Latest news with #RashtrapatiBhavan
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Genelia Deshmukh reacts to viral clip with Riteish and Preity Zinta: 'It's just blown out of proportion'
Genelia Deshmukh has responded to a viral video showing her husband Riteish chatting with Preity Zinta, dismissing rumors of jealousy with humor. She clarified that she was simply low on social battery and unbothered by the speculation. Genelia emphasized her strong bond with Riteish, stating she is his number one priority. Genelia Deshmukh reacts to the viral video that featured her husband Riteish Deshmukh and Preity Zinta chatting animatedly while she looked somewhat lost beside them. Social media had a field day with the clip, with some netizens reading too much into her expression, even joking that she looked jealous. But Genelia has made it clear: there's no drama. In a lighthearted chat with Instant Bollywood, the actress said, 'Hats off to the cameraman who shot it — he did a great job. It's a good laugh. I think it's a great laugh.' She dismissed all the speculation, adding with a smile, 'I'm very clear that I have to be Riteish's number one. I don't care about anything else.' 'Low on Social Battery, That's All' Genelia further explained that the moment captured in the clip was nothing but a regular instance of feeling drained during a social event. 'People keep trying to create things… I mean, the video with Preity Zinta was amazing, I think that cameraman did a great job. But there are many videos that have come out which are rubbish. I don't care, it makes no sense. It's just blown out of proportion. I was just low on social battery. ' Genelia and Riteish have been together for over two decades, and her response reflects the confidence that comes with that bond. 'We've dated for 23 years now,' she added, brushing off the trolls. A Special Year with 'Sitaare Zameen Par' and a Visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan Professionally, Genelia is riding high. She was recently seen in Aamir Khan's emotional drama 'Sitaare Zameen Par', a project she called 'deeply human and unlike anything I've done before.' She also had the honour of meeting President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan after the President viewed the film and praised the cast. In her own words, it's a year of blessings — viral memes and all. Genelia Deshmukh shares an adorable video of her son scoring a goal on football field
New Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Governor Pillai sets example by donating royalty: Kerala Governor Arlekar
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor Rajendra Arlekar on Sunday lauded his Goa counterpart P S Sreedharan Pillai for setting a new benchmark in gubernatorial responsibilities by using his personal book royalty earnings to fund social welfare initiatives. At the launch of Annadhan, a free meal project, at the Goa Raj Bhavan, Arlekar said Pillai has initiated a new approach in the functioning of governors, moving away from the administrative style of British India. 'There has been a clear change in the way governors function today. Our Prime Minister has emphasised that governors should serve as public servants. Governor Pillai is one of the finest examples of this shift,' Arlekar said. Implemented in partnership with the NGO Street Providence, Annadhan will provide two meals daily to 100 underprivileged people in Goa. The first phase is being funded with Rs 1.3 lakh from Pillai's royalty earnings. Arlekar said such people-oriented work is often highlighted in governor review meetings at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and has inspired others across states. Pillai, who has authored several books, has pledged all his royalty income to social welfare activities. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant distributed financial assistance to cancer and kidney patients on behalf of the Raj Bhavan at the function. He praised Pillai as Goa's first truly 'people's governor' and noted that several of his books are now used as reference material in colleges and universities. Pillai said that Arlekar is making sincere efforts in Kerala to uphold Indian values, and that he has had to face strong opposition in doing so.
News18
27-06-2025
- Politics
- News18
Why Indira Gandhi Asked For Original Copy Of The Constitution Before Imposing Emergency
Last Updated: Then Law Minister HR Gokhale, Attorney General Niren De and Om Mehta assured Indira Gandhi that a particular provision gave the government the power to call for an emergency Hours before India was plunged into its darkest constitutional hour on the night of June 25, 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sat poring over the original copy of the Constitution. It was the afternoon of 24 June 1975. Political chaos had been brewing for days, but the immediate trigger was a damning verdict from the Allahabad High Court that had threatened her very hold on power. With mounting pressure from a rising opposition and a wave of mass protests sweeping across the country, Indira Gandhi wanted clarity on one crucial legal point – could she legally impose an Emergency without Parliament's prior approval? Her aides, Principal Secretary PN Dhar and senior bureaucrat Om Mehta, promptly summoned the Constitution from Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Law Ministry. At her official residence at 1, Safdarjung Road, she turned to a specific provision, Article 352. What she found in that clause would shape the destiny of a nation. Article 352: The Gateway To Emergency Rule Her advisors urged her to focus on Article 352, a provision that allowed the President to declare a national emergency if he believed the nation's security was threatened by war, external aggression, or internal disturbance. Unlike war or rebellion, 'internal disturbance" was a vague and pliable term, undefined in either Parliament or the Supreme Court. It was this ambiguity that became Indira Gandhi's constitutional weapon. Then Law Minister HR Gokhale, Attorney General Niren De (not Parashar, according to historical records), and Om Mehta assured her that the provision gave the government sweeping powers to rule directly, suspending fundamental rights and democratic processes. They further confirmed that a proclamation could be issued without prior parliamentary approval; only the President's signature was needed on the Prime Minister's written advice. By late evening on 25 June 1975, Indira Gandhi met President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed twice, once in the evening and again close to midnight. He was considered loyal and unlikely to resist. That night, at her insistence, he signed the proclamation. At the stroke of midnight, the Emergency was declared. The roots of this unprecedented move lay in a verdict delivered just weeks earlier. On 12 June 1975, the Allahabad High Court found Prime Minister Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractice in her 1971 win over socialist leader Raj Narain from Rae Bareli. The court disqualified her from holding office and barred her from contesting elections for six years. Soon after the court's ruling, the opposition launched a nationwide campaign demanding her resignation. Leading the movement was the venerable Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), who rallied students, workers, and civil society. In a speech that alarmed the ruling establishment, JP even urged police and military personnel to disobey 'unlawful orders". The administration painted these acts as an existential threat to the constitutional order. Indira Gandhi's inner circle argued that the country was descending into anarchy – trains had stopped running, courts were being surrounded, and public services had come to a standstill due to strikes. The most dramatic was the 1974 railway strike, involving 17 lakh workers, which brought the country to a near-halt. A severe economic crisis – fuel shortages, inflation, and unemployment – only intensified the turmoil. Drafting The Justification For Emergency As the pressure mounted, Gandhi's legal team crafted a justification for invoking Article 352. The official grounds listed in the emergency file included: Internal instability and nationwide protests A conspiracy by opposition forces to overthrow the elected government Threats to national security and administrative paralysis A direct appeal by JP to armed forces to defy the government Dangers to the Prime Minister's personal safety On the basis of this rationale, the President signed the Emergency order. The Aftermath Of 1975 Emergency With one stroke of the pen, democracy was suspended. Civil liberties vanished overnight. The press was muzzled, opposition leaders jailed, judicial oversight curtailed, and censorship became law. For the next 21 months, India was ruled under extraordinary powers. Thousands of political opponents were imprisoned without trial. A period of forced sterilisations and slum demolitions followed, with the government wielding unchecked authority. The Post-Emergency Reckoning When the Emergency was lifted in March 1977, the public delivered a stinging rebuke. Indira Gandhi was voted out of power in a landmark election, and the Janata Party government led by Morarji Desai moved quickly to amend the Constitution. In 1978, through the 44th Constitutional Amendment, the vague phrase 'internal disturbance" was replaced with the more specific 'armed rebellion", to prevent future misuse. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : 1975 Emergency Constitution of India Indira Gandhi First Published: June 27, 2025, 14:52 IST
Indian Express
25-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
What solution does Delhi's Central Ridge have for restoration
'I shouldn't presume that you all know what ruttputty means. Some would use it to describe the ratatat of a car, for example, or a washing machine that's on its last legs. But it is a word I grew up with. When I looked it up on Google, it cited a dictionary saying that Salman Rushdie used the word in Midnight's Children, using it to describe something that is ramshackled, rundown, or dilapidated,' says filmmaker and environmentalist Pradip Kishen. Kishen was the guest speaker for the Living Landscapes series, initiated by architect, writer and photographer Anuj Srivastava, which was started in 2024. The previous talks by experts were themed on the Aravalli Biodiversity Park, the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, the Lodhi Gardens, the India International Centre gardens, as well as the monsoon gardens of Rajasthan. On June 18, complementing Kishen's talk was a panel discussion with architect and urban designer KT Ravindran, environment and forest analyst Chetan Agarwal, moderated by Srivastava. Kishen's association with the Ridge goes back four decades. At the start of his presentation was a blue 'ruttputty' car covered with green creepers which was a dystopian analogy of the Central Ridge (C Ridge). While most of Delhi's citizens would be familiar with this woodland, the purpose of the talk was to track the degeneration over the years and the recent rehabilitation of its native ecology. The Ridge covers about 850 hectares, with half of it controlled by Delhi's forest department. Kishan spoke of William P Mustoe, the Superintendent of Horticulture Operations as part of (Edwin) Lutyens' cabinet, who designed New Delhi. It was Mustoe who proposed the invasive Neltuma Juliflora (Vilaiti keekar), an alien but sturdy tree. At the time, the question of the hour was to decide the location of the Viceroy's House. Viceroy Hardinge settled on the construction of the present-day Rashtrapati Bhavan in a stretch of land (or here, a forest) which overlooks the entire city. By 1912, as Delhi was being planned, the Ridge came to be known as an 'amenity forest'. It was, at its core, meant to resemble the countryside the British were used to and make them feel at 'home'. It got the status of a reserved forest in August 1914 and an area of 450 hectares was marked for planting. A Punjab-based forester, Richard Parker, records the resilience of the native shrubs. Kishan held the opinion that restoration using natural regeneration could have worked instead of introducing new plants such as jamun and sheesham which require moisture and deeper soil, which the C Ridge was incapable of providing. Currently, the Ridge is rife with encroachments. Kishan, though, is hopeful of transforming as was done in the Mangarbani forest, in Haryana, with the dhau. A 'habitat specialist', it is capable of growing on steep slopes, can regenerate from its own stem, and grows sideways as well, forming green carpets along a rocky terrain. During the panel discussion, Ravindran spoke of the further degradation that came with the metro construction. It led to the never-ending debate upon the tradeoff between preserving natural ecology over development. Agarwal spoke of the importance of informed opinions for restoration and revival of the now lost natural vegetation. The experts collectively felt the only recourse was judicial and citizen action complemented by protection bodies that could work towards a masterplan for the C Ridge that would be a more solution-oriented way. Hia Mehra is an intern with the Indian Express
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Bawankule hints at major land law reform, amend plot size restrictions
Nagpur: Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Monday announced that the state govt is preparing to introduce new legislation in the upcoming monsoon session of the legislature to allow the development of one-guntha (1,000 sq ft) plots within residential zones — effectively amending the existing land fragmentation restrictions. Speaking to reporters in Delhi, he said, "We are bringing a law that will permit one-guntha plot development in residential areas. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has already directed necessary amendments to the land fragmentation act, and we are initiating the next phase of reforms." The move is expected to unlock the real estate potential of smaller parcels of land deemed undevelopable under the existing law. Bawankule said the Mahayuti govt has so far taken 17–18 key decisions under the revenue department, with implementation already underway. The minister also said the govt is working on two other legislative measures during the same session, 'One State One Registration' and the provision of vertical ownership rights for high-rise properties, which aim to simplify property transactions and clarify title ownership in urban settings. Bawankule, who was in Delhi to meet Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar, discussed the rehabilitation of residents from Kumbhari village in Mauda taluka near Nagpur. The village falls within the NTPC project area, and Bawankule urged that resettlement of affected households be done in the same manner as agricultural land acquisition. "Houses too must be rehabilitated on par with farms," he said. Reiterating the govt's commitment to promoting the Marathi language, the minister said, "All proceedings of the Maharashtra legislature are conducted in Marathi, and so are all signboards. Marathi remains at the centre of official communication." On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 11-year tenure, Bawankule emphasised the transformation in women's representation across institutions. "From local bodies to Rashtrapati Bhavan, Modi has ensured that women are brought into the mainstream. No other govt has implemented such extensive initiatives for women's empowerment," he said. He credited the prime minister with championing 33% reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, calling it a historic step in strengthening their participation in governance.
