Karnataka school authorities booked for sedition

Bengaluru: The management of a school in Bidar has been slapped with sedition charges after its students performed a drama against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Shaheen Education Institute was on Monday booked under sections 124A (sedition), 504 (provoke breach of peace), 505(2) (statements promoting enmity), 153A (promoting communal hatred) and 34 (act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC, while the FIR named the head of the school and its management as accused.

Besides them, one Mohammed Yousuf Rahim has been booked for allegedly sharing the video of the skit on social media, according to News18 report.

The complaint stated that minor children of the institute were were made to stage the drama, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a "bad light".

The drama also sent a message that people of one community would have to leave the country if CAA and NRC were brought into force.

Complainant Nilesh Rakshyal (35), a social worker, further claimed that the skit by the students and the way it was shared on social media platforms could disturb the peace in society, and also send out wrong message about the government policies and decisions.

He demanded legal action against Rahim and the school, which is located in Gurunanak Colony in Bidar, Karnataka's northern most district.

EC seeks report on Thakur's 'goli maaro' remark

The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Tuesday sought a report from the North West district's election officer after Union Minister Anurag Thakur was seen encouraging a crowd at a rally to chant "traitors should be shot down", officials said.

The slogans drew sharp criticism of the minister and the saffron party form Congress, which demanded the Election Commission (EC) take action against Thakur.

The controversial slogan is often used against protesters agitating against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). On December 21 last year, BJP leader Kapil Mishra was seen raising the same slogan in a pro-CAA rally in Delhi. He later got a ticket from the BJP to contest from Model Town.

West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday said she is ready for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of Citizenship Amendment Act but the Centre has to first withdraw the contentious law.

The West Bengal Assembly had on Monday passed a resolution against the CAA to become the fourth state after Kerala, Punjab and Rajasthan, to do so. The state assembly had on September 6, 2019, passed a resolution against the NRC.

Won't spare mosques built on govt land: BJP MP Verma

Delhi BJP MP Parvesh Verma has kicked off a row by claiming that if the BJP comes to power in Delhi then it will not only clear the Shaheen Bagh area of the anti-CAA protesters within an hour, but will also remove all existing mosques in his parliamentary constituency built on government land within a month.

While addressing a small crowd inside a room in the Vikaspuri Assembly constituency, BJP''s west Delhi MP said: "This is not just another election. It is an election to decide the unity of a nation.

"If the BJP comes to power on February 11, you will not find a single protester within an hour. And within a month, we will not spare a single mosque built on government land in my Lok Sabha constituency," The gathering broke out in loud applause.

In an interview to news agency ANI on Tuesday, the BJP MP said, "Lakhs of people gather there [Shaheen Bagh]. People of Delhi will have to think and take a decision.

They will enter your houses, rape your sisters and daughters, kill them. Parvesh Verma added, There's time today, Modi ji and Amit Shah won't come to save you tomorrow."

Chaos prevailed during Calcutta University convocation here on Tuesday as a group of students protesting against the CAA held a demonstration and raised slogans against West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.

The students of different colleges forcibly entered the convocation venue Nazrul Mancha and said that they won't allow Dhankhar to attend the programme, calling him a "BJP stooge".

In view of the tense situation, security personnel escorted Dhankhar to the green room nearby.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked party leaders to 'aggressively' raise the issue of Citizenship Amendment Act, National Population Register and National Register of Citizens to corner the government in the Budget Session beginning January 31.

Sonia wants Congress to aggressively raise CAA, NRC

Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi gave the directions to top Congress leaders during a meeting at her residence to discuss the party's strategy for the session.

The party will fight against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and raise the economic downturn and other issues concerning the common man, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters after the meeting.

"We will fight for the Constitution and will also fight against the CAA," he said.

The Congress intends to go aggressive on the issue of CAA, NRC and NPR and corner the government amid countrywide protests over these issues.

Meanwhile, a month after saying that National Register of Citizens will not be implemented in Bihar, Chief Minister and BJP ally Nitish Kumar also opposed the questions that will be asked during the NPR.

Kumar said that the central government should continue with the old format of the NPR that was used in 2011 and not add new questions that can create confusion.

"The National Population Register (NPR) has been there since 2011, it's not a new thing," he said, but added that the new questions added to it are likely to create confusion.

"Not everyone knows their parents' birth date... We believe the old format should continue," he added.

In the wake of the CAA, illegal immigrants from Bangladesh have begun to flee India back to their native country, a senior Border Security Force official said.

There is also a drop in the number of Bangladeshi nationals crossing over to India in the last one month after the CAA came into being.

The BSF official, posted at the BSF Delhi headquarters, claimed that the majority of the efflux of illegal migrants was happening in the 24 Parganas district in southern West Bengal.