Latest news with #Priti
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
As Pune gears up for Pride March tomorrow, a transgender couple faces bureaucratic hurdles as they wait to tie the knot
Nearly two years ago, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment, affirmed the rights of transgender persons in heterosexual relationships to marry under existing laws. Priti, 29, a transgender from Jamshedpur who aspires to be a beautician and is waiting to tie the knot with Pune-based Trinay, 34, a transman legally recognised as male on his Aadhaar card, however faces several challenges to exercising this right. 'I have my TG Identity card and like any other woman, I want to be a wife, parent, and live with my husband. However, it has been more than one and a half years since the judgment but our transgender community still awaits this right,' Priti said. She hopes to raise this issue at the 13th Annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer Pride March to be held in Pune on Sunday. Priti, who has passed Class 12 and worked in the hotel management sector, is yet to be accepted by her family. 'I am a transgender person, not a sex worker. I want to become a beautician and earn my living. Mujhe jeena hai (I want to live),' Priti said. She met Trinay on an online portal, and before long, they forged a deep connection as they opened up about their personal struggles, finding strength and understanding in each other's stories. Trinay, assigned female at birth, but who always felt like a male deep inside, had experienced several challenges due to his situation. 'I wanted to pee like a boy, and wear tight T-shirts. Menstruation would give me panic attacks,' recalled Trinay, who works at a tech firm in the city. Deciding that he could not live this dual life anymore, he eventually transitioned to a male after undergoing gender affirming surgery. Speaking to The Indian Express, Trinay said, 'Priti and I have been doing the rounds of the marriage registrar's office only to return disappointed. Instead of guiding us on the online application process and other details, we were asked to obtain a court order.' The duo met Bindumadhav Khire, an LGBTIQ activist and director of Bindu Queer Rights Foundation, Pune, and spoke about their difficulty in registering their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. 'Both of them have the requisite IDs. The transman has a collector-issued ID with gender stated as 'male' and the other transgender person has a collector-issued ID with the gender stated as 'transgender' as per provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 and the corresponding Rules (2020). I too approached the Marriage Registrar, but was told that they have not received any notification with regard to the legality of registering the marriage of transgender people. So they have to obtain an order from the high court or a notification from the government in this regard,' Khire told The Indian Express. The activist later filed a grievance in May on the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System to the Ministry of Home Affairs/Legislative Matters seeking a notification by the central government, to all states and Union territories, on the legality of registering the marriage of a transgender person in a heterosexual relationship. Khire, who received a response on June 6, said that suggestions made in the grievance have been noted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. 'We now hope that action will be taken in this case,' Khire said. When contacted, senior lawyer Anand Grover said that as per the top court's ruling, there was no legal prohibition on transgender individuals from getting married. Meanwhile, at the Marriage Registrar's office, authorities said that the process is now online and they have not received any application from transgender persons so far. While experts said it was likely that some registration offices may require guidance from higher authorities, if they have not previously handled such registrations, Khire said that it was important that LGBTIQ rights granted by the Supreme Court do not remain only on paper. 'This LGBTIQ Pride Month, it is important that LGBTIQ rights granted by the Supreme Court are implemented in letter and spirit. Transgenders who were granted legal recognition in the 2014 judgment (National Legal Services Authority v/s Union of India) still await their right to marry the person of their choice,' Khire added. As per the Supreme Court judgment dated October 17, 2023, in the case involving one Supriyo Chakraborty, the apex court stated, '…..Consequently, we agree with the conclusion…that transgender persons in heterosexual relations have the right to marry under existing laws, including in personal laws regulating marriage. The court's affirmation of the HC judgment in Arun Kumar v Inspector General of Registration…is based upon a correct analysis.' In Arun Kumar's case, the Madras High Court had said in 2019, 'A marriage solemnized between a male and a transwoman, both professing Hindu religion, is a valid marriage in terms of Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Registrar of Marriages is bound to register the same. By holding so, this Court is not breaking any new ground. It is merely stating the obvious. Sometimes, to see the obvious, one needs not only physical vision in the eye but also love in the heart.' Anuradha Mascarenhas is a journalist with The Indian Express and is based in Pune. A senior editor, Anuradha writes on health, research developments in the field of science and environment and takes keen interest in covering women's issues. With a career spanning over 25 years, Anuradha has also led teams and often coordinated the edition. ... Read More
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Why rumblings over ‘dummy CM Mann' are growing louder within Punjab AAP?
The discontent within the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab seems to be growing with a section of its leaders accusing their Delhi leadership of 'parachuting' some of their close aides into several government or party positions in the state. The rifts in the AAP have widened ahead of the crucial June 19 Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll. On Sunday, the AAP leadership removed Priti Malhotra as the Punjab party unit's women wing chief, appointing MLA Amandeep Kaur in her place. 'People from Delhi are calling the shots. Now, even we have started feeling that Chief Minster Bhagwant Mann is a dummy CM. If the situation prevails… the party will become history,' said Priti, who led a protest on Monday against 'Delhi (AAP leadership)'s interference' in the affairs of the Punjab party unit. The AAP leadership's action against Priti came days after she launched a campaign, called 'Yudh Delhi virudh (battle against the Delhi AAP leadership)', after the Mann government appointed Reena Gupta, the Delhi-based AAP national spokesperson, as the Punjab Pollution Control Board chairperson last month, which is among several similar appointments done recently. The AAP, however, seems to be unfazed with a state party leader saying 'it was good that Priti Malhotra was removed from her post'. 'When did you ever see her working?' he asked. A day after Priti's removal, the AAP's Dibra block president Inderjit Singh Moudgill also quit in protest against the party's policies. 'We have worked hard for the AAP and spent around Rs 10 lakh from my pocket to strengthen the party. It is sad that the AAP is now appointing leaders from Delhi in various positions in the Punjab government. We will go to Khatkar Kalan, Shaheed Bhagat Singh's native village, to atone our sins. We will seek forgiveness for failing to fulfil our promise of badlaav (change),' he said. The AAP also came under fire from its former Punjab spokesperson Iqbal Singh, who accused party supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab party in-charge Manish Sisodia of allegedly 'taking control' of at least 10 government bungalows. 'I want to ask Sisodia, who calls himself a great education minister, if he set up even a single college in Delhi during his tenure. All they have been doing in Punjab is laying foundation stones of toilets… they have left us embarrassed,' he alleged. The appointment of Deepak Chouhan, an Uttar Pradesh native and senior AAP leader Sandeep Pathak's ex-personal assistant, as the Punjab Large Industrial Development Board chairperson and that of Delhi-based AAP leader Kamal Bansal as the Punjab Tirath Yatra Samithi chairperson have also upset the party workers. The appointments of Chouhan and Reena Gupta have also drawn flak from the principal Opposition Congress, with its MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira calling it a 'double blunder' and an 'insult to the AAP volunteers of Punjab'. 'This is nothing but the loot of Punjab's resources by outsiders who have no respect or love for the state. Both appointments clearly show Kejriwal wants to control the industry of Punjab through his henchmen. I demand an explanation from Bhagwant Mann as to why he's surrendering Punjab to outsiders. These blatantly wrong appointments should be scrapped immediately and eminent Punjabis should be appointed to these vital positions,' he said in a social media post last month. Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa sarcastically termed these appointments as CM Mann's 'masterstroke'. 'Deepak Chouhan — ex-PA to AAP backroom boss Sandeep Pathak, hailing from UP — is now Chairman of Punjab's Large Industrial Development Board. No industrial experience. Not Punjabi. Loyalty over merit. And yes, all perks funded by Punjabis' hard-earned taxes. Meanwhile, Reena Gupta — another non-Punjabi & former Delhi SEIAA member — is now chairperson of Punjab Pollution Control Board. Nepotism? No no… it's called Badlav,' he said in an X post on May 19. Another row recently erupted following the arrest of Jalandhar AAP MLA Raman Arora in connection with a corruption case. Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, the AAP MLA from Amritsar and once seen as the party's 'poster boy', has questioned the move. 'It is very surprising to hear about Arora ji's arrest as he is seen as the CM's family member and has often been seen hosting close members of the CM's family. Similarly, Health Minister Vijay Singlaji was arrested before the 2022 Sangrur bypoll but the case did not go to the courts,' he said in a social media post. Alleging that the AAP lacked a 'mentoring system' to explain mistakes to its leaders, Vijay Partap Singh said, 'This way, the credibility of the party and the government suffers while the Opposition directly benefits… Whatever the truth, we will continue to try and protect the credibility of the party as well as the government.' AAP's 'damage control' AAP spokesperson Neel Garg was not available for comments despite repeated attempts. However, a senior AAP leader, who requested anonymity, said national parties like the Congress and the BJP have always named their Punjab unit in-charges from other states too. 'Do they call them parachutes? When AAP appoints such office-bearers, it becomes a controversy.' Another senior AAP leader of AAP said all those being appointed were not 'outsiders'. 'We are better than former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who brought a gangster like Mukhtar Ansari to Punjab. We have brought able people, who will help the state with their expertise. Gupta is an expert on environment while Chouhan has been actively involved in Punjab politics for many years,' the leader added. The brewing dissent has also forced the AAP's social media wing to mount a damage control exercise. On Monday, AAP social media volunteers from the Malwa East zone gathered in Patiala to discuss the issue. According to party sources, a comprehensive strategy was formulated to 'counter the Opposition's false narrative while spreading the party's ideology among people through social media'. 'Training on modern tools and social media platforms was provided to the volunteers during the meeting. The Punjab leadership has issued clear instructions to propagate the state government's welfare initiatives on social media and counter the Opposition only with facts,' a source said.
Powys County Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Powys County Times
Reform UK strengthens polling lead as Conservatives drop to fourth place
Reform UK is the most popular political party among voters and the Conservatives have fallen into fourth place, the latest opinion polling reveals. Nigel Farage's party has the backing of 29% of the public, according to YouGov's latest voting intention survey, up 1% from last week. Labour follows on 22%, down 1% from the previous week as ministers continue to face criticism over welfare cuts. The Liberal Democrats are in third place in the YouGov polling with 17%, having overtaken the Conservatives, who are on 16%. This is the lowest-ever vote share YouGov has recorded for the Tories, and the last time they were in fourth place in the pollster's rankings was in June 2019, at the end of Theresa May's premiership. Dame Priti Patel, the Conservative shadow foreign secretary, told Times Radio her party's position is not 'at all surprising' after its general election defeat almost a year ago. Former prime minister Rishi Sunak called the election in Downing Street on May 22 last year. Senior Tory Dame Priti was insistent her party's popularity could be recovered. When asked if she thought the Conservatives could definitely come back, Dame Priti told the broadcaster: 'Of course we can. We've absolutely done it before and we are working, I can tell you now, we're working flat-out to ensure that we can absolutely do that. 'But it takes time. Winning back the trust and confidence of the British people takes time.' The Greens are fifth place in YouGov's survey, with 10% of voting intention among the 2,222 British adults who took part between May 18 and 19. Elsewhere, former deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg warned Labour will lose the trust of the public if it does not tell voters a compelling story about its plans for Government. 'Storytelling matters enormously for the success of any government,' said the former Liberal Democrat leader, as he spoke at an Institute for Government event in central London. The coalition government, in which Sir Nick served between 2010 and 2015, managed to tell a 'compelling story' at first, he said, but events 'washed over us'. Sir Nick added: 'Labour should pay heed lest they commit a similar error. If you are running a government, you must, above all, have a clear story about where the country has come from, where it is, and where you want it to go.' Ministers are having a difficult time justifying cuts to welfare and the winter fuel payment, as well as tightened Government spending limits, because they spent years insisting 'fiscal discipline is morally repugnant' while in opposition, the former deputy prime minister added. Sir Nick, who recently stood down as an executive of Facebook's parent company Meta, added: 'It would be easier to have some sympathy with the decisions the Labour Government has made in recent months on welfare reform, increasing tuition fees, on local government funding, on departmental spending limits, if they hadn't been so insufferably sanctimonious in condemning similar measures during the coalition. 'This is what happens when you appear to have few bedrock principles about the balance of spending and borrowing, and instead flip almost overnight from condemning fiscal orthodoxy to becoming its hapless prisoner.'
Business Upturn
17-05-2025
- Business Upturn
Is Travel Insurance Mandatory for Singapore – Know Now!
If you are planning a trip to Singapore and wondering if travel insurance is mandatory, no, it's not. However, having comprehensive travel insurance safeguards your trip and protects you and your loved ones from medical and travel emergencies in a foreign land. Singapore is known for its vibrant neighbourhoods, rich cultural heritage, mouthwatering delicacies and magnificent architecture. While this is a must-visit destination, it also has expensive healthcare systems and flight delays due to stormy weather. Here's why buying travel insurance online before your Singapore trip is a must for a seamless travel experience. Benefits of Travel Insurance for Singapore Coverage Against High Medical Expenses Food allergies can cause health concerns for you in Singapore, especially if you have gluten sensitivity. Good news is that Singapore has one of the most efficient healthcare systems. However, medical expenses are also higher. With Singapore travel insurance, you receive coverage against emergency hospitalisation and treatment while travelling to the country. Coverage Against Flight Delays and Cancellations Flight delays and cancellations are a recurrent issue in Singapore due to its rainy or stormy weather. While they might seem like minor inconveniences, they result in additional unexpected financial expenses, such as from emergency accommodation, meals or booking alternate transportation. Travel insurance covers such expenses and reduces financial losses. Diverse Plan Options Insurance providers often offer a wide range of plans with different coverage and prices. These plans offer additional assistance services and seamless policy extensions. Such plans ensure that all types of travellers, with varied medical and travel needs, receive tailored coverage. Coverage for Family Members Whether you are a solo traveller or travelling with your family, travel insurance covers travellers of different age groups. Additionally, you can look for more specified coverage if you are a student or travelling with your senior citizen parents. Round the Clock Assistance Imagine losing your passport or requiring assistance during a claim process in a foreign country. Such trip emergencies are often overwhelming, especially if you do not have anyone to turn to or are not comfortable with the languages officially spoken in Singapore (Malay, Tamil, English and Mandarin). However, the best travel insurance providers offer 24/7 customer assistance for all such queries. Loss of Baggage Cover Losing checked-in baggage at the Singapore Changi airport is not uncommon. This can ruin your travel experience and causes stress to manage the additional costs of replacing your essentials. With a comprehensive travel insurance plan, you get baggage cover that offers financial assistance in case of a baggage loss or delay. Importance of Travel Insurance Explained With an Example Assume Priti and Priya are two solo travellers visiting Singapore for leisure. Their flight back to India got delayed by 24 hours due to unpredictable weather conditions. Since the delay is over 12 hours, both look for accommodation and plan their finances for the additional stay. However, Priti has secured her trip with a comprehensive travel insurance plan that offers coverage for flight delays and cancellations. But Priya does not have one and will have to bear the additional cost from her own pockets. Here is what their expenses will look like: Additional Expense For Priti (With Insurance) For Priya (Without Insurance) Hotel Stay (1 night) 0 – Covered by Insurance ₹8,000 Meals 0 – Covered by Insurance ₹2,500 Transportation 0 – Covered by Insurance ₹1,500 Total Out-of-Pocket Expenses 0 ₹12,000 The expenses increase significantly without travel insurance. While it is a seemingly small investment, it protects you from unexpected financial losses, making it a must-have for any trip. Invest in TATA AIG Travel Insurance for a Secure Trip Travelling to a foreign country is an exciting experience. However, trip interruptions such as flight delays or medical emergencies can cause distress and financial burdens. Thus, invest in TATA AIG's travel insurance plan to safeguard your belongings and your travel and have a worry-free travel experience. TATA AIG offers specified coverage for Singapore trips, providing three different plan options for you to choose from – Silver, Silver Plus and Gold. Designed carefully, these plans offer increasing levels of coverage and allow you to customise your plan according to your travel and budget needs. Additionally, their quick claim settlement, round-the-clock support and simple online process make buying and claiming your insurance easy. TATA AIG offers plans for Singapore with high sum insured and comprehensive coverage at affordable rates, starting with ₹25.6 per day. With their plans, you can travel with confidence and rest assured that all your emergencies are covered.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Elbows up' for Starmer means telling Trump to pay rent on Diego Garcia or risk moving out
It's a funny old world. One day Britain agrees to pay for an Indian Ocean base for the US military at a cost of £90m a year for the next 99 years, and the next America slaps a random 10 per cent tariff on everything we sell, rising to 25 per cent for cars and steel. The proposed leasing of Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos archipelago, quickly caught the attention of Dame Priti Patel, the shadow Foreign Secretary. 'It is like handing your house over to someone else, then paying to rent it out,' she wrote in The Telegraph. 'Put simply, this deal is madness.' And so it is. Dame Priti may not have meant it this way but, in the new world of realpolitik and great power competition, smaller nations need to play their cards carefully. The danger in folding so quickly goes beyond the prospect of becoming a vassal, a lapdog or a gimp. For liberal democracies, the threat is existential. As the Canadians say, 'elbows up!'. So how should Britain play its hand over its prospective 99 year lease on Diego Garcia? And might it be used to get Donald Trump to back down on the tariffs he has unjustly slapped on Britain PLC? First, let's drop the magical thinking. As has been evident for at least six years now, the chances of retaining sovereignty over the Chagos Islands are all but non-existent. As Derrick Wyatt, KC, a retired Oxford law Professor with a specialism in international law says, the problem is not that the judges of International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in 2019 that the UK had no title to the Islands. It's that almost every other country on the planet – including almost all our Nato allies – agree with them. In his first term as President, Trump led a UK/US diplomatic offensive in the UN in support of the UK's title to the Chagos Islands but it failed. Only Israel, Hungary and Scott Morrison's Australia voted in support of the US/UK position. 'Countries abstaining on the vote, but conspicuously not supporting the UK and US line on the Chagos Islands, included Canada, New Zealand, virtually the whole of Nato, and Indo-Pacific allies Japan and the Republic of Korea,' notes Mr Wyatt. Given these circumstances – and the fact that the Johnson, Truss and Sunak governments agreed negotiations to surrender our sovereignty of the Chagos – we should focus on what is within our grasp. And that is a 99-year lease over Diego Garcia, the jewel in the crown of the archipelago and home to a vast and strategically important military base that the US desperately needs to hold on to. The fact that China would love to have it, not to mention India, Pakistan and several wealthy middle eastern powers, only adds to its very considerable rentable value. The UK has long considered the island an asset. In 1966 we leased it to the US for 50 years (later extending it to 2036) in return for a $14m discount on the purchase of Polaris missiles for our so-called 'independent' nuclear deterrent. During this Cold War period it made sense not to charge the US through the nose for it. At the time, America was a reliable ally, jointly committed to the defence of Europe. Extending Dame Priti's analogy, we leased the island to the Americans 'unfurnished', and over the decades they have very much made it their own. Its airbase and deep water ports were built by them and they have thousands of military personnel based there. In the years following 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the CIA is said to have run 'black sites' from Diego Garcia for waterboarding and whatnot. And on February 21, 2008, the then UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitted that two US 'extraordinary rendition' flights refuelled in Diego Garcia in 2002 on their way to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. The UK only has a few dozen military administrators on the Island and they had not spotted our US tenant doing anything untoward. Mr Miliband told Parliament he was 'very sorry' that his government's earlier denials of wrongdoing were now having to be corrected. Diego Garcia's value stems from its isolated position in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is the perfect stopover for bombers, ships and troops headed to the Far East, Middle East and Australasia (or vice versa). Even as I write, the US has six B-2 stealth bombers there, ready for possible deployment against the Houthis in Yemen or their paymasters in Iran. Which brings us back to President Trump, his tariffs and the new world of realpolitik. Why, if Britain is to secure a 99 year lease on Diego Garcia as we give up sovereignty over the Chagos, should we pay for it? We don't use the Island ourselves, so shouldn't we demand that the rent is covered in full by whoever does? And if the tenant is to continue to be the US, shouldn't we demand that its President treat us fairly on trade, dropping his ridiculous tariffs on British goods altogether? After all, £90m a year for 99 years is a lot of money, and right now we need every penny we can get. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
