QBullet: Citizenship Bill Gets LS Nod; BJP Sweeps K’taka Bypolls
Catch the top headlines across newspapers here.
1. Lok Sabha Passes Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, RS Test Next
The Lok Sabha passed a Bill, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution there, a little past midnight on Monday.
After over seven-hour-long debate, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed in the Lok Sabha with 311 members favouring it and 80 voting against it.
The bill now goes to the Rajya Sabha where the ruling party does not have the majority.
(Source: The Tribune)
2. BJP Bags 12 of 15 Seats as BSY's Gambit of Fielding Defectors Pays Off
The four-month-old BJP government's gambit of fielding 13 defectors in the Karnataka byelections paid off big time as the party won 12 of the 15 seats that went to the polls. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa now has an absolute majority with 117 seats in the current assembly with the effective stregth of 223 MLAs.
The Lingayat strongman has emerged as the big winner of this election as he led the campaign.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. Police Lathi-Charge Marching Students
Hundreds of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students were on Monday stopped and lathi-charged by police on Ring Road near Hyatt hotel in south Delhi when they were marching to Rashtrapati Bhawan to submit a memorandum to the President over the hostel fee hike.
Traffic was thrown out of gear and metro commuters were stranded for hours as three central Delhi stations — Udyog Bhawan, Lok Kalyan Marg and Central Secretariat stations — were closed as a precautionary measure.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. ‘No Safety Gear, Fire Alarm, Escape Route’
New Delhi : There was no firefighting equipment, panic alarm, accessible emergency exit, or other safety measures at the old Delhi building gutted in a devastating inferno that killed 43 workers of an illegal factory, the Delhi Police’s FIR said on Monday, even as the victims’ families tried to come to terms with the worst such tragedy in two decades.
The blaze broke out at the five-storey building in Anaj Mandi early on Sunday, killing many of the 70 workers who slept on the floor at night. The police said they were still looking for clues to ascertain the cause of the fire.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Ayodhya Verdict: Hindu Mahasabha Files Review Petition Over 5-Acre Land to Muslims
A month after the Ayodhya verdict, the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha on Monday filed a petition seeking review of the Supreme Court’s decision to allocate an alternative five-acre plot to the Muslim side to build a mosque.
According to a report in Bar and Bench, the Hindu Mahasabha, in their petition, stated that allocation of an alternative site to construct a mosque, despite the Muslim parties failing to establish that the “disputed structure” was a mosque, would violate the Constitutional principles of secularism.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. SC Agrees to Consider PIL Seeking SIT Probe Into Hyderabad ‘Encounter’
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider granting hearing on Wednesday on one of the PILs seeking an SIT probe into the killing of four men, arrested on charge of gangrape and murder of a veterinarian in Telangana, by the police in an alleged encounter.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde took note of the submissions of lawyer G S Mani that the plea seeking independent investigation against the police officials concerned be listed for hearing urgently.
(Source: The Tribune)
7. Assam Braces for Mega Bandh Today
Guwahati: With the introduction of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, students of Northeastern states have intensified their agitation with 16-left leaning organisations also calling for a 12-hour Assam bandh on Tuesday to protest against the legislation. The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) has already called for an 11-hour Northeast bandh from 5 am on Tuesday on the same issue.
Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and its sister organisations have also extended their support to the bandh called by these organisations.
(Source: The Asian Age)
8. ‘Discussed Weather’: Ajit Pawar on First Meeting With Fadnavis After Fallout
A day after the joint public appearance of Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar, the first since the fall of their 80-hour government, set tongues wagging, Pawar clarified on Monday the duo discussed “weather” and “rainfall” during the meeting.
“Just because we sat together doesn’t mean something new is cooking. We discussed the weather and rainfall,” PTI quoted Ajit Pawar as saying.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Five Dead, at Least 24 Missing as Volcano Erupts off NZ Coast
WHAKATANE : A volcano off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island erupted Monday in a tower of ash and steam while dozens of tourists were exploring the moon-like surface, killing five people and leaving at least two dozen missing.
Police deputy commissioner John Tims said the number of missing on White Island was in the double digits but he couldn’t confirm an exact number. He said there were fewer than 50 people, New Zealanders as well as foreign tourists, on the island when it erupted. Some 23 made it off the island, including the five dead.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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