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A career diplomat, a former top cop, demolition man and one who arrested LK Advani join Team Modi

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Cabinet PIB

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While expanding his council of ministers on Sunday, the Prime Minister relied on people’s experience with governance and administration and not politics alone

The expansion of the Union council of ministers that took place on Sunday established at least one similarity between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former premiers Dr Manmohan Singh and Rajiv Gandhi, though neither the BJP nor the Congress would be willing to admit to the fact. The similarity is the premium that Modi and his predecessors from the Congress placed on technocrats in actively taking up political roles and running the government as its ministers.

Rajiv Gandhi was known for his proclivity for technocrats – bringing in field experts like Sam Pitroda (a telecom engineer and entrepreneur who Rajiv brought in to set up the Center for the Development of Telematics), Mani Shankar Aiyar (who resigned from the IFS under Rajiv’s influence in 1989 and joined the Congress), Arun Nehru, (a businessman) and Arun Singh (entrepreneur). Dr Manmohan Singh too relied heavily on the likes of Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Jairam Ramesh when it came to matters of policy formulation and governance.

On Sunday, Modi joined the trend started by Congress prime ministers and inducted four former bureaucrats – two of whom, KH Alphons and Hardeep Puri, are yet to be elected to either House of Parliament – into his council of ministers, even though he had ample number of party MPs to choose from for these coveted ministerial berths. Though new inductees former IAS officer RK Singh and former IPS officer Satyapal Singh had both formally joined electoral politics in 2014 when they contested and won Lok Sabha polls from Bihar’s Arrah and UP’s Baghpat constituencies respectively, ex-IAS officer Alphons had quit the CPM and joined the BJP in 2011 while career diplomat Puri was so far just a BJP sympathizer.

Here’s what you need to know about the former babus who will now take on political robes:

Hardeep Puri

Hardeep Singh Puri – a career diplomat with a political past… and future

A retired IFS officer with a distinguished four-decade long career in diplomacy, 65-year-old Hardeep Singh Puri, has served as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations both in Geneva (2002-2005) and in New York (2009-2013). He is one of the few Indians to preside over the United Nations Security Council and the only one to have chaired its Counter-terrorism Committee.

A 1974-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Puri, most recently served as Vice President at the International Peace Institute and as the Secretary General of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism in New York. He was also India’s envoy to Brazil and the United Kingdom.

The author of ‘Perilous Interventions: The Security Council & The Politics of Chaos’ Puri has had a brush with politics many decades ago when, before he joined the IFS, he was a student leader at Delhi University’s Hindu College and participated in the JP movement.

He is known to share excellent relations with several BJP leaders though his induction into Team Modi, sources said, was formalised after a recommendation from Union finance minister Arun Jaitley.

KJ AlphonsKJ Alphons –Delhi’s demolition man

A retired IAS officer of the 1979 batch, Alphons Kannanthanam had made his entry into politics as an independent candidate backed by the CPM during his first election in Kerala in 2006. Though he won with the backing of the CPM, he ditched the party in 2011 to join the BJP. However, it was his stint in bureaucracy that had catapulted Alphons into the hall of fame.

Alphons had featured in Time magazine’s list of 100 Young Global Leaders in 1994. During his stint in Delhi, as the as the Delhi Development Authority’s land commissioner, he was known as the “demolition man” for his strong drive to remove encroachments from across the national capital.

Modi had cleared his appointment as the administrator of Chandigarh in 2016 but the order had to be withdrawn after protests from the then ruling Akali Dal government of Punjab.

Alphons has a good rapport with the politically crucial Syrian Christian community in Kerala as also with members of the Church in the state. The BJP has been desperate to make inroads into Kerala politics and the status of Alphons as a key Christian leader could bolster the BJP’s poll prospects in the southern state.

Satyapal SinghSatyapal Singh – former Mumbai police commissioner who defeated veteran Ajit Singh in Baghpat

A former Mumbai Police Commissioner, Satyapal Singh was a 1980 batch Maharashtra cadre IPS officer who is credited with taking on the organised crime syndicates of Mumbai in the 1990s. In January 2014, Singh resigned from the force as Mumbai Police Chief and successfully contested the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket from his home district of Baghpat, defeating Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh in his pocket borough.

Satyapal Singh had made headlines in 2016 with his allegations that the UPA government had wanted him to frame Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

 

RK SinghRK Singh – The babu who had ordered BJP veteran LK Advani’s arrest 26 years ago

If BJP veteran LK Advani could sulk anymore over his fate ever since his acolyte Narendra Modi became Prime Minister and pushed him into political wilderness, he would possibly be sulking today over the induction of RK Singh as a minister of state in the Union council of ministers.

It was Singh who, 26 years ago while serving as a secretary in the then Lalu Prasad Yadav-led RJD government in Bihar, had placed Advani under arrest and stopped his famous Ram Rath Yatra. While the orders for Advani’s arrest had been issued by Lalu Prasad, he had chosen RK Singh and IPS officer Rameshwar Oraon to stop Advani’s rath yatra from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh in October 1990.

Singh and Oraon were flown in a state government chopper early in the morning from Patna to Samastipur where Advani was putting up. It was RK Singh who knocked on the door of the Circuit House where Advani was staying and told the top BJP leader that he had a warrant for his arrest. Singh and Oraon then flew Advani to Patna and from there to the Masanjor guest house in Dumka district of what is now Jharkhand state.

Advani’s rath yatra to demand a Ram temple in Ayodhya changed India’s political landscape, just as the demolition of the Babri Masjid had and when, six years later, the BJP first came to power at the Centre, Advani served as the country’s Home Minister and then deputy Prime Minister.

RK Singh went on to become the union home secretary under the Congress-led UPA government, and was known to enjoy the confidence of then home minister P Chidambaram, though the two often had differences on how the issue of terrorism and naxalism should be dealt with. Singh often advocated an all out aggressive approach to flush out and execute terrorists and naxalites.

After retiring from the IAS, Singh promptly joined the BJP in 2014. He contested and won from the Lok Sabha constituency of Arrah in Bihar.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Journalist files police complaint against Rahul Gandhi over push allegation

Journalist Richa Parashar has filed a criminal complaint against Rahul Gandhi and others, alleging that she was pushed while covering the Opposition’s march to the Supreme Court. The Congress has denied the allegation.

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Journalist Richa Parashar has filed a police complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over an alleged incident during the INDIA bloc’s march to the Supreme Court in New Delhi on October 12. She has sought the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Gandhi and others, alleging that she was pushed while covering the protest.

Parashar submitted her complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), New Delhi district, on Friday, seeking immediate action. She has said she was three months pregnant at the time of the alleged incident and accused those involved of mistreatment, threats and the use of force.

What Richa Parashar alleged in her complaint

Parashar alleged that she was reporting on the Opposition’s march when the incident occurred. According to her earlier account, she was waiting near a gate on the Supreme Court premises to seek a response from Gandhi when he allegedly grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. She further alleged that his security personnel pushed her away, causing her to fall on the Supreme Court steps.

In her complaint, Parashar said she asked Gandhi questions before he allegedly pushed her towards a gate. She claimed that the force caused her to lose her balance and fall, and that her repeated requests not to be pushed were ignored.

Parashar has sought legal action against Gandhi and others whom she alleges were involved. The complaint reportedly seeks action under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Sections 74, 115(2), 131, 125 and 3(5). These provisions concern alleged assault or criminal force against a woman, voluntarily causing hurt, assault or criminal force, acts endangering human life or personal safety, and joint liability for acts committed with common intention.

The allegations and the sections cited in the complaint do not, by themselves, establish criminal liability.

Congress disputes the allegation

The Congress has challenged Parashar’s account of the incident. According to report, the party said a video released by the journalist did not show the sequence of events she described.

Congress leader Alka Lamba also questioned the circumstances surrounding the incident and accused those raising the issue of attempting to manufacture propaganda.

The allegations remain disputed. The complaint and the competing accounts should not be treated as an established finding of wrongdoing.

Incident took place during Opposition’s Supreme Court march

The alleged incident occurred on October 12, when Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders marched to the Supreme Court to submit a petition concerning alleged irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The Opposition has raised concerns about the voter-list revision process and alleged irregularities.

Parashar’s police complaint adds a legal dimension to the controversy surrounding the march. Any further action will depend on the police process and the relevant legal proceedings.

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Delhi court orders release of CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke

A Delhi court on Saturday ordered the conditional release of Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, who was detained and subsequently arrested ahead of a planned protest march at Connaught Place.

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Abhijit Dipke

A Delhi court on Saturday ordered the conditional release of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, a day after he was detained and subsequently arrested ahead of a planned protest march in the national capital. The march was scheduled to take place at Connaught Place as part of demonstrations against alleged electoral irregularities.

Dipke was asked to furnish a bond and undertake to maintain peace as a condition of his release, according to reports. The court’s order came after he was produced before a Special Executive Magistrate following his arrest on Friday.

Why Abhijeet Dipke was detained

Dipke had planned to participate in the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march at Connaught Place, where participants intended to gather and wave the national flag. The proposed demonstration was part of ongoing protests over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

According to the Delhi Police, Dipke was taken into preventive custody before being formally arrested in a case related to the apprehension of a breach of peace. Police cited Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

Neha Bora was also detained

All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora was also detained on Friday ahead of the planned march. She was released early Saturday morning after completing the formalities associated with her detention, according to the report.

Bora criticised the police action and called for the release of protesters who remained in custody. She also demanded an end to the SIR exercise and sought the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. These were her demands and allegations, rather than findings established by the court.

Protests over electoral rolls continue

The demonstrations involving CJP, student groups and opposition supporters have centred on allegations of irregularities in the voter-list revision process. Critics have questioned the exercise, while the Election Commission has maintained that its decisions were approved by the Supreme Court. The BJP has criticised the protests, describing them as attempts to spread anarchy, according to the report.

Dipke’s conditional release marks the latest development in the dispute over the planned Delhi protest. The court’s order concerns his release under specified conditions; it should not be interpreted as a judicial finding on the wider allegations surrounding the electoral-roll revision.

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Anirudh Ravichander to marry Kavya Maran in November, reception on November 21

Anirudh Ravichander and Kavya Maran are set to marry in November, with their Chennai wedding reception scheduled for November 21.

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Music composer Anirudh Ravichander and Sunrisers Hyderabad executive Kavya Maran are set to marry in November. Their wedding reception is scheduled to take place in Chennai on November 21, according to an announcement by Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s office.

The development followed a meeting between Revanth Reddy and Kavya’s parents, Sun Group chairman Kalanithi Maran and Kavery Maran, at the chief minister’s residence in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.

According to the Telangana Chief Minister’s Office, the couple’s reception is scheduled for November 21, with Kavya’s parents extending an invitation to the chief minister.

Telangana CM’s office announces reception date

The Telangana CMO shared photographs and videos of the meeting on its official social media account on October 16. The announcement stated that Kalanithi Maran and his wife had met Revanth Reddy to invite him to their daughter’s wedding reception.

The post specifically confirmed that the reception of Kavya Maran and Anirudh Ravichander would be held in Chennai on November 21.

The announcement provided an official confirmation of the reception date and venue, while details about the wedding ceremony itself have also been reported separately.

Who are Anirudh Ravichander and Kavya Maran?

Anirudh Ravichander is a prominent music composer in the Indian film industry. He gained widespread recognition with the song “Why This Kolaveri Di” and has since composed music for several major films, including Leo, Indian 2, Vettaiyan, Vidaamuyarchi and Coolie.

Kavya Maran is the daughter of Kalanithi Maran, chairman of the Sun Group. She serves as an executive director at Sun TV Network and is widely recognised in cricket circles for her association with Sunrisers Hyderabad, the IPL franchise.

Wedding rumours and reported ceremony details

Speculation about a possible marriage between Anirudh Ravichander and Kavya Maran had circulated before the latest announcement. Earlier reports in August 2026 discussed the possibility of a November wedding in Greece.

A subsequent report said the wedding was reportedly scheduled to take place in Greece on November 11. However, the couple had not directly confirmed their wedding plans in the cited report.

The Telangana Chief Minister’s Office has confirmed that the reception is scheduled for November 21 in Chennai. The reported wedding ceremony details should therefore be attributed to reports rather than presented as officially confirmed information.

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