National News
Hindi issue yet another attempt to divert attention from real problems, say WB leaders

Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent statement on Hindi at the meeting of Parliament’s Official Language Committee has taken the form of a full-blown political controversy.
Anti-BJP political leaders from West Bengal have described this Hindi language imposition attempt as not just an attempt to divide the Hindi-speaking and non-Hindi speaking people, but also a clandestine bid by the Union government to divert attention from burning issues like price rise etc.
IANS talked to a number of political leaders from West Bengal having affiliation to different political parties. Leaders of non-BJP parties like the Trinamool Congress, the CPI(M) and the Congress, who are always at loggerheads over different state-related issues, surprisingly talked on the same lines in slamming the Union home minister’s proposals.
Mainly two points came out from the arguments of the non-BJP leaders from West Bengal. The first point is a question from them about which particular form of the Hindi dialect does the Union home minister want to push as an alternative to English since Hindi dialects vary from state-to-state and often one single state has more than one Hindi dialect.
The second point that the non-BJP leaders raise is about raking up the Hindi issue to divert attention from burning issues like inflation, price rise and rising unemployment in the country.
The first person that IANS spoke to on this issue was the newly-elected Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal, Sushmita Dev.
The daughter of late heavyweight Congress leader and former Union minister, Santosh Mohan Dev, Sushmita had gone through varied linguistic cultures. A Bengali by birth and having pursued her academic and political careers mainly in Assam and the party in Tripura, she is now the Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal.
“This is somewhat an absurd proposition. This Hindi imposition attempt will bring an automatic divide between people speaking different regional languages. I am sure that the Union home minister’s attempt to project Hindi as an alternative to English will ultimately boil down to projecting Hindi as the official language as an alternative to other Indian regional languages. Every person is proud of speaking his or her own mother tongue. There is no harm if any individual learns Hindi voluntarily.
“But forcing Hindi in a linguistically diversified country like India is absurd. Secondly, the Union home minister should confirm which particular dialect of Hindi does he want to push as an alternative to English, since there are so many dialects of Hindi. Our party’s stand is very clear on this issue ad that is we will resit this Hindi-imposition at any cost,” she said.
Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said that this Hindi- imposition attempt is to fulfil the long standing agenda of the BJP and the RSS of “One nation-one language-one religion,” or “Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan,” This attempt will create tension in the country since there are bound to be protests from non-Hindi speaking people. This is totally unconstitutional and rather an attempt to divert attention from burning issues like inflation and rising unemployment throughout the country. The Trinamool Congress will resist it at any cost, he said.
Almost echoing Deb and Roy, All-India Congress Committee (AICC) member from West Bengal, Subhankar Sarkar, said that Amit Shah is projecting juggled statistics to mislead the people on this issue.
“He is claiming that almost 70 per cent of the Union cabinet communiques are made in Hindi. But that cannot be a valid reason for this Hindi-position attempt. As per the latest statistics, 47 per cent of the country’s population speaks in different dialects of Hindi, while the remaining 53 per cent speak in other Indian languages.
“So why impose a language spoken by 47 per cent of the population on the remaining 53 per cent. Secondly, the Union home minister should come clear on which dialect of Hindi he wants to promote as the official language as an alternative to English.
“Actually, these are nothing but tactics to divert attention from burning issues like price rise and unemployment. The current Union government is playing this attention-diversion tactics every time burning issues erupt. The latest example is the Union government’s promotion of the movie, ‘The Kashmir Files’,” Sarkar told IANS.
The opinion expressed to IANS by the CPI(M) central committee member and former leader of the Left Parties in the West Bengal assembly Sujan Chakraborty was no different.
“This is a long standing agenda of the BJP and the RSS that the current Union government is trying to rake up. But this will be against the spirit of ‘Unity in diversity’. This is bound to create a rift between the Hindi-speaking and non Hindi-speaking population of the country. This is yet another attempt to divert attention from issues bothering the common people every day,” Chakraborty said.
Understanding that this was a sensitive issue concerning Bengal’s sentiment with Bengali as its language, BJP spokesman in West Bengal Shamik Bhattacharya was extremely cautious about giving his reaction.
“It has become a habit of the Congress, the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress to oppose and politicise every proposal and initiative of the Union government. The Union home minister has just mooted a proposal based on some realities. I request the opposition leaders to be aware of the country’s realities before politicizing any issue,” he said.
National News
After passage from Parliament, Waqf Bill awaits President’s nod: Details here

New Delhi, April 4: The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha in the wee hours of Friday after a marathon debate, involving heated exchanges between the treasury and opposition benches. The Upper House debated the bill for nearly 14 hours and then cleared it with 128 votes in favour and 95 against.
The legislation was earlier cleared by the Lok Sabha after nearly 12 hours debate, with 288 votes in favour and 232 against.
With this, both the Houses have cleared the decks for amendments in the Waqf Bill of 1995 and repealing the Mussalman Wakf Act of 1923.
The next course of action is the Presidential assent for the bill, following which it will turn into a law.
The Bill will be sent to President Droupadi Murmu soon and her approval will pave the way for amending the 1995 laws, governing Waqf properties.
According to a leading portal, the government is expecting a smaller window for the approval, unlike the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The NDA government, which is projecting the Waqf Amendment Bill as one of key milestone decision in first year of Modi 3.0 is expected to notify it for implementation, soon after getting President’s nod.
Interestingly, one of the major highlights of Rajya Sabha voting last night, was Biju Janata Dal (BJD)’s stand on the contentious bill.
As per the numbers of NDA and INDIA bloc, the bill was expected to sail through in Rajya Sabha but with a lower margin as compared to Lok Sabha. NDA was expected to get support of 123 MPs but ended up securing 128 votes in favour while INDIA bloc ended at 95 (as against expected figure of 98).
Hours before the voting, Naveen Patknaik-led BJD opened the gates for “conscience vote’, telling its 7 MPs that they would not be bound by a whip and could vote for whichever side they wanted.
Some BJD MPs cross-voted in favour of NDA, there bettering its tally than earlier expected. A total of 119 votes was needed for the bill to get through but BJP’s efficient floor management helped it secure 128 votes.
Meanwhile, Congress has stated that it will challenge the constitutionality of the Waqf legislation in the Supreme Court.
“The INC will very soon be challenging in the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2024,” he wrote in a post on X.
National News
Congress MP Imran Masood calls for banning liquor during Navratri

Saharanpur, March 29: Congress lawmaker Imran Masood said on Saturday that not just meat shops, liquor establishments should be shut during the nine-day festival of Navratri and called for embracing and promoting the spirit of brotherhood and communal harmony.
“Everybody is demanding a ban on meat shops during Navratri. Why is no one asking for a ban on liquor shops? Why is there no outpouring on the free flow of liquor during Navratri? Will this not spoil the purity and sanctity of the festival?” Saharanpur MP said in a special interaction with media.
The Congress Parliamentarian said that peaceful celebration supersedes everything, and it is incumbent upon all communities to maintain decorum during festivities and also make certain sacrifices, be it Eid or Navratri.
Notably, Eid-ul-Fitr and Navratri are coinciding on the same day this year. Both festivals are set to fall on Monday, with little possibility of change in the Eid schedule on account of moon sighting.
Days ago, the Congress MP also extended support to the demands of a meat ban during Navratri celebrations. In an apparent message to the Muslim community, he said that nothing would change if one did not eat meat for ten days.
“What matters above everything is the peaceful co-existence of communities. At no point in time, the differences over food preferences lead to communal strife,” Masood told newspersons.
Congress MP, when asked questions on the party’s strategy for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, said that the Opposition is fully prepared to take on the Centre on “partisan legislation”.
“We opposed the amendments in the JPC meeting, tooth and nail. We will strongly voice our dissent in Parliament too,” he said.
Notably, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the Waqf Bill will not be delayed any further and will be reintroduced in the ongoing session of Parliament.
Only four working days of the Budget Session are left, as it concludes on April 4.
National News
‘PM Narendra Modi Relies On Crutches Of Nitish Kumar And Chandrababu Naidu To Pass Waqf Bill”: AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi spoke on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 and said that the BJP does not have a majority in the Lok Sabha, and if Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar oppose it, it won’t be passed.
While speaking to media, Asaduddin Owaisi said that PM Narendra Modi is relying on the crutches of Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar. He stated that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is spreading lies in the country regarding the Waqf Bill.
“Amit Shah is the Home Minister of the Government of India and his statement is proof of the fact that you trying to make an unconstitutional law which can be challenged in the court. This is a violation of the articles of the Constitution and the Waqf of the entire country will suffer because of it. You are removing the section of the Waqf property, who will benefit from it. You are omitting the revenue of lakhs of rupees. Amit Shah is lying to the country that you can challenge the Waqf Tribunal in the court. Prime Minister Narendra Modi relies on the crutches of Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu and if they do not support this unconstitutional bill, then this law will not be made”, Asaduddin Owaisi said.
Earlier on Friday, Owaisi supported the ‘black band’ protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. Owaisi, who is also part of the JPC on the Waqf bill, joined in the symbolic protest on Friday by wearing a black armband as he offered prayers.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that Waqf Amendment Bill, on which JPC has given its report, will be tabled in the Budget session of Parliament. The Budget session is slated to conclude on April 4.
“Nobody needs to get afraid of the Waqf Bill. In 2013, the Congress-led government passed the Waqf Bill and made several provisions that are not aligned with our Constitution. We are now trying to align the bill with constitutional principles,” he said.
Asked about Asaduddin Owaisi’s black arm band protest, Amit Shah said people have a right to do so. “Some do it through their clothes, some through their words. In Parliament, one opposes through logic,” he said.
-
Crime3 years ago
Class 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra6 months ago
Mumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra6 months ago
Mumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Maharashtra6 months ago
False photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News6 months ago
Ministry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Crime6 months ago
Baba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report
-
Maharashtra5 months ago
Maharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News7 months ago
J&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface