Union Minister Says Citizenship Law To Be Implemented In A Week: Report

Union Minister Shantanu Thakur on Monday said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) would be implemented in the country within a week.

CAA to be enacted in a week.

During an interview with a news channel, Mr Thakur, a BJP MP from Bongaon, an area with the majority of people belonging to the Matua community in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, said that swift implementation of the contentious legislation would be made within seven days.

The CAA, enacted by the BJP-led government at the Centre in 2019, aims at granting Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians, from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014.

“The CAA will be implemented very soon. It will be implemented within seven days. This is my guarantee,” said Mr Thakur, also a leader of the Matua community.

Mr Thakur, the union minister of state for ports, shipping and waterways, has made a similar comment on Sunday.

He has been claiming that the CAA would be implemented in the country ahead of the Lok Sabha polls this year.

Matuas, who constitute a large chunk of the state’s Scheduled Caste population, had been migrating to West Bengal since the 1950s, primarily due to religious persecution in erstwhile East Pakistan which later became Bangladesh.

Since the nineties, political parties in West Bengal have actively sought to secure the support of the Matuas, who, due to their significant population and tendency to vote together, are considered a valuable voting bloc akin to the minorities.

The Matua community is believed to benefit the most from the implementation of the CAA.

Thakur’s assertion on the CAA’s implementation comes amidst reports this month, suggesting that the rules for the legislation would be notified “much before” the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.

His remarks elicited strong reactions from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the state, which has vehemently opposed the CAA, labelling it “divisive”.

“Our party supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have clearly said that CAA won’t be implemented in West Bengal. The BJP leaders are attempting political gimmickry by making such false promises before the Lok Sabha elections,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

Last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated that the implementation of CAA is inevitable as it is the law of the land.

During a BJP meeting in Kolkata, he had accused Banerjee of misleading people on the CAA issue The TMC has consistently opposed the CAA, with Banerjee alleging that the BJP is “exploiting” the citizenship issue for political gain.

The promise of implementing the controversial CAA served as a major electoral platform for the BJP in the previous Lok Sabha and assembly polls in West Bengal.

Party leaders believe that it played a pivotal role in the BJP’s rise in the state.

According to the manual of parliamentary procedures, the rules for any legislation should have been framed within six months of presidential assent or seek an extension from the committees on subordinate legislation in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Since 2020, the Home Ministry has been taking extensions at regular intervals from the parliamentary committees for framing the rules.

Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor Win: Filmfare 2024 Acting Prizes - Full Winners

Bollywood’s award season kickstarted with the 69th edition of Filmfare Awards over the weekend. In the award ceremony this year, which was held in Gujarat, celeb couple Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor won top acting honors. Alia Bhatt took home the Best Actress award for her role in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani while her husband Ranbir Kapoor won Best Actor award for his stellar performance in Animal. Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal led the pack with a total of 6 trophies while Vidhu Vino Chopra’s 12th Fail won some of the biggest awards for the night including Best Film and Best Director. In the Critics category, Vikrant Massey won the Best Actor award for 12th Fail. Meanwhile, Rani Mukherji and Shefali Shah shared the award for the Best Actress (Critics) for Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway and Three Of Us, respectively.

Bhatt, Kapoor Win: Filmfare 2024

Vicky Kaushal, who was also nominated for Best Actor (Critics) for his role in Sam Bahadur, won Best Supporting Actor award for his impactful performance in Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki. Filmmaker David Dhawan was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Best Debut (Male) award was won by Faraaz actor Aditya Rawal. Farrey actress Alizeh Agnihotri won the Best Debut (Female) award.

Here is the full list of winners:

Best Film (Popular): 12th Fail

Best Film (Critics): Joram

Best Actor in a Leading role (Male): Ranbir Kapoor (Animal)

Best Actor in a Leading role (Female): Alia Bhatt (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani)

Best Actor (Critics): Vikrant Massey (12th Fail)

Best Actress (Critics): Rani Mukerji (Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway) and Shefali Shah (Three Of Us).

Best Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra (12th Fail)

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male): Vicky Kaushal (Dunki)

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female): Shabana Azmi (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani)

Best Music Album: Animal (Pritam, Vishal Mishra, Manan Bhardwaj, Shreyas Puranik, Jaani, Bhupinder Babbal, Ashim Kemson, Harshwardhan Rameshwar, Gurinder Seagal)

Best Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya (Tere Vaaste- Zara Hatke Zara Bachke)

Best Playback Singer (Male): Bhupinder Babbal (Arjan Vailly- Animal)

Best Playback Singer (Female): Shilpa Rao (Besharam Rang- Pathaan)

Best Story: Amit Rai (OMG 2)

Best Screenplay: Vidhu Vinod Chopra (12th Fail)

Best Dialogue: Ishita Moitra (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani)

Best Background Score: Harshavardhan Rameshwar (Animal)

Best Cinematography: Avinash Arun Dhaware (Three Of Us)

Best Production Design: Subrata Chakraborty and Amit Ray (Sam Bahadur)

Best Editing: Jaskunwar Singh Kohli- Vidhu Vinod Chopra (12th Fail)

Best Costume Design: Sachin Lovelekar, Divvya Gambhir and Nidhhi Gambhir (Sam Bahadur)

Best Sound Design: Kunal Sharma (Mpse) (Sam Bahadur) and Sync Cinema (Animal)

Best Choreography: Ganesh Acharya (What Jhumka?- Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani)

Best Action: Spiro Razatos, Anl Arasu, Craig Macrae, Yannick Ben, Kecha Khamphakdee, Sunil Rodrigues (Jawan)

Best Vfx: Red Chillies Vfx (Jawan)

Best Debut Director: Tarun Dudeja (Dhak Dhak)

Best Debut Male: Aditya Rawal (Faraaz)

Best Debut Female: Alizeh Agnihotri (Farrey)

Lifetime Achievement Award: David Dhawan

R.D.Burman Award for Upcoming Music Talent: Shreya Puranik (Satranga-Animal)

"I Am Loser": Another Student Dies By Suicide In Rajasthan's Kota

In Rajasthan's Kota, another student preparing for competitive exams has died by suicide, police said. The incident, which marks the second suicide in January, underscores the escalating issue of exam stress among coaching students.

Note with Niharika's body.

Niharika Singh, an 18-year-old from Kota's Borkheda area, was preparing for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and was found hanging at her residence. Despite the family's prompt response and immediate hospitalisation, she was declared dead upon arrival. The police have initiated an investigation, including a post-mortem examination, to ascertain the circumstances leading to her tragic decision.

The police also recovered a suicide note along with Niharika's body.

"Mummy, Papa, I can't do JEE. So I suicide [sic]. I am loser [sic]. I worst daughter [sic]. Sorry Mummy, Papa. This is the last option I have," read the letter.

According to the police, Niharika lived with her father, a bank employee, and was repeating her 12th class, grappling with the intense pressure of competitive exams. Despite investing seven to eight hours in daily studies, she found herself overwhelmed by the challenges.

This unfortunate incident closely follows the suicide of Mohammed Zaid, another coaching student in Kota. Zaid, originally from Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad, had been gearing up for the NEET entrance examination.

Last year, the surge in student suicides prompted the Centre to issue guidelines aimed at alleviating the pressure on coaching students. Directives were issued to coaching institutes and district administrations to safeguard students from depression and stress.

However, the effectiveness of these measures remains a subject of debate.

Dr Bharat Singh Shekhawat, head of the psychiatry department at Kota Medical College, told NDTV last year that there needs to be a comprehensive overhaul in the approach of both coaching institutes and parents to address the alarming rise in student suicides.

"Students who are admitted to coaching institutes at the age of 15 or 16 are too young. They miss out on the benefits of school, such as extracurricular activities and friendships. They are also under a lot of stress due to the rigorous coaching schedule," he added.