Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), Dec 20 (ANI): Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) took out protest march against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Thiruvananthapuram on December 20. Thousands of journalists participated in the protest. Nation-wide protests intensified after implementation of the new Citizenship Act.
Kolkata, Dec 20 (ANI): Reacting to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's demand for United Nations-monitored referendum on Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani said the former's remark is an insult to the Indian Parliament. "Every Indian political parties and citizens know that Indian constitution and parliament are supreme. CM questioning legislation passed by the Parliament is an insult of Indian Parliament. The people who are supporting violence, I appeal the state government to take strict action against them," Irani told reporters in Kolkata.
New Delhi, Dec 20 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the inaugural session of '100 years of ASSOCHAM in Delhi. Speaking about the 'Ease of Doing Business' rankings, he said, "Today, India is among those top 10 countries which have continuously improved in 'Ease of Doing Business' in last 3 years. You climb up the 'Ease of Doing Business' rankings when you work hard day and night, when you bring about a change in the policies, starting from the ground."
Samba (JandK), Dec 20 (ANI): Security has been beefed up at International border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir. BSF and Police personnel started search operations near the border for sanitisation process. The search operation is being done to enhance the security setup along the IB to avoid threats posed by terrorists.
New Delhi, Dec 20 (ANI): Reacting to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's demand that impartial organisation like United Nations should conduct a referendum on CAA in India, MoS for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy called it an irresponsible statement. "The base of Trinamool Congress is slipping away, that is why she is tense and what she is saying even she doesn't know. This is an irresponsible statement from a CM," said G Kishan Reddy.
Banaskantha (Gujarat), Dec 20 (ANI): Gujarat Police released a video showing anti-CAA protestors attacking a police jeep in Gujarat's Banaskantha on Dec 19. FIR was registered against 3022 people out of which, 22 people have been identified. Nation-wide protests intensified after both Houses of the Parliament passed the new Citizenship Act.
Sahibganj (Jharkhand), Dec 20 (ANI): A man was declared dead due to heart attack during last phase of polling in Jharkhand's Sahibganj district on December 20. He fell down at a polling booth in Borio. Later, he was taken to hospital and declared dead. Borio is a community development block in Sahibganj district. The investigation is underway in this regard. While speaking to ANI, the District Collector (DC) of Sahibganj district, Varun Ranjan spoke on assembly elections and death of one person. He said, "One voter fell down while voting and he was taken to hospital but later he died. We have given direction to the civil surgeon that his postmortem be done." "This mishappening (loss of life) is a natural death and not a violence case," DM added. Polling is taking place in 16 assembly constituencies across Jharkhand. The counting of votes will take place on December 23.
Lucknow (UP), Dec 20 (ANI): Condemning violent protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati said that she doesn't believe in destruction of Public property and violence. "We have always opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act and we have been protesting against it since beginning but like other parties we don't believe in destruction of public property and violence," said BSP chief.
Guwahati (Assam), Dec 20 (ANI): Speaking on Citizenship Amendment Act, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal assured that there is no threat to the identity of Assamese, and that no one can steal the rights of sons of soil of Assam."I want to assure people that no one can steal rights of the sons of the soil of Assam, there is no threat to our language or our identity. In no way will the honour of Assam be affected,"said Assam Chief Minister."We will always have the support of the people and will move forward with peace in the state,"he added.
Hyderabad, Dec 20 (ANI): The United Muslim Action Committee held a meeting in Hyderabad on December 20. Discussion was held at All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) head office, over Citizenship Amendment Act. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi was also present in the meeting. Protests are being held across the country against CAA and NRC. Section 144 has also been imposed in several parts of the country. Owaisi in meeting said, "Have to oppose this act strongly, but only after taking police permission and peacefully. As you know in Lucknow and Delhi, there was police brutality and violence. In Mangaluru, two Muslims died. If there is violence then we will condemn and disassociate ourselves from it."
New Delhi, Dec 20 (ANI): Entry and exit gates of all affected metro stations, due to protests against amended Citizenship Act, have been opened, announced Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Normal services have resumed in all stations, DMRC tweeted. Earlier, the DMRC announced the closure of entry and exit gates of multiple metro stations owing to the protests against the new Citizenship law in different parts of the city.
Washington DC (USA), Dec 20 (ANI): While addressing the media in Washington DC on December 20, the External Affairs Minister (EAM) of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar spoke on reports that India cancelled meeting with US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal over her report on Kashmir. He said, "I don't think it (report) is fair understanding of situation in Jammu and Kashmir or fair characterisation of what the Government of India is doing." "I have no interest in meeting her," EAM added.
Washington DC (USA), Dec 20 (ANI): While addressing the media in Washington DC on December 20, the External Affairs Minister (EAM) of India, S Jaishankar said, "There was discussion on trade and I shared with him (President Trump) what was discussed at 2+2 dialogue." "In some meetings I also emphasized that flow of talent from India should not be affected and no unreasonable legislative provisions should constrain that," EAM added.
Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Dec 20 (ANI): Ahmedabad Police detained 49 people in connection with violence during protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the city on Dec 19. Among the detainees, Congress corporator Shehzad Khan was also detained. A nation-wide protest has been intensified after both the Houses of Parliament passed new Citizenship Bill.
Gurugram, Dec 20 (ANI): Dense fog engulfed Gurugram on December 20. Cold wave intensified in Gurugram as temperature further dipped. Low visibility was experienced at several parts including the national capital. Speaking to ANI, a local said,"The fog has intensified in the area. We are being very careful while driving our vehicles."
Dumka/ Pakur (Jharkhand), Dec 20 (ANI): The last phase of polling began in Jharkhand on December 20. The polling will be held in 16 assembly constituencies across the state. Assembly polls in Jharkhand are being held in 5 phases. The counting of votes will take place on December 23.
New Delhi, Dec 20 (ANI): As temperature in the national capital is hovering on the lower levels, the homeless turned towards night shelters to cope with chilly winters of Delhi. The government-supported night shelters have become heaven for these homeless people. They are provided with free blankets and pillows in a night shelter near AIIMS metro station. Delhi has been continuously reeling under cold wave for the past week. Due to bad weather and cold waves the flight operations at Delhi airport are affected. While takeoffs and landings continue, on the other side some flights are impacted due to crew operational limitations.
Patna (Bihar), Dec 20 (ANI): Calling Citizenship Amendment Act as unconstitutional, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav informed that a 'bandh' has been called in Bihar on December 21 against the new Citizenship Act. "We have called a 'bandh' in Bihar on December 21 against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The act is unconstitutional and against humanity," said Tejashwi Yadav.
Bengaluru, Dec 20 (ANI): DCP of Bengaluru (Central) sang national anthem along with protesters present at the Town Hall in Bengaluru. Chetan Singh Rathore resorted to national anthem while protesters were refusing to vacate the place. Protesters left peacefully after the national anthem was sung.
New Delhi, Dec 20 (ANI): Ghostery has rolled out a desktop app with added privacy features including ad-blocker, tracker-blocker, and VPN. Called Ghostery Midnight, the app costs USD 14 per month and works across a variety of apps and browsers, The Verge notes. Users can choose to block ads and trackers on multiple browsers at once. It currently offers a choice of six servers for its VPN. Ghostery plans to roll out a cheaper version with limited features next year, and a mobile version later.