Silicon Valley County passes resolution against CAA-NRC
Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos has welcomed the resolution passed by Alameda County in the state of California against the draconian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and related initiatives such as the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) that threaten to disenfranchise millions of Indian Muslims.
The Alameda County resolution refers to the fact that the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom designated India as “Country of Particular Concern ( CPC),” and that the Commission in its 2020 report, said that India was “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violations.”
“Furthermore, it proclaimed that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors opposes the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Population Register and the National Register of Citizenship in India which together are discriminatory towards Muslims, caste oppressed minorities, women and indigenous people,” the resolution concluded.
Ahsan Khan, the President of Indian American Muslim Council, said, the “resolution passed by Alameda County, is consistent with the values of the American and Indian democracies. And hence, I strongly believe that such opposition of various city councils to Indian government’s exclusionary laws, should be a model for the incoming Biden administration to follow and uphold.”
Alameda County is one of the largest counties in Silicon Valley with a population of over 1.6 million. The county is counted as the seventh most populous county in the state and incorporates 14 cities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Alameda County’s opposition to the discriminatory citizenship provisions of the Indian government, comes in the series of stands taken by various cities in the United States. Six city councils- San Francisco, Seattle, Cambridge, Albany, Saint Paul and Hamtramck- opposed the exclusionary citizenship laws and provisions of the Narendra Modi government.
IAMC is dedicated to promoting the common values of pluralism, tolerance, and respect for human rights that form the basis of the world’s two largest secular democracies – the United States and India.
References:
“Shoot the Traitors” - Discrimination Against Muslims under India’s New Citizenship Policy
Report by Human Rights Watch
Infographic: Why Is The CAA And NRC Problematic?
Amnesty International
San Francisco Becomes Sixth US City to Officially Condemn CAA-NRC - The laws represent an “exclusionary and bigoted worldview they represent", the city council said in a resolution.
The WIRE, India
Statewide EV Rebate Program Launches
By Julia Roether
A new statewide electric vehicle program, California Clean Fuel Reward, gives drivers across California up to $1,500 off a new EV.
The point of purchase price reduction applies to new cars purchased or leased at participating car dealerships and retailers across California. The reward is applied at the time of purchase or lease. It is in addition to the federal EV tax credit and any applicable California clean vehicle rebates.
With the launch of the California Clean Fuel Reward program, Southern California Edison’s Clean Fuel Reward program will end Dec. 31. SCE plans to launch a new pre-owned EV rebate program early next year.
“It’s a common myth that EVs cost more than their fossil-fueled counterparts,” said Carter Prescott, principal manager of operations for SCE’s eMobility team. “When you factor in rewards like the California Clean Fuel Reward and lower fuel and maintenance costs, EVs are on a par with and can cost less than gasoline-powered cars.”
Fueling an EV is equivalent to paying less than $2 per gallon of gasoline. Most EVs come with a Level 1 charger that can plug into a standard 120-volt residential outlet and SCE has different rate options to help customers save money. These plans may include special rates offering lower costs for charging off-peak or at night. The Rate Assistant Tool can help customers determine the best rate for them.
EVs also produce zero smog-forming pollutants, so each mile driven using electricity from the grid reduces harmful emissions. Transportation, driven largely by cars, produces nearly 80% of the state’s air pollution and more than 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Earlier this year, to reduce GHG emissions, Gov. Newsom signed an executive order mandating 100% of new vehicle sales in California to be electric cars by the year 2035. To help the state meet its clean energy and carbon-neutrality goals, SCE’s recent analysis, Pathway 2045, concludes that 75% or 26 million of the cars on California’s roads will need to be electric by 2045.
The California Clean Fuel Reward is being offered by the California Air Resources Board and California’s electric utilities. SCE is administering the program on behalf of the participating utilities. It is funded through California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program, which helps combat climate change by encouraging the use of clean fuels, like electricity, in vehicles.
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