Modi 3.0 - Bharat

[Cyrano]

What does a person need to show to prove he/she is a citizen of India for voting?

[VKumar]

Help from Gandhiji

[chetak]

^^But Chetakji
Haven't you noticed that the knives are out!!
Now the new Modus Operandi is the magical 75
The opposition are targeting Modiji and RSS chief given that both are going to 75 'Come September'( Sorry I just couldn't resist it given that we are talking about young and old )

SRajesh ji,

Aaaaand, they're off ....................... ...........

Congress’ one arrow, two targets’ jibe at PM Modi over Bhagwat 75 retiring age statement

In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh, who is Congress General Secretary and communications incharge said, “Poor award-winning Prime Minister! What a homecoming – reminded by the RSS chief upon return that he will turn 75 on September 17, 2025.”

“But the Prime Minister could also tell the RSS chief that – he too will turn 75 on September 11, 2025! One arrow, two targets,” he added.

[sanjayc]

This Jairam Ramesh dude is an American parrot who can't swing 10 votes in favor of Congress.

[SRajesh]

SRajesh ji,

.

Chetakji
At this rate you and I can definitely get a post of Strategist for the Gaaand old Party !!!
Don't you think.

[chetak]

SRajesh ji,

Chetakji
At this rate you and I can definitely get a post of Strategist for the Gaaand old Party !!!
Don't you think.

[Amber G.]

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of Indian Air Force reflects upon his two weeks on the International Space Station during the Axiom-4 Farewell Ceremony. “Saare Jahan Se Aacha

[Amber G.]

Wishing Indian team all the best as they head towards Dubai, UAE for the 57th International Chemistry Olympiad from July 5-14, 2025!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GvEmMZRaAAc ... ame=medium
Picture credit: TIFR/HBCE

Big cheers for Team India at the 57th International Chemistry Olympiad 2025 held in Dubai, UAE from July 5–14. India bags 2 Golds and 2 Silvers, securing 6th place in the overall medals tally among 90 countries and 354 participants! Congratulations to the entire team.

[Cyrano]

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of Indian Air Force reflects upon his two weeks on the International Space Station during the Axiom-4 Farewell Ceremony. “Saare Jahan Se Aacha

Let's wish him a safe return to earth and Bharat!

[Sachin]

The Representation of People's Act derives it's authority from the Constitution

It can be interpreted in a different way. Art 326 of the Constitution of India, states that elections in India would be on the basis of adult suffrage. This article also allows the legislature to decide on the criteria of voting, and disqualification criteria. The article also states the high level conditions for disqualification i.e. not otherwise disqualified under this Constitution or any law made by the appropriate Legislature on the ground of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practice, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election. Non-residence is slightly different from not having citizenship.

Art 327 & 328 empowers the Parliament and State legislatures to make all provisions/laws regarding elections in India (and respective states). And off course, a law of the Parliament will supersede any state made laws. And actually Art 329 Constitution of India actually puts a bar to interference by courts in electoral matters. Which means that Election Commission is a Constitutional body with independence.

Using provisions of Art 326, 327 & 328 the Union Parliament enacted the Representation of The People Act, 1950. Sec 16 the Representation of The People Act, is pretty blunt when it lists the disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll. And the first item in the list is "is not a citizen of India".

Proof of citizenship is not attested by the holding of a 'Aadhaar' card, per se

Exactly. Aadhaar at the maximum is a Proof of Identity (POI). And that too if it is used properly. That is when a person's Aadhaar number is collected, and his fingerprints are also checked, and it should match. Best example; is when applying for passport. If Aadhaar is used as Identity proof an on the spot validation of biometrics is also done. For passport issue, Aadhaar is also accepted as a Proof of Address (PoA), only after successful validation with the Aadhaar database. And there is also a mandatory police verification done by visiting the person at the given address.

There are various case laws in which High Courts and Supreme Court themselves have given the verdict that Aadhaar can never be a proof of citizenship.
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) and Anr. v/s Union Of India, 2018. Supreme Court upheld the validity of Aadhaar, but also said "The Aadhaar number or the authentication thereof shall not, by itself, confer any right of, or be proof of, citizenship or domicile in respect of an Aadhaar number holder". This was a land-mark case, when Aadhaar was linked with privacy issues.
State of Maharashtra v/s Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Mumbai High Court gave a verdict that "Aadhaar is only a proof of identity and residence, not of citizenship or date of birth".

These two verdicts itself should be sufficient for EC to put its foot down and say Aadhaar cannot be taken as a proof of citizenship. And this is also what which gives me a feeling that Supreme Court has not compelled/forced EC to accept Aadhaar as proof of citizenship. It could only be a suggestion.

[VinodTK]

Cross Posting

Retail inflation eases to over 6-year low of 2.1% in June on subdued food prices

Retail inflation declined to over six-year low of 2.1 per cent in June, nearing the RBI's comfort zone, on account of subdued prices of food items, including vegetables, driven by widespread monsoon. WPI-based inflation was 0.39 per cent in May. It was 3.43 per cent in June last year.(Representational Photo/Reuters) WPI-based inflation was 0.39 per cent in May. It was 3.43 per cent in June last year.(Representational Photo/Reuters)

The Consumer Price Index-based inflation was 2.82 per cent in May and 5.08 per cent in June 2024. Inflation is on a decline since November 2024.

Year-on-year inflation rate based on CPI for the month of June 2025 over June 2024 is 2.1 per cent, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said in a statement.

"There is a decline of 72 basis points in headline inflation of June 2025 in comparison to May 2025. It is the lowest year-on-year inflation after January 2019," it said.The previous low of 1.97 per cent was recorded in January 2019.

The NSO said the significant decline in headline inflation and food inflation in June 2025 is mainly attributed to favourable base effect and decline in inflation of vegetables, pulses and products, meat and fish, cereals and products, sugar and confectionery, milk and products and spices.

The Reserve Bank, which has been tasked to ensure inflation remains at 4 per cent (with a margin of 2 per cent on either side), has cumulatively reduced the key short-term lending rate by 100 basis points since February in the wake of slowing retail inflation.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price inflation (WPI) turned negative after a gap of 19 months, declining 0.13 per cent in June as deflation widened in food articles and fuel, along with softening in manufactured product costs.
WPI-based inflation was 0.39 per cent in May. It was 3.43 per cent in June last year.

"Negative rate of inflation in June, 2025 is primarily due to decrease in prices of food articles, mineral oils, manufacture of basic metals, crude petroleum & natural gas etc," the industry ministry said in a statement.

As per WPI data, food articles saw a deflation of 3.75 per cent in June, as against a deflation of 1.56 per cent in May, with vegetables seeing a sharp drop.
According to the NSO data on CPI, the annual inflation in the food basket during June 2025 over June 2024 was (-) 1.06 per cent.
A sharp decline of 205 basis points is observed in food inflation in June 2025 in comparison to May 2025. The food inflation in June was also the lowest after January 2019.
The inflation rural was lower than the national average at 1.72 per cent while it was higher in urban areas at 2.56 per cent.
The lowest inflation was in Telangana (-0.93 per cent) and the highest in Kerala (6.71 per cent).

On all India basis, the annual inflation was negative in vegetables (-19 per cent), 'meat and fish' (-1.62 per cent), 'pulses and products' (-11.76 per cent), and spices (-3.03 per cent).

Commenting on the CPI data, Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA, said the cooling was entirely led by the food and beverages (F&B) segment, which witnessed a deflation of 0.2 per cent after a gap of 75 months, after printing at 1.5 per cent in the previous month. "The CPI inflation eased for the eighth consecutive month to a softer-than-expected 2.1 per cent in June 2025 from 2.8 per cent in May 2025, touching the lowest level since January 2019. We are not ruling out the possibility of a final 25 bps rate cut in the August 2025 meeting, carrying forward the front-loading seen in June 2025," Nayar said.

Paras Jasrai, Associate Director at India Ratings and Research, said that notwithstanding the deflationary turn of food items, core inflation increased to 4.4 per cent in June 2025, the highest since September 2023.
"A closer look indicates that it was largely on account of an uptick in inflation of jewellery items. Inflation of gold increased to a 58-month high of 36 per cent (as geopolitical tensions flared up in the Middle-East), the inflation of silver and other ornaments was also at elevated levels of 17.8 per cent and 21.5 per cent, respectively, in June 2025," Jasrai said.
Garima Kapoor, Economist and Executive Vice President, Elara Capital, said the CPI inflation for June cooled to a six-year low led by moderating food prices and aided by a high base.

"We expect full year CPI inflation to remain below RBI's full year estimate of 3.7% and hence do not rule out the possibility of another rate cut post-end of monsoon," Kapoor said.
The NSO collects the price data for CPI from selected 1,114 urban markets and 1,181 villages covering all States/UTs.