Today’s Big Stories
Cabinet clears NPR exercise, Amit Shah claims it has no link with NRC but facts tell a diff story
The Union Cabinet approved the proposal to update the National Population Register (NPR), which seeks to create a comprehensive identity database of every "usual resident" of the country and has been described as the first step towards conducting an all-India National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise. After cabinet's approval of Rs 3,941.35 crore for updating the NPR, the Trinamool Congress said that BJP is trying to "fool and cheat" the people of the country as the population register is the "first step towards NRC".
Shah's rebuttal: Home minister Amit Shah, however, sought to allay the fears by "clearly stating" that there is no link between the NRC and NPR. “There is no need to debate this (a pan-India NRC) as there is no discussion on it right now," Shah said. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi was right, there is no discussion on it yet either in the Cabinet or Parliament."
Human rights violations: Meanwhile, a report prepared by a group of activists looking into the violence that broke out at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during the protests against Citizenship Act has alleged that the Uttar Pradesh police and others had indulged in "unbridled human rights violations".
In Other News
New Jharkhand CM: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) working president Hemant Soren met Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu and staked claim to form the government in the state. Earlier in the day, he was formally elected as the JMM legislature party leader and will take oath as the CM of Jharkhand on December 29.
Relaxation: Four months after the abrogation of Article 370 that revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status, government sources said a decision has been taken to recall troops in the Valley with immediate effect. Close to 70 companies (or 70,000 personnel) of the paramilitary will be recalled.
Stopped: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were stopped by police from entering Meerut on their way to meet the families of those who died during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Act of defiance: A student of Jadavpur University tore apart a page of a copy of the Citizenship Amendment Act while receiving her degree at the convocation ceremony, asserting that the gesture was her way of protesting against the contentious law.
Hong Kong protests: Chaos broke out in an upscale Hong Kong mall at night as riot police clashed with pro-democracy protesters who were marking Christmas Eve with a series of flashmob rallies. Riot police used pepper spray and batons to beat back angry crowds after plainclothes officers made arrests inside Harbour City.
On Our Specials
'Leave or get deported': Jacob Lindenthal, a postgraduate student of physics at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT Madras), left for Amsterdam on Monday after his participation in an anti-Citizenship Act (CAA) protest last week landed him in trouble with the immigration department. Poornima Murali reports about why the German student was asked to leave the country.
Jharkhand debacle: Trouncing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led combine is all set to form the government in Jharkhand as the alliance won on 47 seats, forcing the BJP to remain content with just 25. The results have brought much cheer to the JMM but have also come with a lesson for the BJP to perform better in neighbouring Bihar, where elections are due next year. Ashok Mishra explains why BJP needs to alter its strategy for the Bihar assembly elections which are scheduled for 2020.
On Reel
BJP’s loss in Jharkhand showed that the party is yet to match its performance at the national stage. BJP now governs 34% of India’s landmass as compared to over 71% during its peak in 2017. Watch to know more.
Curated and compiled by Karan Anand
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