September 22, 2022 - Short Post

All Politics

Congress Presidential Election: With Rahul Gandhi Backing Him, Digvijaya Singh Now Edges Past Ashok Gehlot

With former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh ruling himself in as a possible candidate in Congress Presidential election via a TV interview on September 21, the buzz in Congress circles is that Ashok Gehlot has been edged out as contender. That is because Rahul Gandhi himself validated the objection Digvijaya Singh had raised against Gehlot’s insistence on continuing both as Rajasthan CM as well getting elected as Congress President. In the TV interview, Singh made it clear that Gehlot could not possibly continue as Rajasthan CM if he got elected as Congress President referring to the Udaipur Resolution passed in May 2022 that talked about “one man, one post (OMOP)”. Interestingly, echoing Singh’s views Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated on September 22 that he expects the commitment on ‘Udaipur Resolution’ of ‘one man-one post’ to be maintained for CP’s election. Party sources say it’s possible Singh may have used the OMOP clause to bail out Gehlot from the pressure of bowing out of CM’s office and handing power over to his rival Sachin Pilot. Many in the party feel elevation of Digvijaya Singh could have a larger appeal in North India. He is known to have good equations with partymen across the country and known to continuously interact with party workers. His only drawback: he may not remain a puppet of the Gandhis.

Post By Lakshmi Iyer

All Politics

Vilasrao Deshmukh’s Name Surfaces In Dharavi Controversy

The controversial Dharavi Redevelopment Project is leading to newer disclosures even as the Maharashtra government is hastening the process to issue fresh tenders for the estimated Rs 28000 crore plan. Now, the name of then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who passed away in 2012, has surfaced in connection with a meeting convened by NCP president Sharad Pawar to discuss the much-delayed project. The plan has not moved an inch despite major changes in the state. The sudden call by industrialist Gautam Adani on former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at ‘Matoshri’ has added another dimension to the controversy. While chief minister Eknath Shinde has merely promised ‘to look into the matter,’ Dharavi Redevelopment Project CEO SVR Srinivas has announced that fresh tenders will be issued within a fortnight. Dharavi has remained a thorny issue for decades and no chief minister has been able to find a satisfactory solution. But for a brief period, Dharavi assembly constituency has remained loyal to the Congress party. However, the Congress and the NCP have maintained silence over the meeting between Uddhav and Adani despite its suddenness. The Sena under Uddhav, too, has not divulged any details about the hour-long closed-door talk. Close to the prestigious Bandra Kurla Complex and the international airport, Dharavi’s redevelopment has immense potential. That is the reason several international firms are also interested in grabbing the project.

Post By Dilip Chaware

All Business

Inox Green Energy Services: Consultants Become `Key Managerial Personnel’!

The draft offer document of Inox Green Energy Services Ltd (IGESL) has a peculiar disclosure. The company has listed five people as Key Managerial Personnel. Of these, two are the whole-time directors namely Manoj Shambhu Dixit and Mukesh Manglik. The other three are `consultants’ hired without remuneration! Strangely, none of the Inox-Jain family members, promoters of the Inox Group, are on the board of IGESL. Promoter-family member Devansh Jain is named as one of the consultants along with Kailash Lal Tarachandani and Jitendra Mohananey. Devansh Jain is a whole-time director of Inox Wind, Kailash Lal Tarachandani is CEO and Jitendra Mohananey is senior vice-president of Inox Wind. The 2012-incorporated IGESL proposes to float an IPO of Rs 740 crore. Though loss-making with an accumulated deficit of Rs 367 crore, the company has managed to raise a huge share premium amount of Rs 920 crore based on which it may even ask the IPO investors to shell out hefty premium. But, is the management capable of rewarding the investing public? The track record of the parent company, Inox Wind would surely advise caution. In the so-called `disclosure era’, the dismal performance of Inox Wind under the same management should have been the main risk factor that the market regulator should have insisted on for the benefit of the prospective investors of Inox Green. By arrangement with https://investlive.net/

Post By V S Fernando

All Politics

Senior DMK Woman Leader Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan's Decision To Retire From Politics Surprises Everybody

It’s not often that an active party member resigns when the party is in power. But that is what former Union Minister Subbalakshmi Jagadeesan has done. She was currently Deputy General Secretary of the DMK when she sent her resignation to party president MK Stalin declaring that she was retiring from politics. Insiders, however, say that she was unhappy about her prospects in the party after being denied a Rajya Sabha seat nomination that she was expecting considering her seniority. She was in the UPA-1 Cabinet (2004-09) as Minister State for Social Justice and Empowerment. Her husband Jagadeesan may not have helped her cause by putting out posts on the social media critical of the party, the contents of which were promptly relayed back to the party command. The party president did ask his senior minister Durai Murugan to find out what the problem was but, apparently, the lady said she was suffering health issues and that she wanted to retire from politics. Stalin had no option then but to accept the resignation. Heading a party that believes in transparency in dealing with its senior members and pays a lot of attention to its cadre-based strengths, Stalin had done his bit to keep the senior former minister in the fold. Her departure may not mean much as it is not the start of defections or desertions.

Post By Tamil Raja

All Politics

Why Didi Gave “Clean Chit” To PM Modi

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s latest attempt to de-link PM Narendra Modi from the ED-CBI investigation in the state surprised the political fraternity across the country. “Modi is not doing these things,” Didi told her state assembly while speaking about the recent raids by the CBI and ED against top Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, rather passing the onus completely to second-in-command of the country Amit Shah. Incidentally, besides NIA no other agencies come directly under the Union Home Ministry and no investigation would be possible without a go-ahead from the PM. Meanwhile, TMC is clear that Didi along with chief ministers such as Bihar’s Nitish Kumar and Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren will join hands to fight BJP vis a vis PM Narendra Modi in 2024 and continue to be the “fulcrum of opposition unity”. Political analysts in West Bengal feel it is too much of a risk as Lok Sabha Polls are two years away and with TMC government only 16 months old it needs to have cordial relations with the Centre for its smooth functioning as well as tackle several issues like GST dues, fund allocations etc. Analysts also feel that it is slowly dawning on Mamata that the opposition unity remains an unreal proposition, especially with Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi two of the main Hindi-heartland anti-BJP forces doing their own brand of politics?

Post By Tanya Bagchi

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.

TRENDS & VIEWS

Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack

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