PROTESTS SWELL, ALLIES PUSH BACK: GOVT SIGNALS A CLIMB DOWN ON ALL-INDIA NRCAs protests against the new citizenship law swelled nationwide and there wasa pushback from state governments and even its allies, the first voices fromthe government and the ruling BJP were heard Friday climbing down on theplan for a pan-India National Register for Citizens (NRC).While JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the NRC would notbe implemented in Bihar, Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan saidhis party would not support any legislation which is not in the interest ofthe common people. Both are BJP's allies in Bihar and had supported theCitizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament.In Patna, breaking his silence on the NRC, Nitish said: "Kahe ke liye laaguhoga, ekdum nahi laagu hoga (Why should it (NRC) be implemented? It will notbe implemented (in Bihar)". And Paswan weighed in: "The way demonstrationsare taking place in the country, linking the CAB with the NRC. it has becomeclear that the government has been unsuccessful in removing themisconception among an important category."Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said there is "no planfor a nationwide NRC" and that "there has so far been no discussion on thematter at any level of government.""It's premature to talk about NRC as the government has not yet made anydetails about it available," BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, in charge ofnortheastern states, said. "Right now, the focus is on the Citizenship(Amendment) Act. NRC is a proposed activity Home Minister has announced tobe taken up in 2021. No details have been made available to us. It'spremature to talk about it. There are no details available about it."Asked about statements from top BJP leaders including one from its workingpresident J P Nadda on Thursday reiterating BJP's promise on a nationwideNRC, Madhav said: ".It's an announcement made by the Home Minister. Since ithas to happen two years down the line and no details have yet been madeknown to the country, this is not the time to talk about the NRC."These remarks signal a climbdown on the stand reiterated by Home MinisterAmit Shah that the NRC will follow the controversial act. And that everyillegal Indian will be picked up "one by one." Shah had clearly said thatthe "chronology will be that the CAB will be succeeded by NRC."Naqvi's remarks mark the first time a government functionary has clearlysaid there is no plan for NRC across the country after Shah, while replyingto a question in the Rajya Sabha, made references to a countrywide NRC. Hehad also committed to an all-India NRC while addressing BJP workers inKolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium in October this year.Reminded about Shah's statements, Naqvi said: "Who is NRC for? It is forIndian nationals. Does it say it is only about Indian Muslims? No, it doesnot. NRC, if it at all happens.no government can do it surreptitiously. Thatis why the government has clarified, issued advertisements and said thatthere is no process on that yet, no discussion at any level in thegovernment so far on a nationwide NRC."Social media has been buzzing ever since the official Twitter handle of BJPdeleted one of its most controversial tweets on December 19, 2019. The tweetin question read thus: "We will ensure implementation of NRC in the entirecountry. We will remove every single infiltrator from the country, exceptBuddha, Hindus and Sikhs."BJP TRYING TO SUPPRESS DISSENT WITH BRUTE FORCE, SAYS SONIA GANDHIAccusing the ruling BJP government of trying to suppress the anti CAAprotest with `brute force', the Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Fridayassured the protestors that the party was solidly behind them.In a short three minute video statement, Sonia Gandhi accused the governmentof showing "utter disregard" for people's voices in the nationwide protestsagainst the citizenship law."The BJP used brute force to suppress dissent, it is unacceptable indemocracy," the Congress president said.She said that several educational institutions and Universities had turnedinto a sea of protests against the `divisive agenda' of the BJP government.``In democracy the wrong decisions of the government have to be challenged,the people reserve the right. But instead of listening to these voices, theBJP government was trying to suppress them,'' she remarkedThe Congress president said that her party will make an all out effort tostand by the people for safeguarding their fundamental rights. ``Theconcerns are genuine and the fundamental rights of the people cannot betrampled upon,'' she said.PM TELLS INDIA INC: DECIDE AND INVEST BOLDLY, NO REASON TO FEARStating that he was aware of the discourse around the economy, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi said Friday that the country had seen such "ups anddowns" and the economy has the potential to come out of the currentsituation. Modi said the economy was heading for disaster five years ago andhis government brought about discipline and built a strong foundation for a$5-trillion economy."I am well aware about the discussions related to the economy. But, withinthose discussions, we have to remember that during the previous government,GDP growth in one quarter had fallen to 3.5%, CPI inflation had touched 9.4%and fiscal deficit had breached 5.6% of GDP. I do not want to get into thedebate that why some people stayed quiet then. There were ups and downs inthe economy earlier too. Our country has shown the capability to come outfrom such situations always and it has come out stronger. And, this timealso, India will come out of this situation," the Prime Minister said at afunction organised by industry body Assocham to celebrate its centenaryyear.Modi said that no inappropriate decisions will be taken in case of genuinecommercial decisions. ".so they should now take bold decisions fearlessly,invest boldly and spend undauntedly.I want to assure no inappropriate actionwill be taken in case of genuine commercial decisions," he said.The Prime Minister said Rs 100 lakh crore will be spent in the coming yearson building infrastructure and another Rs 25 lakh crore on rural economy andthis, in turn, will help nearly double the size of the Indian economy to $5trillion by 2024.Modi said the time taken to register companies has been cut to few hoursfrom months and better infrastructure has enabled the cut in the turnaroundtime at airports and ports.EXIT POLLS PREDICT SETBACK FOR BJP IN JHARKHANDExit polls for the Assembly elections in Jharkhand have predicted a lead forthe JMM-Congress-RJD alliance in the 81-member House. While the IndiaToday-Axis survey has predicted that the Opposition alliance is likely toform the next government, the IANS-C Voter-ABP poll has predicted a hungAssembly.The ruling BJP currently has a clear majority in the House. Assembly pollsin the state were held in five phases - the last on Friday. The final andfifth phase saw 71.69 per cent polling across 16 seats. The counting ofvotes will take place on December 23.The India Today-Axis survey predicted 38-50 seats for the Oppositionalliance and gave 22-32 seats to the BJP. The majority mark in the 81-memberAssembly is 41.The IANS-C Voter-ABP poll, on the other hand, predicted that the BJP wouldwin between 28 and 36 seats and the Opposition alliance would get between 31and 39 seats. Both polls indicated that the All Jharkhand Students' Union(AJSU) and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajantrik) (JVM-P) is likely to win3-5 seats each and could end up as "kingmakers".In the 2014 Assembly elections, the BJP had bagged 37 seats and formed thegovernment with alliance partner AJSU that won five seats. Six MLAs of theBabulal Marandi-led JVM-P joined the BJP soon after the elections. The JMMand the Congress won 17 and 6 seats, respectively.BREXIT: MPS BACK JOHNSON'S PLAN TO LEAVE EU BY JAN 31Prime Minister Boris Johnson won approval for his Brexit deal in parliamenton Friday, the first step towards fulfilling his election pledge to deliverBritain's departure from the European Union by January 31 after hislandslide victory.Lawmakers voted by 358 to 234 pass the second reading of the legislation,underlining Johnson's large majority in parliament that should ensure asmooth ratification of the divorce deal to implement Britain's biggestpolicy shift in more than 40 years.More than three years since Britain voted to exit the EU in a 2016referendum, the deep uncertainty over Brexit has now been replaced by thefirm deadline of the end of January. Only after that will the prime ministerface talks to secure a trade deal with the bloc and another target date ofthe end of next year.Getting "the Brexit vote wrapped up for Christmas" was the main aim forJohnson showing that, unlike his predecessor Theresa May, he now had freereign to drive Brexit forward despite continued criticism from oppositionlawmakers."This is the time when we move on and discard the old labels of 'leave' and'remain' ... now is the time to act together as one reinvigorated nation,one United Kingdom," Johnson told parliament before the vote.MALAYSIAN PM'S STATEMENT ON INDIAN CITIZENSHIP 'FACTUALLY INCORRECT': MEAThe External Affairs Ministry on Friday termed as "factually incorrect"remarks reportedly made by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's thatIndia is taking action to deprive some Muslims of their citizenship.The ministry also said Malaysia should refrain from commenting on theinternal developments of India, especially without a right understanding ofthe facts.After visiting the media centre at the Kuala Lumpur Summit on Friday, Mr.Mohamad had reportedly said,"I am sorry to see that India, which claims tobe a secular state, is now taking action to deprive some Muslims of theircitizenship.""If we do that here, you know what will happen. There will be chaos, therewill be instability and everyone will suffer," he said.Responding to Mr. Mohamad's reported remarks, the ministry in a statementsaid, "According to media reports, the Prime Minister of Malaysia has yetagain remarked on a matter that is entirely internal to India." "TheCitizenship (Amendment) Act provides for citizenship through naturalizationto be fast-tracked for non-citizens who are persecuted minorities from threecountries (Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan)," it said.The ministry said the Act does not impact in any manner on the status of anycitizen of India, or deprive any Indian of any faith of her or hiscitizenship."Therefore, the Prime Minister of Malaysia's comment is factuallyinaccurate. We call upon Malaysia to refrain from commenting on internaldevelopments in India, especially without a right understanding of thefacts," it said.CAA PROTESTS: SIX PEOPLE KILLED AS ANTI-CAA PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT IN UPHours after escaping the clutches of Delhi Police, Bhim Army chiefChandrashekhar Azad surrendered to them at Jama Masjid and was taken intocustody in the wee hours of Saturday. Minutes before his arrest, Azad saidin a tweet that he is ready to surrender if all the people held arereleased. Despite no permission, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad had leda massive protest at Delhi's Jama Masjid after Friday prayers. While he wasdetained by the cops, he managed to escape and return to the mosque lateevening and resumed the protest.Meanwhile, stone-pelting, incident of arson marred the streets of Daryaganjarea in the country's capital. The Delhi Police resorted to the use of watercannons to disperse the massive crowd gathered at the old quarters of thecity. Mobile internet services, however, continued to remain suspended inparts of Uttar Pradesh and Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka. Besides theinternet, mobile operators suspended SMS in Sambhal, Aligarh, Mau, Ghaziabadand Azamgarh districts, even as Section 144 of the CrPC, which bans assemblyof four or more people, was already in force in the entire state for severaldays.At least six persons were killed in firing during protests in UP on Fridayagainst the Citizenship Amendment Act, taking the death toll from theagitation over two days to nine. Police said that over 660 people from townsacross UP were taken into custody as part of "preventive action".SENGAR SENTENCED TO IMPRISONMENT TILL DEATH IN UNNAO RAPE CASEExpelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar will remain in jail for his entirelife for raping a woman in Unnao in 2017, a Delhi court said on Friday whilesentencing him for life.District Judge Dharmesh Sharma also imposed an exemplary fine of Rs 25 lakhin the case and it has to be paid within a month."This court does not find any mitigating circumstance, Sengar was publicservant and betrayed people's faith," the judge said while declining theplea for lenient approach in sentencing him.The conduct of 53-year-old Sengar was to intimidate the rape survivor, thecourt said.It also directed that the rape survivor be paid an additional Rs 10 lakh ascompensation to the mother of the victim.Besides, the court directed the CBI to continue assessing threat perceptionto the life and security of the survivor and her family members every threemonths.The court had on Monday convicted Sengar for rape under the Indian PenalCode and the POCSO Act for offence by a public servant committingpenetrative sexual assault against a child after holding the victim to be aminor in 2017.In a separate case, the same woman was allegedly gang raped later by threeother persons on June 11, 2017 in Unnao. The trial is yet to commence inthat case.MOBILE NET BACK IN ASSAM, POSTS GALOREMobile Internet was restored across Assam after 10 days at 9am on Friday.But netizens started expressing dissatisfaction and frustration over theCitizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, as soon as the ban was lifted. MobileInternet was snapped on December 11 around 7pm in the wake of violentprotests over the act, first in 10 districts and subsequently across Assam.There was fear of another suspension, with social media users told to avoidspreading fake news or information. They were also asked to protestpeacefully, democratically, the posts using hashtags like "NOCAA" and"WeOpposeCAA".Police, too, used the resumption of Internet to ask citizens to be cautiouswhile posting or sharing unverified/provocative statements. "Mobile Internetservices have been restored in the state. We request citizens to be cautiouswhile posting or sharing unverified/provocative information on social media.We are looking forward to your continued support in ensuring peace & harmonyin the state," Assam police tweeted around 1pm.FOUR PEOPLE GIVEN DEATH SENTENCE IN JAIPUR BLAST CASEA Jaipur court sentenced four people to death for their involvement in the2008 bomb blasts on Friday.The court had sentenced all four-Saifur Rehman, Mohd Sarver, Salman, andMohd Saif-on December 18, and acquitted one person, on December 18.Serial bomb blasts tore across the Jaipur on May 13, 2008, killing 80 peopleand wounding 176.7 NAVY PERSONNEL ARRESTED FOR 'SPYING'Seven Indian Navy personnel have been arrested for alleged spying. Thesepersonnel are from non-officer ranks and were posted at sensitive bases andnaval locations at Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and Karwar.It is being suspected that they were 'honey-trapped' after 'befriending'individuals over Facebook.The Navy is carrying out a detailed probe as it involves personnel posted atthree vital bases of the force"A case has been registered and a few more suspects are being questioned,"Andhra Pradesh DGP D Gautam Sawang was quoted as saying. The seven werearrested during operation 'Dolphin's Nose' coordinated by the Andhra Policewith the Navy and Central Intelligence agencies.TELECOM DEPT APPROVES RS 5.22 TRN SPECTRUM SALE; AUCTION IN MARCH-APRILThe Digital Communications Commission, the apex decision-making body at thetelecom department, on Friday approved a Rs 5.22 trillion spectrum auctionplan entailing 8300 MHz of airwaves across 22 circles and the sale is likelyto take place in March-April.The auction will entail sale of over 8300 MHz of spectrum spread over all 22telecom circles, the reserve price of which comes to Rs 5,22,850 crore.Successful bidders will have to pay 25 per cent of the amount upfront forsub 1 GHz, and 50 per cent upfront for higher frequency bands. Installmentwill be spread over a period of 16 years. There will be a two-yearmoratorium for payment after the upfront amount is given. This means thatinstallment will have to be paid from third year, in 16 annual installments.OVER 750 FLIGHTS DELAYED, 19 CANCELLED DUE TO DENSE FOG IN DELHIMore than 750 flights were delayed, 19 cancelled and five were diverted dueto the dense fog that enveloped the National Capital on Friday, Delhiairport officials said."Approximately 320 departures and around 440 arrivals were delayed due tofog enveloping the airport on Friday morning," a senior airport officialsaid."While landings and take-offs continue at Delhi airports, flights that arenot CAT III A compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested tocontact the airline concerned for updated flight information," the DelhiAirport tweeted from its official handle at 8.30 pm.If minimum visibility at the runway is 200 metres or more, then the pilotsof the flight, which has to land on that runway, should be trained in CATIII A procedures. If the pilots are not trained as such, the flight has tokeep flying in the air waiting for visibility to improve or has to bediverted to another airport.