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Delhi Confidential: ‘Roots’ Cause

According to Anil Baluni there are around 150 ‘ghost villages’ — depopulated villages due to migration — in Pauri district itself.

2 min readNew DelhiFeb 5, 2026 05:21 AM IST

Lok Sabha MP anil baluni, BJP national media in-charge, Anil Baluni

Lok Sabha MP and BJP’s national media in-charge Anil Baluni

Lok Sabha MP and BJP’s national media in-charge Anil Baluni has taken up a new task — getting rid of the ‘ghost villages’ tag in his constituency, Pauri Garhwal. According to Baluni there are around 150 ‘ghost villages’ — depopulated villages due to migration — in Pauri district itself. Now, Baluni has started a campaign in urban areas of Uttarakhand, urging people to stay connected with their native villages. The MP himself regularly visits families still staying in such villages and even celebrates birthdays of his children with the residents. “We have to get rid of this stamp on our villages. All of you please see that you visit the village where your parents had their roots at least once in a while,” he says in one of the video messages for the urban population of Uttarakhand.

Court No. 1

Hearing in the Tamil Nadu government’s petition challenging the Madras High Court order saw some passionate arguments with Senior Advocate P Wilson, appearing for the state, questioning the role of the UGC, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, and the original petitioner represented by Senior Advocate D S Naidu. However, with the arguments turning high pitched, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, presiding over a three-judge bench, said, “Please remind yourself this is not Assembly, this is Court No. 1, Supreme Court.” Wilson is a member of the Rajya Sabha.

No Flight Risk

During the Supreme Court hearing into alleged bank fraud by the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi said that his client is not a flight risk and that he will not leave the country without the court’s permission. In a swift retort, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the last time Rohatgi made such a statement on behalf of other clients, they fled the country the very next day, leaving the courtroom in splits. He was referring to the Sandasera brothers who had fled to Nigeria in 2017. “But they returned and even gave back Rs 5,000 crore to this government,” Rohatgi quickly said.