Telangana governor silent on CAA
HYDERABAD: There was no mention of CAA, NRC or NPR in Telangana governor’s address to the joint sitting of both houses of the state legislature on Friday but Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao assured the opposition that a resolution will be passed on the issue.
Though the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government has taken a stand against the citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), there was no reference to the same in Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s address to joint sitting of Assembly and Council on the first day of the budget session. Contrary to expectations that the governor’s speech will contain comments against CAA and NPR, it was silent on the issue. Ever since the chief minister drove to Raj Bhavan to personally handover the speech copy to the governor two days ago, there were reports that it contains comments about CAA and NPR.
There were even speculations if the governor will read the text as it is or follow his Telangana counterpart Arif Mohammed Khan, who added a para on his own to express his opinion on CAA.
However, during the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting following the governor’s address, Rao said the Assembly would discuss and pass a resolution on CAA, NPR and NRC.
At the meeting chaired by Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, All India Majlis-e-ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Akbaruddin Owaisi demanded that the resolution be passed not just against CAA but also against NPR and NRC.
State minister Prashanth Reddy told the media after the BAC meeting that the chief minister said the House would discuss and pass a resolution.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Karnataka High Court judgement which granted bail to 21 people affiliated to Popular Front of India (PFI) who were allegedly part of a mob which targeted police officers and attempted to set ablaze a police station during the protests against the citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Mangaluru in December 2019.
The Karnataka High Court through a judgement on Feb.17 granted conditional bail to these people noting that there was a deliberate attempt to cover up police excesses by implicating innocent persons.
The Karnataka government had moved the Supreme Court challenging the order.
The incident took place on Dec.19 after police opened fire at a crowd protesting against CAA.
A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde and comprising Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant stayed the High Court judgement and issued notice to the accused.