Hindu-Muslim couple get passports after Sushma intervenes
Lucknow, June 21: A Hindu woman married to a Muslim got her passport on Thursday, following External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's intervention, barely 24 hours after a passport officer rejected her application on the grounds that she had not changed her surname.
Regional Passport Official Piyush Verma on Thursday gave the passport to Tanvi Sethi while the passport of her husband Mohammad Anas Siddiqui was renewed and also handed over.
Sethi alleged misbehaviour by passport officer Vikas Mishra on Wednesday when she had gone to the passport office here. She said her passport application was rejected on the grounds that she had not changed her surname even after 12 years of marriage to a Muslim man.
She later tweeted to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Sushma Swaraj with her complaint. Both responded to her plea.
Passport officer Mishra has since been transferred to Gorakhpur and an explanation has been sought from him, an official told IANS.
Sethi and her husband said they were very happy at the alacrity with which the PMO and the MEA responded.
The officer accused of misbehaviour, however, denied the charges and said he had only told Sethi of the rules laid down in such cases.
Senior officials said that old rules mandated that a marriage certificate be produced in cases of inter-religious marriages during the passport application procedure, though adding that the officer was not right in ill-treating the woman and shouting at her.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sanctity of Tirupati 'laddu prasadam' restored, unblemished now, says TTD
Tirupati ( Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): Amid concerns among devotees on the quality of ghee used in the famous Tirupati 'laddu prasadam', the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has said sanctity of the sacred sweetmeat has been restored.
In a social media post on Friday night, the TTD, which manages the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple, on the hills of Tirumala said the divinity and purity of Srivari Laddu is unblemished now.
“The divinity and purity of Srivari laddu is unblemished now. TTD is committed to protecting the holiness of Laddu Prasadam to the satisfaction of all the devotees,” the temple board said in the post.
The temple body managing the super-rich shrine on Friday revealed it has come across sub-standard ghee and presence of lard in samples tested for quality, echoing claims first made by Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu two days ago.
With the fingers of accusation being pointed at the previous YSRCP regime over the issue, former CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy described the matter as "diversion politics," and slammed it as a "concocted story."
The Centre has sought a report on the matter from the Andhra Pradesh government and promised suitable action after examining it.
Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi called for an investigation into the allegations.
Citing a lab report on Friday, the TTD stated that there was presence of 'lard' (pig fat) and other impurities in the ghee.
TTD Executive Officer J Shyamala Rao said lab tests have revealed the presence of animal fat and lard in chosen samples and the board was in the process of blacklisting the contractor who supplied 'adulterated' ghee.
