Dalit man's thumb chopped off by upper caste Hindus after his 8-yr-old son’s tennis ball enters playground; 2 held

New Delhi, Sept 21: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the women's reservation bill with near-unanimous backing, setting it on course to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha possibly by Thursday evening.

It was the first time that the women's quota bill, the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill in Parliament's terminology, had been put to vote in the Lok Sabha and it glided past the 2/3rds bar with a massive 454-2 leap, with only both members of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, who had demanded a quota for Muslim and OBC women within the larger quota, voting against the affirmative action measure, which has been decades in the waiting.

The landslide support came in spite of the opposition failing to secure acceptance of its demands - that it should be implemented immediately rather than by 2029 as the government has proposed, quota for OBCs and Muslims within the general quota, and for clubbing a caste-wise headcount with the decennial census. This showed that the bill is likely to cruise through the RS as well on Thursday, bringing the prospect of enactment of a law reserving one-third seats in Parliament and legislatures tantalisingly close.

Government sources stressed that once the bill was passed by Parliament and got the President's assent, it would automatically apply to all state assemblies without having to secure ratification by them.

Criticism fails to turn into opposition

Parliament has the prerogative to decide the number of seats in state assemblies, which have no role to play in this regard," a senior government functionary said.

PM Narendra Modi, who vigorously pushed for the long-delayed legislation, was jubiliant. "Delighted at the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill 2023 in Lok Sabha with such phenomenal support. I thank MPs across party lines who voted in support of this bill," he posted on social media site X.

"The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is a historic legislation which will further boost women's empowerment and will enable even greater participation of women in our political process," he tweeted.

Given the bill's troubled history - it was brought to Parliament five times only to be cast aside in view of resistance which would often take an aggressive turn - its smooth passage came as an anti-climax to many and a pleasant surprise for legions of women activists.

The opposition parties, which unanimously saw the bill as a move timed to coincide with the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, refused to give the government a free pass. Congress and others pressed for immediate rollout. Congress also reversed itself on the issue of "quota within quota". It had refused to concede the demand of OBC parties in 2010, leading to the demise of the bill after it was passed by the Rajya Sabha.

Congress also demanded tagging a caste census with the decennial enumeration exercise, in a marked pivot towards the "social justice" platform.

But the criticism did not translate into opposition, something that appeared to be testimony to the PM's sense of timing as well as the influence that women have begun to wield in many parts.

It was home minister Amit Shah who parried the opposition's insistence on immediate rollout by saying that for anything to be considered, the bill had to go through first. "Yesterday was Shri Ganesh Chaturthi, so let the bill have an auspicious beginning," he said.

A few amendments moved by the government relating to the numbering of the Constitution amendment bill were also cleared by the House. When the proposed legislation goes to the Rajya Sabha for consideration, it will be called the Constitution (106th Amendment) Bill, officials said.

A rare, powerful earthquake that struck Morocco late Friday night, killing hundreds of people and damaging historic buildings, was "exceptional", according to an expert. According to latest reports at least 632 people died and 329 were injured in the quake.

Residents of Marrakech, the nearest big city to the epicentre, said some buildings had collapsed in the old city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and local television showed pictures of a fallen mosque minaret with rubble lying on smashed cars.

Earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa. Speaking to Moroccan news network 2M TV, Lahcen Mhanni, Head of the Seismic Monitoring and Warning Department at the National Institute of Geophysics, said, "Mountainous regions in general do not produce earthquakes of this size,” he said. "It is the strongest earthquake recorded in the region.”

In 1960, a magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near the Moroccan city of Agadir and caused thousands of deaths. The Agadir quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors.

Shallow quakes more dangerous

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11.11pm (3.11am UAE time), with shaking that lasted several seconds. The US agency reported a magnitude-4.9 aftershock hit 19 minutes later.

The USGS said the epicentre was 18 kilometres below the Earth’s surface, while Morocco’s seismic agency put it at 8 kilometres down. In either case, such shallow quakes are more dangerous.

The epicentre of Friday's tremor was high in the Atlas Mountains, roughly 70 kilometres south of Marrakech. It was also near Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa and Oukaimeden, a popular Moroccan ski resort.

The quake was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algeria's Civil Defense agency, which oversees emergency response.

Bengaluru, Sept 14: The Karnataka police have registered an FIR against anchor Sudhir Chaudhary for “conspiring to disrupt communal harmony” in a show hosted by him on the Aaj Tak news channel during which he talked about the state government’s commercial vehicle subsidy scheme.

Chaudhary was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for promoting enmity between groups by the Sheshadripuram police in Bengaluru, based on a complaint filed by an official of the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation.

In the show, Chaudhary had allegedly claimed subsidies were being provided only for minorities in Karnataka and not for Hindus, the FIR said. “The show claimed that the scheme meted injustice to poor Hindus in the state” and “conspired to disturb communal harmony in the state,” according to the FIR.

While Chaudhary is accused number one in the case, the chief editor and the organiser of Aaj Tak are accused number two and three respectively.

After the show was aired on the channel on September 11, the Karnataka government had threatened legal action against the anchor for deliberately spreading misinformation on government schemes. The schemes offered subsidies for members of the minority community to buy commercial vehicles.

An advertisement published in a newspaper about the scheme had also triggered a row as BJP MPs alleged that the scheme highlighted ‘minority appeasement’ under Congress rule.

On its part, the government maintained the scheme has been in existence for several years under different development corporations meant for the welfare of various communities. Similar schemes existed for other groups too, the government said, adding that the subsidy scheme for minorities existed even under the Bharatiya Janata Party rule.

Karnataka IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge had posted on X after the show was aired, saying it was “deliberate & malicious” and that the government would take necessary action.

The decision to file an FIR against the anchor was criticised by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who accused the Karnataka government of going on a “witch-hunt” against the anchor for asking legitimate questions about the implementation of a government scheme.

“This state led witch-hunt is a direct assault on the freedom of press. Whether it’s political opponents or independent media that asks uncomfortable questions, the Congress Govt is going after everyone by abusing the law,” Surya said in a post on X.