 Hello everyone and welcome to NewsClick. I'm Anushka and here's another episode of The Daily Roundup. The violence in Bullenshire that led to the killing of one UP police officer and one civilian has prompted over 80 top retired civil servants to declare in a public letter their dismay over the complete collapse of constitutional values following the mob violence. The letter says that the Chief Minister of the state acts as a high priest of the agenda of bigotry and majoritarian supremacy, an agenda which now seems to take precedence over everything else. I'm quoting from the letter here. It also goes on to say that this is not the first time that a policeman has been killed by a frenzied mob. This is also not the first time that the politics of cow protection has been used as a means of isolating and cornering the Muslim community and deepening the social divide. The letter comments on the stony silence of the Prime Minister on such matters. It goes on to add that the Prime Minister is otherwise so valuable in his election campaigns and never tires of telling us of how the Constitution of India is the only book he worships but he's rather silent on this matter. The letter also observes that never before has hate been directed with such calculated intent against minority communities. Hate which is nursed, aided and abetted by those in power. Much as the Chief Minister may try to mislead by calling it an accident, this was murder with intent, it was murder most foul. The letter calls upon the public in this critical moment to unite against the politics of hate and division and build public opinion. The veteran bureaucrats have demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his failure to abide by the Constitution to which he swore allegiance. Five days ago, 13 coal miners who were trapped in a collapsed mine in San village of Meghalaya's East Gentia Hills District are still missing. The national disaster response force, the state disaster response force and the local police haven't been able to find any trace of the miners so far. That whole mining was banned in the state by the National Green Tribunal four years ago yet the illegal activity continues owing to a loophole that allows transportation of already mined coal. Having about 650 million tons of coal reserves, this multi-core business is allegedly funded by high-profile politicians and businessmen. The NGT ban on mining was imposed after a petition was filed by the Assam-based Aldimasa Students' Union against rat hole mining, alleging it was causing pollution of the Kopili River. The protests by the mining lobby led to the tribunal allowing for the transport of the already mined coal. Two activists who were trying to record the transport of coal from an illegal coal mine were allegedly attacked by a few men working for the mafia earlier this year. Illegal mining in the state has led to many incidents resulting in the death of the labourers. In February 2014, four miners were killed when the walls of an illegal mine in the Garohills had collapsed. In December 2013, five miners died due to the snapping of the cable of a basket carrying them. Even as the 13 miners are presumed dead, the Union Coal Ministry is reviewing a formal proposal sent by the National People's Party, the BJP government, seeking a way around the ban. The next hearing regarding the matter is scheduled for January 15, 2018. Clearly, the lives of the miners do not seem to matter. In a massive protest against the anti-worker policies of the government, a large section of the Belgian working class went on a 24-hour national strike against the budget cuts and the regressive changes in the working hours on December 14. The government, led by the centre-right coalition and headed by Prime Minister Charles Michel, was accused by the protesters of lowering the working class's purchasing power capacity as well as the pensions. In the last three years, Belgium's working class lost 2.3% of purchasing power. According to reports, the mobilisations involved various sectors, including metalworks, automobile, food, transport and other public services. In many places, the protesters marched wearing yellow vests in solidarity with the French protestants. The Workers' Party of Belgium, PTB, expressed full support and solidarity with the workers' protests. PTB demanded the disbursement of pension from the age of 65 rather than 67, a reduction in VAT on energy from 21% to 6%, a rise in wages, effective and free public transport as well as the urgent implementation of a millionaire's tax to raise funds. That's another episode of the Daily Roundup. For a more detailed perspective on these stories, you can always log on to our website newsclick.in. For more videos, you can go to our YouTube page and you can always follow us on Facebook.