Top news: SC dismisses Delhi gangrape convict’s claim that he was a minor in 2012

We don’t have information about ‘tukde-tukde gang’, home ministry says in reply to RTI query

Activist Saket Gokhale on Monday said the Ministry of Home Affairs told him that it had no information about a “tukde-tukde gang” in India. Gokhale had filed a Right to Information query on the matter.

Scroll.in’s Mridula Chari, Vinita Govindarajan win Ramnath Goenka award for environment series

Former Scroll.in journalists Mridula Chari and Vinita Govindarajan have won the annual Ramnath Goenka journalism award for 2018 in the “environment, science and technology reporting” category. They won the award for a series they reported for Scroll.in in April 2018 about the failures of pesticide regulation in India.

Deradicalisation camps in Kashmir ‘should be welcomed’, says police chief

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh on Monday backed the idea of setting up deradicalisation camps in the Union Territory, PTI reported. Last week, at an event in Delhi, Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat had claimed that such deradicalisation centres already exist in Kashmir.

CAA: Mamata Banerjee says West Bengal will bring resolution against law in state Assembly

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act will be introduced in the state Assembly in a few days, News18 reported.

Centre to take over Unitech’s management after Supreme Court accepts government proposal

The Supreme Court on Monday accepted Centre’s proposal to take over the management of real-estate giant Unitech Limited, PTI reported. A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud gave two months to the new board that would be formed to submit a report on a resolution framework.

Mangaluru: Live bomb found in unattended bag at airport, security tightened

A “live bomb” was found in an unattended bag near the ticket counters at Mangaluru airport in Karnataka on Monday, creating panic among passengers. The police said the bomb was found in a laptop bag, and was taken to the bomb disposal unit vehicle for a controlled explosion at an open place.

‘Job is to explain CAA to citizens, not be abusive’: Bengal BJP leader CK Bose attacks party again

Chandra Kumar Bose, the vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal unit and the grandnephew of Subhash Chandra Bose, on Monday said a “slight modification” in the Citizenship Amendment Act – removing mention of specific religions – would “fizzle out” the entire Opposition campaign. Bose told ANI that the BJP’s job was to explain the law to citizens and not be “abusive”.

Kerala government decides to not implement NPR, will cooperate only with Census 2021

The Kerala government on Monday said it will inform the Centre that it has decided not to implement the proposed National Population Register in the state. It added that the state government would not cooperate with any work related to updating the National Population Register, but will fully cooperate with the Census 2021.

Muzaffarpur shelter home case: Main accused Brajesh Thakur, 18 others convicted of rape

A court in Delhi on Monday convicted 19 persons, including the main accused Brajesh Thakur, in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. One of the accused was acquitted. Thakur used to run the shelter home in Bihar where at least 34 inmates were allegedly drugged and raped, according to law enforcement agencies.

Jammu and Kashmir: Three Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in encounter in Shopian, say police

Three militants associated with the Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Monday.

2012 Delhi gangrape: SC dismisses convict’s claim that he was juvenile at the time of crime

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea from Delhi gangrape convict Pawan Gupta, who has claimed that he was a juvenile at the time of the crime in 2012. Gupta, one of the death-row convicts in the case, moved the top court after the Delhi High Court had rejected his claim and fined his lawyer AP Singh Rs 25,000 for wasting its time.

Protest watch: Hundreds march from Jamia to Shaheen Bagh seeking CAA reversal, clashes erupt in MP

Hundreds of people marched from Jamia Millia Islamia University to Shaheen Bagh in Delhi on Sunday evening to protest against the citizenship law. Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act are continuing across the country, more than a month after it was passed in Parliament. On Sunday, protests were held in places such as Bengaluru, Lucknow, Kerala, Jharkhand, Kolkata, Delhi, Goa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Narendra Modi asks students to follow fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked students to follow the fundamental duties enshrined in the Indian Constitution. “There’s a fine connection between our rights and responsibilities,” he said at his ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ programme with 2,000 students, parents and teachers from across the country. “Our rights are directly dependent on the responsibilities performed by others. I hope this generation takes it upon themselves to act on some of the Fundamental Duties enshrined in our Constitution.”

CAA: Adityanath claims protestors are ripping India apart, his deputy says they need medical help

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Sunday criticised those opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act, and said the country was being “ripped apart” by the propaganda against it. Speaking at a Gorakhpur college as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s awareness campaign for the legislation, Adityanath accused Opposition parties of “financing miscreants” for the protests.

Malaysia PM says his nation too small to respond to Indian curbs on palm oil with trade retaliation

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday said his country was too small a nation to respond to India’s boycott of palm oil with trade retaliation. “We are too small to take retaliatory action,” he told reporters in Langkawi. “We have to find ways and means to overcome that.”

Allahabad to Prayagraj: Supreme Court issues notice to UP government on name change

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government seeking its response to a petition challenging the decision to change the name of Allahabad city to Prayagraj. The PIL, filed by Allahabad Heritage Society, was mentioned in front of a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant.

BJP will get new president today, JP Nadda to take over from Amit Shah

The Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to get a new president on Monday as Jagat Prakash Nadda will formally take over the reins of the party from Amit Shah. Nadda is the only candidate for the post and hence will be elected unopposed. He filed his nomination around 10.30 am.

Supreme Court refuses immediate stay on electoral bonds scheme ahead of Delhi elections

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant an immediate stay on the electoral bonds scheme ahead of Delhi Assembly elections. The bench of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant said the matter will be heard again in two weeks. The plea was filed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) and non-government organisation Association for Democratic Reforms.

Andhra Pradesh: Amid protests, Assembly session begins to decide on three-capital proposal

The Andhra Pradesh Assembly will hold a special three-day session from Monday to decide on the plan to build three new capitals in the state. The session, which was set to begin at 11 am, comes amid protests against the proposal. The situation in the state has been tense since last month, when Reddy declared that the state would have three capitals – executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative capital in Amaravati, and judicial capital in Kurnool.

CAA: Other Congress-ruled states may also bring in resolutions against law, says Ahmed Patel

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said on Sunday that states where the party is in power may soon bring in resolutions against the amendments to the Citizenship Act. So far, Left-ruled Kerala and Congress-led Punjab have passed resolutions in their state Assemblies demanding the withdrawal of the law.

Oxfam report: Wealth of India’s richest 1% is four times more than total held by 70% poorest

India’s richest 1% hold more than four times the wealth held by the bottom 70% of the country’s population, according to a study released by Oxfam on Monday. The document, released before the start of the five-day World Economic Forum, said the combined wealth of 63 Indian billionaires is higher than the total Union Budget for the fiscal year 2018-’19, which was at Rs 24,42,200 crore.

Citizenship Act: Treat all minorities equally, former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai tells India

Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has urged India to treat all minorities, including Muslims, equally, The Hindu reported on Sunday. Karzai’s comments come in the backdrop of the Citizenship Amendment Act that provides citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, provided they have lived in India for six years and entered the country by December 31, 2014. The Act has been widely criticised for excluding Muslims.

“We don’t have persecuted minorities in Afghanistan… the whole country is persecuted,” Karzai told The Hindu in an interview. “We have been in war and conflict for a long time. All religions in Afghanistan – Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs, which are our three main religions – have suffered.”

Kuki, Naga militants sign historic pact to ‘resolve differences’

Two armed groups – kuki and naga – have come out openly to work together for the first time since the early 1990s, the Imphal Free Press reported on Sunday. The working committees of Naga National Political Groups and Kuki National Organisation signed a joint declaration to work together on January 10. While the NNPGs is an umbrella body of seven Naga militant outfits, the KNO is one of the two umbrella bodies of 17 Kuki militant outfits. Both NNPGs and KNO have been holding peace talks with the Centre.

Remove NITI Aayog member for ‘internet only used for dirty films’ remark, demands Kashmir trade body

The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Sunday demanded the immediate removal of NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat for his remarks defending the suspension of internet services in the Union Territory. Saraswat on Saturday claimed that the suspension of internet services in Jammu and Kashmir did not have a “significant effect” on the economy as it was used to only watch “dirty films”.

Uttarakhand: Railways to replace Urdu with Sanskrit on platform signboards

The Indian Railways has decided that Sanskrit will replace Urdu as the third language on platform signboards in Uttarakhand, The Times of India reported late on Saturday. The name of stations will be displayed in English, Hindi and Sanskrit.

Railway authorities said the decision was taken in accordance with the railway manual, PTI reported. “According to the railway manual, the name of a railway station on platform signboards should be written in the second official language of the state concerned after Hindi and English,” said Northern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Deepak Kumar.

Kerala governor demands report from government after citizenship law is challenged in Supreme Court

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Sunday sought a report from Chief Secretary Tom Jose about the Left Democratic Front government’s decision to challenge the Citizenship Amendment Act in Supreme Court, PTI reported. On Thursday, Khan had expressed displeasure at the government’s decision to approach the top court without consulting him.

The Kerala government filed a plea against the citizenship law in the Supreme Court on January 14 – the first state to do so. The court will hear around 60 pleas against the amended law on January 22.

My criticism of Malayalis for electing Rahul Gandhi was patronising, says historian Ramachandra Guha

Historian Ramachandra Guha on Sunday admitted that it was patronising of him to chastise the people of Wayanad in Kerala for electing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Parliament. In a series of tweets, Guha said his much talked-about remarks were made in the broader context of “[Prime Minister Narendra] Modi, Hindutva and India”. The historian added that he would always remain an opponent of Hindutva.

“I have nothing against Rahul Gandhi personally,” Guha had said on Friday on the second day of the ongoing Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode city. “He is a decent fellow, very well-mannered. But young India does not want a fifth-generation dynast. If you Malayalis make the mistake of re-electing Rahul Gandhi in 2024 too, you are merely handing over an advantage to Narendra Modi.”

Priyanka Gandhi accuses BJP of harassing Hardik Patel after his arrest in 2015 sedition case

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat for arresting state party leader Hardik Patel the night before for failing to appear in a trial court here in a 2015 sedition case.

“Hardik Patel, who has been fighting for the employment of the youth and farmers’ right, is being frequently harassed by the BJP,” she tweeted. “Hardik amplified the voices of his community, sought jobs and scholarships for them, and fought for farmers. The BJP is calling such a person traitor.”

Nirmala Sitharaman defends Citizenship Act, cites examples of Adnan Sami and Taslima Nasreen

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday defended the Citizenship Amendment Act by citing the examples of singer Adnan Sami, who was granted Indian citizenship in 2016, and writer Taslima Nasreen, Hindustan Times reported. Nasreen, who fled Bangladesh due to religious persecution, is officially a citizen of Sweden, and lives in India on a residency permit.