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Last week, as Congress leaders protested against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s so-called “anti-Ambedkar” remark in Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi joined his party MPs in a blue T-shirt, giving up his trademark white polo T-shirt. His sister Priyanka also twinned with him wearing a blue sari. Clearly the Gandhi siblings opted to go for a very visual protest against Shah’s remarks. The choice of the colour of clothes of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) — usually spotted donning plain white T-shirts raised eyebrows. The colour blue has been associated with Dalit politics since 1942, when Dr BR Ambedkar established the Scheduled Castes Federation to campaign for the rights of the Dalit community. The body adopted a blue flag featuring Ashok Chakra. The flag was later retained by the Republican Party of India (RPI), founded by Ambedkar in 1956. Over time, blue became very closely associated with Dalit identity and activism. Even political parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party and the ASP, which champions Dalit welfare, embraced blue colour in their branding. As the Gandhi siblings lead the protest, it was the choice of colour of their clothes that caught everyone’s attention!
The Winter Session which saw a two-day discussion on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution and introduction of One Nation One Election (ONOE) Bill has come to a close. It brought out sharp divisions over discussions and bills at least in two political parties — the Congress and DMK. In the Congress, if a first term MP Priyanka Vadra was seen opening the discussion on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, for some reason senior leader and eminent lawyer P Chidambaram did not get an opportunity to have his say about the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha. In the DMK, there was a clear division of views between the DMK parliamentary party leader TR Baalu and deputy leader Kanimozhi. While Baalu endorsed the government’s offer to refer the Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Kanimozhi seemed completely surprised by his stand and insisted that her party was opposed to the Bill and demanded its withdrawal.”DMK has consistently opposed the entire Bill. We do not accept that there can be ONOE because it is against the Constitution. It is against federal rights and it is against the will of the people. People choose state governments for 5 years, I don’t think you can take that right away from the people and give it to the EC to decide how many years governments can last or not. So, this is completely against the state, against federalism” said Kanimozhi. While her stand reflects TN assembly resolution passed in February against ONOE Bill this year, the media is awash with reports about how her late father Kalaignar M Karunanidhi had highlighted the benefits of simultaneous polls in his autobiography Nenjuku Neethi. Incidentally, Karunanidhi had advanced state polls to 1971 to coincide with LS polls.
The Thursday (Dec 19) visit of BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) MLAs to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur has become a hot political topic though there are other reasons, too, for intense politicking. Firstly, the MLAs belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar did not join the event. Secondly, those disgruntled due to their non-inclusion in the council of ministers have started expressing their anger openly. Like earlier two occasions, Ajit Pawar and most of his followers distanced themselves from the visit organized by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The presence of former CM Eknath Shinde and his MLAs proved to be another highlight. However, the discontent brewing within Mahayuti on other counts is now becoming more vocal. Political heavyweight Chhagan Bhujbal was the first to articulate it. His open criticism of Ajit Pawar surprised many since he had stayed by the side of Pawar all through. Now, there are reports that some of Bhujbal’s supporters want him to join the BJP to end his political wilderness. So far, Bhujbal has maintained that he is with the NCP (Ajit). The other notable leader to become the subject of political speculation is the legislative council’s deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe. Her detractors, mainly the recent Sena (UBT) entrant Sushama Andhare, have started hinting at Gorhe’s plans to go with the BJP. Gorhe, too, has not reacted to the talk. Ajit’s sudden disappearance for two days from the winter session only added grist to the grapevine. His explanation that he was down with a throat infection is hardly swallowed. More murmurs are expected to be heard once Fadnavis announces the allocation of the portfolios.
The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has started preparing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, expected to take place early next year. This will be the fight for political survival for Thackeray because the Sena has been in power in India’s richest civic body since 1985. Taking stock of the situation, other political parties, too, have begun their planning. The picture this time will be fundamentally different since the BJP has emerged as the largest party in the state after the assembly election. Its estrangement with the Sena (UBT), which split in 2022 owing to Eknath Shinde’s decision to walk out of it, will be a major factor in the coming election in which the Congress will be an insignificant player, given its lacklustre performance in Mumbai and the state as a whole. Equally exasperating is the condition of the state Congress committee as its president Nana Patole is perceived as an ineffective leader by the rank and file. The BMC’s last election saw the Sena winning 84 seats in the 227-member house while the BJP had captured 82. Owing to the alliance ethics, the BJP had made no effort to bag the mayoralty of the financial capital of India. However, the BJP is not prepared to take any chance this time and a decision about its Mumbai president is likely to be taken soon. Sitting chief Ashish Shelar is among the hopefuls though his inclusion in the council of ministers could be a decisive factor in the final choice.
This was to happen one day or the other with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) putting its foot down saying it will not send its national teams to India for any signature event of the ICC, like the World Cups in the two formats in men, women and the juniors. This was the PCB’s riposte to the long-standing BCCI position — citing security concerns — that it will not send its team across the border for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and that it will play only at a neutral venue. For three World Test Championship (WTC) the two nations have taken themselves off the Future Tours Programme (FTP). The cricketers of the two countries may enjoy good relationships when they lock horns in neutral country venues and have fans across the border, but the Indian government has been steadfast in denying permission to the BCCI. The latest communication from the ICC has confirmed that in the 2024-2027 cycle all ICC events given to India and Pakistan, the matches featuring the two countries will be held at a neutral country chosen by the host country; in the Champions Trophy case the PCB is the host. What all this means is the elimination of high security arrangements that India had to do when Pakistan played last year’s World Cup matches in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. It took hard bargaining by the PCB with the ICC — with Jay Shah in Chair since December 1, 2024 — for it to agree to a hybrid model in order to ensure that it remains the host in a neutral country venue as well and where India will play and this country is said to be the United Arab Emirates.
The massive success of Pushpa 2, has reignited the debate over screen allocation in West Bengal’s single-screen theatres. While the blockbuster continues to dominate the box office, its stronghold has created challenges for four Bengali films— Khadaan, Shontaan, Chaalchitro, and 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane—which targeted Christmas Day for their releases. The overlap has sparked a heated controversy over securing adequate slots in single-screen theatres, which remain a key audience base for Bengali cinema. Single-screen theatres across Bengal are grappling with the balancing act of accommodating these films while catering to the massive demand for Pushpa 2. Tollywood’s Christmas lineup has been significantly impacted, with producer-actor Dev expressing frustration on social media. He alleged that Khadan’s shows and advance bookings were disrupted due to the overwhelming presence of Pushpa 2. Arijit Dutta, owner of Priya Theatre, reported dividing slots among the films: Khadaan (two shows), Chaalchitro (one), 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane (one), and Pushpa 2 (one). However, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty’s Shontaan was left out entirely, sparking outrage from its director Raj Chakraborty, who criticized the lack of consistent support for Bengali cinema. A distributor, speaking anonymously, blamed the simultaneous release of multiple Bengali films during the festive season, suggesting a lack of coordination among producers. He pointed to Bollywood’s strategy of staggering releases as a model Tollywood could emulate. Star Theatre owner Joydeep Mukherjee called for better planning within the Bengali film industry to avoid internal competition. Interestingly, allegations have resurfaced about Shontaan‘s producer, pressuring hall owners to prioritize its films. This history has led some distributors to side with independent producers in the current clash.
Sunday’s swearing in of 33 (16:9:8 ratio for BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP respectively) mostly young cabinet ministers in CM Devendra Fadnavis’ 3.0 government was not followed up by expected portfolio allocations even late Thursday (Dec 19). The unrelenting clamour for one specific portfolio by a senior BJP minister-in-waiting (in apparent conflict of interest), aspiration to improve upon earlier performance in power sector by another are in the open awaiting the Maha Chanakya to coolly decide upon. Scribes housed at the state government ‘Suyog’ facility within the Family court premises near Vidhan Bhavan enjoy the Nagpur chill over familial evenings at ‘Sneh Bojans’ hosted by these as-yet ‘Anamika’ ministers. DCM Eknath Shinde’s camp brews hostility from left out veteran MLAs and cherry-picking ministers-in-waiting who threaten boiling point anytime soon. This is unlike the chill that has set upon the near deserted NCP office at Vidhan Bhavan sans activity, notwithstanding the bustling beehive of activity right outside and within the state legislature that is hosting its winter session. It is probably the first time in Maharashtra’s political history for such an ongoing legislature session without specifically assigned ministers manning questions on the floor of the state assembly and council while responding to public interest issues of state. For now, all portfolios rest with CM Fadnavis. NCP veteran Chhagan Bhujbal, Sena’s Tanaji Sawant complain vociferously from out in the cold even as some BJP MLAs rue their bad luck despite winning big in Mumbai city where the richest civic body will face the hustings very soon.
The events outside Parliament House that led to injuries to two BJP MPs was best summed up by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in her X post. She explained how “During the INDI Alliance’s protest inside Parliament premises today, Rahul Gandhi had forcefully pushed an MP, causing a domino effect that injured 2 BJP MPs –Pratap Sarangi (Balasore, Odisha) and Mukesh Rajput (Farrukhabad, UP)” Both the MPs are now hospitalised as they have sustained head injuries. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan was surprised that the Congress had so far not even bothered to say sorry. “I was wondering what was the purpose of Kharge-Rahul Gandhi’s presser, if they can’t say sorry. Our Nagaland MP, a tribal woman leader Phangnon Konyak had voiced discomfort that was caused to her by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.” She has written a letter to the RS Chairman. Adding further he said, “We feel Rahul simply does not deserve to be the LoP. When the Opposition is holding a protest, we usually take another gate. What was the need for Rahul Gandhi to wade into the area where BJP MPs were standing? He should simply quit as LoP.” BJP MPs including Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi at the Parliament Street Police station in connection with the scuffle between Opposition and NDA MPs. It is learnt that security forces repeatedly requested the Congress MP to use an alternative path, specifically arranged for a peaceful entry into Parliament. However, Rahul Gandhi declined the request. BJP’s Thakur said “The kind of attitude Rahul Gandhi has, he thinks he is above the law.” Responding to the allegations, Rahul said BJP MPs were trying to stop him and were threatening him “
Home Minister Amit Shah whose intervention in discussions on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution sparked off a row and seemed to have majorly united the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge charged him of insulting Dr BR Ambedkar.. He accused his rivals of being “anti-Ambedkar” and “anti-Constitution”, and “spreading lies”. In his concluding remarks in the Rajya Sabha, Shah sarcastically said, “It has become the fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…’ If they (the opposition) took God’s name so many times, they will get a place in heaven.” At a Press Conference, he charged the Congress of distorting his comments in the Rajya Sabha saying the Congress had put out an edited version of his speech. “I come from a party which follows the ideals of Ambedkar,” asserted Shah.” Rebuffing calls for his resignation by Kharge, Shah made it clear that he had no intention of stepping down. “Kharge is asking for my resignation. If that will make him feel happy, then I’ll give it. But the Congress has to sit in the opposition for at least 15 more years. “In an unusual move — perhaps underlining the impact of the Opposition’s attack on this issue — PM Modi and senior ministers rallied behind Shah. “If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” said PM Modi. Amidst this, PM Modi and Shah met Rahul Gandhi and Kharge to appoint the next NHRC chief. TMC leader Derek O’Brien has moved a privilege notice against Shah in the Rajya Sabha for his remarks on Dr Ambedkar.
Ravichandran Ashwin was adroit in bowling the carom or knuckle ball or the doosra, but on Wednesday afternoon, Brisbane time, the nonconformist off-spinner of 13 years in the big league of the game deployed the “bombshell” to bring an end to his illustrious career. At the conclusion of the rain-marred third Test at the Gabba, the finger spinner with a few sobriquets, “scientist” being the most used among the media, Ashwin sitting beside his beleaguered captain, Rohit Sharma, matter of fact said: Today (Wednesday, December 18) was his last day as an international cricketer across formats and that he will be seen in action in club cricket, meaning IPL etc. The seasoned campaigner, starting his Test career in November 2011, was capped 106 times, and he missed 25 Tests after his debut; he featured in 61 wins, 47@home and 14 overseas. He read the writing on the wall about him losing the primacy as the No 1 spinner of the team in flannels after Washington Sundar was chosen for the first Test in Perth. Then being dropped to bring in Ravindra Jadeja for the third Test in Brisbane convinced him that his time was up…to hang up his boots. The home series against New Zealand that India lost 3-0 was a bitter pill to swallow for him. His numbers — 765 wickets in the three formats, including 537 wickets in Tests alone speaks of his right to be called a legend. It was a bold, practical call to take a bow while not in the field and that was an unhappy part that Indian cricket could not give one of its icons a fitting farewell. Ashwin has perhaps shown the way for a few more to bid adieu, sooner than later! They are over the hill, indeed.
With election fever rising, poll strategist Prashant Kishor seems to be the man of the moment. Already three major political parties -– Trinamool in West Bengal, DMK in Tamil Nadu, and Congress in Punjab have signed him up. Looks like political parties woo him before they woo the voters. This is the first time Kishor has three states on his worktable. And he has already given his verdict: DMK led by MK Stalin would return to power in TN and Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal. More. He has dared to stick his neck out by saying BJP would not cross 100 seats in W Bengal. So one has to wait till May 2 for the final result. But in the past he has had a good strike rate. He shot into the limelight by ensuring Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the third time. Post that he worked closely with the BJP for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. His string of success includes the unprecedented victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi for the second time; the YCR Congress win in Andhra Pradesh, and Nitin Kumar’s JDU in Bihar. But, he miserably failed his client –the Congress in Uttar Pradesh’s Assembly poll in 2017. It won only 7 seats against BJP’s 300 plus. Be that as it may, the Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has accorded him a cabinet rank. A lot is indeed riding on him. The moot point is with such diverse clients does it make him ideologically neutral or is he nursing a political ambition? It may be recalled he did take a political plunge when he joined the JDU in Bihar but it proved to be a short-lived honeymoon.
Like Alice In Wonderland, the Tamil Nadu politics seems to be getting curiouser and curiouser. It all started with Superstar Rajnikant throwing in the towel thereby dashing BJP’s hopes of making significant impact in the upcoming Assembly polls. For MK Stalin of DMK, this announcement was music to ears. But the news of VK Sasikala or ‘Chinamma’, confidante of the late J Jayalalithaa, former Chief Minister, saw both the ruling party AIADMK and the DMK pull a long face. She came out of Bangalore jail after serving four-year term, and entered the fray .So much so, Chinamma was prevented by the very people who prostrated before her from going anywhere near Jayalalithaa’s Samadhi at Marina Beach. At the same time, to keep her in good humour mediators have been holding talks with her nephew TTV Dinakaran to work out a possible merger of his party AMMK with the AIADMK so that they can fight the common enemy DMK. But in a new political twist, Chinamma dropped a bomb, announcing to stay away from politics. The DMK and the Congress spokespersons on the TV channels are saying she must have been pressurized by the BJP! Apparently, local BJP leaders have welcomed the move. In the fast changing political contours, is it advantage AIADMK? Does DMK stand a better chance minus Chinamma? And where does Kamal Hasaan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam figure?
In the mid-eighties and early nineties, the Indian promoters literally made hay in the absence of a market regulator, according to the Mumbai-based brokerage firm Altina Securities. The modus operandi was simple: raise money via private placement. To illustrate, if Company X had a post-issue capital of Rs 100 lakh, the break-up was: promoters Rs 40 lakh and public Rs 60 lakh. Many promoters – just before the IPO – privately placed nearly 75% of their holdings. Thus, Post IPO, the Rs 100 lakh equity base would be: Promoters Rs10 lakh, Private Placement Rs 30 lakh & Public Rs 60 lakh. There have been instances where the fly-by-night promoters received kickbacks for the project. This effectively reduced their skin in the game. Little wonder many companies which resorted to this route have vanished, leaving the small investors high and dry. Some of the vanishing companies are: Bonanza Pharma, Atash Industries, Amrut Industries, UCL Plastics, Rasik Plast, Indiana Diary. Senthur Shoes, Printed Circuit Board, Alsa Marine and Premier Housing.
It appears that no death — be it that of Mahatma Gandhi, John F Kennedy, John Lennon or Lady Diana — has been as hysterically covered that too non-stop for over 100 days by the Indian media as that of Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput who died under mysterious circumstance on June 14, 2020. The CBI has been on the job but their findings are yet to be made public. The glimmer of hope came in December 2020 when the CBI, in response to a letter written by the BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Dr Subramanian Swamy to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The CBI is conducting investigation in a thorough and professional manner using latest scientific techniques. During investigation, all aspects are being looked at and no aspect has been ruled out as on date,” Dr Swamy was informed. Meanwhile, the diehard fans of Sushant are keeping the issue alive by posting relentlessly on Twitter: it was trending at #7 with 129,000 tweets on 3 March 2021.
Popularly known as “Murgers”, the Dubai-based Brian Murgatroyd has been with the touring England side from the second Test in Chennai. The 53-year-old British national has been with cricket boards of Australia and England as media officer of their respective teams. He has also served the International Cricket Council for a number of years. “This is my second stint with the England cricket team. I think the final Test of the India-England series in Ahmedabad is the 199th I have attended in a working capacity in 31 years,” said Murgatroyd who, when in Mumbai, likes to have a good fill of Sitafal ice cream (Custard Apple) at Rustomji’s on Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate. Murgatroyd has been a broadcaster, writer and media manager of England and also Australia in the era of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. He has also written six books. “It’s been a wonderful experience, making friends in the sport that have endured and given me memories that will last for the rest of my life.” For the BCCI and Indian cricket teams, the media work is being carried out efficiently by Moulin Parikh and Anand Subramanian.
Post retirement there is a tendency among most bureaucrats to pen a book of their years in the government job. The latest to join the writers’ hall of fame is Shakti Sinha, an IAS officer who served as private secretary to the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His book Vajpayee: The Years That Changed India provides an insider’s account of Vajpayee days as prime minister. He says whenever there were any crisis or controversies, Vajpayee never blamed the Opposition. People do not know how difficult it was for him to form a government in 1998 and run it. Vajpayee held the post of the prime minister for three non-consecutive terms in 1996, 1998-99, and from 1999-2004. Despite numerous political difficulties, he took important decisions like going nuclear and, paradoxically, extending a hand of friendship to Pakistan. The book highlights how resolutely Vajpayee defended India when the Kargil war broke out. And yet how his government was denied a second term.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving his first dose of vaccine, not only the inoculation drive against Covid-19 — but also the nation’s recovery prospects got a fresh shot in the arm. The investors now foresee acceleration in the drive to subdue the virus – which should free up all critical sectors. Moody’s has revised India’s GDP projections for FY22 upwards to 13.7% (from 10.8% estimated earlier) while the IMF has projected 11.5% (up from 8.8%). Despite Covid-19 stress, the GST collections for past five consecutive months have exceeded over Rs 1 lakh crore – including Rs 1.13 lakh crore in Feb 2021, up 7% versus Feb 2020. The state-wise GST growth is led by big states – Gujarat (up 14%), Tamil Nadu 9%, Maharashtra 2%, and Karnataka 2%. The recovery is attributed to a resilient farm economy as well as an impressive manufacturing performance with the Purchasing Managers’ Index hitting 57.5% in Feb. With vaccination drive in full swing, the services sector and the MSMEs should also bounce back. Meanwhile, the Central and the state governments should focus on reforms and relief on four fronts: 1) Employment generation; 2) an empowered antitrust watchdog to track corporate dominance in key businesses, including farming; 3) better industrial relations amid Kolar violence (at Apple iPhone plant); and 4) better outcomes from the Bad Bank (with the creditors identifying corporate loans of over Rs 1.45 lakh crore).
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.