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INDIA bloc to rally against Kejriwal’s arrest

Congress leader Subhash Chopra addresses the INDIA alliance press conference on the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s alleged connection with the liquor policy scam. (ANI Photo)

Several leaders of the INDIA bloc have come out in support of Arvind Kejriwal and accused the BJP and the Union government of arm-twisting the opposition…reports Asian Lite News

INDIA or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance bloc will hold a mega rally at Ramlila Maidan on March 31 to “save democracy” in India, Congress Delhi unit chief Arvinder Singh Lovely said on Sunday.

The announcement was made at a joint press conference by the Congress and AAP, allies in the INDIA bloc.

This comes days after the Enforcement Directorate arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier in the week on charges of corruption in the Delhi excise policy case, which was later scrapped.

Prominent leaders of the anti-BJP front are scheduled to attend the rally to “save the democracy of India,” Singh said.

“On March 31, INDIA India Alliance will hold a big rally in Delhi, and prominent leaders of the Alliance will address the rally, which won’t be just a political rally; it will be a call for the fight to save the democracy of India…,” Singh said.

Senior Aam Admi Party leader and Delhi Minister Gopal Rai appealed to people in Delhi “to join them on that day.”

“To protest against what has been the killing of democracy, the INDIA alliance will hold a rally on March 31 at 10 am in Ramlila Maidan. We appeal to all the people from Delhi and the entire country, party workers, trader associations, and NGOs, to join us that day,” the AAP leader said.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in formulating and implementing the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, which was later scrapped.

Several leaders of the INDIA bloc have come out in support of Arvind Kejriwal and accused the BJP and the Union government of arm-twisting the opposition.

However, the BJP has denied all the allegations.

INDIA bloc is a coalition of over 20 opposition parties formed last year to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the general elections, dates for which were announced earlier in the month.

However, the exit of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was at the forefront of the alliance, dealt a blow to the bloc, which, as of now, is struggling to finalise the seat-sharing agreement for the Lok Sabha elections.

Voting would be held in seven phases for the 543 parliamentary constituencies, starting on April 19 and ending on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.

BJP intensifies attack

Bharatiya Janata Party Delhi unit workers on Sunday burned the “Holika” (effigy) of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently in ED custody in connection with the liquor scam.

BJP workers also chanted slogans against the AAP government and demanded Kejriwal’s resignation at the earliest

The demonstration was led by BJP leader Praveen Khandelwal, who, was present with a large number of supporters at Santnagar Chowk, Ranibagh in Delhi.

Khandelwal said that BJP workers will continue to protest until Kejriwal resigns from the post. “Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is continuously violating the law. Law is the same for all. ED sent him nine summons even after that he did not consider it necessary to go answer questions. Today, we have gathered here because, after the allegations against Kejriwal, he should resign. Delhi BJP has decided that we will leave no stone unturned to oust Kejriwal until he resigns,” he said.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrested Kejriwal on March 21, hours after the Delhi High Court rejected his petition seeking to restrain the central probe agency from taking any coercive action against him.

The arrest came hours after the Delhi HC rejected his petition seeking to restrain the central probe agency from taking any coercive action against him.

The case in question pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy in 2021-22. The policy was later scrapped in the face of allegations of irregularities.

Kejriwal, on Saturday, moved the Delhi High Court, challenging his arrest and the order of remand to the ED granted by the trial court on March 22.

The ED, which was given the custody of Delhi CM till March 28 by the lower court, alleged that the Aam Adami Party (AAP) was the major beneficiary of the proceeds of crime generated in the alleged liquor scam.

Two AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, are already in judicial custody in the excise policy case. (ANI)

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India News Politics

Eshwarappa Snubs PM’s Rally Amid Ticket Dispute

Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj K.S. Eshwarappa.(photo:Facebook)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to arrive in Shivamogga city, the home district of former Chief Minister and BJP Central Election Committee member, BS Yediyurappa…reports Asian Lite News

Senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa, embroiled in a dispute over the denial of a ticket to his son for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Haveri, chose to skip Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in an apparent snub to the party. The 75-year-old former Deputy Chief Minister, who declined the invitation to attend the event, was observed visiting religious institutions associated with various communities instead.

Eshwarappa, adamant in his decision, has declared his intention to contest independently from Shimoga (Shivamogga) in the forthcoming polls. He squarely blames veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa and his son, B Y Vijayendra, the state BJP President, for the refusal of a ticket to his son, K E Kantesh.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to arrive in Shivamogga city, the home district of former Chief Minister and BJP Central Election Committee member, BS Yediyurappa. His planned rally, expected to draw a crowd of approximately 2.5 lakh people, aims to bolster support for the NDA ahead of the elections.

PM Modi, announcing his itinerary on social media, expressed enthusiasm for the fervor evident in Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu in favor of the NDA. Scheduled to arrive in Shivamogga by 1:30 p.m., he will lead a roadshow before addressing the assembled gathering at the Allama Prabhu ground. Party workers and constituents from Shivamogga, Davanagere, Chitradurga, and Udupi-Chikmagalur constituencies are expected to attend the rally.

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Thousands march in London, other cities in pro-Palestinian rallies

London’s Metropolitan Police estimate that around 30,000 attended the rally in central London on Saturday…reports Asian Lite News

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in London on Saturday to call for a cease-fire in Gaza amid ongoing bombardments by Israel after the deadly Hamas attack on its territory on Oct. 7.

It was the fourth consecutive week that the British capital was the venue for a large rally in support of Palestinians since the attack by Hamas last month.

At the rally, held in Trafalgar Square in central London, protesters waved Palestinian flags and held placards calling for an immediate cease-fire.

One group of protesters held a bundle of fabric, representing a dead baby killed during the Israeli bombing campaign.

Sama Dababneh, 26, a Jordanian business consultant who came to the rally with her Palestinian friends, said they were tired of the stream of upsetting images coming from Gaza.

“We came here to support the cease-fire,” she said.

“We spend the whole week consuming the news and this is very draining, so this is our only form of outlet.”

London’s Metropolitan Police estimate that around 30,000 attended the rally in central London on Saturday.

The force said it had arrested 11 people, including one for displaying a placard that could incite hatred.

Pro-Palestinian groups say they are planning to march in Britain’s capital on Saturday Nov. 11, Armistice Day, to demand an immediate cease-fire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

On Friday Rishi Sunak said that planning protests for Nov. 11, a day of remembrance for soldiers killed in the two world wars and subsequent conflicts, would be “provocative and disrespectful.”

There was a clear and present risk that the Cenotaph and other war memorials could be desecrated in a protest, something which would “be an affront to the British public and the values we stand for,” he said.

Dababneh said she would be one of those protesting on Armistice Day.

“I am coming for sure,” she said.

“What is happening in Palestine shows that we didn’t learn anything from what happened before.”

Joanna Mazouzi, 50, said she attended the march because she cares about the suffering of the Palestinian people.

“They have a right to live on their own land, in their own country.”

“It’s huge and every week there are more and more, because the more Israel bombs and kills innocent, defenseless people, the more people will come.”

Abdullah Hussain, 37, unemployed, came to the rally with his two sons, both aged five.

“We see thousands of children dying, schools are bombed, hospitals are bombed, and it’s indiscriminate,” he said.

Pro-Palestinian protests took place in cities across the United Kingdom on Saturday, including in Sheffield, Manchester and Glasgow where protesters waved Palestinian flags and called for an immediate cease-fire.

They also held demonstrators in Berlin, Paris, Ankara and Istanbul to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and castigate Israel after its military intensified its assault.

In central Paris, thousands marched to call for a cease-fire with placards reading “Stop the cycle of violence” and “To do nothing, to say nothing is to be complicit.”

It was one of the first, big gatherings in support of Palestinians to be legally allowed in Paris since the Hamas attack of Oct. 7.

French authorities had banned some previous pro-Palestinian gatherings due to concerns about public disorder.

France will host an international humanitarian conference on Gaza on Nov. 9 as it looks to coordinate aid for the enclave.

“We came here today to show the people of France’s solidarity with the Palestinian people and our support for peace, for a peace solution with two states, an Israeli state and a Palestinian state,” said Antoine Guerreiro, a 30-year old civil servant.

Wahid Barek, a 66-year old retiree, lamented the deaths of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians.

“I deplore civilian deaths on both sides. Civilians have nothing to do with these actions. It really is shameful,” he said.

In Berlin, demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, demanding a cease-fire. One woman marched with her arm in the air, her hand covered in fake blood.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Istanbul and Ankara, a day before a visit to Turkiye by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks on Gaza.

Turkiye, which has sharply criticized Israel and Western countries as the humanitarian crisis has intensified in Gaza, supports a two-state solution and hosts members of Hamas. Ankara does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization, unlike the United States, the European Union, and some Gulf states.

In Istanbul’s Sarachane park, protesters held banners saying “Blinken, the accomplice of the massacre, go away from Turkiye,” with a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blinken together with a red “X” mark on it.

“Children are dying, babies are dying there, being bombed,” said 45-year-old teacher Gulsum Alpay.

Footage from Ankara showed protesters gathered near the US Embassy, chanting slogans and holding posters which read: “Israel bombs hospitals, Biden pays for it.”

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-Top News Europe

Scots plan rallies across country after verdict

Time for Scotland, the campaign group organising the demonstrations, insisted it would not be attacking the legal system or dismissing judges as ‘enemies of the union’…reports Asian Lite News

Thousands of pro-independence supporters are expected to gather at rallies across Scotland today after the Supreme Court issues its IndyRef2 verdict.

Judges in London will issue a ruling on November 23 on whether the Scottish Parliament has the legal powers to stage a referendum on the constitution without prior approval from Westminster.

A rally is planned outside Holyrood from 5.30pm as well as a dozen other locations across the country.

Time for Scotland, the campaign group organising the demonstrations, insisted it would “not be attacking the legal system or dismissing judges as ‘enemies of the union'”.

Organisers hope to replicate the scale of the anti-Brexit rally held outside the Scottish Parliament in January 2020 before the UK officially left the EU.

“Really positive images of indy supporters went right round the globe that night,” the campaign website stated.

“The chances are very high that we can do it again the day the Supreme Court’s decision is announced. But we need to gather that same day – not wait till it’s more convenient. Unlike previous Prime Ministers, independence campaigners will not be attacking the legal system or dismissing judges as ‘enemies of the union’. But if the verdict goes against the Scottish Government we will ask how on earth the nation of Scotland – supposedly an ‘equal partner’ in the UK – can ever hold a lawful vote about its own future.”

The case was referred to the Supreme Court by the Lord Advocate, Scotland’s top legal officer, earlier this year on the request of Nicola Sturgeon.

The First Minister has previously stated her government’s intention to hold a second referendum on October 19 next year – but only if judges rule Holyrood has the legal powers to do so.

Successive Tory prime ministers have repeatedly refused to allow an IndyRef2 and has insisted the result of the 2014 vote on independence should be respected.

Lawyers representing the UK Government at a Supreme Court hearing last month called for judges to dismiss the motion as powers over the constitution were “clearly” reserved to Westminster.

Sturgeon has signalled the SNP will attempt to use the next UK general election as a “de facto” referendum if judges vote rule against her government.

Scotland last held a vote on the issue, with Westminster’s approval, in 2014, when voters rejected the prospect of independence by 55 per cent to 45 per cent, reported CNN.

The pro-independence SNP has nonetheless dominated politics north of the border in the intervening years, at the expense of the traditional, pro-union groups. Successive SNP leaders have pledged to give Scottish voters another chance to vote, particularly since the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016.

The latest push by SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon involved holding an advisory referendum late next year, similar to the 2016 poll that resulted in Brexit. But the country’s top court agreed that even a non-legally binding vote would require oversight from Westminster, given its practical implications, reported CNN.

Sturgeon said she accepted the ruling, but tried to frame the decision as another pillar in the argument for secession.

“A law that doesn’t allow Scotland to choose our own future without Westminster consent exposes as myth any notion of the UK as a voluntary partnership & makes (a) case” for independence,” she wrote on Twitter.

She accused the British government of “outright democracy denial” in a speech to reporters, reported CNN.

Sturgeon said her next step in her effort to achieve a vote will be to brand the next British general election – scheduled for January 2025 at the latest – as a proxy referendum in Scotland on which course to take.

Meanwhile, UK’s new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak heralded the court’s “clear and definitive ruling” as an opportunity to move on from the independence debate, reported CNN.

England and Scotland have been joined in a political union since 1707, but many Scots have long bristled at what they consider a one-sided relationship dominated by England. Scottish voters have historically rejected the ruling Conservative Party at the ballot box and voted heavily – but in vain – against Brexit, intensifying arguments over the issue in the past decade.

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India News Politics

Tribal party’s mega rally rocks Tripura politics

Focusing on the “Tipraland” issue the IPFT in the 2018 assembly polls secured eight of the 20 tribal reserve seats, which over the decades were the strongholds of the CPI-M…reports Asian Lite News

A mega rally in Agartala organised by the tribal based party TIPRA (Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance) that has been demanding “Greater Tipraland”, displayed their strength ahead of the next year’s assembly elections in Tripura, causing a concern to the major political parties.

Though TIPRA’s “Greater Tipraland” demand remained vague among the cross section of the people as it has no provision in the Indian constitution, the slogan largely attracted the minority tribals, who constitute one third of Tripura’s four million populations.

The demand for a ‘Greater Tipraland’ was raised few years back after the ruling BJP’s ally Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) got a massive support from the indigenous tribals when it ahead of the 2018 assembly elections vociferously demanded for “Tipraland” which sought a separate state for the Tripura tribals upgrading the existing Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).

The politically most important TTAADC has a jurisdiction on over two-thirds of Tripura’s 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12,16,000 people, of which around 84 per cent are tribals.

Focusing on the “Tipraland” issue the IPFT in the 2018 assembly polls secured eight of the 20 tribal reserve seats, which over the decades were the strongholds of the CPI-M.

After the TIPRA, headed by Tripura’s royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman, captured the politically powerful TTAADC in April last year, the political significance of the new party in the mixed populated Tripura has further reinforced.

Defeating the BJP and the CPI-M, the TIPRA scripted history in the northeastern state by capturing the TTAADC, which is considered as a mini-legislative assembly of Tripura.

Political circles observed that Saturday’s first mega rally of TIPRA was bigger than the BJP’s public gathering on March 8 and CPI-M’s mass rally on February 24.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CPI-M General secretary Sitaram Yechury, party’s politburo members Prakash Karat and Manik Sarkar addressed the respective party’s gatherings. TIPRA supremo Deb Barman on Saturday announced to put up candidates at least in 35 seats in the next Assembly election on its own, putting a big challenge to the BJP and the CPI-M.

The TIPRA leaders while explaining about their ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand said that under the concept they wanted to improve the socio-economic conditions of the backward tribals living in the northeastern states of India, neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar and adjoining areas.

The BJP, CPI-M and the Congress though strongly opposed the IPFT’s “Tipraland” demand, the political parties officially not saying anything against the ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand apprehending loss of tribals’ support in the next elections.

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-Top News USA

Rally against anti-Asian hate in New York

A demonstrator takes part in a protest against Asian hate in New York, the United States

Hundreds rallied and marched on Saturday in Flushing, a major Asian community in Queens borough…reports Asian Lite News

Hundreds of New Yorkers from different races rallied against racism and violence on Asian-Americans, according to the ANSWER Coalition, a protest umbrella group consisting of anti-war and civil rights organisations.

The protesters rallied and marched on Saturday in Flushing, a major Asian community in Queens borough, reports Xinhua news agency.

A number of speakers shared their personal stories about racism and violence, while participants chanted slogans for much of the time.

The rally in New York was held simultaneously with those from over 60 cities in more than 25 states across the US, all aiming to stop anti-Asian violence and China-bashing, said the ANSWER Coalition.





ANSWER Coalition(Twitter)

“The opportunistic scapegoating of China during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with the intensity by which China is deemed the enemy and adversary of the US, has driven a widespread Sinophobic sentiment nationally,” it added.

The Asian-American community suffers the brunt of the hatred fomented as a weapon of war, it added.

New Yorkers have held more than 10 rallies since the shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, in which six Asians were killed.

Also read:Chicago sees massive rally against racism

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-Top News USA

Chicago sees massive rally against racism

Participants held banners reading “Zero tolerance for racism”, “Stop Asian Hate”, “I stand with Asian-Americans”, “We need justice”, “Racial discrimination must end”…reports Asian Lite News

Thousands of people gathered at Chinatown Square in Chicago to protest against increasing crimes targeting persons of Asian descent and the savage killing of eight people, including six Asian women, in Atlanta on March 16.

People holding banners reading “Zero tolerance for racism”, “Stop Asian Hate”, “I stand with Asian-Americans”, “We need justice”, “Racial discrimination must end”, flocked to Chinatown Square on Saturday afternoon, reports Xinhua news agency.

Local officials and district police chief, including President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Toni Preckwinkle and Illinois State Representative Theresa Mah, joined them.

By organising the event, “we hope to be heard”, and to unite local residents under a common goal of building a safer and better Chinese community in cooperation with the local government and the police, Grace Chan, executive director of the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC), told Xinhua in an interview.

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CBCAC co-hosted the protest with the Chinatown Security Foundation.

CBCAC and the Chinatown Security Foundation have also raised five demands for action at the event — to increase public safety in Chinatown; take anti-Asian hate crimes seriously; create a website to report anti-Asian hate crimes and the outcome of these reports; pass the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act; and fund Asian American organizations that reach out to the Asian American community, with special focus on senior citizens.

Crimes against local residents in Chinatown in Chicago have increased sharply since 2020.

In February 2020, two Chinese men were shot to death in a parking lot in Chinatown.

Later in December, a 33-year-old man of Chinese descent was fatally shot while being carjacked in the Bridgeport neighbourhood bordering Chinatown.

There were also numerous carjacking, robberies and break-ins.

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