分类： bharat

India’s PM Narendra Modi has urged critics of the contentious citizenship bill to stay civilized, lashing out against rioters who damaged public property and again warning citizens against falling for rumors and misinformation.
“People who damaged public property and were involved in violence in the name of protests in Uttar Pradesh should ask themselves if what they did was right. They destroyed buses and public property that belongs to the future generation,” Modi said in his address at the foundation-laying ceremony of the Atal Bihari Medical University in Lucknow.

I want to tell every resident of Uttar Pradesh that after Independence, we only insisted on our rights. But the time has come to also put emphasis on our duties.

“Better roads, transport and sewers are our rights, and it’s our duty to protect it. Quality education is our right but safety of educational institutions and respect for teachers is our duty. Secure atmosphere is our right, but it’s also duty of citizens to respect the work of police,” he said, praising local police for doing a “good job.”

The Uttar Pradesh administration earlier promised to slap rioters with fines, estimating the damage inflicted on public and state property at over $14 million. Rallies across the state turned especially violent, resulting in at least 18 casualties out of a nationwide death toll of 25. Accused of using excessive force, police claim they’ve only resorted to live fire in rare cases of self-defense, when overwhelmed by violent protesters.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the bill that sparked nationwide rallies, fast-tracks naturalization to religious minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh – but doesn’t extend to Muslims.

Critics claim that the new measures are discriminatory, stoking fears that Muslims would be rounded up and sent to detention centers, especially since, aside from that, the government also plans to compile a National Register of Citizens to tally up illegal immigrants on Indian soil.

New Delhi strongly rejects the criticisms, insisting that its move instead actually demonstrates “a culture of compassion” towards persecuted minorities, and won’t affect India’s Muslims in any way.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi joked that he does not mind being ‘memefied,’ after a photo of him gazing at the last solar eclipse of the decade has become viral.
“Like many Indians, I was enthusiastic about #solareclipse2019,” Modi wrote, while posting several pictures of himself gazing at the sky in protective shades.

“Unfortunately, I could not see the Sun due to cloud cover but I did catch glimpses of the eclipse in Kozhikode and other parts on live stream.”

The images were retweeted more than 5,500 times. One user suggested that the photo of the PM is turning into a meme, to which Modi simply replied: “Most welcome… enjoy :)”

The eclipse began on 8am local time on Thursday and was visible in most parts of India, with the best view in the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The Moon passed between Earth and the Sun, but could not obscure the Sun completely, thus for a brief time creating an illuminated ‘Ring of Fire’.

People in India and other parts of Asia posted photos of the eclipse in different weather conditions.

Over 7,000 troops, which were deployed to the India-controlled Kashmir ahead of the withdrawal of its semi-autonomous status, are returning to their permanent bases due to the improved security situation.
A total of 72 companies drawn from various paramilitary branches were ordered to return from Kashmir on Monday, Indian media has reported. Each company comprises 100 people. The decision to scale down the presence of troops in the predominantly Muslim region was made as the government in New Delhi evaluated the security situation there as safer.
The units were drawn from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and were sent to the Kashmir Valley earlier this year as part of a 43,000-strong surge.

The build-up of troops was ordered as the central government feared a surge of violence after it abrogated the special status for Jammu and Kashmir in August and brought the security presence in the area over the levels seen in the 1990s. The crackdown included curfews, house arrests of local politicians, and suppression of internet and cell phone services.

This week’s withdrawal follows a smaller drawdown of 2,000 men earlier this month.