Modi congratulates tribal students for scaling Mount Everest
New Delhi, May 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated five tribal students for scaling Mount Everest and also praised the all-women crew of INSV Tarini for circumventing the globe.
The tribal students -- Maneesha Dhurve, Pramesh Ale, Umakant Madhavi, Kavidas Katmode and Vikas Soyam -- from an Ashram School in Maharashtra's Chandrapur, scaled the world's highest peak on May 16.
Modi, in the 44th edition of his monthly radio address "Mann Ki Baat", said: "These Ashram School students began training in August 2017, covering Wardha, Hyderabad, Darjeeling and Leh-Ladakh. These young boys and girls had been selected under 'Mission Shaurya'. True to its name, they brought glory to the country with their brave deed of conquering the Everest."
He also praised several others, including 16-year-old Shivangi Pathak, for scaling the Everest.
Pathak became the youngest Indian woman to scale Everest from the Nepal side.
"For centuries, Everest has been throwing the gauntlet at humankind. And for long, brave hearts have been responding to the challenge," he said.
He spoke about Ajit Bajaj and his daughter -- the first ever father-daughter duo to ascend Everest.
Speaking about a Border Security Force (BSF) group who scaled the Everest and while returning, they brought loads of trash littered there, he said: "This deed is commendable indeed; it also displays their commitment towards cleanliness and the environment."
Modi congratulated the all-women crew of INSV Tarini for circumventing the globe.
The team, led by Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi and comprising Lt. Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and P. Swathi and Lieutenants S. Vijaya Devi, B. Aishwarya and Payal Gupta, had sailed out from Goa in September 2017.
"These six illustrious daughters of India circumnavigated the globe for over more than 250 days on board the INSV Tarini, returning home on May 21," he said.
Travelling across different oceans and seas, they covered almost twenty thousand nautical miles, "this was a first of a kind incident in the world", the Prime Minister said.
"I congratulate these daredevils, especially the daughters from the core of my heart," he added.
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Allahabad HC orders FIR against Rahul Gandhi in dual citizenship case
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered an FIR be filed against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in connection with an alleged dual citizenship controversy.
The bench permitted the state government to hand over the probe to any central probe agency after registration of the FIR.
The order was passed by a bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi on a petition filed by S Vignesh Shishir, who had challenged a January 28 order of a special MP/MLA court rejecting his plea for an FIR against Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The special court had earlier held that it was not competent to adjudicate on issues related to citizenship.
The petitioner, a BJP worker from Karnataka, had sought registration of an FIR and a detailed probe into the matter, levelling allegations against Gandhi under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Official Secrets Act, the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act.
The complaint was initially filed before the special MP/MLA court in Rae Bareli. However, on the petitioner's request, the high court transferred the case to Lucknow on December 17, 2025.
The MP/MLA court in Lucknow subsequently dismissed the plea on January 28, 2026, prompting the petitioner to approach the high court, which has now ordered registration of an FIR.
In its order, the bench said that from a bare perusal of the allegations, prima facie cognizable offences were made out against Gandhi and hence the allegations required to be investigated.
The bench said that the special court should have looked into whether the allegations prima facie made out any cognizable offences or not, but it failed to consider it.
Earlier, Deputy Solicitor General of India SB Pandey produced the central government's records in the court relating to the citizenship controversy surrounding Gandhi.
Government counsel VK Singh also consented on behalf of the UP government that the allegations prima facie made out cognizable offences.
After having a detailed hearing, the bench found that the material on records showed that Gandhi had committed "cognizable offences" in having dual citizenship, and these allegations required to be probed.
The petitioner has alleged that Rahul is a UK Citizen and incorporated a company named M/S Backops Ltd in August 2003.
It was further submitted that Gandhi categorically admitted and voluntarily declared his nationality as British, having a Director Identification ID and London and Hampshire addresses.
In his petition, Shishir claimed that Rahul submitted the company's annual returns in October 2005 and October 2006, listing his nationality as British.
Thereafter, the company was dissolved through a dissolution application in February 2009.
According to the petitioner, the material placed before the court includes records suggesting that Rahul Gandhi may have been listed as a voter in the United Kingdom and participated in electoral processes there.
During the course of the hearing, the high court earlier directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to place all relevant records, including classified documents, before the court.
