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When RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently expressed concern over the resurgence of temple-mosque disputes, and advised people against raking up such issues, was he speaking on behalf of PM Modi? Most likely. With the U.S. President Donald Trump all set to take over next month, the Modi government may not want any Hindu-Muslim communal tension to disturb the country’s economic trajectory of reaching $ 5 trillion. It is in this background what Bhagwat said at a function of Pune NGO assumes significance. He said no one will become a “leader of Hindus” by fanning communal divide. His statement surprised many Hindu leaders and came after Hindu right-wing groups moved various courts across the country seeking demolition of decades-old mosques claiming that those were built on temple sites. These mosques include the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, where riots had left five dead, and the Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan. “Extremism, aggressiveness, forcefulness, and insulting other gods are not in the nature of our country and this is unacceptable,” he said, adding that to become ‘Vishwa Guru’, India should not forget its nature that it is “accommodative” to all. The RSS chief said that the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was built to respect the sentiments of Hindus but to use it to become a “Hindu neta (leader)” was unacceptable. This is not the first time Bhagwat has cautioned Hindus about going overboard. In the past, he had talked of not looking for ‘Shivlings’ under mosques. This was his remark after the Ram Temple judgment came. It was a clear message of unity. Bhagwat’s words were welcomed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
This serial “multi-dimensional entrepreneur” never ceases to excite. This first-generation foreigner of Indian origin holding Seychelles citizenship has strong roots in Tamil Nadu with most of his ilks living in Chennai. Well, C Sivasankaran is his name. From launching affordable Siva Computers a few decades ago to his aborted bid to acquire Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) and his foray into telecom field with the floatation of Aircel (now defunct, of course), Siva, as is popularly known, has managed to keep the arclight focussed permanently on him. Controversies are nothing new to him. So are court cases. A Look Out Circular issued by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with alleged financial fraud has forced him to stay put in India. Being a mentor of AIWO Ltd., he insists that he has to visit abroad every month to deliver wellness services to clients. But his persistent efforts to get this LOC revoked proved futile. Finally, the Madras High Court gave him a reprieve. On Friday (Dec 20), the Madras High Court allowed him to go abroad by providing for temporary suspension of LOC. It has set some stringent terms, though. The HC allowed him to travel abroad to balance concerns of the prosecution side and constitutional rights. His travel to Seychelles, however, is prohibited since India does not have an extradition treaty with that country. Well, Siva can never be out of focus!
Six months after the BJP came into power in Odisha, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi has every reason to be happy. It is learnt that PM Modi has appreciated his citizen centric outreach programmes. This is why PM Modi made it known to Odisha BJP leaders, during his last visit that Majhi is doing good work, in the process he subtly sent a message to CM aspirants that Majhi will be in the CM’s chair for the next five years. Now, there are strong talks that to strengthen Majhi’s hands a former bureaucrat with a strong administration background may be drafted into the Odisha ministry. The name of ex-CAG Chief Girish Chandra Murmu and now external auditor of WHO is doing the rounds. He was one of the several names shortlisted before PM Modi cast his vote in favour of Majhi. Sources say Murmu, who hails from Mayurbhanj in Odisha seems to have ticked all the boxes. He is a strong administrator, down to earth personality. Two, a tribal leader, three, not arrogant and fits into Odia Asmita culture. Being industrious and having both Modi’s and Shah’s confidence since he was earlier Modi’s Principal Secretary in Gujarat and was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of J&K when Article 370 was abrogated. Murmu certainly seems to have the heft and gravitas.
Even as the dust is settling over the internecine acrimony about the allocation of portfolios in the ruling Mahayuti alliance, a new wave of one-upmanship has erupted about the appointment of guardian ministers. As there are more than two or three claimants to grab the powerful position, the competition is intense. Moreover, as there are 36 districts in Maharashtra while the number of ministers is 41, it is obvious that some of them will be ejected out of the race. Another major issue of contention is the guardianship of Pune and Thane districts, which are politically very important for every party. In Pune, deputy CM Ajit Pawar was the guardian minister under the government of Eknath Shinde till recently. Now, the BJP and the Shiv Sena (Shinde) feel it is their turn to occupy the position. Similarly, in Thane, deputy CM Shinde wishes to become the district guardian minister. However, the BJP is keen to obtain the turn this time. Senior BJP minister Ganesh Naik and Shinde have been at loggerheads for long and the tussle between the two seems unavoidable. In neighbouring Raigad district, NCP(Ajit) boss Sunil Tatkare’s daughter Aditi is trying to retain the responsibility though Shinde’s supporter Bharat Gogawale is determined to wrest it from her. Sambhaji Nagar, another sensitive district, is claimed by Shinde’s soldier Sanjay Shirsat while BJP’s powerful minister Atul Save, too, is considered a strong claimant. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is now busy untangling the rider.
West Bengal politics was set ablaze recently after a statement by Firhad Hakim, senior minister of Mamata Banerjee government. Addressing a gathering of minority students, Hakim, a trusted lieutenant of Didi remarked that minorities could soon become the majority, prompting sharp reactions from political circles and his own party, the Trinamool Congress. The TMC, quick to distance itself from Hakim’s remarks, faced an internal and external uproar. Party leaders expressed disapproval, with several calling the comments “unnecessary” and “potentially divisive.” Opposition parties, led by the BJP, accused Hakim of fuelling communal tensions and promoting a polarising narrative in the state. Hakim’s controversial statement marks another instance in a series of remarks that have landed him in trouble over the years. In 2016, he faced backlash for referring to the Garden Reach constituency as a “mini-Pakistan”. More recently, his description of a BJP candidate during a campaign as an “item” also drew severe criticism. Sources within the TMC revealed that Didi, who relies heavily on Hakim for political and administrative matters, has expressed dissatisfaction with his comments and reminded him of his past controversies that caused embarrassment to the party. In an unusually stern response, she advised him to exercise caution in his public statements to avoid further political damage. Hakim’s daughter Priyadarshini, a youth leader within the party, defended her father, asserting that his statement in Urdu had been misinterpreted. Political analysts say that TMC faces the dual challenge of containing the fallout from Hakim’s remarks while steering the focus back to governance and development in the run-up to crucial elections.
Controversial minister Dhananjay Munde is now facing public ire over the murder of Massajog village sarpanch, Santosh Deshmukh, last week in Beed district. Allegations abound regarding Munde’s close associate Walmik Karad being the mastermind of the gruesome broad daylight killing in Beed district, the fiefdom of the Munde clan for several years. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced a judicial inquiry into the shocking incident and has replaced the district police chief. However, as this could not pacify the local people, deputy CM Ajit Pawar visited the village immediately after the legislature’s winter session was over as Munde is one of his staunch supporters in the NCP. Pawar was greeted with demands to remove Munde from the council of ministers. The situation has a caste angle as the deceased Deshmukh was a Maratha while Munde and Karad belong to the Vanjari community, a prominent OBC section. Pawar now has been asked by a Maratha delegation to forthwith remove Munde from the cabinet. A memorandum submitted to Pawar has levelled serious allegations against Munde. When Pawar reached Beed to interact with the Deshmukh family, he promised the bereaved that no guilty would be spared. However, the villagers were angry since Ajit Pawar did not meet them. Munde’s absence from the legislature for the last three days and the refusal of his cousin Pankaja to comment on the incident, too, have added to the gravity of the situation. Munde is expected to come out with his version so#WalmikKarad
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.
BSP supremo Mayawati officially appointed nephew Akash Anand as her successor in the party. She will, however, continue to monitor Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In naming her UK educated nephew Akash as her political heir, Mayawati may not have disappointed those who have worked closely with her. Anand’s appointment comes days after the BSP drew blank in the recent round of assembly elections where Mayawati had made an effort to campaign Akash’s name. His name figured in the second place in the list of BSP’s star campaigners for the Himachal Pradesh assembly election. However, Akash’s steady rise in BSP has come with a cost as it has alienated all those who worked with Mayawati as a team. “All those who founded BSP have left. She has named a successor only to manage BSP properties. The BSP which was a movement that we all long worked for is now virtually over,” pointed out a former BSP leader. He recalled how over the years the party has been steadily losing steam. “We came to power on our own in Uttar Pradesh in 2007 with 205 MLAs — that was a year after Kanshi Ram passed away. There was a huge sympathy wave in favour of the BSP. In 2012, our numbers went down to 80 MLAs. In 2017 our numbers was reduced to 19 and in 2022 only one BSP MLA won. In 2027, I can see we will be wiped out,” predicts Ambeth Rajan, who had once worked with Mayawati.
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.