c m y k c m y k TABLOID Kareena Kapoor 24 HE SIAN GE Khan T NEWA DELHI SUNDAY 12 JANUARY 2020 A weds again? NATION | MP AGE ON SUNDAY | Cover ‘Take a peg, sleep well,’ Indian companies are making MP minister Govind their workplaces friendly Singh tells prohibitioners4 to LGBTQ employees 33 www.asianage.com RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17 Vol. 26 No. 327 | 48 PAGES | `5.00 WINDOWS ■ Cong, Left supporters stage massive protests Shot down Ukrainian Mamata urges PM Modi plane by mistake: Iran Iran regrets ‘human error’, promises to punish guilty MARC JOURDIER TEHRAN, JAN. 11 Iran is very much saddened by to rethink CAA and NRC this catastrophic mistake and Iran said on Saturday I, on behalf of the Islamic Republic RAJIB CHOWDHURI thta it “unintentionally” of Iran, express my deep condo- KOLKATA, JAN. 11 shot down a Ukrainian lences to the families of victims of passenger jet, killing all Prime Minister Narendra Modi met 176 people aboard, in an this painful catastrophe. The perpe- with West Bengal chief minister abrupt about-turn after trators of this unforgivable mis- Mamata Banerjee on Saturday initially denying take will be prosecuted. Dogs sit near a bonfire on a evening amid massive protests Western claims it was — Hassan Rouhani, cold winter morning in Surat, against the Citizenship struck by a missile. Iran President Gujarat, on Saturday. — PTI (Amendment) Act, National Register President Hassan of Citizens (NRC) and National Rouhani said a military ■ ■ Population Register (NPR) across probe into the tragedy Ukrainian Canada’s PM Justin Chemical factory Kolkata. At their meeting in Raj had found “missiles fired President Volodymyr Trudeau said closure Bhavan, Ms Banerjee raised her due to human error” Zelensky demanded and accountability blast near Mumbai fierce opposition to the CAA and brought down the Boeing Iran punish those were needed. He also NRC and demanded that they be 737, calling it an “unfor- responsible for the demanded ‘trans- withdrawn. givable mistake”. leaves 8 dead Due to several large protests across Supreme leader downing of the plane parency, and justice Mumbai: Eight people have the city, including at the airport and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and pay compensa- for the families of been killed in an explosion along the route his convoy was to offered his condolences tion. ‘We expect the victims’, of at a chemical factory in take, Mr Modi was forced to avoid and ordered the armed Iran... to bring whom many Maharashtra's Palghar, travel by road twice. forces to address “short- the guilty to the were around 100 kilometers from Mr Modi, who is on a two-day offi- comings” so that such a courts,’ he said Canadians. Mumbai. The police and the cial visit to the state, had to fly in an disaster does not happen fire service officials have IAF chopper from the Kolkata air- Activists shout slo- I have again. on Facebook. reached the spot and have port to the Royal Calcutta Turf Club gans against Prime requested the The acknowledgement ■ Minister Narendra Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the launched a search and res- from where he entered the Raj PM to look into it. I came after officials in missile operator mistook plane for a ‘cruise cue operation. "Eight people Bhavan in his convoy. Modi. (Right) PM also urged him to Iran had for days cate- Modi and West missile’. He said he ‘wished he was dead’ have died. The fire has been Many demonstrators were waving reconsider the CAA gorically denied Western brought under control," a black flags and flying gas-filled black Bengal CM Mamata claims that the Ukraine after being told of the missile strike. senior police officer said. balloons though the city as they Banerjee meet in and NRC. International Airlines The under-construction shouted slogans against the CAA, Kolkata. — AFP,PTI — Mamata Banerjee plane had been struck by missiles at bases hosting the missile operator plant that belongs to a com- the NRC and carried banners that a missile in a catastroph- American forces in Iraq acted independently, pany called Ank Pharma is said, “Go Back Modi.” son should be thrown out of the cotted the all-party meeting against ic error. in response to the killing shooting down the located at Kolwade village While several protests were organ- country or face any discrimination citizenship law that Sonia Gandhi The jet, which had been of top Iranian general Boeing 737 after mistak- of Boisar. — Agencies ised by Left and Congress support- and torture. convened in Delhi on January 13 but bound for Kiev, slammed Qasem Soleimani in a US ing it for a “cruise mis- ers, students, youth and various apo- Soon after her meeting she rushed fixed an appointment with Modi on into a field shortly after drone strike. sile”. litical outfits were also out on the to her party's dharna at Esplanade January 11. Her real intentions are taking off from Tehran’s The aerospace com- The operator failed to 8 killed in blast at streets venting their anger against where she vowed to continue her out in the open,” said Bengal Imam Khomeini mander of Iran’s obtain approval from his CAA and NRC. movement to counter the allegation Congress president Somen Mitra. International Airport Revolutionary Guards superiors because of dis- Guj industrial unit After her meeting, Ms Banerjee of the Left and Congress of her sup- Mr Modi and Ms Banerjee’s one-to- before dawn on accepted full responsibil- ruptions to his communi- Vadodara: Eight people said that she told the PM that Bengal port to Mr Modi. one meeting was earlier likely to be Wednesday. ity. cations system, he said. were killed and several oth- is against citizenship law, NRC, NPR The state Congress has accused Ms held at 9 pm at Raj Bhavan. But it It came only hours after But Brigadier General — AFP ers injured after an explo- and that she had asked the PM to Banerjee of having a tacit under- was brought forward due to a change Iran launched a wave of Amirali Hajizadeh said ■ More on Page 10 sion at AIMS Industrial withdraw CAA and NRC as no per- standing with Mr Modi. “She boy- ■ Turn to Page 4 Private Limited, an industrial and medical gas manufac- turing company in Gujarat's Vadodara on Saturday. The Investment in incident happened in Padra Opp. lies on CWC: CAA is Forces owe allegiance to taluka at around 11 am, a Assam takes a police official from Vadu sta- tion said. — PTI CAA created divisive, must Constitution: Army Chief beating due to SC to hear Nirbhaya anti-CAA stir be withdrawn We are an Army of the people, for the people: Gen. Naravane rapists’ plea Jan. 14 anarchy: Shah New land policy also New Delhi: A five judge Gandhinagar, Jan. 11: Union Home SREEPARNA CHAKRABARTY PAWAN BALI bench will consider on Minister Amit Shah on Saturday reiter- NEW DELHI, JAN. 11 NEW DELHI, JAN. 11 We swear allegiance to stifling development January 14 curative petition ated that the Citizenship (Amendment) the Constitution of India... by Delhi gang-rape death Act was enacted to give citizenship and Terming the Citizenship (Amendment) Bringing back the focus to the core values which are MANOJ ANAND row convicts — Vinay not take it away, while also urging peo- Act as a “discriminatory” and “divisive” the apolitical nature of enshrined in the Preamble... GUWAHATI, JAN. 11 Sharma and Mukesh — seek- ple to steer clear of Opposition parties law, the Congress Party on Saturday the Indian Army, the new justice, liberty, equality and ing a re-look at the top court who are “spreading lies”. demanded that the CAA be Army Chief, Gen. Manoj fraternity and that is what The ongoing agitation judgment upholding their “No citizenship can be withdrawn and the process Mukund Naravane, said against the Citizenship death sentence along with taken away by the of NPR be stopped. The on Saturday that the we are fighting for (when) (Amendment) Act, 2019 two other convicts. Citizenship (Amendment) party also demanded that a Army and the armed we are deployed on the bor- (CAA) and the state gov- Full report on Page 13 Act. It was only enacted to high-powered commission forces owe their alle- der to safeguard the ernment’s announce- grant citizenship. The be constituted to inquire giance to the Constitution nation’s sovereignty, ter- ment to introduce new COUNTERPOINT Opposition parties are into incidents connected of India and its core val- ritorial integrity. land policy putting spreading lies. I only want Amit with the anti-CAA protests. Sonia ues of “justice, liberty, — Army Chief restriction on sale of land people of Gujarat to stay Shah The Opposition party also Gandhi equality and fraternity,” to the non-indigenous away from such people,” threw its weight behind the as enshrined in the people have impacted the Mr Shah said, pursuant to inaugurating agitating students of various universities Preamble, should guide unequivocal message on of India. Be it officers or investment scnario in VISWAS and Cyber Aashvast Project in across the country even as its interim the forces in all their the Army being apolitical jawans, we have taken Assam. The prevailing Gujarat’s Gandhinagar. president Sonia Gandhi decried “police actions at all times. follows his predecessor oath to protect the situation in the state is The newly-enacted law grants citizen- excesses” in many parts of UP and varsi- “As the Army, we swear General Bipin Rawat’s Constitution and that is driving away the prospec- ship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, ties like JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia and allegiance to the criticism of those leading what should guide us in tive investors.