Karnataka BJP likely to push for pro-CAA resolution in ongoing Assembly session

CAA

The resolution is expected to be moved towards the end of the special discussion on the Constitution, scheduled for March 2 and 3, the sources said.

PTI

PTI / File image

The ruling BJP in Karnataka is likely to push for a resolution in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) during the ongoing Assembly session, top sources said on Monday. The resolution is expected to be moved towards the end of the special discussion on the Constitution, scheduled for March 2 and 3, the sources said. The move is bound to face stiff resistance from opposition parties -- the Congress and JD(S) -- in the Assembly. Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri has decided to hold a special discussion on the Constitution on the two days to commemorate 70 years of the adoption of the Constitution. Though the Speaker has expressed hope that the discussion will focus on the Constitution and legislators would take part in it rising above party politics, there are apprehensions in some quarters that issues like CAA and NRC may figure in the debate. BJP-ruled Gujarat in January passed a resolution, congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for securing the passage of the CAA, amid opposition from the Congress. Several opposition-ruled states like Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have passed anti-CAA resolutions in their state assemblies. Joining the ranks of anti-CAA states, the Telangana government has also decided to pass a resolution in the assembly against the Act. Like in other parts of the county, Karnataka too has witnessed a series of pro and anti-CAA protests and demonstrations. On December 1, an anti-CAA protest turned violent in the coastal city of Mangaluru, resulting in the death of two in police firing. According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, and facing religious persecution there, would not be treated as illegal immigrants, but given Indian citizenship. The Act says refugees of the six communities would be given Indian citizenship after residing in India for five years, instead of 11 earlier. Though there were expectations in some quarters that the Governor's address to the joint sitting of the state legislature on Monday will have some references to implementation of CAA in the state, there was no such mention in his speech. Seeking to downplay it, BJP sources said: "The issue (CAA) is anyway likely to be discussed during the session in the days to come." The session that commenced with Governor Vajubhai Vala addressing the joint sitting of legislative Assembly and Council on Monday, will conclude on February 20. It will again meet for the budget session from March two, with the state budget being presented on March five. It will go on till March 31.

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Hubballi Bar Association refuses to represent 3 Kashmiri students booked for sedition

Law

The three Kashmiri students belonging to an engineering college in Hubballi were arrested over a viral video where they allegedly spoke in favour of Pakistan.

TNM Staff

@ZafarAafaq/Twitter

Members of the Bar Association in Hubballi passed a resolution to not represent the three Kashmiri students, who were booked for sedition. Labelling their actions “anti-national”, the resolution added that their decision has been communicated with the Karnataka State Bar Council and urged all lawyers in the state not to represent them. The three Kashmiri students, belonging to an engineering college in Hubballi, were arrested on Saturday over a viral video where they allegedly spoke in favour of Pakistan. The video showed the three of them shouting " Azaadi”, "Pakistan" and "Zindabad" which was punctuated by a song playing in the background. The song was purportedly made by the Pakistani military’s propaganda wing. The arrests were made after activists of the Bajrang Dal and Akhil Bharat Vidhyarti Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest outside the college and demanded they be handed over to the police.  Meanwhile, the three students have been remanded in judicial custody till March 2. The students were also attacked allegedly by Bajrang Dal activists outside the court premises on Monday. The Hubballi Bar Association’s move mirrors what the Mysuru Bar Association had done in January. The members of Mysuru Bar Association had resolved to "not represent or provide legal services” to Nalini Balakumar, an alumnus of Mysuru University. Nalini was booked for sedition for holding a “Free Kashmir” placard during an anti NRC-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protest. However, at the time, lawyers from Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka slammed the Mysuru Bar Association’s move. A statement put out by a collective of lawyers read, “We, the undersigned lawyers, strongly condemn such decisions of the Association as not only being against professional ethics and the duties of lawyers under the Bar Council of India Rules, but also as being antithetical to the values embedded in the Constitution of India. Every person has the fundamental right to be represented in a Court of law and any attempt to prevent or subvert such right is a blatant attack on the ideals of the Constitution.”  Nalini was granted bail by a Mysuru court on January 27.

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Kashmiri students held for sedition attacked by Bajrang Dal members at K’taka court

Sedition

The Hubballi police were escorting the three students out of the court when Bajrang Dal members surrounded them and tried to hit them.

TNM Staff

Screengrab

The three Kashmiri engineering students, who have been arrested on charges of sedition, were roughed up by members of the Bajrang Dal when they were produced at a court in Hubballi on Monday morning. Visuals captured from outside the court premises showed members of the Hindu group hitting the three students, with the police trying to keep the angry crowd at bay.   A large crowd of people had surrounded the Judicial Magistrate-First Class court halls in Hubballi on Monday. They screamed "Bolo Bharat Mata ki jai" as the three Kashmiri engineering students were brought outside the court hall.  Visuals showed a group of Bajrang Dal activists rushing towards the accused to attack them, despite police escorting them. A few men tried to assault the men, but the police personnel were seen pushing the Bajrang Dal activists away. Even when the students were inside the police vehicle, the men hit the sides of the police bus.   The three Kashmiri students in #Hubbali accused of #sedition for uploading a video, were attacked by members Bajrang dal while they were coming out of the courthouse. Even though there was heavy police presence, they swarmed the accused and hit them, shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai. pic.twitter.com/6jA7aT7obR — Alithea Stephanie Mounika//ಅಲಿತ್ಯ ಮೌನಿಕಾ (@alitheasm) February 17, 2020   The three Kashmiri students from KLE Institute of Technology were arrested on Saturday and were charged with sedition after a complaint was filed at the Gokul Road Police Station. The students were arrested after a video of them went viral. In the video, one of the students can be heard saying "Pakistan" and "Zindabad" while a song, used by the Pakistan armed forces, plays in the background. On Saturday, members of the Bajrang Dal, and Akhil Bharat Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest outside the college on Saturday demanding that the three students be arrested. They also demanded that the students should be removed from the college immediately. A few Bajrang Dal activists had also barged into the college prinicipal’s office and demanded that he inform the police about the video. On Sunday, rumours spread in Hubballi that the accused were granted bail after Police Commissioner Dileep announced that the three accused were released under Section 169 of the CrPC (Release of accused when evidence deficient).  Bajrang Dal, Shri Rama Sene and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists had staged protests outside the Gokul Road Police Station on Sunday evening and accused the police of protecting "traitors." They burnt tyres outside the police station and shouted, "Down, down, anti-nationals." On Sunday, the three students were briefly released while custody was being handed over to Hubballi rural police. Hubbali-Dharwad police commissioner Dileep told TNM that though the Gokul Police had arrested the students, the jurisdiction came under the Hubballi Rural Police.  The Hubbali court on Monday morning sent the three students to judicial custody.  Read: Kashmiri students booked for sedition in Karnataka sent to judicial custody

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3 Kashmiri students held for sedition: Kannada media dubs them ‘traitors’ and ‘worms’

Multiple Kannada channels had instigating coverage of the arrests and the brief release of the three students and accused the police of “wrongdoing.”

Theja Ram

The Karnataka police on Saturday briefly let off three Kashmiri students of the KLE Institute of Technology in Hubballi, who were booked for sedition, reportedly over lack of evidence. The three students were arrested on Saturday after a video of them saying “Pakistan,” and later “Zindabad,” as a song used by the Pakistan armed forces played in the background, went viral.  After the three students were briefly let off, members of the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Shri Rama Sene gathered outside the Gokul Road Police Station and began demanding why the three students were let off. They burnt tyres and called the three students “anti-nationals.”  However, it was not only the right-wing groups, who questioned the brief release of three students, but also the local media, as news anchors began to call the students “traitors” and accused the police of “wrongdoing.”  The condemnation of the three students by several local channels began after the Hubballi Police Commissioner, Dileep gave a statement.  “The accused were released under Section 169 of the CrPC. The case was registered in the Gokul Road Police Station when it is under the Hubballi Rural Police limits and so we had to let them off here. This is a sedition case and we have to follow Supreme Court guidelines and maintain certain discretion,” Commissioner Dileep said.  Following this statement, the local media, which believed that the accused had been granted bail, began calling the students “traitors” and accused the police of negligence in their news bulletins.  “The food, water and air they breath is of this land but traitors shouted in support of Pakistan. For this mud-eating act, they were imprisoned but the police have suddenly let these worms go and this has caused protests to erupt in Hubballi,” a TV9 anchor said.  The report went on to support the members of the Bajrang Dal, who protested outside the police station and said that this was a "mistake" by the police. “The reason why such protests have erupted in Hubbali is due to the one mistake the police made. Instead of punishing those who resorted to such mud-eating acts despite staying in this country, the police let off the traitors on bail,” the news presenter went on to say, as dramatic visuals of the right-wing groups shouting, “Down, down traitors,” played on screen.  Another TV channel, Suvarna News, had a VHP leader speak during the bulletin, and most of the questions asked by the anchor were leading questions, loaded with heavy editorialisation. “What do you think of the video in which the students are making anti-national statements? Do you think they have even an ounce of regret in them?” The anchor also raised questions about whether the BJP, which is the ruling party in the state, is going to take measures to ensure that the “traitors are punished.” “What has angered these protesters even more is that the BJP, which claims to be a nationalist party, did not do anything to take action against the traitors. Do you think that traitors are getting protection here?” the news presenter said.  This is not the first time regional media has made sweeping statements about a case where the police probe has not been completed yet. In January, when police found a bag containing components used to make an IED outside the Mangaluru International Airport, local television channels jumped the gun by claiming that “jihadi forces” were trying to spread “communal hatred” in Mangaluru. 

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Man who landed at Bengaluru airport admitted with suspected coronavirus infection

Coronavirus

Though the man had not travelled to China, he returned to India from a COVID-19 affected country.

TNM Staff

Representative Image

A passenger who arrived at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Saturday has been admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases after thermal scanning found that his temperature had increased. While the man had not travelled to China, he had returned from a country that reported positive cases of the novel coronavirus or COVID-2019. According to numbers issued by the Karnataka State Health Department, 1,216 individuals had undergone thermal scanning at the airport between Saturday and Sunday, of whom only one man has been taken for further examination. In the two days, a total of six individuals were returning from a region where coronavirus had been detected and identified. “He was admitted for further examination. His samples have been sent for testing and the results are awaited,” stated an official from the hospital. The state has taken strict measures to ensure that any potential threats of spreading the disease are caught. “The state of Karnataka has strengthened all surveillance and control measures against the disease. Till date, 246 travellers from COVID-2019 affected countries have been identified and 215 are under home isolation. Four Chinese passengers have left the country, and one is admitted at isolation (ward) in a hospital. Till date, 163 samples of symptomatic patients are sent for testing, out of which, 158 samples will be sent for testing and 151 samples are reported as negative. A total of 26 passengers have completed 28 days of observation,” read the daily bulletin issued by the state health department on Sunday evening. There were three positive cases confirmed in Kerala. Two were later tested negative on retests. Two patients have been discharged from the hospital after making a full recovery. The Kerala health officials swung into action against the virus to curb its spread. The new strain of coronavirus caused COVID-19 or coronavirus disease. It belongs to the same family of viruses that caused the 2003 SARS outbreak and the sporadic MERS cases in 2012. There is no confirmed cure or vaccine yet. The treatment has been largely to give supportive measures and relieve symptoms, in combination with anti-viral drugs.

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Karnataka BJP braces for Opposition onslaught as Assembly session begins on Monday

Politics

"We are ready to counter the opposition parties on any issue they want to raise or discuss, keeping in view the spirit of fairness in a democratic set-up," party's spokesman said.

IANS

A combative ruling BJP is bracing to face the onslaught of the opposition Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in the year's first legislature session beginning on Monday. "We are ready to counter the opposition parties on any issue they want to raise or discuss, keeping in view the spirit of fairness in a democratic set-up, as we have the numbers to provide a stable government," party's state unit spokesman G. Madhusudhana told IANS here. Ahead of the 3-day session, the BJP's legislature party met here under the leadership of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to chalk out its strategy to address issues, move bills and present the state budget for fiscal 2020-21. "We hope the Congress and JD-S members will allow Governor Vajubhai Vala to address the joint session of the legislature on Monday and not disrupt his speech or walkout of the House before he concludes to maintain the dignity of his office," Madhusudhana said after the BJP meeting at a private hotel over dinner. The legislature will resume the month-long budget session on March 2 with a special discussion for two days on the Constitution, markings the 70th year of its adoption and enforcement. About 100 legislators, including the three Deputy Chief Ministers, the newly sworn-in cabinet ministers, council members and party's state unit members participated in the 2-hour long meeting. "Yediyurappa, who also holds the Finance portfolio, will present the state budget for fiscal 2020-21 on March 5, which will be the fifth time as the fourth Chief Minister in over a decade," the official said. Both the Houses will deliberate on the budget proposals and pass it by March 31. In the 225-member Assembly, including one nominated, the ruling BJP has 117, opposition Congress 68, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) 34, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) one, Independents 2 and vacant 2. Buoyed up by winning 12 of the 15 seats in the December 5 assembly by-elections, the party is confident of passing the finance and other bills, as it has the support of 119 members, including 2 Independents in the lower House. "There is no threat to our government, which will complete the remaining 3-year term of the Assembly till May 2023. Yediyurappa has already won the majority test on July 29, 2019, three days after he took office for the fourth time," Madhusudhana said. The Congress, however, asserted that it would raise the alleged misuse of police against the opposition members, anti-CAA protestors and minorities. "We will question the morality of the government in making a tainted legislator like Anand Singh a forest minister when a dozen illegal mining cases are pending in the courts," a Congress official told IANS.

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Kashmiri students arrested on sedition charges in Karnataka released due to lack of evidence

Sedition

The Bajrang Dal however opposed the release and protested outside the station.

TNM Staff

File photo

Three Kashmiri engineering students in Hubli, who were arrested by the police under seditious charges, and on allegations of disturbing communal harmony, have been released for lack of evidence. The Commissioner of Hubli said that the students were let off under section 169 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Release of accused due to lack of evidence). As part of the terms of their release, the students were made to sign a bond. In the bond, they have agreed to appear before the police when they are summoned. Shortly after they were released, the Bajrang Dal, began sloganeering outside the Gokul police station in Hubli, where the boys had been held. The right wing group objected to the release of the students. The Bajrang dal is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a political outfit. TNM had previously reported that the members of Bajrang dal had intimated the police about the contentious video, following which the police took up the case. Read: 3 engineering students from Kashmir arrested on sedition charges in Karnataka  The three engineering college students had shared a selfie video of themselves on Saturday. The video, which went viral showed the three of them shouting " Azaadi" and saying "Pakistan" and then "Zindabad" after a few beats. All this was as a song played in the background, which was purportedly used by the Pakistani military media wing. Recently, the Karnataka police had received much flak for arresting a teacher and the parent of a school pupil for a play that was enacted in the school in Bidar against NRC. The school and the two individuals had been charged with sedition and the women had to spend two weeks in jail before they were released.   

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