MHA statement on Amnesty-
"Amnesty is free to continue humanitarian work in India, as is being done by many other organizations. However, India, by settled law, does not allow interference in domestic political debates by entities funded by foreign donations.....
This law applies equally to all and it shall apply to Amnesty International as well: MHA
India has a rich and pluralistic democratic culture with a free press, independent judiciary and tradition of vibrant domestic debate. The people of India have placed unprecedented trust in the current government: MHA statement #Amnesty
Amnesty’s failure to comply with local regulations does not entitle them to make comments on the democratic and plural character of India: MHA
Amnesty Intl had received permission under the FCRA only once and that too 20 years ago (19.12.2000). Since then Amnesty despite its repeated applications, has been denied FCRA approval by successive governments since as per law it is not eligible to get such an approval:MHA
However, in order to circumvent the FCRA regulations, Amnesty UK remitted large amounts of money to four entities registered in India, by classifying it as FDI. A significant amount of foreign money was also remitted to Amnesty (India) without MHA’s approval under FCRA: MHA
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MHA is deliberating measures to simplify one of the provisions of the CAA, which requires applicants to furnish a document proving he or she is a citizen of Bangladesh, Pakistan, or Afghanistan. The move comes amid several requests and concerns raised by probable beneficiaries, particularly in West Bengal, who had arrived from Bangladesh without any documents. I report with @sreeparna_c thehindu.com/news/national/…
A senior government official told The Hindu that discussions are under way to amend Schedule 1A, which mandates that any of the nine requisite documents, issued by any government agency in the three countries, be submitted for acquiring citizenship under Section 6B of CAA.
“If the document is not readily available, they can be submitted later or in due course and officials may record it as ‘pending for processing’. It is an enabling law,” said the second official.
UAPA tribunal upholds MHA ban against “seven valley based Meitei extremist organisations,”outfits involved in 335 violent incidents in Manipur in the past 5 years,cadre strength around 1250, the groups operate from Myanmar and Bangladesh,says order. I ✍️ thehindu.com/news/national/…
The outfits that espouse the secession of Manipur from India operate camps from Myanmar and Bangladesh to provide arms training to cadres and a safe sanctuary for procurement of arms and ammunition. The order mentions that the insurgent groups are closely linked with the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) that is engaged in peace talks with the Centre since 1997.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the tribunal that the outfits through their front organisations and civil society groups are also engaged in “targeting non-local population, protesting against peace talks of authorities with other ethnic groups of the State, boycotting national days like Republic Day, and opposing merger of Manipur with Indian Union.”
The decades old Parliament Security Service (PSS), as old as the Constitution of India faces existential crisis in wake of CISF takeover of Parliament security. PSS recruited by Parliament, no hirings in past 10 years, fears of forced retirement at 55 thehindu.com/news/national/…
Officials questioned the handing over of key functions to CISF, one of the only paramilitary forces with limited experience in interacting with the public — at airports and metro stations.
While the orders for deploying CISF in the lobby and the precincts of the new parliament building are yet to be announced, officials said a PSS component will have to be retained as CISF officials may not be adept in recognising the members of parliament or former members or prevent the entry of an “imposter”.
Three months after MHA and the Manipur government signed a peace agreement with one of the factions of UNLF, the oldest valley-based armed insurgent group, officials said the terms of the pact — which include monitoring of the armed cadres — are not available to the central security agencies. I ✍️ thehindu.com/news/national/…
Neither has a camp been designated for holding the armed cadres nor has the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) or the State Police been nominated to monitor the movement of the cadres, a second government official said. The total number of cadres and the monthly stipend to be allocated to the cadres is also not known.
In 2008, after the Manipur government, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and 24 Kuki insurgent groups formalised a Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact, the Assam Rifles was designated as the monitoring agency. The pact, extended annually, is set to expire on February 28
MHA,Manipur govt sign peace pact with one of the factions of UNLF, a banned Meitei insurgent outfit advocating for secession of Manipur from India.
The faction that signed the pact is led by K Pambei, the other faction led by RK Achou Singh is said to be in Myanmar.
This development comes days after a UNLF camp at Thanan in Myanmar, close to the Manipur border, was destroyed by rebel forces on November 22. The UNLF was preparing to celebrate its 59th anniversary when the camp was destroyed, and five cadres were said to have been killed by the Peoples Defence Force, an ethnic armed group in Myanmar.
Though the MHA did not share the details of the surrendered militants, The Hindu has learnt that as many as 65 cadres of one of the factions of the UNLF, led by K. Pambei, have joined the peace pact. The 65 cadres of the Pambei faction are said to have entered Manipur during the ongoing ethnic violence.
On NewsClick,a government source told The Hindu that the police were investigating a “terror case that has Chinese links.” NewsClick has denied that it at behest of any Chinese entity, directly or indirectly.
In papers submitted in court, accessed by The Hindu, police accuse the NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha of holding discussions with Neville Roy Singham, an “active member of Propaganda department of Communist Party of China” to distort the map of India by projecting Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as disputed territory. Singham, an American businessman has been referred as an accused by police. Police say they recovered 4.73 lakh emails
@khabrimishra @samridhitewari and I report
Incidentally, the Delhi Police registered the FIR on August 17, days after The New York Times published a report on August 8 that the portal received money from Mr. Singham, the American businessman, to spread Chinese propaganda.
According to the police, the ED also registered a second case against NewsClick on August 14, following the NYT report and during investigation the agency seized electronic gadgets from the suspects. It said the data extracted by the ED was stored in five hard disks, the analysis of which revealed a “larger conspiracy that the accused persons along with accused Neville Roy Singham conspired to create disaffection among various sections of the society and they are also found to be actively sympathising with banned terrorist organisation.”