Allahabad HC loses patience over Rahul Gandhi citizenship case, adjourns after prolonged arguments
Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court had to adjourn proceedings in a PIL concerning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's citizenship due to persistent arguments from the Petitioner's Advocate, Ashok Pandey. The hearing, which lasted over 90 minutes, tested the patience of Justices Rajan Roy and Om Prakash Shukla.
Advocate Pandey continued his arguments despite repeated requests from the bench to conclude, leading to the judges expressing their frustration and eventually rising. The court had given ample time to both the petitioner, Karnataka BJP worker S. Vignesh Shishir, and his advocate to present their case, which alleged that Gandhi is a British citizen and thus ineligible to contest Lok Sabha elections.
During the proceedings, the bench emphasized that only substantial matters warrant extended hearings, a point made clear when Pandey insisted on further arguments. The court stated, "Enough! You have tested our patience. You can't take the Court for granted. We have given you enough chances. Now, we are rising. Looks like you don't want us to hear other matters.”
The petitioner’s advocate argued that Gandhi, having acquired British citizenship, ceased to be an Indian citizen. He referenced a notice issued by the Union Home Ministry in 2019 seeking clarification from Gandhi on his citizenship, which purportedly remains unanswered.
The Election Commission of India’s counsel countered that such issues should be addressed through an election petition and noted that similar pleas had been dismissed by the Supreme Court. When questioned about the source of his documents, Pandey admitted they were downloaded from the "Internet" but could not specify the website.
Following the heated exchange, the petitioner requested to withdraw the PIL with liberty to file afresh, which the court warned would result in costs for wasting court time. Ultimately, the bench decided to reserve its order.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
