Prajwal fled on diplomatic passport - What is diplomatic passport
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“No 'political clearance' was either sought from or issued by MEA in respect of the travel of the said MP to Germany. Obviously, no visa note was issued either,” an MEA spokesperson said.
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NEW DELHI, May 3: Janata Dal (S) leader and Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna fled
to Germany on a diplomatic passport as soon as the sex scandal broke out late
April to avoid arrest.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to cancel his diplomatic passport and ensure swift return of absconding Prajwal
to face legal action in the scam.
But an MEA spokesperson said as per the Passport Act 1967 only upon a court
order a passport can be revoked. That is washing one's hands of the issue. Because
he has gone abroad without the necessary 'political clearance' which is required
even for a private visit if diplomatic passport is used!
The passport authority can certainly cancel/impound a passport if it was wrongfully
obtained or the holder acts against the interests of the country or if it is
misused.
“No 'political clearance' was either sought from or issued by MEA in respect
of the travel of the said MP to Germany. Obviously, no visa note was issued
either,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday. For those going
abroad on official assignment a 'visa note' is issued by the MEA.
According to latest rules, an application needs to be made to the MEA for "political
clearance" and permission obtained before proceeding.
Diplomatic passports, also known as ‘Type D’ passports, are passports issued
to “select individuals who are authorized to undertake official travel on behalf
of the Government”. They include diplomats and Government officials and others
like MPS and Ministers going to foreign countries on Government business.
Unlike the dark blue ordinary passport, the diplomatic ones have maroon covers.
In Delhi they are issued at the MEA's diplomatic section located in Patiala
House.
The holders of the diplomatic passport have certain privileges and immunity
from detention and criminal procedures etc in a foreign country and priority
during immigration procedures. It also provides an official status.
Besides, they do not need a visa for travelling to any of the 34 countries
with which India has bilateral agreements, doing away with the requirement.
Germany, where Prajwal Revanna has fled, is among them.
The case: Thousands of sex videos purportedly of Prajwal Revanna appeared
in social media two days before polling in Prajwal's constituency Hassan was
due on April 26. When the State Commission for Women complained, the Government
formed an SIT to probe the allegations against the MP. A domestic help of Prajwal
had also filed an FIR against him and his father, HD Revanna, MLA, former PM
Deve Gowda's son, accusing them of sexual assault. Prajwal fled to Germany as
soon as the scandal broke out. The SIT has summoned both Prajwal and his father.
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SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES |
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Top Govt officer thrashed, kicked inside Bhubaneswar office: Incident sparks a debate
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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
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Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line brings Kashmir Valley on India's rail map |
- The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
- The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
- The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest
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Work done, Elon Musk steps down from DOGE, leaves White House | |
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
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Ailing Asiatic lion Pataudi too dies of bird flu at Kanpur zoo
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Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
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48 tourist destinations closed in Kashmir following Pahalgam terror attack
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As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
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Trump slaps ‘kind’, ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on trading partners; a 'lenient' 26% on India!
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What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
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Trump signs order to shut Education Dept - And the contrast with India
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In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
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Sunita, Wilmore's Dragon splashes down in Gulf: What delayed their return? |
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All 80k health workers in US offered $25,000 voluntary buyout: Administering wrong prescriptions!
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The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
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