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Collage Maker-23-Sep-2022-05

NSA Ajit Doval's Role Comes To Fore In Planning Pan-India Action On PFI

Amidst speculations that he is unwell and may step down, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval made a comeback. He sprung nationwide raids on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and ensured the arrest of 105 of its members. Official sources reveal that the massive crackdown carried out on midnight of September of 22 took months of planning and coordination. With directions from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the security team executed the operation with Doval taking charge. Security officials held meetings discreetly to ensure that secrecy was maintained akin to the time when Article 370 was abrogated. Such was the secrecy that Doval held meetings with Kerala Police at a time when PM Modi visited Kochi for commissioning of the INS Vikrant. After Kerala, Doval moved to Mumbai where he stayed at Raj Bhavan. Action against the PFI was planned for three to four months to ensure that the action across the 11 states was coordinated and executed around the same time to prevent PFI cadres from getting alarmed and fleeing. Seeking remand of the accused, the NIA in its plea said the PFI office-bearers and cadres were involved in recruiting and radicalising Muslim youths to join proscribed organisations like the ISIS. Doval’s role in dealing with PFI is being compared to the way cleared the Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi of Tablighi Jamaat attendees two years ago.
Uddhav 3

High Court Takes BMC To Task, Allows Uddhav Faction To Hold Dussehra Rally At Shivaji Park

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s faction has lost a spirited battle against Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena as the High Court in Mumbai has permitted the latter to hold its traditional Dussehra Rally at Shivaji Park, Dadar. The issue has sentimental overtones as Sena founder Bal Thackeray used to address huge rallies for decades. This is the second time the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been taken to task by the High Court in two days. The issue about getting the BMC permission was hanging fire for several weeks as the faction loyal to Eknath Shinde, too, had staked its claim for the venue soon after the Uddhav faction had filed its applications. Considering the potential breach of peace, the police and finally the BMC decided on Thursday (Sep 22) to reject both the applications. However, even before the BMC had taken any stand, both sides had moved the HC to claim the venue. Terming the BMC’s decision as improper, the court permitted the Uddhav faction to hold the rally but laid down certain conditions like maintaining peace on the occasion. The court said the BMC had misused its powers. Only a day before, the HC had issued stern directions to the BMC to demolish illegal construction in Union minister Narayan Rane’s Juhu beach bungalow. It had castigated the civic body for shifting its earlier stand of not tolerating the irregularity.
Harmanpreet Kaur

Harmanpreet’s 143 Not Out Against England Reflects The Reignited Spark In Her

Harmanpreer Kaur who cracked a sparkling unconquered 143 against England in the garden city of Canterbury in Kent on Thursday (September 23) has not wasted time to show to the cricket world that captaincy does not affect her batting. Named captain of the Indian team after Mithali Raj bid adieu post India’s failed campaign in the World Cup in New Zealand, Harmanpreet has been in good nick starting from the ODI series against Sri Lanka in July this year. She made 44 and 75 at Pallekele, and has entertained the spectators at Hove and Canterbury. She has been criticised for not delivering consistent scores after a majestic 171 not out in the World Cup semi-final against England at Derby in July 2017. She averaged 21.67 in 2018, 38 in 2019 and 32.67 in 2021, but her average has shot up to 62.50 this calendar. She made a 109 in the World Cup match against the West Indies in Hamilton in March this year, but clearly the leadership role which was denied to her after the 2017 World Cup, has ignited the spark again. Harmanpreet has now scored five centuries in 123 matches/104 innings. She is the second highest run getter this year with 750 runs in women’s cricket in ODIs. No one knows what tormented her in the previous three years; maybe she was not made the captain!
PTR

Federal Fund Transfer Policy: Tamil Nadu FM's Grouse Is Valid

Tamil Nadu finance minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan’s grouse about the nature of revenue gathering having changed in India is credible criticism of the system as it exists after the introduction of GST. Before the “great and simple tax” came into being, states were free to raise revenues through indirect taxes which allowed financial freedom to make policies. States are now dependent on federal fund transfers that have become too political. Today, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the two states with the least population growth and best fulfilment of parameters of progress in child health, education and several other social spheres, are suffering the most in terms of being denied a fair share of revenue. The two States are among the worst off in terms of the differential between transfers from the Union and their own tax revenue. Thiagarajan’s complaint about States having become virtual municipalities in terms of managing their own finances has more than a ring of truth to it. The chart from a data scientist carried by the BBC brings out the enormity of the unfair nature of federal revenue transfers. Given the population parameter by which revenues are distributed, the south, well-known for population control measures that have been woven into the system through education and awareness, is likely to suffer even more if the delimitation process is completed this decade and seats to Parliament are decided.
Collage Maker-23-Sep-2022-12

Controversial Odiya Star Prakruti Mishra Moves To Mumbai, All Set To Enter Bigg Boss House

If you are controversial, care a damn about public opinion, love having no rules, fond of dramatic fights and outbursts, and a national film award winner, then you certainly qualify to be a Bigg Boss contestant. So it is with Odisha’s controversial film star Prakruti Misra who is all set to enter Bigg Boss-Season 16 which premieres on October 1. So what brings her to Mumbai?  According to Bhubaneshwar film industry gossip Prakruti, who won national award for her Odiya film Arsi, had little choice but to look for greener pastures in Mumbai so as to keep herself away from the recent raging controversy involving her co- star.  It may be recalled that Prakruti was publicly shamed and hit by well-known film actor Babushaan’s wife Trupti Satpathy for allegedly having an affair with her husband. The video of that incident went viral on social media. To redeem her image Prakruti filed a Rs 5-crore defamation suit against Babushaan’s wife Trupti and her father. Besides, Big Boss 16, it is learnt that she will be working on three Bollywood projects, one of which stars Nana Patekar and one Odiya film Draupadi.

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.