Video: The crisis of constitutional governance in Assam
Is the Assam government functioning according to constitutional values and principles?
As Muslims of Bengali-origin in the state are being targetted and thousands have been declared foreigners, the many lapses and violations of constitutional governance are the focus of this discussion in the latest episode of Yeh Daag Daag Ujala series.
In discussion with writer and peace activist are Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, National Affairs Editor of The Wire; Aman Wadud, an advocate in the Guwahati High Court; and Paresh Malakar, general secretary of Asom Nagarik Samaj and editor in chief of the North East Now news portal.
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Indian Express
21 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Assam Police books journalist Abhisar Sharma days after summoning Siddharth Varadarajan and Karan Thapar
The Assam Police on Thursday registered an FIR against Delhi-based journalist Abhisar Sharma under multiple sections of the BNS, including section 152, which deals with acts 'endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India', a senior police officer said. This comes days after two other senior Delhi-based journalists, The Wire's Siddharth Varadarajan and Karan Thapar, received summons from the Assam Police in connection with an FIR registered at the Crime Branch police station in Guwahati under Section 152, along with other sections of the BNS pertaining to promoting enmity between different groups; publishing false or misleading information jeopardising the sovereignty unity and integrity or security of India; statements conducing to public mischief; and criminal conspiracy. The FIR against Sharma has also been registered at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station and is based on a complaint filed by a Guwahati resident, Alok Baruah, against a video Sharma had uploaded on his YouTube channel on August 8. In the video, Sharma refers to recent remarks by Gauhati High Court judge Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi, questioning why 3,000 bighas of land in the tribal Dima Hasao district were allotted to a private company to set up a cement factory, and accuses Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of 'spreading poison' and raising communal issues as a 'distraction'. Along with section 152, the FIR has also been registered under sections pertaining to promoting enmity between different groups and to imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integrity. In the complaint attached to the FIR, the complainant alleges that the video 'contained statements ridiculing and denigrating the duly elected Governments of Assam and the Union of India, stating that the Government survives only on Hindu-Muslim polarisation, thereby provoking communal sentiments, accusing the Chief Minister of communal politics and promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion, prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, mocking ridiculing the principle of Ram Rajya, etc.' 'That the article published/circulated by the accused, Mr Abhisar Sharma, is not mere criticism but amounts to an attempt to excite disaffection, provoke public disorder, and endanger the unity and integrity of India by portraying the state as corrupt, communal and illegitimate, thereby commited the offence punishable under section 152 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita,' the complaint said. When contacted by The Indian Express, Sharma said he had just received the FIR and that he would respond after seeking legal opinion.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Nagaland & Assam villages unite against illegal immigrants, issue 7-day notice
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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Nitish refuses wear skull cap at madrasa event in Patna
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