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Punjab Congress leaders were quite surprised by the manner in which former Punjab chief minister and Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi came out openly in support of the controversial Khadoor Sahib MP, Amritpal Singh. Channi triggered a political uproar of sorts after he claimed that the BJP-led Central government had curbed the freedom of speech of Amritpal by continuing to hold him in NSA custody in an Assam jail. Reacting to the remark, BJP MP and Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu had a heated exchange with him in the Lok Sabha as he felt Channi was behaving like a traitor. “A former CM is behaving like a traitor and is misleading the entire country through the House.” Channi coming out in support of Amritpal did not go down well with the Punjab Congress. Party sources said Channi, a Dalit leader, had set a dangerous precedent of speaking up for a Khalistani leader in his pursuit for Jat votes. It may be recalled that the Congress and the country had lost Indira Gandhi to Khalistani assassins. In the Lok Sabha, LoP Rahul Gandhi got party MPs to heckle Bittu when he started countering Channi. Bittu had left the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha poll and joined the BJP and became a minister. Channi kickstarted the spat with Bittu by saying the BJP was like the East India Company, which had taken over trade to rule the country. Bittu got up to say something after which Channi reminded him, “Your grandfather (former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh) was a Shaheed (martyr)….” Bittu retorted, “My grandfather laid down his life for the country and not for the Congress.”
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray’s resolve to contest at least 225 of the 288 Maharashtra assembly seats has generated suspense as he only recently had wholeheartedly stood by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Lok Sabha election. Just back from a US-Europe tour, Raj made this announcement to plunge full-fledged in the assembly election at a party meet. His detractors immediately seized upon Raj’s changing stance and different interpretations began surfacing about his exact plan. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut says that Raj’s policy is ever changing but always harming the interests of Maharashtra. On the other hand, the Sena (Shinde) has taken a cautious line. Senior minister Deepak Kesarkar has expressed confidence that Raj could alter his stand after the matter is discussed with him by Mahayuti leaders. Meanwhile, Raj’s announcement is seen to have two angles. Firstly, he will field around 225 candidates and decide his strategy according to the election verdict. Secondly, his announcement will be used as a bargain counter while discussing seat sharing with the Mahayuti. Though the picture is still hazy, social media posts have started appearing, listing the names of probable candidates and their constituencies. The suspense is heightened since the BJP, the Sena (Shinde) and the NCP(Ajit) have given enough indications that they will not sacrifice much in terms of the seats to be contested by the respective partners.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has affirmed her participation in the upcoming NITI Aayog meeting in New Delhi, despite INDIA bloc leaders deciding to boycott the event. Sources close to the TMC leader indicate that Didi’s attendance underscores her commitment to securing Bengal’s financial interests within the framework of federal relations. While aligning with the INDIA bloc, Banerjee is keen to assert her state’s autonomy, signalling a nuanced approach separate from opposition alliances. Political analysts interpret Banerjee’s move as a strategic assertion rather than a rupture in opposition unity, emphasizing her intent to voice for Bengal’s dues amounting to Rs 176,000 crore, including the allocation under Awas Yojana and MGNREGA schemes. Party insiders say that the NITI Aayog forum is a perfect platform for Banerjee to raise her state’s pressing fiscal concerns. In a pre-departure statement, Mamata voiced her objections to what she described as discriminatory practices by the Central government towards Bengal. She termed the Centre’s actions as a method to divide the eastern region economically and geographically. It may be noted that speculations were rife that Didi might drop from NITI Ayog meet to avoid controversy. It may be mentioned that Mamata did invite Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav to her Martyrs’ Day rally which underscores her strategy to strengthen regional political fronts independent of Congress.
Notwithstanding her two successive defeats in general elections and her backdoor entry into the state legislative council, BJP leader Pankaja Munde’s supporters have once again started propagating her name as a future CM of Maharashtra. Pankaja’s birthday falls on July 26 but she has decided not to celebrate it this year since three of her supporters reportedly committed suicide owing to her defeat in the recent Lok Sabha election. As MLC, she will visit her home district, Beed in Marathwada on July 29. Her supporters have started preparations to welcome her. As part of this euphoria, banners to laud her have come up in certain parts. Those in Buldana have become talk of the town since her image is shown, along with the headline: Future CM. Pankaja had lost the 2019 assembly election against her cousin Dhananjay Munde though she was a sitting minister. Now that both are on the same side of the ruling alliance, he had worked for Pankaja’s victory in the Lok Sabha election but she could not win. Following this defeat, pressure began mounting on the three-party Mahayuti government to ‘accommodate’ her. Accordingly, she was fielded by the BJP for the council election. Due to the assured quota of votes from the lower house, she is now a MLC. But the claims that she is a mass leader by her supporters have astounded even people sympathetic to her since she is the daughter of legendary Gopinath Munde.
The Budget blues are being felt all over the country save for Bihar and Andhra which got the most favourable allocations. While it is natural that the BJP, fast learning coalition dharma, gave away dollops of financing to keep the two most important allies in good humour, it offended too many states, including those ruled by the party itself, in skewed distribution of funds. Nowhere was the antipathy towards differential treatment of friends and foes felt more than in Tamil Nadu. Crying hoarse over funds needed to mitigate the misery caused by unprecedented flooding in Chennai at the hands of Cyclone Michaung and five southernmost districts that were hit by extraordinary amount of rain in 2023, Tamil Nadu saw a measly Rs 500 crore paid before the cyclone hit as woefully inadequate to relieve the flood-hit. Doles were paid out by the government of at least Rs 1,000 per family, but everything came from state funds rather than the Centre. No wonder the ruling DMK decided to take to the streets to point out the huge prejudices in the BJP that has earmarked Tamil Nadu as the most rebellious state and fiercest critic of the Narendra Modi government. While Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Pune are to get flood relief funds, there is zilch for Chennai, the worst hit of them all last year.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman strongly responded to Opposition criticisms that she had only picked two states — Andhra and Bihar — that are ruled by NDA allies for special attention in the Union Budget. Responding to Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge’s charge that the BJP-led government had unfairly prioritised Bihar and Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget for 2024-25 and it was a “kursi-bachao” document, suggesting that it was designed to preserve the government’s power rather than serve the nation’s needs , Sitharaman noted that the absence of specific state names in her speech did not mean those states were ignored. Sitharaman pointed to Maharashtra as an example, where despite not being mentioned, the state had recently received approval for a Rs 76,000-crore port project at Vadhavan ,Dahanu. “From the time of the interim budget till now.” If the speech does not mention the name of a particular state, does it mean that the schemes of the Government of India, the programmes of the Government of India, the externally-aided assistance which we obtain from the World Bank, ADB, AIIB and institutions like that do not go to these states? They go as per a routine,” Sitharaman remarked. Kharge said states where people have rejected BJP, those states got nothing from this budget! ” Everyone’s plate is empty, and in the plate of two states there are Pakora and Jalebi. This budget has been brought only to save his chair.” Attacking Bihar for Rs 26000cr infrastructure funds got so personal with JD(U) MP Dinesh Chandra Yadav protesting Chennai MP Dayanidhi Maran for linking collapse of 15 bridges recently to the release of Central funds.” Our state bears the brunt of flood waters from the Himalayas, something no one will know.” Vishakhapatnam MP M Sribharat of the TDP also highlighted the importance of Centre’s role in rebuilding his state.
Remember Ramesh Vangal. Once upon a time, he was the face of Pepsi in India. In fact, he led PepsiCo’s landmark entry into India in the early 1990s.This was widely considered as a pioneer in India’s opening of FDI. Post-Pepsi, the arc light, however, continued to be on Vangal as he formed an alliance with Suresh Kalpathi, the founder of SSI Ltd. Vangal also got into a cobweb when his company, Katara Holdings Ltd (KHL) Mauritius, bought into Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB), which was mired in controversy when internecine quarrels among promoter groups led to the shares slipping into non-Nadar hands. With funding facilitation from Standard Chartered Bank (Mauritius), KHL struck a complex deal in 2007 to acquire TMB shares. But the Enforcement Directorate found Stanchart guilty of violating Foreign Exchange Management Act in this particular transaction. Stanchart took the legal route to retrieve its money from KHL. The Supreme Court of Mauritius has since ordered the liquidation of KHL. Significantly enough, Vangal’s KHL holds over 53% stake in BSE-listed Kerala Ayurveda Ltd, a pioneer in providing Holistic Healing and Wellness Solutions. The official liquidator of KHL has informed Kerala Ayurveda that since he now has the custody and control of the shares held by KHL in the company, no trades are to be allowed on this stake without his authorization. The arc light is still focused on Vangal, it appears.
Political watchers were a little surprised that Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, who used to be continuously attacking PM Modi either via his social media accounts or via his statements had suddenly fallen silent. The buzz is that he had been advised by a senior non-Congress leader not to attack Modi. The leader reportedly cautioned him against inadvertently creating sympathy for PM Modi. The sane advice for Rahul comes in the wake of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee recently raking up the issue of Rahul being credited for good performance of Opposition parties in the 2024 Lok Sabha election whether in Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra. The buzz is the LoP is preparing to save all his fire only for the Budget session beginning on July 22. Besides, in her meetings with NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata had emphasised on the need for all the focus and publicity to be moved away from the Gandhis and the Congress. She feels all non-Congress parties must get the credit for the performance. It clearly showed that the Bengal leader may have taken from where PM Modi had left when he had referred to the Congress as a political party, a parjeevi party or party that sustained itself more by depending on its coalition partners. Meaning, the Congress no longer had anything to add to the political basket.
Looks like the 56-year old Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar is losing his Midas touch going by total collections of Rs 17 crore for his latest movie Sarfira. The film, a remake of Tamil movie Soraru Puttru, was based on the life of Captain Gopinath of Air Deccan fame. In fact, its budget was much less than Akshay Kumar’s film. Post Covid-19 pandemic the first Hindi film to be released was Akshay Kumar’s Sooryavanshi directed by Rohit Shetty with Ranveer Singh, Ajay Devgn in the star cast. It did well at the box office opening with Rs 25 crore. But after that Bachchan Pandey spelt disaster at the box office and opened with just Rs 13crore. From then on films like Samrat Prithviraj, Raksha Bandhan failed miserably. He bounced back with Ram Setu and OMG 2 which did decent business at the box office. OMG 2 which was a hit had Pankaj Tripathi in the main lead but the actor was appreciated for his role as Shiva. As a producer he had to battle with CBFC for release of the film as it had given it A certification.There were Selfie, Mission Raniganj which opened at Rs 2.80cr which was better than Sarfira. Mission Raniganj earned Rs 33 crore while Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’s failure almost shut Vashu Bhagnani’s office. Sources say Akshay has not signed any new films and has reduced his price by 50%. But, the actor has quite a few films in production. Khel Khel Mein is with Taapsee Pannu and Vani Kapoor and directed by Mudassar Aziz who does not have a great track record. The only hope for Akshay is Housefull 5. Maybe his South sojourn could salvage his career.
Delimitation of state assembly constituencies executed for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir dealt a severe blow to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Akhand Bharat perspective through skewed voter dynamics, erstwhile state’s incremental geo-political representation. Senior BJP leader, Mahendra Jain says, “New assembly constituencies were carved out prematurely using antiquated 2011 census data assessing population figures arriving at a faulty delimitation process.” Jain insists the delimitation exercise was flawed over outdated data relied upon to incrementally create 43 assembly constituencies (in Jammu) and 46 in Kashmir. Effectively hereon, portions of Jammu region (Pir Panjal) encompassing Poonch and Rajouri districts got partitioned away to political space now Anantnag seat in Kashmir occupies. Shia-dominated regions from Srinagar Parliamentary constituency were also given away to Baramulla constituency similarly, using 20-year-old statistics. The recent Lok Sabha elections from Baramulla saw independent candidate Abdul Rasheed Sheikh, currently incarcerated for espousing separatism for Kashmir, being elected to parliament as an independent candidate. An election department official says, “Census taking exercise in large states like Maharashtra can simply be accomplished within six months. J&K and Ladakh UTs’ census exercises will require far shorter timelines.” While the delimitation commission set up in March 2020 looked at the entire J&K UT as one political region, a more discriminated effort, armed with real time data may have prevented Jammu region shedding literal political space. The recent uptick in unheard of terrorism activity in Jammu region over the last couple of months has further antagonized the polity of the region. Will Jammu recover from back-to-back onslaughts by politics and new found terrorism? Only time will tell! For the moment innocent pilgrims are prime targets in Bharat’s paradise.
Governor RN Ravi may not be everyone’s favourite former intelligence officer, but he has made a name for himself with the BJP top brass for holding the best nuisance value in an Opposition-ruled state. Now Ravi is desperately seeking an extension as his 5-year term is running out. His contention is that he served two years in Nagaland and came to Tamil Nadu capital Chennai only three years ago and so expects to stay on for two more years. He has been shuttling to New Delhi often to meet Home Minister Amit Shah who alone can recommend the extension he seeks, besides calling on PM Modi. The former CBI and IB officer’s stay in the Raj Bhavan in Guindy has been sensational, to say the least. He has picked every possible hole in all that the DMK government does and has put a spoke in the wheel of every piece of legislation passed in the Assembly. Only under the prompting of the Supreme Court has he changed a bit to be accommodative in the sense he has been recently clearing routine bills that are non-controversial. The moment he sees a red flag, as in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors that comes under the Governor’s jurisdiction, he would immediately take on the government. He has been the DMK government’s most acerbic critic and two more years of him may not be to chief minister MK Stalin’s liking. But being in the INDIA bloc, he knows the ruling BJP might like to keep their voice in the state for longer.
In Tamil Nadu, the month of Aadi (sacred month between Jul 17 and Aug 16) holds a distinct hysterical attraction for both buyers and sellers. Retailers advertise the most attractive discounts and buyers just cannot resist those drool worthy offers. But why Aadi month? For those familiar with religion and rituals, Aadi is not an auspicious time for weddings and family events. You may be surprised to know that newly-weds are not encouraged to cohabit ….a strange social custom with strong roots in superstition. Yet, Aadi is considered super auspicious for staunch devotion. Every day in the Tamil calendar has a deep religious significance. How did retail hysteria find its place in Aadi? Business and religion have coexisted profitably for ages…as religion has enabled the need to buy numerous products to appease the Gods, especially Ma Durga …offering dozens of glass bangles and sarees to the Goddess, simultaneously gifting to women devotees churning up demand for gifts galore that are sold at irresistible prices. Retailers are happy when the crowds stampede. Buyers use this opportunity of rock bottom prices to stock up for future gifting, weddings and events. Results: inventory flies out. The iconic store Chennai Silks opened Aadi sales this year with its full page ad featuring a “madisar model” draped in a nine yards saree. Religion, business and politics mesh here…the Dravidian ideology though consistently mocking Brahmin culture, is not averse to borrowing symbols of this culture to boost business. Ideology, religion, business everything has its place.
Tamil film fans are on a high …just salivating in anticipation of a star cine line-up. Keenly awaited is Lyca Productions’ thriller Vidaamuyarchi with Ajit and Trisha swinging to Anirudh’s merry music under Magizh Thirumeni’s direction. The news about Trisha taking on the director for some obscure issue and other roadblocks put the fear about Vidaamuyarchi becoming Vitta Muyarchi or effort abandoned. But all is well and Diwali is to be lit up by this film. Thangalan, the much talked about Kolar Gold Mines is a film that may take veteran Vikram to new heights in acting. This film, directed by PA Ranjit with music by GV Prakashkumar will be released on August 15. The very first song Minikki Minikki is already a hit for its rural beat, rustic voice and lyrics. Thangalan to be released worldwide in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi is predicted to be a creative and cash hit on the lines of KGF and RRR. Dhanush and his 50th film Rayan with a promising story and solid acting line up — Selvaraghavan, SJ Surya, Kalidas and Aparna Balamurali. AR Rahman has tuned the lyrics written by Dhanush with SUN Pictures gearing up for July 26 show time. Suriya’s Ganguva in 3D tech, directed by Siruthai Siva with Disha Patani, Bobby Deol and others is an epic historical film that has been long delayed. No wonder Suriya announced its Fire Song to be out on his 49th birthday on July 23 to keep interest alive in Ganguva. There are several small budget modest films too. Who can predict which of these films will grab audience attention?
With the Summer Olympics in Paris a few days away, the focus, from the Indian point of view, is on a handful of individuals and the men’s hockey team upon which interest never diminishes. After lacklustre performances in the quadrennial Olympics for 41 years, the men’s team won the bronze medal in field hockey at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, but put off to 2021 because of the pandemic. Apart from the men’s hockey team’s fortunes which has oscillated like a pendulum, much to the chagrin of the game’s die-hard fans, attention has riveted on the likes of the undisputed queen of badminton, PV Sindhu and the track and field super star, javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra. Sindhu’s form has slipped significantly in the last year, but she has countless supporters who believe that a big stage like the Olympics could see her rise to the occasion. Chopra seems to be on another planet though, startling the athletics world with consistent displays in the last eight years. The armyman from Sonepat has won everything that has been before him and hence the expectations are high — for him to win the gold medal in Paris; he had won the gold medal for the first time in Tokyo. There is also much hope on the men’s doubles pair in Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and from the rifle shooters. In all 117 Indian athletes will be in action in the French capital. For a long time winning the men’s hockey gold was deemed as the ultimate victory, but these days the name that’s in everybody’s lips is Chopra, Neeraj Chopra! He will get a chance to defend the gold he clinched in Japan, three summers ago.
In a path breaking move the Madhya Pradesh has entered into collaboration with BTA (British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin) Training Academy, the UK’s reputed, education training body that offers excellence in educational innovation. The BTA, it is learnt, will draft the academic curriculum and the knowledge will be imparted to the MP government medical staff through its partner hospitals Link Hospital and Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences in Gwalior and Indore respectively. This MoU is designed to upskill medical staff in the MP state who will receive top-class education based on the cumulative rich experience of England’s 75-year-old National Health Service (NHS) experience. The NHS is globally recognized as one of the best in the world in the primary, Emergency, and definitive care sectors. Doctors at the BTA who are trained and who have worked in the NHS for several decades will be instrumental in ensuring the best educational model will be created for Indian conditions and appropriate curriculum will be shared with its partner hospitals. In 2005, the World Health Organization published recommendations for actions regarding emergency medical systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In LMICs, it is gauged that by improving pre-hospital and Emergency care, deaths may be reduced by half. According to the World Bank, India is home to just 10% of the world’s registered vehicles yet accounts for 22% of traffic deaths. Indicating an immediate need to strengthen post-crash care.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has given a clarion call to the BJP rank and file. “Do not wait for a directive, jump into the ring,” he told a BJP conclave held in Pune to strategize for the upcoming assembly election in the state. Always lauded for his measured words and restraint, Fadnavis has surprised even his disciple by ordering the party organisation to become aggressive. Repeatedly castigating the so-called ‘Fake Narrative’ used by the opposition to spread disinformation about the BJP for the parliamentary election, Fadnavis lamented the fact that even the BJP’s elected representatives were reticent on this count. “Our workers await directives. I now ask you to start batting in full swing,” he said amidst great cheers. Pune is the BJP stronghold as well as that of NCP leader Sharad Pawar. In this connection, he rationalised the alliance with rival NCP’s Ajit Pawar. Following the BJP’s poor show in the election, many party functionaries and even RSS mouthpieces have started questioning the justification for taking Ajit along. Fadnavis said on some occasions, it becomes necessary to retreat a couple of paces to attain the objective. The saffron party is known to operate according to the directives (Aadesh) received from the top. The fiat issued by Fadnavis is seen as a signal to the BJP workers to show initiative at local levels and deal accordingly with the opposition.
All eyes are on the BJP government in Odisha as it presents its maiden Budget on July 25. BJP’s national president JP Nadda was on a two-day visit to review the party’s overall plan and budget allocation under the leadership of chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi. All signals indicate that BJP will bite the welfare bullet albeit with pragmatism. BJP’s immediate objective is simple. It wants to meet the aspirations of the people and keep its poll promises. It is understood that Odisha budget outlay for 2024-2025 is likely to be around Rs 3 lakh crore — an increase of around Rs 40,000-50,000 crore over BJD’s earlier budget, say sources. To push welfarism, Majhi’s government has already made provision in the budget. Majhi plans to increase MSP of paddy to Rs 3,100 per quintal to meet its Samrudhi Krushak Yojana plan. To empower women, BJP had promised to pay Rs 50,000 per woman through its ambitious Subhadra Yojana Scheme which will be launched some time in September to coincide with the PM’s birthday. Sources say to cover 2 crore women beneficiaries the state government would require a budget provision of Rs 80,000 crore and it is expecting help from the Centre to partially fund this scheme. It will implement Ayushman Bharat Arogya Yojana as well as replace BJD’s KALIA cash incentive scheme. However, BJP sees wisdom in Naveen Patnaik’s Aahar scheme, the subsidised cooked meal scheme of rice and dal in 2015 to provide meals at Rs 5. This will be continued. However, BJP’s Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra hinted that the KALIA scheme will be renamed. Like all other BJP ruled states, the party is saying cheers to welfarism in Odisha too.
A verbal war has triggered between two Sena camps, both followers of Balasaheb Thackeray, over a movie sequel based on the life of fierce Shiv Sainik late Anand Dighe of Thane. The fuse for the skirmish was the show of the trailer held on the eve of Guru Purnima. Chief minister Eknath Shinde feels proud to call himself Dighe’s soldier. The first flick on Dighe was called Dharmveer. It had provided indication about two and a half years ago that Shinde was extremely unhappy in the then unified Sena. Soon thereafter, he walked out of the party along with over 40 of his followers to form the present Mahayuti government. Ever since, Shinde is the principal target of the Sena (UBT). Shinde’s close confidant and Thane’s MP Naresh Mhaske has lashed out at rival Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut, who immediately raised doubts about the veracity of some portions of the sequel, named Dharmveer-2. Mhaske alleged that ‘Matoshri’ never liked Dighe’s popularity and in fact Uddhav had pressurised to cancel a condolence meet at Thane after Dighe’s demise. The trailer show was attended by deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis along with several BJP leaders. The Sena (UBT) is livid because of the Dighe movies. To sharpen the attack, Shinde’s followers have started saying that a third instalment, too, is being considered. The sequel will be screened for the public from August 9.
Amidst reports of strained relations between the RSS and the ruling BJP, the Centre in a notification last week allowed government employees to take part in RSS’s activities. The notification rolled back a 1966 ban on government employees joining the RSS. The renewed push to the Sangh membership, coming a year ahead of Sangh’s centenary year in 2025 was seen by the Congress as a peace overture by the Modi Government – a gesture by top BJP leadership to pacify the Sangh ahead next round of assembly elections. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge went on to charge that since the BJP couldn’t get a majority on its own and change the Constitution, it was getting RSS workers via back door to capture government machinery. RSS leaders however felt the Centre’s action may have come a little too late. “The 1966 order should have been withdrawn in 2014 itself, when PM Modi had secured the mandate. That is if a RSS pracharak can be Prime Minister of the country, why should there be any restriction on government employees becoming members of the Sangh,” pointed out a senior former Sangh functionary. He also highlighted that long before the Centre withdrew the 1966 ban order, several BJP ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh had made it possible for the employees to attend the RSS meetings. In its first reaction to the decision, the RSS said the Congress Government in the 60s had baselessly banned government employees from participating in the activities of a “constructive organization like the Sangh”, to cater to its political interests. “RSS has been continuously involved in the nation’s reconstruction and service to society for the last 99 years,” said Sunil Ambekar, RSS’s publicity chief and described the Modi government’s decision as appropriate.
Former Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam has a mega issue with Big B starrer Kalki 2898 AD and has slapped a legal notice on the makers of the movie. Acharya Krishnam, patron of Kalki Dham feels “India is a country of emotions, trust and faith” and the movie makers possibly couldn’t can’t play with the values of Sanatan.” Along with the culture and civilization of Sanatan, its Shastras also shouldn’t be twisted. Lord Kalki is the last incarnation of Lord Vishnu, which means no incarnation will take place after him. Many things have been written about it, abiding by the fact that Shri Kalki Dham was established and PM Modi laid the foundation stone. This film goes against what has been described and written in our Shastras. “This film has hurt our religious sentiments,” he says. He has some objections that have been put there in the legal notice. He is waiting for a response from the film-makers. Acharya Krishnam’s Kalkidham which is based out of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh is clear that “we couldn’t let anyone play with our Sanatan religion and our Shastras at any cost. It has become a fashion for filmmakers to play with the sentiments of the Hindu religion.” Sages are shown as demons, and they show others in good esteem. Freedom of expression doesn’t mean that you play with the faith of Hindus and our Shastras. “Kalki 2898 AD is the highest grossing film of 2024. Directed by Nag Ashwin, the post-apocalyptic film is inspired by Hindu scriptures.
When Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump took centre stage at the RNC convention in Milwaukee and spoke about the assassination attempt on him in Butler, Pennsylvania and said “God saved me.” Many ISKCON devotees worldwide may have agreed with him. That is because it was Trump who had helped ISKCON devotees organize the first Rathayatra in July 1976 in New York City by providing his train yard for the construction of the raths for free. However, the ISKCON (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness) which expressed its shock and sadness at the assassination attempt against President Trump was a little concerned that recent posts on social and traditional media about the help it had received from Trump for the first Jagannath Rathayatra in New York City. “We are concerned that media accounts have been exaggerated. For example, ISKCON did not directly approach Mr Trump or bring him prasada (sanctified foods). Nor do we wish to speculate on why or how he was recently saved from more serious harm. We are also concerned that some of the media stories may seem to suggest an ISKCON endorsement of Mr. Trump’s presidential candidacy. ISKCON does not endorse any political candidate, ISKCON said in a statement
The meeting of Chhagan Bhujbal with his ex-mentor Sharad Pawar, has set the tongues wagging about the formation of a third front in the state. The presence of the Uddhav Thackeray aide Milind Narvekar in the meeting also meant that the Shiv Sena chief too has been kept in the loop about developments. Bhujbal, who heads the Samata Parishad, an Other Backward Class (OBC) platform, has been talking strongly against reservations being granted for the blood relatives of the Maratha community. While Bhujbal is unlikely to join hands with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), there is a buzz about senior Pawar pushing Bhujbal to put up a fight as a separate entity. Bhujbal could prove to be the strong counterfoil against the BJP by attracting the strong OBC vote bank, the mainstay of the BJP. Bhujbal who is part of the Ajit Pawar faction of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is increasingly feeling cornered within the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance. Ajit Pawar is also under pressure following a campaign launched against him by the BJP labelling him as a liability in their alliance. Ajit Pawar’s recent strong stance of visiting Vishalgad fort personally and offering monetary compensation to those whose structures were demolished, mainly from the minority community, is being viewed as an independent step in that direction. This front led by Ajit Pawar, expected to fight polls on a secular plank, is expected to attract a lot of rebels including from the BJP. There is a strong buzz that the party might change almost 78 of its 105 legislators including many of the established faces in the state election.
If you meet Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar next time and find him wearing a pink jacket, don’t be surprised. The NCP leader has started donning pink following the advice of his strategist Naresh Arora, of DesigneBoxed Creatives. After suffering grievously in the Lok Sabha election, Ajit changed his campaign advisor and roped in Arora. Soon afterwards, he held a meeting of his followers and made it clear that those wishing to switch over to uncle Sharad Pawar were welcome to leave. Now he has decided to rebuild his party from the grassroots level. Significantly, he made this declaration in Baramati, stronghold of the Pawar clan because there are consistent media reports that many of his followers are on the verge of rejoining Sharad Pawar, a few did. One aspect of the overall invigorating preparation is to build his own image. Accordingly, besides displaying pink, Ajit has also started displaying the NCP badge on his chest. Henceforth, pink will be seen conspicuously in NCP(Ajit) functions, it seems. However, the party flag and election symbol will remain unchanged, it has been made clear. Ajit has started touring the state. While propagating the Mahayuti agenda, he will assess the mood of the NCP rank and file in view of thorny saffron criticism that the BJP was hit hard in Maharashtra in the LS polls on account of its handshake with Ajit. His planning will be based on the feedback.
The name of the game is marketing. The cinema business is all about hard-selling. The Indian II, a Kamal Haasan-starrer, is reportedly raking good collections at the Box Office despite a mixed review. That’s good news, no doubt, for the tinsel world. Is there a way to discover the exact collection? That could give a clue or two to the real appetite for a good movie. Well, the way forward is to go digital completely. Why not ticket sales be done only through online? For one, that could avoid the serpentine queue in front of the theatres to buy tickets. For another, it could provide visibility to stakeholders across the canvass on the revenue flow. That will go a long way in helping to devise a proper policy prescription to the cinema industry. An influential part of the cinema business is still not fully on-boarded into the formal system. Oftentimes, one is not sure if there is meaningful correlation between attendance at theatres and box office collections. Are we seeing the old style of accounting in the tinsel world? If the Railways could successfully run an online catering service to train travellers, why can’t a similar system be encouraged for sale of snacks and beverages at cinema theatres? The cinema industry has traversed quite long from a totally unorganised existence in the past. If the tinsel world is integrated into the formal system in every way, it will do a world of good to the industry, in general, and the national economy, in particular, if. That is easier said than done,however.
The huge success scored in the Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh has boosted the Samajwadi Party’s confidence so much that its leader Akhilesh Yadav has activated plans to storm Maharashtra as well. The arrival of over two dozen SP MPs in Mumbai over the weekend and their felicitation planned by state SP chief Abu Azmi, MLA, indicate Yadav’s resolve to demand a substantial number of seats for the coming assembly election in Maharashtra. Yadav was in Mumbai last week to attend the Ambani wedding. He interacted with various Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders and his own party workers to assess the situation in Maharashtra. In the first phase of his plan, the SP MPs will mobilise the large north Indian population in the state to create a vote bank. Thus, the MVA will henceforth be a four-party combine, consisting the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress, the NCP (Sharad Pawar) and the SP. It will take on the four-party alliance consisting the BJP, the Sena (Shinde), the NCP(Ajit) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray. Once upon a time, the SP in the state had several prominent leaders in its fold. However, except for Azmi, most of them parted ways with it. Now, in the changed circumstance, new entrants are eager to join it and play a meaningful role in Maharashtra polity.
There is a time-honoured adage in cricket that says, “Catches win matches.” In Suryakumar Yadav’s case, the golden rule of the game can be modified to read, “Catches win captaincy,” too! No one, least of all the national selection committee, can erase from their memory the stunt-show-like catch that Yadav converted to bring to nought the big straight blow of South African left-hander David Miller in the tense moments of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final at Bridgetown, Barbados on June 29. Less than a month after he demonstrated his athleticism, commitment and situational awareness to win the title for India’s men in blue, the decision-makers of Indian cricket have awarded him with the national team’s Twenty20 captaincy; it was not just the game-changing catch that impressed the selectors. Whoever brainstormed with them – his ability to maintain equanimity and not leave his foot on the pedal as captain of the Indian team on seven previous occasions must have also weighed in. As captain, he has made 300 runs off 182 balls with a century (an exact 100 off 56 balls with 7 x 4s and 8 x 6s) against South Africa at the Wanderers in December 2023. He has played in 68 Twenty20 internationals, scored 2340 runs, and featured in 51 wins, five as captain. In over three years, Yadav’s unique style of eruptive batting has made him India’s top-notch Twenty20 brand, even amid stalwarts like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He has taken 45 catches, fourth behind Sharma, Kohli, and Hardik Pandya. The soon-to-be 34-year-old Yadav has not made the ODI team cut, though. It’s unlikely he will get the nod for Test cricket. Yadav has the top job ahead of Pandya, and his tenure will now be in his hands.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is contemplating significant changes within the party and the administration following the conclusion of annual ‘Martyrs’ Day’ Rally on July 21. This move is seen as a strategic necessity in preparation for the 2026 assembly elections. The party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee who kept away from all meetings for “medical reasons” is also expected to join the rally. Party insiders say that changes to be announced in August will affect Panchayats, Municipalities, and State Cabinet as the focus will be on appointing “proactive and effective individuals” to key positions. Despite a notable success in the recent state elections, the party’s leadership has pinpointed several organizational shortcomings. The vote share in urban areas has seen a decline, and while rural areas fared better, there is still a pressing need for organizational improvements. The TMC leadership is not fully confident in the level of spontaneous public support across various regions, prompting discussions about introducing new faces into the party’s organizational structure. According to a senior leader of the party, in close circuit, Didi has been clear in stating that although the government scheme benefited people vis a vis win for TMC yet there is a need for organizational overhaul. A particular focus of the reshuffle will be North Bengal. While TMC secured victories in the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat and the Raigunge Assembly seat in recent bypolls, overall progress in the region has been limited. Consequently, the party is meticulously reviewing its organizational setup in these areas to ensure more robust performance in future elections.
Even in an almost cameo role of Kamal Haasan in Kalki 2898 AD, it raked in the money and the laurels. But his full length sequel epic Indian 2 has turned into an embarrassment for all concerned – director S Shankar, Lyca Productions, Red Giant and cast. Hit in the solar plexus by a super long film that begs to be ignored. Especially brilliant director Shankar who has had many hits in his quiver and a reputation for big scale entertainment. In the high jinx, big money world of cinema many hits are quickly memory erased with one super flop. That’s exactly what has happened to wizard Shankar. But the long gestation period of Indian 2 brought an opportunity for him to sign up Ram Charan (fresh from the laurels of RRR and its near Oscar status) for directing Game Changer. Even as Telugu distributors, financiers and producers are shell shocked by the Indian 2 debacle, they have to scan the sky, hopefully for that rainbow. And appropriately enough it could be Game Changer with the suave Ram Charan. The political thriller written by Kartik Subburaj, features Kiara Advani, SJ Surya, Anjali and others. Ram Charan shared a collage of a helicopter that said, “The Game is about to Change … .Game Changer is all wrapped up. See you at the cinemas.” Cinema is mega money …it needs back to back game changers to survive.
With Odisha Legislative Assembly’s budget session set to begin on July 22, the big news is Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo Naveen Patnaik is now bracing up to an “aggressive face off” to contain BJP. BJD now aims to play the role of a constructive and effective opposition leader. To achieve this the former chief minister has opted for “shadow boxing” strategy, similar to British Parliament’s Westminster style to contain BJP. Naveen babu has asked 50 of its MLA’s to solely focus on BJP’s strategy, policy and functioning henceforth. Effectively, it’s a two-pronged strategy. One, to empower BJD MLA’s in advance , so that they can intervene effectively during the forthcoming Assembly session on issues being neglected by BJP’s government headed by Mohan Charan Majhi. Two, it intends to take advantage of BJP inexperienced BJP ministers by raising a number of issues and forcing them to react. One can expect a stormy session in the Odisha Assembly henceforth. Political watchers are giving thumbs up to Patnaik’s strategy to push BJP on the back foot. But, BJP’s senior leader Samir Mohanty criticized Patnaik’s strategy as ‘absurd and superficial exercise’.
AIADMK chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) is a troubled man after the rout of his party in the Lok Sabha election. His stubborn resolve to “no alliance” with BJP is being blamed by many of his apparatchiks, and with the imminent run up to the 2026 Assembly elections, EPS is now tailgated and pressurised to take back the prodigals O Panneerselvam and VK Sasikala (Chinnamma). A chintan baithak held for brainstorming brought this demand to the fore. According to OS Manian, former party minister, the most crucial strategy is to knit a strong alliance under the AIADMK leadership like the DMK alliance. Leaks of unhappiness from VCK and Marxist Communist in the DMK combine are evident …why not break this bond? The Muukkulathor community in the southern districts form a big block of voters and they think Sasikala with 33 years of association with J Jayalalithaa will revive the charisma. OPS surprisingly won 3 lakh votes in his alliance perch with the BJP. So voices are now vehement about uniting the party to its old glory. EPS has a strong “No” to OPS but is silent on Chinammaa’s entry. With such overpowering arguments for and against restoring the status quo ante, no wonder EPS is confused and confounded. Sasikala who had announced in 2021 she was taking a political Sanyas has suddenly abandoned her sanyasi garb, put on her political makeup and announced a tour of TN in the holy month of Aadi.
India’s politicians are of the doughty, never-say-die type. Take Sasikala, a quasi-politician at best when she was J Jayalalithaa’s confidante but carries that spirit beyond her conviction for graft and a 4-year incarceration in a Bengaluru jail. Ejected from the AIADMK party at the instance of her pick for the chief minister’s job after Jaya’s death, Edappadi Palaniswami, she has decided to fight back after the AIADMK was trounced at the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls to the extent the party withdrew from the latest bypoll citing DMK monopoly over the election process. Sasikala tried to gather some forces in a recent visit south where she drew a crowd of personal loyalists. She also continues using the party flag bearing the profile of Annadurai on a black background, much to the chagrin of EPS who has been anointed Secretary of AIADMK, from the Supreme Court downwards. The idea of uniting the party and bringing back all the ‘black sheep’ – read Sasikala and O Panneerselvam – before the 2026 Assembly poll was aired at a party conference to take in the impact of Lok Sabha polls. But EPS shot it down vehemently even as he aired the view that the likes of Sasikala should stay away from active politics. He is intent on steering the party into the next state polls in what could be a do-or-die effort.
A significant rift within the Bengal BJP has surfaced, highlighted by recent statements from top party functionaries during the ongoing assessment of the Lok Sabha and Assembly bypoll election results in West Bengal. Union Minister and Bengal BJP President, Sukanta Majumdar, advised party workers against relying on actions by the CBI and ED to secure election victories. Instead, he urged them to focus on strengthening the party organization. This remark is widely interpreted as an indirect jibe at Suvendu Adhikari, BJP’s Leader of the Opposition for referencing dates of central agency raids against TMC leaders. This exchange has further fuelled tensions within the party, with Adhikari controversially suggesting that the BJP should abandon Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inclusive slogan, “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas,” and do away with its minority wing. He proposed a new slogan: “Jo humare saath, hum unke saath.” Majumdar quickly distanced the party from Adhikari’s statement, labelling it as a personal view. Under pressure from the BJP high command in Delhi, Adhikari later issued a social media statement claiming his comments were taken out of context. The BJP’s failure to meet its target of 25 seats in the recent Lok Sabha polls, securing only 12 compared to 18 in 2019, and losing three of its four seats in the Assembly bypolls, reducing its tally from 77 to 71, has intensified internal blame-game. Political observers see these exchanges as indicative of deepening internal conflicts within the state BJP leadership.
Why the high profile Prasad Lad did not file a nomination for the election to the post of president of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) remains a mystery. The 53-year-old MLC of the BJP, who could pull strings with the state deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, announced that he would “100 %” file nomination, but according to the grapevine, was stopped from “entering the fray” upon instructions from the party bosses in New Delhi. What gives credence to this development is that another BJP big shot, Ashish Shelar — the Bandra boy is the president of Mumbai BJP — had already named the MCA vice-president Sanjay Naik as a potential successor to Amol Kale, who passed away in New York on June 10. Shelar pointed out at Kale’s condolence meeting that Sanjay had sportingly withdrawn in favour of Kale in the MCA election of October 2022. With Kale — who owed his position in the MCA to Fadnavis — at the helm, Lad could not have considered seriously engaging with the association. Lad’s backtracking will likely see the incumbent secretary, Ajinkya Naik, lock horns with the incumbent vice-president, Sanjay. Looks like they are daggers drawn and ready for the big fight! Should there be no withdrawal on July 16, the election will occur on July 23. The loser will retain his position, though (as secretary or vice-president), so both could get a toe-hold some 15 months before next year’s election to the full Apex Council. Lad may throw his hat in the ring next year if the BJP-Shiv Sena of Eknath Shinde and NCP of Ajit Pawar win the assembly elections in October-November.
It was the wedding of the century. And as usual the entire Bollywood made sure they marked their attendance at the Ambani wedding. All were there with their families and they really let their hair down. There are a few observations that one saw at the wedding. For starters, the paparazzi, who are often not treated well by the top stars, were pleasantly surprised by the respect accorded to them by Bollywood folks. It looked as though the Ambanis had told them to cooperate with the paparazzi. Shah Rukh Khan who was again seen with his green umbrella covering his face to avoid being papped the next day after the wedding had posed not once but twice at the wedding with the proper salaam to the members of the media. Amitabh Bachchan was spotted waiting for his turn to pose in front of the media while cricketer MS Dhoni posed. Someone like Madhuri Dixit danced to Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai number. In fact, Salman who is very fond of Anant Ambani made sure even Shah Rukh Khan danced instead of standing and watching others dance. A photograph of Salman Khan and Arjun Kapoor together has gone viral as generally Sallu bhai prefers to stay away from Arjun. All said and done, almost all the top actors and actresses from the film industry participated in Ambani’s wedding whole-heartedly. In fact, all of them had blocked dates for the three Ambani events that took place in the last few months.
Only early this month PM Narendra Modi had highlighted in the Parliament how the Congress had a tendency to sacrifice from “Dalit and backward classes” in losing causes to protect “the family”. He had attacked the Congress for trying to push the candidature of Kodikunnil Suresh, first as pro-tem Speaker and then later got him to file papers for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s elections. Now it seems Modi may not have been off the mark. After pushing the Mavelikara MP as senior most member as he was an 8 term MP — never mind in between breaks, the Congress chose to appoint Suresh as chief whip for the party in Lok Sabha on July 14. It preferred to pick a much younger Jorhat MP Gaurav Gogoi, as Lok Sabha deputy leader. It is odd that the Congress should bypass the senior Dalit leader from Kerala. May be Suresh too is in the same league as former LS Speaker Meira Kumar who was fielded against former President Ram Nath Kovind in 2017. Or like former Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde who was fielded against Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in the Vice President elections of 2002. All senior Dalit leaders who have been used by the Congress to fight a lost cause. Meanwhile, one hears Rahul Gandhi, who had travelled out of the country on a private jet of a friend to London, is going to be back home over the weekend (July 14). His audacious social media managers who had faked his phone call to US V-P Kamala Harris while he was away didn’t expect to get caught. For once Modi seems to have been on the mark, invoking Sholay‘s mausi ji imagery!
What’s in IT? Well, IT (information technology) makes an organisation efficient. Is it really so? Ask S Aruldass, managing director of the Chennai-based EAFS which was established in 1992. The company is a leading IT-Enabled Infrastructure & Engineering solution provider and project specialist in the design and building of Data centers & Network Solutions. Over eight summers have gone by and yet, this Chennai-based entrepreneur is at his wit’s end to recover the money for the services rendered by his company to Bengaluru-based IT major Wipro. After selling off his multi-cuisine restaurant (Noodle Kings), he founded EAFS to provide power and control solutions to corporations. It isn’t easy to be an MSME (micro, small and medium enterprise) organisation. He is acutely aware of this. But, he hasn’t bargained for an IT giant like Wipro to delay payment for services rendered several years ago! Constant churning of people in Wipro has only worsened his predicament. The IT age appears to have pushed the inter-personal relationship to a faceless computer interface. This is indeed causing avoidable hurt for smaller ones like EAFS. Non-receipt of payment, however, does not entitle EAFS to hold back on GST payments. The cumulative weight caused by non-receipt of payment from Wipro has cast a huge burden on him and his company. What is small for some may prove to be big for some others. Is Wipro listening?
When PM Modi attended Anant-Radhika ‘Shubh Aashirwad’ ceremony what was of significance was that he paid respects to both Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth Swami Sadananda Saraswati and Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath Swami Avimukteshwaranand. They were among the four Shankaracharyas who had opposed the January 22 inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya because they felt it was being held in violation of the rules of Sanatan Dharma. Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand, was particularly vocal. The Shankaracharyas had opposed the inauguration of an incomplete Ram Mandir. However, on July 13, in an extraordinary gesture of spiritual significance Swami Avimukteshwaranand could be seen handing PM Modi a necklace of rudraksha beads that he was wearing. It almost seemed like a sign of truce between the dharma gurus and PM Modi. However, even while opposing the opening of the temple Swami Avimukteshwaranand had always reiterated that he was one of the admirers of PM Modi. It is because of PM Modi Hindus have become aware of their self-respect. “The truth is PM Modi has made Hindus self-aware which is not a small thing. We have said several times in public that we are not anti-Modi but his admirers. Name another prime minister of India who strengthened Hindus like Modi before. We have had many prime ministers and they all have been good — we are not criticising anyone.” Champat Rai of the temple trust had defended the inauguration on the grounds that the temple belonged to Ramanand Sampradaya – a 18th century Vaishnava saint.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin is basking in the success of his party candidate in the bypoll in Vikravandi, which came despite the government facing the heat in the aftermath of hooch deaths near the constituency. He knew it was important to get this endorsement of Dravidian rule because the ruling DMK was up against the candidate from the PMK that was part of BJP+ and testing the waters in a virtual straight contest in the absence of AIADMK. From the voting counts of 2021 and 2024 it was clear that the AIADMK cadre chose to vote for DMK rather than PMK, which vote would have been taken as one for the BJP that has been desperately seeking a break in the state. While the PMK got 32,198 votes in the Vikravandi segment in the Lok Sabha polls this year, its candidate got 56,026 votes in the assembly bypoll. While that could be taken as an indicator of the current mood and the dynamics of a straight contest, DMK’s Anniyur Siva got 1.25 lakh votes, a big swing from when the DMK won the seat only by a margin of 9,500 in 2021. AIADMK voters have chosen to go against its former ally BJP, now a bitter rival in 3-way poll politics in Tamil Nadu. The anticipated big breakthrough for BJP in the south, specifically Tamil Nadu, may take a lot more time to come.
Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) leader Jayant Patil’s humiliating defeat in the Maharashtra legislative council election, a couple of days ago, has been celebrated by his arch rival, Shiv Sena (Shinde) MLA Mahendra Dalvi in a novel manner. Dalvi and some of his followers literally smeared themselves with mud by flinging headlong in rainwater poodles in Alibaug, the Raigad district headquarters and the generational stronghold of Patil family. Dalvi then uploaded video clips of this mud bath, dedicating the rout of Patil to CM Eknath Shinde. The MLA had declared his resolve to take such a bath publicly a few days prior to the election. The outcome of the election has shocked the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), whose support Patil was banking upon. The Patil family has been dominating the politics in Raigad district for decades with allegations that the use of money and muscle by Jayant Patil has made it possible. A smart political operative, Patil had been managing to get into the council since 2002 from the assembly constituency despite having not more than two or three PWP MLAs at any given time. Patil lost because the Shiv Sena (Uddhav) fielded high profile Milind Narvekar, who garnered the required votes which Patil was hoping to obtain. Patil’s setback despite the blessings of veteran Sharad Pawar has gladdened his traditional rivals in the district, led by NCP (Ajit) heavyweight Sunil Tatkare. Once the main opposition party in the state, the PWP thus has faded out of the legislature.
Sequels seem to be the current flavour of Tamil films. Even as Indian 2 is chugging along to mixed reactions, Ishari Ganesh and his production House Vel’s, announced the sequel to their 2020 fantasy mythology/ comedy ( new genres are creatively spun ) Mookkuthi Amman. Lady Superstar Nayanthara plays the Goddess. How did a fantasy theme steeped in Divine overtones inspire a sequel? The ways of films and the preferences of audiences are as elusive as The Scarlet Pimpernel. The first film Mookkuthi Amman could not get a cinema release due to Covid-19 pandemic. But the makers were not daunted …they managed a direct OTT release on Disney Hotstar, almost convinced it was due to the divine blessings of Goddess Amman. A beautiful Nayanthara got iconic welcome as the Nose Pin Goddess. RJ Balaji, the main character is also the director of the film. Mookkuthi Amman watches over the good people with her timely interventions and is lionised as the family “go to” deity. When story boards are as dry as a desert, film makers seek sequels — at least the essentials for the film are charted. Only a new story twist is needed. Nayanathara is an appropriate Mookkuthi Amman.
The Odisha Governor Raghubir Das is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Reportedly, his son Lalit Kumar beat Raj Bhavan staffer Baikuntha Pradhan black and blue on July 7. The trigger apparently was Pradhan, Assistant Section Officer at Raj Bhavan, sent a Maruti car to fetch the Governor’s son from Puri Railway station. This enraged Lalit Kumar as he was expecting a luxury car. Feeling slighted the Governor’s son and his friends slapped and kicked the Raj Bhavan staffer. Looks like the VVIP culture and sense of entitlement seems to be endemic across political parties. The explanation given by Pradhan for sending a small car is that there was no other vehicles available as the President of India Droupadi Murmu was officially visiting Raj Bhavan and all vehicles were pressed into her service. Pradhan has filed a formal complaint with the Governor’s Principal Secretary while his wife Sayoji has filed a complaint at Sea Beach police station at Puri seeking justice for her husband. The Opposition parties — BJD and Congress – is not letting go of this opportunity to embarrass the BJP ruled state. It’s seeking action against the Governor’s son.
Will UK’s newly elected Labour MP David Lammy who has assumed office as Foreign Secretary visit India by the end July? Addressing the India Global Conclave in June, Lammy had announced that he shall be in India by July end leaving the audience to read between the lines. Lammy’s indirectly winning prediction has come true. His affinity to India is well known and he does not hesitate to use slogans of Vasudev Kutumbakam in his speeches when he addresses the Indian diaspora. Lammy has fully recognized the power of India, and the strength of the Indian diaspora in the UK thus he makes a special effort to announce his Indian origin. Lammy’s great-grandmother was of Indian origin before the family moved to the Caribbean Islands. An MP since 2000, Lammy held various junior ministerial positions under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown between 2002 and 2010. He believes India is a superpower with a huge integrated market and acknowledges its strengths in various sectors. Lammy is confident that his government will bring the Free Trade Talks to the front burner and hopefully get it signed soon. Even Dr Vikram Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India feels likewise and says that the FTA between India and the UK is among the top items on the list to be completed within 100 days of the new government headed by Modi.
July 12 was a red flagged day for the much-anticipated and delayed release of Ulaga Nayakan Kamal Hassan’s magnum opus, Indian 2, sequel to that 1996 super hit that rocked global viewers for sheer scale, script and cinematic spectacle. Besotted Kollywood fans had almost given up on seeing Indian 2. Tamil film’s ace director S Shankar announced the sequel on January 15, 2019. A five years delay can be financially crippling in the film industry. What went wrong? Everything. At every step the film hit roadblocks. This string of unexpected hurdles could make for a standalone script for “The Making Of Indian 2”. A series of mishaps, infighting between the production house and the director, legal hurdles and an accident on the set — crane fell on the crew killing three workers. Kamal had to take care of the legal summons as he was in no way connected with the mishap. A prompt Rs 1 crore compensation to the deceased workers’s families pacified the crew. Then came Covid-19 pandemic. Indian 2 lost three of their best talents — top comedian Vivek, Manobala and Nedumudi Venu. Through all this Kamal worked in other films and also launched his own political party MNM. His Vikram, a super hit, turned the tide and Kamal’s confidence levels rose. Shankar, a mega scale director is not known to cut the cloth according to the coat. In 1996 Indian 1 made on Rs 9 crore budget earned Rs 30 crore, his Rajini starrer 2.0 made in 2018 with Rs 600 crore earned Rs 800 crore. Indian 2 made at a cost Rs 600 crore is expected to cross the Rs1000-crore mark.
With BJP firmly in the driver’s seat in Odisha now all eyes are on the chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi to deliver the poll promise. Doubting Thomases are already asking whether he can transform Odisha, create over 3.5 lakh new jobs, attract investments in the industrial and agriculture sectors? The world will get a whiff of his roadmap when Majihi presents the state’s budget on July 24. So far, Majhi has successfully opened up the four gates of Sri Jagannath Temple besides creating a corpus fund of Rs 500 crore for safety, security and beautification of the iconic temple. Majhi’s cabinet has also decided to formulate a policy for farmers within 100 days to increase MSP of paddy to Rs 3,100 per quintal. Sources say the chief minister faces huge challenges from providing drinking water, to quality school, to filling teachers’ posts lying vacant to scant irrigation facilities. Meanwhile, the new government is already facing criticism for announcing two big ticket projects without doing feasibility studies. Well known political commentator Ruben Banerjee has questioned the viability of such projects. In the case of Subhadra Jojana (earlier Mission Shakti) the state will spend Rs 50,000 crore to cover one crore women who will get a voucher of Rs 50,000 in two years. In the case of Bhubaneswar Metro Rail project, the government plans to invest Rs 6,000 crore. And this project will run into losses, says Banerjee. He is just over a month into his new role and it is unfair to compare him with the former legendary chief minister Naveen Patnaik who ran Odisha for over two decades.
Following Anusuya Sengupta’s acclaimed win as Best Actress in the ‘A Certain Regard’ category for her film ‘Shameless’ at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, questions have arisen concerning the notable absence of Indian Bengali cinema at prominent international film festivals like Cannes, Berlin, and Venice. Acclaimed Director Goutam Ghose, a recipient of numerous awards at prestigious global film festivals, highlighted a disparity in enthusiasm towards festivals among Bengali master filmmakers of yester years. While luminaries such as Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen actively engaged with these platforms, celebrated figures like Tarun Majumder and Tapan Sinha were less inclined, despite their films receiving recognition. Ghosh noted fluctuating preferences among festival organizers favouring films from different countries at different times, including periods where Iranian, Korean, and occasionally Indian cinema gained prominence. Film researcher and professor Sanjay Mukhopadhyay observed that films like Debaki Kumar Bose’s ‘Sita’ might have won accolades in Venice due to their westernised portrayal of Indian women. He acknowledged a decline in Bengali cinema’s international visibility post the era of Ray, Sen, and Ritwik Ghatak. Director Atanu Ghosh, whose works have been honoured at international festivals, acknowledged the current scarcity of Bengali films on the global stage. Interestingly, according to director Sekhar Das even Russian films are not being able to make their mark even with these famous directors like Tarkovsky or Sokurov. The same is true for Bengali movies.
The blame game has started in Maharashtra, with all three partners of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the dock for the defeat of a candidate supported by them in the MLC election. The MLC election held on July 12 has triggered a fierce political furore since NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s blessed candidate Jayant Patil of the Peasants and Workers Party lost. He was promised the requisite support of the excess MVA votes. However, Uddhav’s decision to field his confidant Milind Narvekar vitiated the arithmetic. Had he not added the second Sena candidate, all the 11 seats would have been declared unopposed. But Uddhav’s decision proved costly for Jayant Patil. He himself has expressed chagrin since he was assured excess votes of the MVA. Former MLC Kapil Patil, too, has held Uddhav responsible for Jayant Patil’s defeat. Kapil, a former journalist, has reminded Uddhav how he ditched Kapil’s organisation at the eleventh hour in the council election from the Teachers’ constituency. Kapil has also held Uddhav responsible for the defeat of former MP Raju Shetti. On the other hand, newly elected BJP MLC Sadabhau Khot has blamed Pawar for the beating suffered by Jayant Patil. “Pawar has stabbed Patil in the back,” Khot said. As the election was from the legislative assembly constituency, the cross voting, as hinted by shortpost.in, has occurred just like it had happened two years ago. Both times, most such voting has happened from the Congress quota. Interestingly, its possibility was forewarned this time but the Congress brass failed to prevent it. The shocking outcome will definitely impact planning for the coming assembly election by all the parties.
Assembly by-elections are usually won by the party in power. That is why it came as a surprise for the BJP that it failed to retain Badrinath assembly seat and was defeated in Manglaur in Uttarakhand by a margin of 422 votes. While the Congress has been claiming victory in Badrinath as a natural corollary to INDIA Bloc win in Faizabad Lok Sabha seat that hosts Ayodhya and the Ram Mandir, the BJP may have much to mull about its performance. Defeat of BJP candidate Rajendra Singh Bhandari in Badrinath assembly seat may not be so much a comment on chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami but it could still be an eye-opener for the party. The seat fell vacant as Bhandari had quit the Congress as an MLA during 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He joined the BJP supporting its Garhwal Lok Sabha candidate Anil Baluni. The BJP had fielded him in the by-election hoping his connection with local public would carry him through. What the party did not factor in was lack of enthusiasm among its cadres to the Congress turncoat. “More than BJP cadres letting Bhandari down, Badrinath seat was mainly lost because there was simmering anger among residents of Joshimath over delay in resettlement and relocating them,” pointed out senior Congress leader Prakash Joshi. This was an area which has always given BJP the lead. Joshimath has been declared a landslide-subsidence zone since 2022 and people still have to deal with it. The second seat Manglaur had always seen a proxy battle between the Congress and the BSP. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh however insisted that the Uttarakhand results “reflect the changing political climate in the country.”
While there is general rush among new ministers in the Modi Government for a comfortable Lutyens bungalow, it is being said Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who is residing at 10, Rajaji Marg, faces the problem of beehives in his garden. Though it is not clear how much of a challenge it has been to Kharge and his family, the bees have certainly posed a problem to the media team who have gone to cover INDIA bloc meetings at his residence. The bees have stung cameramen and tried to damage their equipment. It is being said ever since the Lok Sabha results, Kharge had become a little quiet. He has apparently conveyed to Sonia Gandhi that he would like to hang his boots. With Priyanka Gandhi all set to get elected from Wayanad, the Congress expects her to play a larger role in the organisation. That actually means Kharge would like to return as CM of Karnataka. The new Parliament building which entails a lot of walking for MPs is also getting to him and his limbs are aching too much it is being said. KC Venugopal had apparently suggested Kerala ayurvedic massage for the 81-year old leader. Meanwhile in his home state, Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivkumar is resisting pressure to ease him out of the state PCC. He says he can be replaced only by his handpicked nominee — say his brother DK Suresh or Lakshmi Hebalkar. Of course the Congress leadership could be too reluctant to effect any change in Karnataka. Easing out a prudent like CM Siddaramaiah could be fraught with many unforeseen risks.
Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi’s social media message to Congress leaders denouncing Smriti Irani ever since she lost Amethi Lok Sabha elections on June 12 came as a bit of surprise. Posted on X, Rahul generally made it clear “winning and losing happen in life” and urged everyone to refrain from using “derogatory language” and being nasty towards” Smriti Irani or any other leader for that matter.” Many wondered if the tweet itself was a diversion. Was the “generous message” deliberately put out by his social media managers as they didn’t want anyone to know Rahul’s travel plans? Party sources said the LoP who had travelled extensively within India during the Parliament break — from Manipur to his constituency Rae Bareli— has apparently taken a two day break. Yes, he is making a very short foreign trip. Party sources said he must have decided to travel abroad just ahead of the monsoon session next week. No one in the Congress knows where he was headed. In his message, Rahul made it clear “humiliating and insulting people” was a sign of weakness, not strength. The BJP of course hasn’t taken such a condescending message lightly. “This is the most disingenuous message ever. After unleashing Congress leaders, like a pack of wolves, on the woman who defeated him in Amethi and smashed his arrogance to smithereens, this is rich. All this gibberish doesn’t take away from the fact that Smriti Irani forced Balak Buddhi to abandon Amethi”, countered BJP I-T Cell head Amit Malviya.
Controversial IAS probationer Pooja Khedkar’s mother, too, is now caught up in the scandalous disclosures even as details about her father Dilip are being dug up. Pooja has been transferred to Washim from Pune after her many alleged misdeeds to get into the IAS became viral. Even as the barrage of sensational revelations continues, one of her mother Manorama’s astounding videos is in circulation now. In it, Manorama is seen with a revolver and in a verbal fight with some people, said to be farmers of Dhavali village near Pune. The Khedkar family is stated to have purchased several acres of agricultural land in the village and the villagers own adjacent parcels of land. Even as the veracity of the clip is being tested, the Khedkar residence in Baner, a Pune suburb, was found locked and deserted. Similarly, the much-talked about Audi car was also missing from the house. This was the car Pooja had been using by installing a red beacon atop, against regulations. To top it all, it has transpired that Pooja had called up Panvel DCP Vivek Pansare, a few days ago, asking him to release a suspect who was in police custody under his jurisdiction. Pansare did not pay heed to the request but recalled it after reading about Pooja’s acts of omission and commission. He has filed a report to the authorities to put on record the incident. Since the PMO has appointed a one-man-committee to investigate how Pooja could get into the IAS, it is expected that some top officials of the UPSC also will face the music. Meanwhile, the Khedkar family’s antecedents are being unearthed.
Finally, what was doing the rounds on the grapevine has been confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that Gautam Gambhir will take over the mantle of Head Coach of the Indian cricket team from Rahul Dravid. The BCCI has not mentioned the time span, but it is assumed that Gambhir will be around for a few years. The former India opener, dour but doughty, was part of the Indian team that won the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 ICC World Cup in India. Gambhir’s priority will be to shape the national team for the ICC World Test championship title that eluded Virat Kohli, and Ravi Shastri and Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid. Apart from playing Bangladesh and New Zealand in a home Test series, India will face two formidable teams in Australia and England, involving five Tests each, both being away series. Thanks to the remarkable display by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, India was able to show its mettle in these countries in the recent past. Gambhir will start with a white ball series in Sri Lanka this month without some of the key players. What’s of much interest is whether the BCCI will change the full support staff; Gambhir would like to have men of his choice but the players may have a different take on the matter. Gambhir turned out to be a successful mentor for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Tata IPL 17, an outcome that hastened his appointment as Head Coach of the Indian team.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.