Mamata on street opposing CAB & NRC



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Kolkata
The firebrand Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Photo: Collected

The firebrand Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Photo: Collected

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The firebrand Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (Dec.16) dared the BJP-led Centre to topple her government and imprison her, reasserting that neither the amended citizenship law nor the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would be implemented in Bengal.

For as long as I am alive, we will never implement the black law and the NRC here…. You, with all your threats of Article 356 (President’s rule) and sending central forces, go right ahead and fell our government…. Have me imprisoned, do whatever you think you can. You will not silence me, Mamata thundered outside Rabindranath Tagore’s Jorasanko house.

“Over my dead body,” the Bengal chief minister said to loud cheers from an audience of thousands at the culmination of her hour-long, 5.7km march through the heart of the city.

In an apparent attempt to seize the reins of a mass movement that has turned violent in some districts and disrupted normal life, Mamata suggested the focus must be on the idea of India.

She attributed the flare-ups to alleged agents of the BJP and accused the Centre of suspending railway services in haste in most parts of Bengal ‘just because a few trains were set ablaze’.

Those who are the BJP’s dalal (agents), they are worse than the party itself…. We know which party from outside has been playing what kind of dirty games, Mamata said.

Within hours, Calcutta police had arrested a member of the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. The police said AIMIM’s Jamuril Hassan, who had led the agitation at Park Circus Street on Friday afternoon, was arrested from Beniapukur. Hassan was one of over 350 people arrested from across the state for provoking violence.

Mamata said the Centre -– sources in her party said she was referring to home minister Amit Shah -– had asked her whether central forces should be sent to Bengal to control the situation but she had refused because she had full faith in the state police.

She said the BJP should first prove itself in states where it is in power and named Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura.

She advised the BJP to introspect before pointing fingers, appearing to allude to governor Jagdeep Dhankhar who had at 6.59 am tweeted a statement asking her to “desist from this unconstitutional and inflammatory act” of the march.

Mamata said, they can pass any law they like using the brute majority they have in Parliament. But we will not accept illegalities that go against the letter and spirit of the Indian Constitution.

In the evening, inaugurating the Christmas festival on Park Street, she said: “I’m ready to surrender my life but I will not bow my head before the politics of hatred.”

In her first rally against the amended citizenship law and the NRC, Mamata had planned the route of the march in such a way that respects could be paid to three icons of secularism — starting at the base of B.R. Ambedkar’s statue on Red Road, past Mahatma Gandhi’s statue on Mayo Road and culminating at the Tagore house.

Promising to sustain the protests democratically till the end, Mamata demanded “total repeal” of the citizenship amendment legislation.

If there is no support for all, how can there be development for all ? Mamata asked in her 30-minute speech after the march, taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mamata underscored that the protests had to remain secular and non-violent, lambasting those who had since Friday been trying to foment tension and provoke peaceful demonstrations into vandalizing railway stations and blocking national highways.

The BJP thrives on division, on differences, on hatred…. They would love it and stand to gain from it if we now lose our way amid the pain. They are trying to instigate violence so they can use the excuse to send in their forces, she said.

There will be no compromise on this. In such matters, there is no difference between party and government…. Do not adopt violent means of protest. All protests must be peaceful, the chief minister added.

Understand this, if you perpetrate violence you cause a great deal of inconvenience to the common man. Even those who support the cause will get angry and you will stand to lose their support.

   

76 more killed in Gaza, death toll rises to nearly 32,500



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Even after the UN Security Council passed a cease-fire resolution, the Israeli barbaric attacks on the Palestinian-besieged Gaza have not stopped. Another 76 Palestinians were killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours by Israeli attacks. The death toll has increased to about 32,500 people. The number of injured has reached about 75000 people.

Al-Jazeera reported this information in a live update on Thursday (March 28).

Quoting the Ministry of Health of Gaza, the report said that since last October, the number of dead in Palestine has reached 32490 in the Israeli barbaric attack in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, an emergency ceasefire resolution was passed in the besieged Gaza Strip. The resolution passed by the UN Security Council on Monday (March 25) calls for a cease-fire in Gaza as well as the immediate and unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas.

In this proposal, 14 countries of the Security Council voted in favor of the proposal. Israel's close ally, the United States, abstained from voting.

Welcoming the proposal, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, after a long wait, the Security Council has passed a resolution regarding the cease-fire in Gaza. This proposal must be implemented. Failure of any party to implement the ceasefire and its terms would constitute an unforgivable offence. 

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Israel wants to wipe out Palestinians: UN



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Gazans are going through one of the worst times in living memory. The lives of Palestinians are in danger due to the long-term killings and severe food shortages. The world is criticizing the surprise attack on the destitute Gazans. However, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is unwilling to stop the attack. In this situation, the international organization, which could not find any solution after repeated efforts, said that Israel is going to wipe out the Palestinians.

On Monday (March 25), the special envoy for human rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanez, released her detailed report. She said that since the start of the attack, Israel has targeted Gazans. The Israeli forces assumed that these Gazans could be attacked, killed, or even destroyed. Israel's genocidal action has become clear through this. They are trying to erase Palestinians from Palestine.

The news agency AFP reported this information.

According to the report, Albanez attacked Israel in harsh language at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. She said Israel destroyed Gaza. She also said, 'What is happening in Gaza shows the intention of genocide. We cannot turn away from it. We have to face it, we have to stop this genocide and action must be taken against those who took this step.''

Francesca Albanez is working as Special Envoy for Palestinian Human Rights. She told the United Nations Human Rights Council last Monday that the organization's member states should end arms embargoes against Israel and arms supplies to Israel.

Support for the UN expert panel, which has been working on allegations of genocide against Israel since the start of Israel's assault on Gaza, has been growing in Palestine. Various countries are now showing interest in investigating the allegations of genocide.

Ambassadors of different countries are supporting this report of Albanez. Ambassadors from Muslim and Arab countries, as well as Latin American countries, are among those supporting Albanez's report to hold Israel accountable.

Pakistan has supported this Albanez report on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC has also called for an arms embargo on Israel. When Albanez presented the report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Pakistan's representative said, "We appreciate your courage in documenting the genocide in Gaza."

Accusations of genocide against Israel are intensifying as it continues to operate in Gaza's Rafah area in defiance of international calls. The Ministry of Health of Palestine said on Wednesday that 76 people were killed in the attack in the last 24 hours. With this, 32490 people have been killed in Israel's attacks since October 7.

The representative of Egypt, on behalf of the Arab countries, said they were deeply concerned about Israel's structural and systematic attack on the Gaza Strip, making it uninhabitable. Qatar represented the Gulf countries in the meeting. They want international action to stop the war that Israel is waging in Palestine. 

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Romania sent back 5 Bangladeshis with ban



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Immigration police in the Arad region bordering Romania forcibly returned 20 migrants to their respective countries on charges of attempting to cross the border illegally. Five Bangladeshis are among the migrants.

Romania's General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) announced this information in a press release on Monday (March 25).

According to the notification, on March 23, the Immigration police of Arad region of Romania forcibly sent back to their respective countries a total of 20 immigrants, including 18 people from South Asian countries and 2 people from Egypt. The concerned migrants were taken from the migrant detention center in Arad region to the airport in the presence of law enforcement agencies.

Apart from five Bangladeshis, the migrants include nine Sri Lankans, three Pakistanis, two Egyptians and one Indian national. A legal notice to leave Romania was issued against them earlier. But as they did not return on their own initiative, forced expulsion was implemented with an escort according to the law.

Upon leaving Romania, they are banned from entering all EU member states, the European Economic Area and the Swiss Confederation for five years.

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18 killed in Gaza after relief sack fell on head



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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18 people were killed while collecting airdropped aid in the besieged Gaza Strip. The casualties occurred during an airdrop of relief near the Mediterranean coast in northern Gaza. At that time, 12 people were killed when relief sacks fell on their heads and 6 others died after being trampled in haste while collecting relief. AFP reports.

Hamas, the armed political group that controls the valley, said in a statement that the tragedy occurred on Tuesday (March 25).

In the statement, Hamas said, "A request to the international community, please stop dropping the relief bags from the planes." Instead, take steps to remove the obstacles in sending relief by road.'

More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the last six months of Israeli forces' operations, and about 74,000 others have been injured.

On the other hand, 1,200 Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack by Hamas fighters on October 7. Also, 240 people were taken hostage by Hamas fighters, 108 of them have been released so far.

A third of the people of the Gaza Strip are directly dependent on aid from the United Nations and other donor countries and groups. Since the beginning of the operation in the valley, the Israeli forces have been blocking the delivery of relief supplies, resulting in a death march in Gaza since last February due to lack of food.

In this situation, the United States and its allies in the Western world announced air relief supplies to the Gaza Strip from that month.

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