LIVE News Updates: Lok Sabha passes Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 after several hours of passionate debate.

All the amendments to the Bill were defeated as the NDA has an overwhelming majority in the lower house.

AIMIM leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi tore a copy of the Citizenship Amendment Bill during a debate on the bill in Lok Sabha on Monday. Owaisi has opposed the bill.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal has written to Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, seeking disbursement of Nirbhaya fund to the states.

The Delhi High Court on Monday allowed the Centre more time to file a response to a plea for framing of a uniform civil code (UCC) to promote national integration and gender justice, equality and dignity of women.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar was informed by the counsel for Centre that it has sought the stand of various states and was waiting for their response and prayed for some time to file a reply to the petition.

Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari on Monday launched a bitter attack on BJP and Home Minister Amit Shah during debate on the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha, saying it was Hindu Mahasabha leader VD Savarkar, and not Congress, that laid the foundation for Partition.

"Today the Home Minister (Amit Shah) said that Congress is responsible for Partition on the basis of religion. I want to make it clear that the foundation of two-nation theory was laid in 1935 in Ahmedabad by Savarkar in a Hindu Mahasabha session, and not by the Congress," Tewari said.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure that no plastic bag less than 50 microns of thickness be manufactured, stocked, sold and used across the country.

The green panel also asked the CPCB to ensure that no unregistered plastic manufacturing and recycling unit is in operation and no unit is running in non-conforming or residential areas.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said a national framework for extended producers liability be finalised and enforced as far as possible within three months and a report furnished by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

The Jammu and Kashmir administration informed the Supreme Court on Monday that it has permanently revoked the detention order of Mubeen Shah, a Non Resident Indian businessman detained post abrogation of provisions of Article 370.

A bench of Justices N V Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai allowed the withdrawal of the plea challenging the detention order of Shah.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Jammu and Kashmir administration said that it has permanently revoked the detention order of Shah.

Counsel appearing for Asifa Mubeen, wife of Shah said that they would like to withdraw the plea as it has now become infructuous.

The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019 passed by Lok Sabha. It seeks to decrease the number of licensed firearms allowed per person and increase penalties for certain offences under the Act. It also introduces new categories of offences.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has banned Russia from the Olympics for four years over doping, including from the 2020 games.

The police resorted to lathicharge on the protesting Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students at Sarojini Nagar, who were marching towards Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet President over fee hike issue.

Delhi's Tees Hazari court on Monday sent the owner and manager of the illegal bag factory to 14-days police custody. As many as 43 people died in a fire in the building on Sunday.

Four mortar shells have been fired by Pakistan in Balakot sector of Mendhar. More details are awaited

As a leader of legislative party, I need to respect democracy. I have resigned as Congress Legislative Party leader. I have submitted my resignation to Sonia Gandhi Ji, says Siddaramaiah.

The development came after Congress party managed to win only two out of 15 Assembly seats in the bypolls whose results were declared on Monday.

Farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh will be waived and farmers will get compensation for land acquired by force, if oppn coalition comes to power in J'khand, says Rahul Gandhi

Life was almost crippled in TTAADC areas in Tripura on Monday as many tribal parties including BJP's ally IPFT observed shutdown against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB).

Road and rail traffic were badly affected and thousands of passengers stranded in the midway as the picketers did not allow plying the vehicles and trains running between Tripura and rest of the country. Police said that no major untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas, which has jurisdiction over two-thirds of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area, and home to over 12 lakh people, mostly tribals.

Huge contingent of security forces including central para-military and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) were deployed to deal with the situation. Police arrested few hundred picketers for blockeding highways and single railway line connecting Tripura with the remaining parts of the country through Assam.

In Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Parsis and Jains have been discriminated against. So this bill will give these persecuted people citizenship. Also, the allegation that this bill will take away rights of Muslims is wrong, said Home Minister Amit Shah

West Bengal has emerged as one of the least corrupt states in the country, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday citing a recent survey conducted in 20 states.

Banerjee said this on the International Anti- Corruption Day citing the 'India Corruption Survey 2019' which was conducted by the Transparency International India and Local Circles.

"Today is the International Anti-Corruption Day. You will be happy to know that as per the India Corruption Survey 2019, conducted by Transparency International India and Local Circles, #Bangla has emerged as one of the least-corrupt States in India. My best wishes to all," Banerjee tweeted.

The 'India Corruption Survey 2019', which received 1,90,000 responses from people in 248 districts, stated that 51 per cent Indians paid bribe in the last 12 months.

Protests were held in the Parliament complex and elsewhere in the city on Monday, when the Citizenship Amendment Bill will be introduced in Parliament.

While Indian Union Muslim League MPs protested in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament premises, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) demonstrated in Jantar Mantar and held up placards saying that the bill was against the idea of India.

"We reject this bill. It is against the Constitution and against Hindu-Muslim unity," Badruddin Ajmal, Lok Sabha AIUDF MP from Dhubri, Assam, told reporters when asked about the CAB.

Shops closed in Guwahati following shutdown call by various organisations opposing Citizenship Amendment Bill

Supreme Court to hear on December 11 a petition seeking registration of FIR, investigation and action against police personnel involved in encounter of four accused in rape and murder of woman veterinarian in Telangana.

Cold wave conditions prevailed in Rajasthan where Alwar and Pilani were the coldest places recording a minimum temperature of 6.8 degrees Celsius, the Meteorological Department said on Monday.

Gangangar and Churu recorded night temperatures of 7.2 and 7.4 degrees Celsius respectively, it said.

Pali, Vanasthali (Tonk), Chittorgarh, Bikaner, Ajmer and Jaipur recorded minimum of 8, 8.5, 8.6, 8.8, 9.5 and 10 degrees Celsius respectively, while the minimum temperature in other areas was above 10 degrees Celsius.

Tension prevails in Chaukhara village in Pratapgarh district after a signboard indicating the direction of the Jama Masjid was ripped off by unidentified persons on Sunday.

More than 300 villagers gathered on Khiribir Road and claimed that the board had been deliberately damaged. They demanded action against people responsible for it.

A police team from Kanhai police station was rushed to the spot and Inspector R.K. Singh told reporters that a case under Section 427 of the IPC had been lodged against unidentified persons.

Section 427 deals with mischief committed knowingly or intentionally to cause the loss of another person. It says: "whoever commits mischief and thereby causes loss or damage to the amount of fifty rupees or upwards, shall be punished with imprisonment of either for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both."

The police said that preliminary investigation and circumstantial evidence indicated a possible vehicle collision.

"A speeding vehicle may have hit the signboard at night and flattened it. There are also collision marks on a temporary tea stall near the board," the police official said.

Cong opposes CAB tooth & nail in present form because its against constitution designed by the visionaries of a modern and plural society making India of Mahatma Gandhi different from our next door extremist neighbours, says Abhishek Manu Singhvi

A fire has broken out in the same building in Anaj Mandi, Rani Jhansi Road where 43 people had died in a fire incident on Sunday. Four fire tenders have been rushed to the spot.