Yoga guru Baba Ramdev will donate his iconic saffron robe and a pair of his shoes to be used for his wax figure at Madame Tussauds in New Delhi. The co-founder of the Patanjali Ayurved Limited, who was in London for a sitting for his figure, will be seen striking the 'Vrikshasana' (tree posture) yoga pose.


The team of Madame Tussauds expert artists took over 200 specific measurements, as well as photographs of Ramdev to create an authentic likeness.


"I am extremely pleased to be chosen by Madame Tussauds Delhi. The team is supremely talented; they were dedicated throughout the sitting experience. They have motivated me to keep inspiring and delivering the best to my followers. I am very much looking forward to seeing the finished figure," Ramdev said.


The figure will be displayed among other iconic celebrities in a fun and interactive zone for audiences to take selfies, strike a pose with the yoga guru.  -- PTI

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday announced that marriage certificates will not be required anymore at passport offices. The EAM also announced that divorced women will no longer be required to fill the name of their ex-husband and their children from their estranged father.


Addressing officials of several Passport Seva Kendras and members of the Ministry of External Affairs on the occasion of Passport Seva Diwas, she said, "Married men and women complained that their marriage certificates are required at passport offices; we scrapped the rule.


"Some divorced women complained that they are required to fill the name of their ex-husband and the children of their estranged father. So we changed the rule," she added.


The decision comes days after an interfaith couple, comprising of a Muslim husband and a Hindu wife, allegedly faced hassle at Lucknow Passport Seva Kendra.


Meanwhile, Swaraj also launched a Passport Seva app for seamless application and issue of passports.Earlier, a meeting took place between Women and Child Development Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs, in which the participating ministers discussed steps to be taken for issuance of passport and further helped in making passport issuance form as citizen-friendly. -- PTI


MAGE: Mohammad Siddiqui and Tanvi Seth show their passports issued to them by the Regional Passport Office, in Lucknow on June 21. The couple were allegedly humiliated and shamed by passport officer Vikas Mishra who asked Siddiqui to convert.


Also read:Sushma Swaraj trolled over inter-faith couple's passport row

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party  for commenting on the 1975 Emergency period, and asked the party whether it would apologise for the "undeclared emergency" of the past four years.


"Will they apologise for the undeclared emergency for last 4 years? People are being lynched and threatened, agencies are being misused, economic and civil liberties are being curtailed," he tweeted.


Patel, who is Sonia Gandhi's trusted aide, also defended former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and said the BJP is raking up Emergency-based issues fearing their loss in the 2019 elections.


"After 4 years, fear of losing 2019 elections is haunting the government & hence they are trying to take refuge in the events of 1975 Emergency. But the fact is after 1977, Indiraji apologised, corrected her mistakes & people of India voted her back" another tweet read.


June 25 marks the day when Indira Gandhi declared a state of Emergency across the country for a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977. However, the BJP is observing the 43rd anniversary of this time period as a 'Black Day.' -- ANI

Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya today said he has become the "Poster Boy" of bank default and a lightning rod of public anger, and there's nothing he could do "if politically motivated extraneous factors interfere" with his efforts to settle the dues.


Speaking after "two years of silence" over the controversy surrounding him in the over Rs 9,000-crore Kingfisher Airlines loan default case, Mallya denied that he was a wilful defaulter.


Tired of "relentless pursuit" of him by "the government and its criminal agencies", Mallya said he had even written letters to both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister on April 15, 2016 to explain his side of the story.


"No response was received from either of them," he said in a statement issued, seeking to state 'factual position' in response to the controversy surrounding him.


Mallya, who also made public the letters he had written to the PM and the Finance Minister, said he has been accused by politicians and the media alike of having stolen and run away with Rs 9,000 crore that was loaned to Kingfisher Airlines (KFA).


"Some of the lending banks have also labelled me a wilful defaulter," he added. He claimed that he made two settlement offers to the banks when proceedings were filed by them in the Supreme Court on March 29, 2016 and April 6, 2016 but both the offers were rejected by the banks.


"I respectfully submit that my conduct does not amount to 'wilful default'," Mallya said.  --  PTI

Is the country heading for early polls?

While the Narendra Modi government completes five years in government in May 2019, and the general elections have to be held before the term ends, the buzz is that the elections will be held in December 2018.


And the report that Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra, is set to host the monsoon session of the state Legislature, adds fuel to the fire.


Nagpur will host the monsoon session after a gap of 47 years and this will be the fourth time it is being done. The monsoon session of the state Legislature is normally held in Mumbai. Nagpur normally hosts the winter session.


The session will commence in Nagpur on July 4 and conclude on July 20. According to an official of the Vidhan Bhavan, the monsoon sessions of the state Legislature were earlier held in Nagpur in 1961, 1966 and 1971.


Tellingly, in 1966 and 1971 when the Legislature did not meet in Nagpur for the winter sessions since the state went to polls in those years after the monsoon sessions were held there


As per the Nagpur Pact-1953, the district in the Vidarbha region was accorded the status of second capital of Maharashtra. The pact also required one session of the state Legislature to be held in Nagpur every year. But there was no clarity on whether it should be budget, monsoon or the winter session, the Vidhan Bhavan official said.

Congress leader Anand Sharma responds to the ongoing rhetoric by the BJP and the PM on the Emergency.

Addressing a meeting organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party to mark the Emergency anniversary, Modi said the day needs to be observed to re-dedicate oneself to protection of the Constitution and democracy.

Yesterday, Arun Jaitley had blogged on the Emergency saying he was the first Satyagrahi and had compared Indira Gandhi to Adolf Hitler.


Sharma today reacted with a series of tweets:

"Indira Gandhi was the tallest leader of her times, democratically elected popular Prime Minister. Arun Jaitley's comparison of Indiraji with Hitler is absurd, outrageous and a distortion of history.


"Indira Gandhi's elected government was sought to be destabilized by unconstitutional and undemocratic methods. Emergency was an aberration and Indira Gandhi had herself expressed regret. 


"Arun Jaitley is suffering from selective loss of memory. Dictators do not hold elections. Let BJP be reminded that Indira Gandhi lifted emergency to hold free and fair elections. She herself lost and she accepted defeat, and the verdict, with humility. 


"Arun Jaitley's and the BJP's obsession with Hitler is understandable. He comes from the RSS-BJP school who celebrate Hitler and eulogize Fascism, advise to read Golwalkar or have courage to denounce it.


"The debate was decisively settled in 1980 when the people of India brought Indira Gandhi back with a thumping majority and dumped her tormentors and opponents in the dustbin of history.


"What India is witnessing today is a systematic subversion of all institutions that uphold our constitution and democracy under the watch of an authoritarian Prime Minister and arrogant government, leading to centralization of power, authority and decision making is ominous.


"History has recorded with respect Indira Gandhi's contribution, courage and sacrifice. Liberation of Bangladesh and biggest victory of any army after Second World War can not be forgotten. India became a nuclear and space power. BJP - RSS can not insult her memory or belittle her Martyrdom. People of India will remember her as a hero."


Ahead of Sharma, the Congress had tweeted yesterday, "It takes a great leader courage and humility to acknowledge one's mistakes and learn from them." The party posted this picture alongside with the tweet.

Over years of construction and renegotiation with China Harbor Engineering Company, one of Beijing's largest state-owned enterprises, the Hambantota Port Development Project distinguished itself mostly by failing, as predicted. With tens of thousands of ships passing by along one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the port drew only 34 ships in 2012.

And then the port became China's.

Read the report here.

Slamming the Congress and the Gandhi family on the 43rd anniversary of the imposition of Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India was "turned into a jail for the selfish personal interests" of that family.


Addressing a meeting organised by the BJP to mark the Emergency anniversary, Modi said the day needs to be observed to re-dedicate oneself to protection of the Constitution and democracy.


"Emergency is a black spot on the golden history of the nation. Observing black day today is not just to criticise the Congress for its sin of imposing Emergency but also to create an awareness for protection of Constitution and democracy," Modi said.


Lashing out at Congress for "spreading illusionary fear" about the Constitution, Dalits and minorities facing danger (in the BJP-led regime), Modi said Congress can never improve.



"For promotion of self interest, they destroyed their own party," he said.
"For selfish interests, Congress turned the country into a jail by imprisoning opposition leaders. For them, the country and democracy have no value. Instead of (Indira Gandhi) quitting as PM after the court verdict, Emergency was imposed. How can these people talk about safeguarding the Constitution," he said. "When Kishore Kumar-ji refused to sing for them (Congress), his songs were not allowed to be played on the radio," Modi said.


Modi accused the Congress of criticising EVMs and the functioning of the Election Commission after they were reduced to 44 seats from 400 in Lok Sabha. "They did not question the EVMs after the recent Karnataka elections," he added.


He also criticised the Congress for moving an impeachment motion against the Supreme Court chief justice.


"They (Gandhi family) never imagined that they can face corruption charges and be out on bail. Hence, the Congress decided to move impeachment motion against the chief justice," Modi said.


Modi said his Government was committed to protecting Constitution and upholding democratic values. "The Constitution is not just a book but a means to fulfil aspirations and wishes of the common man," he said.


Modi also paid tributes to Ramnath Goenka of the Indian Express, Kuldeep Nayar and the Statesman newspaper for "standing up" against Emergency. "Many of them were not our supporters either. Nayar is critical of us. But they fought for democracy," Modi said. -- PTI

Rahul Gandhi @RahulGandhi While our PM tiptoes around his garden making Yoga videos, India leads Afghanistan, Syria & Saudi Arabia in rape & violence against women. What a shame for our country!


Rahul Gandhi was referring to a poll which said that India is the world's most dangerous country for women due to the high risk of sexual violence and being forced into slave labor.


The poll of global experts released on Tuesday said that war-torn Afghanistan and Syria ranked second and third in the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts on women's issues, followed by Somalia and Saudi Arabia.


The only Western nation in the top 10 was the United States, which ranked joint third when respondents were asked where women were most at risk of sexual violence, harassment and being coerced into sex.The poll was a repeat of a survey in 2011 that found experts saw Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, India, and Somalia as the most dangerous countries for women.


Rahul's reference to the PM tiptoeing making yoga videos is a reference to the fitness challenge that the PM shared this month.


The Prime Minister accepting Virat Kohli's fitness challenge uploaded a video saying, "Here are moments from my morning exercises. Apart from Yoga, I walk on a track inspired by the Panchtatvas or 5 elements of nature - Prithvi, Jal, Agni, Vayu, Aakash. This is extremely refreshing and rejuvenating. I also practice breathing exercises. #HumFitTohIndiaFit. I appeal to every Indian to devote some part of the day towards fitness. Practice any set of exercises you are comfortable with and you will see the positive difference it will make in your life! #FitnessChallenge #HumFitTohIndiaFit."

The rising crude prices have not resulted in a spike in inflation and the macroeconomic fundamentals of the country remain strong, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Mumbai today. Addressing the third annual meeting of the governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Modi also said the BJP-led government is committed to fiscal consolidation. "Our macroeconomic fundamentals are strong with stable prices, a robust external sector and a fiscal situation firmly in control. Despite rising oil prices, inflation is within the mandated range," he said. The government is firmly committed to the path of fiscal consolidation, he said, adding the government debt as percentage of GDP is consistently declining.

The Supreme Court today adjourned for tomorrow a plea of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking impleadment in a case filed against an Enforcement Directorate officer probing the Aircel-Maxis deal.


A vacation bench of Justices Arun Mishra and S K Kaul directed Swamy to serve the copy of his application to the petitioner Rajneesh Kapur who has filed the case against ED officer Rajeshwar Singh. The bench also asked Kapur to be present tomorrow during the hearing of the case. -- PTI

The brilliant cartoon in the Times of India today.

The action against the Lucknow passport officer was a hasty reckless decision taken by an establishment playing to the gallery to appease the pseudo-secular elite of the country, the Lutyens Delhi lobby intent on discrediting the Hindu identity, and an action that blatantly violated the basic tenets of justice, argues Vivek Gumaste. Read the column here.

Sending out a warning to states about an "all-time high" threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the home ministry has put out rules in which no one can come too close to PM Modi, not even ministers and officers, if not cleared by his special security, reports NDTV. The home ministry has written to all state police chiefs about an "unknown threat" to the PM.


PM Modi "is the most valuable target in the run-up to the 2019 general elections," the National Security Council has told various agencies tasked with the Prime Minister's safety.


"The threat always has been there but after this Naxal threat we have made each agency aware of the new threats to the PM," a senior officer told NDTV, referring to the Pune police claim that a plot to assassinate PM Modi in a "Rajiv Gandhi-type incident" during one of his roadshows had been revealed in a letter seized from a suspected Maoist.


Sources say PM Modi, who is the main campaigner for the ruling BJP in the lead-up to state elections and the 2019 polls, has been advised to cut down on road shows as planned routes present a bigger threat.

Jammu: The CRPF has formed a special motorcycle squad as part of its security arrangements for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra. These motorcycles are well-equipped to be used as mini ambulances as well. 

Senior Congress Party leader Saifuddin Soz claimed that leader of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, had offered Kashmir to Pakistan in exchange of Hyderabad.


"Sardar Patel was a pragmatist and offered Kashmir to Liaquat Ali Khan (then Pak PM). He told him 'don't talk of Hyderabad, talk Kashmir; take Kashmir but don't talk of Hyderabad' as Khan was preparing for war and Patel wasn't," he said at the sidelines of the launch of his book here on Monday.


Saifuddin recently triggered a controversy for backing former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's stance on Kashmir.In his book 'Kashmir: Glimpses of History and the Story of Struggle', Soz had stated that Musharraf's assessment of Kashmir "seems to be correct even today."


"Musharraf said Kashmiris don't want to merge with Pakistan, their first choice is independence. The statement was true then and remains true now also. I say the same but I know that it is not possible," he further noted, in an interview to ANI.Earlier, Soz had blamed India for the unrest in the valley. -- ANI

The distinguished commentator Inder Malhotra notes that the Emergency established that India would be governed, to the extent it can be governed, democratically or not at all.

Do read this column from the Rediff.com archives.

The 1989 film Piravi is a fictionalised version of Rajan Eachara Warrier's case. A student of the erstwhile Regional Engineering College, Calicut, Rajan went missing during the Emergency. The film is the story of his father's fight for justice, not revenge, from the state. Rajeev Srinivasan tells how he came very close to being another number in the 'disappeareds' during the Emergency.

Read this piece from the Rediff archives.

On the 43rd anniversary of the imposition of the Emergency in 1975, we re-post this piece from 1997.

Indian democracy lay in serious jeopardy in the summer of 1975 as Indira Gandhi's Emergency destroyed the country's democratic framework. Fortunately, that long's day journey into the night ended in March 1977 with a Janata Party triumph and the restoration of democracy. KR Sundar Rajan -- then an assistant editor at The Times of India who was imprisoned during the Emergency -- reflects on the darkest hour in fifty years of freedom.

Do read

Describing immigration reform as his top priority, US President Donald Trump today renewed his push for an immigration system which prevents people from entering America illegally.


"One of the highest on the list is immigration. And we have to change our laws. We have to make them sensible," Trump told reporters in a joint media appearance with King Abdullah II Bin al-Hussein of Jordan in the Oval Office of the White House.


Trump said he wants a system in place where the foregone conclusion for any illegal entrance is exit. "We want a system where, when people come in illegally, they have to go out. A nice simple system that works. Mexico holds people for four hours, for five hours, for two hours, and they're gone. We have people for four, five, six years and they never leave. So we want to have a great immigration," Trump said in response to a question. The US president also attacked the Democrats, who he said, are in favour of open borders and alleged that they "do not care about our military". "What we have is very simple. We want strong borders and no crime ... The Democrats want open borders and they don't care about crime, and they don't care about our military. I care about our military. That's what we want and that's what we're going to get. And we're going to get it sooner than people think," he said. -- PTI

"Well this week, it was the minister who decided to make a strong statement about the venom thrown her way. She sarcastically tweeted that she had been "honored' to receive the messages.


"Later, she deleted the retweets, but the message was clear. She wanted everyone to understand the extent of the vitriol she had received.


"But Swaraj was criticized even more for publicly taking on the toxic trolls. BJP supporters claimed she was giving ammunition to her opponents.What is both shocking and shameful is that not a single party leader of consequence, not even the other women in the Modi cabinet, have publicly spoken in Swaraj's defense."


Barkha Dutt on the how the BJP's stormtroopers will eventually burn down their own house. Do read

Haryanvi dancer Sapna Chaudhary said she does not seek an apology from BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Chopra and is 'okay' with him calling her a 'thumkewali' (dancer).


Soon after Sapna reportedly visited UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's office on Sunday, Chopra said the Congress party must decide what is more important to them, winning elections or 'thumkas' (dance move).


Talking about the same, Sapna told ANI: "I am not joining any political party. I have no interest in the field. It would be meaningless to say anything on the remark (made by Chopra). He is a politician and should think before speaking. Still if he has said something then also it does not affect me. I'm okay with that."


She added: "Whatever a person speaks is based on his own ideology. You can't stop anybody from speaking. It's not my job to stop anyone. My job is to entertain. There are few names used to call us which we feel bad for. However this does not really affect us. I don't want him to apologise as he is older than me. I respect him a lot. I did not feel anything about this."


Earlier while speaking to media in Karnal, Haryana, the BJP MP said: "Congress has people already who dance, and that's enough. The party needs to prioritise what they want to do, whether they want to dance or win an election. (Congress mein thumke lagane wale jo hain woh hi thumke lagayenge, yeh unko dekhna hai ki thumke lagane hain ya chunaav jeetna hai)."


Chaudhary reportedly paid a visit to Sonia's office on June 24; however, she was unable to meet the UPA Chairperson.


Interacting with media, Chaudhary expressed her keenness towards the Congress and Sonia Gandhi, which has raised speculations of her joining the Party in the near future. -- ANI