Page 172 - Social Issues
Plea in HC for policy to provide free legal aid to Indians abroad
A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the Centre to frame a policy to provide free legal aid to Indian citizens living abroad. NGO Pravasi Legal Cell filed the public interest litigation claiming that India has the world's largest diaspora according to the United Nations. The petition claimed that over 17 million people born in India now live elsewhere in the world and of these, many are semi-skilled and low-skilled workers. "One of the biggest problems faced by such workers is that they do not have any knowledge about the local laws or how their rights are protected in such countries because of which they face violation of their basic rights on foreign land due to lack of any legal aid," the plea filed through advocate Jose Abraham read. The NGO also said in its petition that the Union Minister of State for External Affairs, in reply to a query in the Lok Sabha, had said that around 7,850 Indians are lodged in jails abroad, with over 2,000 in Saudi ...
Mamata receiving overwhelming support from Oppn leaders: TMC
Citing the support of various parties to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's protest against the Centre, the Trinamool Congress Monday sought to project her as a leader who succeeded in uniting the entire opposition against the alleged misuse of the CBI. Listing the names of opposition leaders who were likely to join Banerjee in Kolkata, TMC spokesperson Derek O'Brien said that 22 parties have extended their support to the protest against the Centre. "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, TDP's N Chandrababu Naidu, RJD's Tejaswi Yadav, DMK's Kanimozhi have expressed their desire to join the protest and are going to Kolkata. Others like Samajwadi Party's leader Kiranmay Nanda have already visited the protest site," said Derek. The chief minister has been sitting on a dharna since 8.30pm Sunday against the CBI's attempts to question Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with multi-crore chit fund scams. "It is not a TMC dharna. There is not even a single TMC ...
Rights groups urge UN to probe China crackdown in Xinjiang
Rights groups urged the United Nations Monday to send investigators to China's northwestern Xinjiang province to probe the mass detainment of ethnic Uighur and other Muslim minorities. "The abuse in Xinjiang today is so severe that it cries out for international action," Human Rights Watch chief Kenneth Roth told reporters in Geneva. HRW and more than a dozen other human rights and civil society organisations including Amnesty International and the World Uighur Congress, published an appeal for the UN's human rights body to send an international fact-finding mission to the region. Up to a million Uighurs and members of other mostly Muslim minority groups are being held in extrajudicial detention in camps in Xinjiang, according to a group of experts cited by the UN. Dolkun Isa of the World Uighur Congress told reporters via video link from Oslo that his group believes the numbers detained in Xinjiang had reached "maybe three million". Beijing says the "vocational education centres" ...
UP budget session begins Tuesday with Guv's address
The budget session of Uttar Pradesh legislature will begin Tuesday with Governor Ram Naik slated to address a joint sitting its two houses. The government will present its budget for fiscal 2019-20 on February 7, said UP Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal Monday. The budget session is likely to continue till February 22, he added. This will be the third budget of the Yogi Adityanath government. With the 2019 general elections barely a couple of months away, the budget is likely to be a people-friendly one. Like the Union budget, the state budget too is likely to focus on the social, agriculture and infrastructure sectors, said officials. The opposition parties, meanwhile, have geared up to raise the law and order situation and other issues related to the common man and target the BJP government ahead of the coming elections. The Samajwadi Party, the BSP and the Congress have chalked out their strategies for nailing down the government on major issues of public interest.
Students' body demands 10 per cent reservation for Muslims
The Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) of India released a 'student manifesto' on Monday demanding 10 per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutes for Muslims and five per cent for other minorities, and urged political parties to include the demands in their manifestoes for Lok Sabha polls. The 'student manifesto' has demanded an increase in the stipend of Maulana Azad National Fellowship and Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship. The organisation demanded reservation in educational institutions as per the recommendations of the Sachar Committee report. It also demanded that Arabic and Islamic studies chairs be opened in all universities. The manifesto also called for the introduction of rehabilitation schemes for innocent youths who are falsely charged in terror cases. "National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam must be carried out in a fair and transparent manner. Law should be enacted for the prevention of discrimination against religious minorities in all spheres," the ...
Hidden agenda behind BJP bid to pass citizenship bill: Sarkar
Veteran communist leader and member of CPI(M) politburo Manik Sarkar on Monday said that the BJP has a "hidden agenda" behind its efforts to get the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha, but the opposition political parties would not allow it. Addressing a rally here, Sarkar, also the former chief minister of the state, said, "The bill is undemocratic and against the spirit of our constitution. The BJP must be having a hidden agenda behind its efforts to pass the bill, but we would not let that happen." The public meeting here was organised as part of CPI(M)'s nationwide protest against the contentious bill. "If the bill is not scrapped, it would have disastrous impact on the country's northeastern region and badly affect its demographic profile. "The BJP is playing with fire and it would destroy the peace and harmony in the north-eastern region", he said. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8, seeks to provide ...
TDP stages protest during Amit Shah's Andhra visit
TDP activists on Monday staged a protest during BJP President Amit Shah's visit to Andhra Pradesh to express their anger over the Modi government's 'unjust' attitude towards the state.
Angelina Jolie visits Rohingya camp in Bangladesh
Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie visited a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh on Monday ahead of a new UN appeal for nearly one billion dollars to look after the refugee influx. After arriving in the South Asian nation, Jolie, a special envoy of the UN Refugee agency UNHCR, went straight to a camp in Teknaf near the Myanmar border to talk to some of the 720,000 Muslims who fled a military clampdown in the neighbouring state in August 2017. The 43-year-old made no immediate public comment, but Cox's Bazar district deputy police chief Ikbal Hossain told AFP that Jolie will be visiting more camps on Tuesday. Jolie is in Bangladesh to assess the humanitarian needs of the one million Rohingya in camps around the town of Cox's Bazar. She has previously met with displaced Rohingya while in Myanmar in July 2015 and in India in 2006. Bangladesh has been reeling since more than 730,000 Rohingya arrived from Myanmar after August 2017. More than 620,000 of the Muslims live in the Kutupalong ..
Shutdown in Bihar hits rail, road services
A shutdown called by the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) to protest against a police lathi charge which injured party chief and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha hit train and road services in Bihar on Monday.
VVIP chopper case: Delhi court extends ED custody of Rajeev Saxena by 4 days
A Delhi court Monday extended by four more days the ED custody of Rajeev Saxena, an accused in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland case. Saxena, a Dubai-based businessman, was extradited from Dubai on January 31 and sent to four-day custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) the same day. The court had allowed his custodial interrogation after the agency alleged that he and another accused provided global corporate structure to launder money. The ED had alleged that in connivance with another accused, Guatam Khaitan, a Delhi-based lawyer, Saxena provided a global corporate structure for laundering illegal proceeds of the crime for payment to various political persons, bureaucrats and Air Force officials to influence the contract to supply 12 VVIP helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland. On January 1, 2014, India scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and .
Kumaraswamy backs Mamata's protest against CBI
Karnataka Chief Minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday offered his support to his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee in her protest against the CBI.
Assam Finance Dept to use social media for state budget
For the first time, the Assam Finance Department will use social media as an additional platform to inform and engage citizens on the state's 2019-20 budget. A decision to this effect was taken by the department as social media is an effective tool to gauge public mood, acquire feedback and also to engage citizens for the forthcoming budget, a spokesman of the department said Monday. The budget will be presented by state Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in the Assembly on February 6. The use of social media for seeking people's participation and inputs in the budget is also one of the first of its kind experiment in the country and has been very effective so far, the spokesman said. In 11 days, the department has reached out to more than 1.6 lakh people by posting 200 feeds on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in 11 days, he said. The use of this dynamic medium, in addition to other traditional means, has been inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Sabka
US to deploy more forces at Mexico border
The Pentagon has announced that it will deploy 3,750 additional US forces at the country's border with Mexico for 90 days to provide support to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.
IIIT-Hyderabad TalentSprint AI/ML executive program celebrates first anniversary
IIIT-Hyderabad and TalentSprint have completed the first anniversary of their AI/ML Executive Program.With 10,000+ applicants and 1000+ graduates in 2018 alone, the program has made its mark as one of the most aspirational and impactful deep tech executive programs in the country in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning.The program's hybrid structure designed by the IIIT-H Machine Learning Lab, with its judicious blend of research and practice-based modules, created a strong appeal among working professionals.The intense nature of the program with lectures by globally renowned AI and ML faculty, case studies by industry practitioners, hands-on lab exercises, high-energy hackathons and ongoing mentorship offered a unique environment and design where learning-by-doing became the norm.Program participants had work experience in the range of 3-25 years, with an average of 7 years. Acceptance of the program among professionals in senior leadership roles was sizeable at .
RLSP observes Bihar bandh over police action against Jan Akrosh Rally
Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) on Monday observed a "Bihar Bandh" to protest against the police lathi-charge on party chief Upendra Kushwaha and other political leaders during its "peaceful" Jan Akrosh Rally.Scores of RLSP leaders and workers held marches across the state while holding aloft placards and party flags. Armed with lathis (sticks), the workers raised slogans against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and called him "dictator"."During the peaceful Jan Akrosh rally on Saturday under the leadership of our chief Upendra Kushwaha, the police on the direction of the dictator Nitish Kumar's government tried to kill Kushwaha. He and various other leaders were severely injured that is the reason we are protesting today, " said RLSP General Secretary Santosh Kumar in Gaya. Various "Grand-Alliance" partners, including Telugu Desam Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal, have also extended support to the bandh call."I want to thank various grand alliance partners for coming forward and ...
Maharashtra approves 10 pc quota for economically weaker section of General category
Maharashtra cabinet on Monday approved the centre's scheme of 10 per cent reservation to the economically weaker section among the general category in government jobs and educational institutions across the state.With this, Maharashtra has become seventh state after Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Assam to have approved the bill to implement the reservation.The Parliament recently passed the Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill, 2019, approving a 10 percent reservation for economically backward upper castes in government jobs.The Maharashtra state Assembly, in November, had passed a Bill proposing 16 per cent reservation under Socially and Educationally Backward Class, paving way for reservation to Marathas in the state.
Assam Finance Department to use social media for state budget
The Assam Finance Department has decided to use social media platforms to inform and engage citizens on the state's 2019-20 Budget, Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a statement on Monday.
Thailand urged to refuse Bahraini refugee footballer's extradition
The Amnesty International on Monday urged Thailand to refuse to extradite Bahraini refugee footballer Hakeem al Araibi to his home country.
Interim Budget 2019-20 is a Progressive Budget: FICCI
Our farmers have been facing a series of challenges. To alleviate some of the hardships being faced by small and marginal farmers, the government has announced a Direct Income Support scheme under which an amount of Rs 6000 per annum will be provided to farmers having cultivable land of up to 2 hectares. This would benefit 12 crore farmer families. "FICCI had suggested the need for Direct Income Support for farmers and is happy to see its inclusion in the budget. This is critical as through this measure the government will be able to cover all the small and marginal farmers as compared to the MSP scheme which benefits just about 30% of such farmers. By also committing funds upfront from the central pool, any resistance from states will be avoided," added Mr. Somany.
Will return Padma Bhushan, warns Anna Hazare
Social activist and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare said he will return his Padma Bhushan award to the President if the Centre doesn't concede to his demand for Lokpal and Lokayukta.Speaking to media here on Sunday, the activist said he arrived at this decision due to the grim scenario prevailing in the society and country."I will be returning my Padma Bhushan award to the President. I did not work for that award. You only gave me that while I was working for a social cause and the country. If the country or society is in this condition, then why should I keep that?" he asked. The 81-year-old anti-corruption crusader was awarded the third highest civilian honour in 1992.Hazare is on indefinite hunger strike for the last five days at his native village to push for his demand of Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta in states.The social activist launched his indefinite hunger strike on January 30 under the banner of 'Jan Andolan Satyagraha'.
