on Saturday, with allies of the ruling BJP-led coalition as well as opposition parties venting their discontent. Terming the draft delimitation proposal an attempt by the BJP to polarise voters on religious lines disregarding the sentiment of the people, opposition parties decided to present the 'grievances' of the citizens before the Election Commission. Protests by Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leaders took place in the Amguri Assembly constituency in Sivasagar district on Saturday. The constituency is represented by Pradip Hazarika of the AGP, an ally of the BJP. "Our Amguri constituency is being merged with another constituency and we are losing our identity. We will not accept it and continue our agitation," a local AGP leader said. Opposition AIUDF held protests in Barak Valley districts on Friday. The protestors demanded that status quo of boundaries and the name of constituencies be maintained. It has been decided

Mob torches Manipur minister's godown, tries to burn down residence

A group of people has set on fire a private godown of Manipur minister L Susindro at Chingarel in Imphal East district, reducing it to ashes, police said on Saturday. An attempt was also made to torch another property of the consumer and food affairs minister and his residence at Khurai in the same district on Friday night but timely intervention prevented it. Security forces fired several rounds of tear gas shells till midnight to prevent the mob from gheraoing his Khurai residence, police said. No casualty was reported in the incident. Earlier, the official quarters of the state's woman minister Nemcha Kipgen at Lamphel area in Imphal West district was set on fire by unidentified people on the night of June 14. A house belonging to Union Minister RK Ranjan Singh was attacked and attempts were made to burn it down the next day. More than 100 people have lost their lives and a large number of houses were torched rendering many people homeless in the ethnic violence between Meitei

Small industry players stage protests in Karnataka over power tariff hike

Traders and small industry owners took out protest rallies in several parts of Karnataka on Thursday opposing the recent power tariff hike. Following a call for a 'bandh' given by Hubballi-based Karnatak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), industrialists and small traders participated in a protest march in big numbers. Their protests came at a time when the state government started the registration process earlier this week for the 'Gruha Jyoti' scheme offering up to 200 units of free electricity for residential connections. Holding banners, posters and placards, the traders and industrialists marched in the district headquarters in Hubballi-Dharwad, Shivamogga, Belagavi, Ballari, Vijayanagar, Davangere and Koppal, among others. They shouted slogans demanding that the government roll back the hike. In Belagavi, a large number of traders and small and micro industry owners marched up to the office of the Deputy Commissioner with banners and placards. KCCI acting President San

Urban Company's beauty segment workers stage protests over ID blocking

The partners have alleged that Urban Company blocked their cards if their ratings fell below 4.8 out of 5

Khap, farmer activists block Rohtak-Delhi NH in Haryana's Jhajjar district

Activists of some Khaps and farmers on Wednesday blocked the Rohtak-Delhi national highway in Jhajjar district as part of a 'Haryana Bandh' call given in support of protesting wrestlers, farmers and other issues. Ramesh Dalal, a senior leader of the Bhumi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti outfit, led the protesters who squatted on NH-9 in Bahadurgarh and imposed a blockade. Vehicles were seen stranded on the road as a result of this. Jhajjar Superintendent of Police Arpit Jain told PTI that they were trying to persuade the protesters to lift the blockade. Dalal told reporters at the site that as part of his outfit's Haryana Bandh call, 25 demands had been raised, including justice for wrestlers protesting against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, loan waiver for farmers, legal guarantee of crop MSP and enhanced compensation for land. Meanwhile, in most parts of Haryana, the call for the strike failed to evoke any response and life remained normal. In .

Govt sets up committee in Manipur to facilitate peace-making process

The Centre has constituted a committee in Manipur headed by the governor to facilitate the peace-making process among various ethnic groups and initiate dialogue between conflicting parties, the Union home ministry said on Saturday. The members of the peace committee include the chief minister, a few ministers, MPs, MLAs, leaders from different political parties and civil society groups, it said. "Government of India has constituted 'Peace Committee' in Manipur under the chairpersonship of the governor, Manipur. The members of the committee include the chief minister, a few ministers in the state government, MP, MLAs and leaders from different political parties," a home ministry statement said. The mandate of the committee will be to facilitate the peace-making process among various ethnic groups of the state, initiate peaceful dialogue and negotiations between conflicting parties and groups, it said. The committee will strengthen social cohesiveness, mutual understanding and ...

Manipur rights panel asks govt to consider restoration of internet services

The complaint called it a "human rights violation"