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Rahul Gandhi and the VIP mangoes of Uttar Pradesh

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By Vikram Kilpady

Rahul Gandhi has been a target for the media from 2007 onwards when he was appointed party general secretary during the first United Progressive Alliance government led by Manmohan Singh. A constant stream of twitter abuse ended with people calling him Pappu and other pejoratives. While it was Jupiter’s escape velocity in 2013, a simile to illustrate the immense effort and force needed for Dalits to escape societal abuse under the caste system, this time he’s getting the stick for apparently not liking a certain mango, popular in Uttar Pradesh. Ergo, he is now The Man who Hates UP’s Mangoes!

The escape velocity comment was milked dry a year ahead of the 2014 elections when Narendra Modi led the BJP and the NDA to power thanks to the media’s eagerness to evict the Congress from its minority government perch. Gandhi’s harmless dislike for mangoes from Uttar Pradesh  has now turned into another opportunity for TV channels to juice it up ahead of UP Assembly elections next year.  

Here’s one case:

Please hear the voiceover repeatedly play up the word “bilkul” when Gandhi just said he doesn’t like, and NOT that he can’t stand or some other stronger word.  

In the usual pre-presser banter, Gandhi said he likes mangoes from Andhra Pradesh and not UP, he said Langdas are doable but Dussehris are too sweet for his liking. But in the quote hungry world of TV news, that was enough. This morning he’s been charged with divisive regionalism by UP CM Yogi Adityanath. The TV media has spun the remark in such a way that any dislike of mangoes from UP and liking mangoes from elsewhere becomes regional chauvinism since Rahul Gandhi is now tied to the South only because Wayanad chose to send him to the Lok Sabha while Amethi chose Smriti Irani as its MP in 2019.

Maybe Yogi Adityanath could have just sent the Gandhi scion some choice UP mangoes to convince him otherwise, but present-day take-no-prisoner politics usually leaves such grace of the old times behind.

Like the Dussehris, Langdas and Ratauls, the last of which would bring Pakistani mango lovers into the picture. They too swear by their Anwar Ratauls, which are said to be a version of the UP original. Imagine Pakistanis and the UP CM on one side, defending their province/state’s produce against Rahul Gandhi. Sigh!

While we don’t know for certain if Rahul Gandhi is referring to the Banganapalle variety, which Andhra Pradesh touts as its best (he may well have been),the political significance of the state and its Telugu twin Telangana for the Congress cannot be ignored.

After all, it is only since the division of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and the new Andhra, with Amaravati as its capital, that the Congress has warmed the opposition benches in the Lok Sabha.

A similar decimation of the Congress in Delhi happened when Gandhi’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra called Arvind Kejriwal mango man in reference to the aam aadmi. The Congress is still unrepresented in the Delhi Assembly after that quote.

Though Mani Shankar Aiyar’s chaiwala-neech comment backfired, social media has been serenading the Congress leader for his farsightedness in identifying the chinks in the BJP, given the depths plumbed in the Pegasus spying scandal.  

It is indeed fortunate that Gandhi didn’t say he liked Alphonsos better, which would have brought in other mango loyalties into the picture. But given his complaint about UP mangoes, he may end up drinking a lot of Chausa/Dussehri/Rataul smoothies from the residence of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Congress general secretary for UP. And the Langda faithful among the media could revisit their biases against Rahul Gandhi, who would now be praised for his good taste.

India News

Actor Imran Khan asked to leave India after CJP protest

Actor Imran Khan has been asked to leave India by October 28, days after participating in a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Mumbai.

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Actor Imran Khan, nephew of Bollywood star Aamir Khan, has been asked to leave India by the Mumbai Police, days after participating in a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Mumbai.

According to the notice, the actor has been given until October 28 to leave the country. The development follows his participation in the demonstration, which brought the actor into the spotlight over his involvement in a political protest.

Imran Khan is believed to hold US citizenship and an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card rather than full Indian citizenship, according to the report.

What led to the notice against Imran Khan?

The notice came days after Imran Khan joined a protest called by the CJP in Mumbai. The group, described as a satirical political organisation, had called for the demonstration.

The actor’s participation was followed by action from the authorities, with the Mumbai Police directing him to leave India by the specified deadline.

The notice does not, by itself, mean that the actor has already left the country or has been deported. October 28 is the deadline mentioned for his departure.

Imran Khan and his citizenship status

Imran Khan is known for his work in Hindi films, including Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na and Delhi Belly. He is also the nephew of actor Aamir Khan.

The report states that Imran Khan is believed to be a US citizen and hold an OCI card. OCI status does not confer Indian citizenship, although it provides eligible foreign citizens of Indian origin with specified privileges under Indian law.

The notice directing the actor to leave India follows his participation in the Mumbai protest. The reported development has brought attention to the intersection of immigration rules and the participation of foreign nationals in political demonstrations.

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India News

Election Commission orders voter roll revision in 17 states, UTs

The Election Commission has ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories. Draft rolls are scheduled for November 12, with final rolls due on January 4, 2027.

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered a Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories, with the exercise aimed at facilitating voter registration and including eligible electors who may have been left out during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The order was issued on Thursday, October 15, amid continuing political controversy over the SIR process and concerns raised by opposition parties regarding the exclusion of names from electoral rolls.

Under the announced schedule, January 1, 2027, will be the qualifying date for the revision. The draft electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on November 12, while the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027. Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, two states included in the exercise, are scheduled to go to the polls by February 2027.

Which states and Union Territories are covered?

The Special Summary Revision will cover the following 17 states and Union Territories:

  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Assam
  • Bihar
  • Chhattisgarh
  • Goa
  • Gujarat
  • Kerala
  • Lakshadweep
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Manipur
  • Puducherry
  • Punjab
  • Rajasthan
  • Tamil Nadu
  • Uttar Pradesh
  • Uttarakhand
  • West Bengal

The Election Commission’s order follows earlier instructions issued to state election officials on September 29 to undertake a special drive to enrol eligible voters who had been left out, along with young and first-time electors.

Why has the Election Commission ordered the revision?

The announcement comes amid protests and political disagreements over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have raised concerns about names being excluded during the exercise.

Another point of contention has been an additional declaration required from applicants submitting Form 6 for voter enrolment while the SIR was underway. The declaration required applicants to map their parents to the last SIR, which was conducted around 20 years ago.

The Election Commission had clarified on October 7 that the additional declaration applied only in states and Union Territories where the SIR was being conducted. It said the regular forms prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would apply outside the SIR period.

The latest SSR order refers to applications for inclusion through Form 6 but does not mention the additional declaration.

What happens in states not covered by the current schedule?

The Election Commission has said that the schedule for the Special Summary Revision will be announced later in states and Union Territories where the SIR is ongoing or has recently been completed.

These include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura and Telangana.

For Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, where the SIR has not yet started, the schedule for electoral roll revision will be announced in due course, taking local weather conditions into account.

The Election Commission’s latest order sets out a separate timeline for the 17 states and Union Territories covered by the current SSR exercise, while leaving the schedules for the other regions to be announced later.

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India News

India-US trade deal first phase finalised, drafting underway

The first phase of the India-US trade agreement has been finalised and is undergoing legal drafting, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said. The deal is expected to be operationalised once India secures a competitive advantage over peer countries.

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The first phase of the proposed India-US trade agreement has been finalised and is undergoing legal drafting, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. However, the agreement is yet to be fully finalised and implemented, with India seeking a competitive advantage over other countries before putting it into operation.

Speaking at the SRCC Centenary Conclave in New Delhi, Goyal said the first tranche of the bilateral agreement had been finalised and was going through the legal drafting process. He expressed hope that the process would be completed soon.

The minister said implementation would follow once India secured a comparable or competitive advantage over its peer countries in the American market.

India seeks an advantage over competing exporters

India wants its exporters to receive favourable market access and tariff terms compared with competitors. Goyal’s remarks indicate that the relative position of Indian goods in the US market remains an important consideration before the agreement becomes operational.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also spoke about the negotiations at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum this week. He said the discussions were approaching a possible resolution but noted that India’s position relative to competing economies remained an issue.

Jaishankar said the outcome would depend partly on the terms negotiated between India and the United States and partly on how India fares against other competing economies.

Trade negotiations moving forward, says Commerce Secretary

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the negotiations were progressing in the right direction and that both countries hoped to conclude and sign the agreement at the earliest possible time.

He explained that the signing would depend on the formalisation of the broader tariff structure in the United States. Parallel work was also underway in Washington, including processes linked to Section 301.

Agrawal indicated that the two sides would move towards signing the agreement at a mutually agreed time after the relevant tariff framework was formalised.

Earlier this month, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said India and the United States were working to resolve outstanding issues, although an agreement was not imminent at that point.

India-US trade talks and bilateral relations

India and the United States have been negotiating the proposed bilateral trade pact since early 2025. The discussions aim to address tariff-related differences, reduce non-tariff barriers and improve market access between the two countries.

The negotiations have taken place against the backdrop of broader strains in bilateral relations, including disputes over tariffs and differences concerning other policy issues.

While the finalisation of the first tranche marks progress in the negotiations, the agreement still needs to move through the remaining legal and procedural steps before it can be signed and implemented.

The next steps will depend on the completion of legal drafting, the finalisation of the US tariff framework and the two countries’ agreement on the terms governing the pact.

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