More than 2.16 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship in 2023, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to queries on Indian citizens who have renounced their citizenship in the last five years.

In his response, he also shared the corresponding data for 2011-2018.

In 2023, the number of Indians who renounced their citizenship stood at 2,16,219 (2.16 lakh).

The corresponding figure for 2022 was 2,25,620 (2.25 lakh); 1,63,370 (1.63 lakh) in 2021; 85,256 in 2020; and 1,44,017 (1.44 lakh) in 2019, according to the data.

The query from AAP member Raghav Chadha was also on whether the government had taken steps to find the reasons for such “high number of renunciation” and “low acceptance of Indian citizenship” and, if so, the details thereof.

He also sought to know whether the government had tried to determine the “financial as well as intellectual drainage” and loss to the country because of the high renouncement of citizenship.

“The reasons for renouncing/taking citizenship are personal,” the minister said.

“The government recognises the potential of the global workplace in an era of a knowledge economy. It has also brought about a transformational change in its engagement with the Indian diaspora,” he said.

A “successful, prosperous, and influential diaspora” is an “asset for India”, Singh said.

“India stands to gain a lot from tapping its diaspora networks and productive utilisation of the soft power that comes from having such a flourishing diaspora. The government’s efforts are also aimed at harnessing the diaspora potential to its fullest including through sharing of knowledge and expertise,” he added.

Sultanpur (UP): Cobbler Ram Chet says he was offered Rs 10 lakh for a slipper stitched by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi but he turned down the deal and he would like to keep the “lucky” footwear in glass frame.

The cobbler also said officials from various government departments also reached out to him to enquire about his problems ever since the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha made a surprise visit to his humble shop in the Vidhayak Nagar area on outskirts of Sultanpur, turning Chet into a local celebrity.

Gandhi briefly stopped at Chet’s shop on July 26 and spoke to him about his family and his problems. During this, Gandhi also tried his hand at stitching a footwear and pasting a shoe.

Chet now says Gandhi’s visit has dramatically changed his fortunes, bringing him into the limelight.

“My world has completely changed. Nobody knew me before, but now people come to my shop and take selfies with me,” he said.

Regarding the slipper stitched by Gandhi, Chet said, “I have received many calls from people wanting to buy that slipper. The highest offer I have received so far is that of Rs 10 lakh. Someone from Pratapgarh called me on Tuesday, offering Rs 5 lakh for the slipper. When I refused, they increased the offer to Rs 10 lakh. I told them I won’t sell it as the slipper is lucky for me.”

Asked what he plans to do with the slipper, he said, “I will frame it in glass and keep it in my shop. Rahul Gandhi has become a partner in my shop.”

“By sitting in my shop and stitching a slipper, Rahul Gandhi has become my partner,” he further explained.

Chet said he has been getting an increased attention from government officials since Gandhi’s visit.

“After Rahul Gandhi visited my shop, officials from various government departments have started coming to enquire about my problems,” he said.The Congress leader had come to Sultanpur to appear before an MP-MLA court in a defamation case against him.

Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that an Enforcement Directorate raid is being planned against him after his ‘chakravyuh’ speech in Parliament.

Gandhi said he was “waiting with open arms”.

“Apparently, 2 in 1 didn’t like my Chakravyuh speech. ED ‘insiders’ tell me a raid is being planned,” Gandhi said in a post on X early Friday.

“Waiting with open arms @dir_ed ..Chai and biscuits on me,” the former Congress chief said.

Using the ‘chakravyuh’ metaphor as a leitmotif, Gandhi on Monday claimed that an atmosphere of fear prevails all around with a group of six trapping the entire country in a ‘chakravyuh’ he promised would be broken by the INDIA bloc.

Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha on Budget 2024-25, Gandhi had said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will ensure that a legal guarantee for MSP as well as a caste census is passed by the House.

Thousands of years ago in Haryana’s Kurukshetra, six people killed a youth, Abhimanyu, in a ‘chakravyuh’, he had said, adding that a ‘chakravyuh’ has violence and fear.

Gandhi’s reference was to the Mahabharat legend according to which Abhimanyu was killed in a ‘chakravyuh’. ‘Chakravyuh’ refers to a multi-layered military formation aimed at trapping a warrior by opponents placed strategically in an alignment resembling a lotus-shaped labyrinth.

He had said the ‘chakravyuh’ is also called a ‘padmavyuh’ for its resemblance to a lotus (BJP’s election symbol) formation.

Wayanad: Out of the 18 individuals from Karnataka killed in the Wayanad landslides in Kerala, nine were from Mysuru, four from Chamarajnagar, two from Mandya, and three from Kodagu districts. On Thursday, authorities identified the bodies of five more victims.

Gundlupet Tahsildar Ramesh Babu, who is in Wayanad said that the bodies of Rajendra (50) from Irasavadi village in Chamarajanagar taluk, a resident of Chooralmala; Savithri (54) and Shivanna (50) from Ukkalagere in T Narsipur taluk, Mysuru district, residents of Chooralmala; and Leelavathi (55) and her grandson Nihal (2.5) from Kaththaragatta village in KR Pet taluk, Mandya district, residents of Mundakkai have been found. However, the search for Rajendra’s wife, Rathnamma, who was reported missing, continues.

Bodies of Rathnamma (45), wife of Rajendra of Irasavadi of Chamarajanagar taluk; six more from Ukkalagere of T Narsipur taluk of Mysuru district, including Gurumallan (60), Appannan (39), Sabitha (43), Divya (35), Ashwin (13), Jithu (11) are yet to be located.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra |

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will visit landslides-hit Wayanad on Thursday and meet several families affected by the natural calamity, sources said.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were scheduled to visit Wayanad Wednesday morning but they put off the visit as authorities informed them that they would not be able to land due to incessant rain and adverse weather conditions.

Congress sources said the two leaders would visit relief camps at the Government Higher Secondary School and St Joseph UP School, Meppadi. They would also visit Dr Moopen’s Medical College, Meppadi.

The devastating series of landslides in Kerala’s Wayanad district has claimed at least 132 lives and injured over 200, with the toll expected to rise as rescuers search through the debris, official sources said.

More than 180 people are missing and over 300 houses were completely destroyed in the landslides that hit the Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas of the district, they said.

Supaul (Bihar): A five-year-old boy in Bihar reached his school with a handgun on Wednesday and opened fire on another child, leaving the Class 3 student injured, police said.

The shocking incident took place in the north Bihar district of Supaul where the boy, a nursery student, had gone to school with the firearm hidden in his bag.

According to Superintendent of Police, Shaishav Yadav, “The student fired at a 10-year-old boy, who studies in the same school in Class 3. The bullet hit his arm.”

“The injured boy has been rushed to a hospital. We are trying to find out how the boy got to lay his hands on the firearm and managed to carry it to the private school, which is situated in Lalpatti area,” Yadav said.

The SP added: “We are also asking schools across the district to ensure that bags of students are checked thoroughly on a regular basis. The incident has caused much anxiety among parents and guardians.”