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Varun Chakravarthy has been left in the lurch — not once, but twice — by men in the blue. While fans across the world should be celebrating his five-wicket haul in the third Twenty20 skirmish against England at the Niranjan Shah stadium alongside the Jamnagar highway, they have been driven to feel pity for the white-ball tweaker — leg-spin-googly bowler — whose tricks the batters find it like a cryptic crossword puzzle to solve. The first time he took five wickets (5 for 17 off four overs) in a Twenty20 international was against South Africa at Port Elizabeth on November 10, 2024. India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, lost the low-scoring match by three wickets, and South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs, was declared the man of the match. Chasing India’s 124 for six wickets, South Africa made 128 for 7 in 19 overs, with Stubbs carving a 41-ball unbeaten 47. On Tuesday (Jan 28), Chakravarthy took 5 for 24 in four overs to check England ‘s score to 171 for 9, but the home team led by Suryakumar Yadav could make only 145 for 9, thus handing a first win for the visitor in three matches. Luckily, though, and as a consolation, the spinner was declared the man of the match, his second in the ongoing series. He won the man of the match award for his 3 for 23 for a winning result in the first match at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Chakravarthy is the only bowler who has taken five wickets in Twenty20 international twice and agonisingly lost both. For the record, 26 other bowlers have taken a fifer once for a losing side!
On a day when Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a holy dip in Sangam at Prayagraj, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge took the unusual step of targeting the sacred act of a dip in the Ganga and said it would not help eradicate poverty. While a political storm of sorts was created for picking on Kumbh, many Congressmen wondered if Kharge was targeting because Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had taken a holy dip — a day before Amit Shah. His remarks that there was a competition among those taking Ganga dips simply showed he was perhaps more disappointed that leaders from the secular bloc like Akhilesh Yadav had made his way to Maha Kumbh. It is possible for Kharge to be worried about an ally like SP leader Akhilesh’s conduct, considering he is also teaming up with AAP in Delhi. Interestingly, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath asserted in a TV interview that he “hoped to see Khargeji” soon at Kumbh. After all, both Pandit Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi, as PMs, have had a Ganga dip during Kumbh. UP BJP leaders said Kharge’s remarks against Maha Kumbh and Ganga snan were bound to cast a shadow on the February 5 byelection. It was felt though Akhilesh Yadav did make some course corrections with a Ganga dip, much could have been lost. “…We hear many Congress leaders are also not happy with Kharge’s remarks,” says Rakesh Triparthi, UP BJP spokesperson. Many in the Bihar Congress also feel Kharge’s remarks could put off voters. “At least we must appreciate that Amit Shah did not go to Kumbh on a Shahi Snan day.” PM Modi is scheduled to visit Kumbh on February 5.
Access to Mantralaya, Maharashtra’s state secretariat, is scheduled to get tighter in Devendra Fadnavis regime 2.0. Glass flap barrier gates are being installed at various entrances to control access of visitors along with introduction of RFID and facial recognition access in high-security zones at Mantralaya. State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankhule has already written to his party cadres to coordinate with ministers through liaison officials, who will be sitting at the BJP office. The BJP ministers too have also been asked to hold weekly or fortnightly janata durbars at the party office. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party too are expected to follow suit and facilitate a similar policy for their party workers from their party offices. The idea is to reduce footfalls at Mantralaya as also to rein in middle-men, who tend to approach ministers for favours like transfers of officials or to bag contracts. Ajit Pawar has already asked his cadres to not seek transfers of officials or contracts, particularly if they are going to sub-contract the work to others. Maharashtra’s earlier chief minister Eknath Shinde prided on being known as a common man’s CM and believed in open access attracting huge delegations of party workers flocking to him at Mantralaya regularly. The legislative assembly sessions under Shinde were known to be particularly crowded with ministers complaining of not even being able to walk properly in the crowded corridors of Vidhan Bhavan. Since Fadnavis’ taking over, he has first shifted the CM’s public relations officials on the lower fifth floor, already truncating access of journalists to the CM’s office. Looks like Fadnavis has taken a leaf out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s playbook.
In a surprise move, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav decided to take a dip at Triveni Sangam on Republic Day during the ongoing Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj. The SP leader, who was hitherto not willing to share his travel plans and insisted that many of his party leaders have been visiting the Kumbh and not publicising it, was found sharing video of his holy dip in the party’s X handle. It is not clear if Akhilesh had rushed to Kumbh ahead of the prestige battle of Milkipur byelection on Feb 5 after the wipe-out he faced in November byelections losing majority of the seats to the BJP. Sharing details of his Kumbh dip, he asserted that he had taken 11 dips. In the run-up, he had even lashed out at UP CM Yogi Adityanath for holding a Cabinet meeting in Prayagraj last week and later having a holy dip with his ministers at Sangman. What made Akhilesh take about turn to aastha? Was it the fear of drubbing in Milkipur? Giving back to the SP leader, Yogi had attacked Akhilesh for spreading false propaganda about the Maha Kumbh and playing with the faith of India. In turn Akhilesh accused the BJP of misusing the police in the Milkipur elections. Apart from this, there was also a heated exchange of words between Yogi and Kejriwal in Delhi, and not cleaning up Yamuna. Instead of praising UP’s scientific efforts in keeping Ganga clean for Maha Kumbh, Akhilesh even dared Yogi to do achaman(a purifying ritual by drinking water) in Yamuna at Mathura. All this to express solidarity with Kejriwal, who himself is seeking another term to clean up the river in Delhi.
As the year begins, the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI) finds itself at the centre of a fresh controversy in Tollywood. Reports suggest that director Kaushik Ganguly’s upcoming film has encountered hurdles with the Federation, raising concerns about whether the shooting will commence as scheduled. Sources indicate that the shoot for Kaushik’s new project was set to begin on January 27 in North Bengal, however, complications over crew members have allegedly created friction between the director and the Federation. Rumours have also surfaced suggesting that the Federation has “blacklisted” Kaushik. This follows past disputes between Tollywood directors and the Federation, tracing back to July of last year, when director Rahul Mukhopadhyay faced a similar standoff, leading to the suspension of his Puja film’s shoot. Rahul’s case escalated tensions between the Federation and the Directors’ Guild, which was later mitigated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after her intervention. Meanwhile director Joydeep Mukhopadhyay is facing similar issues as he prepares to start filming later this month. However, director Arindam Sil has got the green signal from the Federation even though he was suspended by the director’s guild over sexual harassment issue. Talk about selective treatment. Another layer to this controversy involves Federation President Swaroop Biswas’ earlier comments on workplace harassment. Last year, he claimed that 60% of directors faced allegations of sexual misconduct, coinciding with the city’s outcry over the rape and murder of a young doctor. Now, it is learnt that TMC minister Aroop Biswas, brother of Swaroop Biswas, might intervene to resolve the matter.
Jammu & Kashmir is not a minnows in India’s domestic first class cricket environment. Yet regarded as a poor cousin when juxtaposed against the giants of Indian cricket – Mumbai. The team from the northern most State of the country brought down the 42-time winner and the defending champion in a league match of the Ranji Trophy tournament with four full sessions of eight hours remaining in a four-day match. Jammu & Kashmir showed the drive and ambition to put it across a side that had India captain Rohit Sharma and India’s Test match opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. Mumbai also boasted of Shreyas Iyer and a few more star players. More than a decade ago Jammu & Kashmir had scored a sensational win against Mumbai at the Wankhede stadium. The fortunes of the most recent clash swung here and there, but eventually Mumbai shot out for 120 in the first innings and were beaten, bruised and embarrassed. Both Rohit Sharma — woefully out of form — and Yashasvi Jaiswal were accommodated in the playing XI at the expense of an in-form batter and the new kid on the block17-year old Ayush Mathre who had scored over 400 runs in his debut first class season. Mumbai ought to have found a way to find a place in the XI for the teenager who was as they say in cricket in “good nick”, but the champion team did not, and paid a heavy price conceding all six points to its opponent and fret over qualifying for the knock-out. From Jammu & Kashmir’s point of view, it was a question of applying mind over matter and showing a terrific ambition in the opponent’s backyard!
Vignettes from the greatest devotional gathering on earth are flowing in by the minute. Even social media enthusiasts are unable to keep up with the variety and speed with which scenes and stories are sprouting from the Maha Kumbh. Imagine the absolute stunning effect a 16-year old gorgeous girl had on all those who sighted her, selling bead necklaces in the surging crowd in Prayagraj. Meet Monalisa Bhosle from Indore, who had come with her family to pitch their tent and peddle bead necklaces and garlands, hoping to make a decent take from the huge crowd looking for bric a brac and mementos to carry home. Instead most stood transfixed by this girl’s dusky chocolate complexion and her unusual coloured eyes, her grace and absolute spontaneity in peddling her beads. She quickly turned into a sensation — crowds started milling around her, photos clicked by the hundreds, podcasts even more profuse. Monalisa Bhosle quickly retreated into her shell, overwhelmed by the attention and focus on her, she was not used to. Her father went a step further and packed her off to Indore fearing fame flooding his female offspring and the potential for trouble. Monalisa had only an unusual name for fame. It has started…the kite fliers who spread all kinds of news. Monalisa was whisked to a beauty parlour to transform her. There was talk about her playing second lead to Jahanvi Kapoor in a movie led by Ram Charan. If this were to happen, definitely a game changer for the Menaka of Mahakumbh. She came, she stood, and she transfixed all spotting her.
The Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has been on a multi-year mission of taking on the state government at every possible opportunity. Unusually, chief minister MK Stalin had made a placatory gesture by attending the Governor’s Republic Day ‘At Home’ reception at the Raj Bhavan in 2024. Much water has flowed down the Cauvery in a year and the ties could not have been in a worse state than in 2025 when Stalin, his cabinet, his party DMK and all their allies turned their back on the Governor. Using the Republic Day as an excuse to put out a message, the Governor slammed the state’s economy, its ability to draw investments and the room it gives anti-national elements. This wasn’t a great gubernatorial gesture as the head of state is not expected to run down his own state, which is what the former Police/intelligence official did. Just a day earlier, the CM had at least taken a humorous view of the confrontational Governor issue by pleading to Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah not to shift RN Ravi out of the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan. The CM said his presence and his utterances have helped the DMK grow in the state. In his constant tirade against the DMK, its Periyarist ideological roots that recognises no gods and his lambasting the law & order situation in the state, the Governor has only helped the DMK gain more popular support as it is seen as being targeted by a representative of the Centre.
The attempt to push the ruling into a corner by the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi and the saffron alliance’s retaliation is now dominating Maharashtra politics. The Modi government at the Centre has caught the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray in a cleft stick by conferring the prestigious Padma Bhushan title on the late Manohar Joshi, who was a Lok Sabha speaker and the state chief minister. Although Joshi occupied such high posts, he was constantly humiliated by the supporters of Uddhav during his twilight years. The NDA government has thus created a quaint situation for Uddhav since he can’t either welcome the decision to decorate Joshi nor oppose it. Taking advantage of the situation, the Sena and the Congress have started a discussion of having a third deputy chief minister in Maharashtra. Although there is no basis for such a possibility since the state already has two deputy CMs, it is becoming embarrassing for the Mahayuti to discount the rumours since it could mean an indirect reflection on two of its leaders, Girish Mahajan of the BJP and Uday Samant of the Sena led by deputy CM Eknath Shinde. but it is generally felt that this is only an attempt to spread disinformation. The political game has gained significance as Sena MP Sanjay Raut has emphatically claimed that Samant has 20 party MLAs behind him. On the other hand, Samant has reiterated his total commitment to Shinde’s leadership. The Opposition has been planning to spread such confusing information to further deepen discontent in the Mahayuti quarters, it is felt.
Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi has never spared a moment to corner TN chief minister M K Stalin and his government on their shortcomings. He has been regularly sending reports to Home Minister Amit Shah on the state of affairs in TN, much to the irritation of the ruling DMK. With the assembly polls next year, his Republic Day eve address has upset Stalin. Without mincing words, Ravi raised several critical concerns regarding TN’s socio-economic and administrative challenges. He expressed concern over the declining autonomy of universities, alleging that the state secretariat exerts significant control over university operations, including academic councils and vice chancellors’ appointments. He also criticised the curriculum and syllabus management, stating they are now heavily influenced by the State Government Council for Higher Education. Ravi highlighted the rising menace of drug syndicates in the state, frequent reports of caste-based discrimination and violence against Dalits, including their denial of access to public spaces. The Governor stated that TN is no longer a leading destination for private investment, trailing behind states like Karnataka, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. He attributed this decline to dwindling foreign direct investment. Ravi further pointed to the state’s high suicide rate, at over 26 per lakh population — more than double the national average. He referred to Tamil Nadu as the “suicide capital of India”. He also raised concerns about national security, citing the National Investigation Agency’s discovery of terrorist modules and sleeper cells linked to international terror networks operating within the state. Notably, the Tamil Nadu government boycotted the tea party hosted by the Governor on Republic Day in response to these statements.
In an interesting political twist, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal picked Atishi Marlena, a junior minister and someone considered close to Deputy CM Manish Sisodia as the new chief minister of Delhi, as he decided to step down and hand in his resignation to Lt Governor VK Saxena. Known as the main brain behind Delhi Government school reforms, Atishi played down her elevation as a stopgap arrangement. Making it clear that Delhi and its 2 crore people can only have one CM — that is Arvind Kejriwal. Atishi asked party cadres not to celebrate her elevation. There could be celebration only after Kejriwal gets re-elected in the March 2025 assembly elections. Initial announcement about Atishi was made by a party heavyweight and potential contender Gopal Rai. AAP also made it clear that there will be no deputy CM this time. By choosing to play the woman card and not opting for his wife Sunita as CM, Kejriwal may have tried to buy time with voters but will it blunt the edge on incumbency and non-delivery? Only time will tell. Yet with her rise as CM, Atishi will be the third woman CM of the UT after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit. Born in June 1981 Atishi hails from an academic family in Delhi, with her parents, Vijay Singh and Tripta Wahi, both professors at Delhi University. She will be the youngest CM of Delhi at 43.When Kejriwal became CM in December 2013 he was 45. With an undergraduate degree in History from the prestigious St Stephen’s College in 2001, she completed her Master’s from Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar.
AAP’s former CM Arvind Kejriwal has a new political guru in Congress MP and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, instrumental in his enlargement on bail. Initial plans to reward Singhvi with Rajya Sabha seat failed, even blowing up in Kejriwal’s face over l’affaire Swati Maliwal, with Congress accommodating their estranged leader from Telangana instead. Senior BJP leader Mahendra Jain says, the non-resignation drama first, by Arvind Kejriwal, continuing during incarceration over five months and then, precipitating as two-day resignation drama played over worries about Delhi LG, VK Saxena’s imminent intention to seek his resignation following Supreme Court’s diktat against Kejriwal attending CMO, other official duties. While incarcerated, Kejriwal pretended to carry on as CM from jail although no government papers were signed by him over issues of confidentiality and directives of SC. Even his note to the LG seeking approval for AAP’s CM incumbent Atishi (Marlena Singh) hoisting the tricolour on August 15 was rejected by Saxena instead authorizing AAP minister Kailash Gehlot.” The LG took issue over Kejriwal’s access to official CMO letterhead over the communique with SC also curbing jail visitors thereafter. Plans to reach consensus over two days for better half Sunita Kejriwal as incumbent CM were shelved as LG would cite her unelected status with less than five months to state assembly elections in Delhi. With Atishi helming AAP, BJP lost no time raking up her parents’ leftist leaning as ideologues demanding release of parliament attack terrorist Afzal Guru. The saffron party insists moniker ‘Marlena’ was a combination appended to Atishi Singh’s name by parents assimilating leftist philosophers: Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
Political parties have their own whims and fancy notions about good luck charms of their parliamentary party offices. That’s why when it comes to the new Parliament complex, it seems — both the Congress and the BJP– are reportedly being reluctant to move their parliamentary party offices from the old Parliament House. Both the offices are on the ground floor and have plenty of history to it. Of course ministers and the LoP do have their offices in the new complex. The only party which has moved into the new building is the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) which stormed to power in Andhra Pradesh winning 164 of 175 assembly seats in an electoral alliance with Janasena Party and the BJP and has 16 seats in Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha Secretariat allocated a new office, F09, to the TDP on the first floor of the new Parliament, a prime location that also houses the offices of the Prime Minister and Union Ministers. This change marks a transition from the party’s previous office, Room No 5, which was situated in the old Parliament building. Recalling how the YSRCP led by Jagan Mohan Reddy had occupied TDP’s office after party was routed in 2019 elections, a TDP source pointed out that in the 2019 LS polls, the YSRCP had swept the elections, winning 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state and TDP was reduced to just 3 seats. Official sources said regional parties like DMK are also reluctant to move into the new Parliament complex.
A new star has joined the Indian insurance galaxy! Galaxy Health Insurance Co Ltd is the new addition. The birth of Galaxy signals the re-entry of yet one more family of the erstwhile TVS group into the insurance space. Significantly enough, this happens a few years after the formal legal separation of four families of the erstwhile TVS group. Galaxy Health Insurance is promoted by Venu Srinivasan and his family. V Jagannathan, former CMD of United India Insurance Company and the founder of Star Health & Allied Insurance, is the co-promoter. Industry stalwart G Srinivasan, former head of United India Insurance, is the MD & CEO. The Galaxy board comprises Dr Sai Satish, a renowned cardiologist, and Sudarshan Venu, MD of TVS Motor Company. Galaxy Insurance is all set to commence its operations shortly. Insurance business is nothing new to the Chennai-based TVS Group. It was the owner of Madras Motor and General Insurance before the industry’s nationalization. After nationalization, Madras Motor merged into United India Insurance. Subsequently, in the post-liberalization era, Sundaram Finance, initially promoted by Madras Motor, launched Royal Sundaram Insurance, a general insurance company. Ironically enough, two former heads of United India Insurance will be guiding Galaxy Health Insurance to make a mark in the space. The size of the Indian health insurance sector was estimated at Rs 1.17 lakh crore in FY 2024, and is currently growing at a CAGR of 20%. Post the legal separation, assorted organisations who once formed part of the erstwhile TVS group are now freely exploring the freedom of opportunity, it appears.
Top BJP minister Nitin Gadkari’s sensational disclosure that he had been offered support for Prime Ministership by a prominent opposition leader before the Lok Sabha election is considered significant owing to its crucial timing. Gadkari generally avoids commenting on political developments and does not entertain any media questions in this regard. Hence, his candid revelation has surprised the BJP brass, which has refrained from reacting to it. The opposition, by and large, also has kept away from the potential bombshell. Gadkari has refused to name the opposition leader who made this offer to him. But the political grapevine is on overdrive to identify the opposition emissary. Various algorithms are applied to find out who it could be. Is he from Maharashtra? From Nagpur or Vidarbha? A former BJP member? Close to Rahul Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge? Or someone having tacit approach to the RSS decision makers? Of course, all these are supposition without any factual backing. Still, the suspense is mounting in view of the coming assembly elections. It is deepened since Gadkari has declared on multiple occasions that he is not interested in the topmost job and is happy with his ministry. In the past, his name was being discussed to become the Maharashtra CM but he had firmly rejected the idea. His only connection now with the state elections is that he is one of the star BJP campaigners.
The ongoing RG Kar Medical College protests have cast a shadow over the Bengali film industry, with many in the fraternity struggling to return to work amid constant backlash and online trolling. While several actors, directors, and singers actively participated in the protests, some have gone back to work sparking mixed reactions from the public. The situation intensified after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s call to “return to festivities”. This statement was widely criticized. Amidst this political tension, prominent figures in the Bengali entertainment industry have found themselves facing undue criticism from netizens. Celebrities like singer Iman Chakraborty, actors Swastika Mukherjee, and Sohini Sarkar, all of whom supported the protests, became targets of online trolling. Swastika faced particular backlash after promoting her upcoming film Tekka, despite her regular attendance at protest rallies. Dev, who stars in Tekka and is also a Trinamool Congress MP, defended his stance, supporting the movement while stressing that livelihoods, especially during Durga Puja, should not be affected. He pointed out that marginalized groups, such as dhakis, decorators, and vendors, depend on the festive season. Singer Shilajit, another victim of online criticism, echoed similar sentiments. He defended the importance of continuing work, noting that events contribute significantly to artists’ earnings. Director Raj Chakraborty expressed concern over how easily celebrities become targets for trolls, leading many to avoid social media. Amid this growing tension, promotions for upcoming Puja releases, such as Bohurupi and Shastri, have been toned down to avoid further controversy. The Bengali film industry continues to navigate these challenging times with caution.
The mantle of head coach of the Indian cricket team has passed on smoothly from Rahul Dravid to Gautam Gambhir. The once famous ‘Wall’ of Indian cricket has returned to IPL’s Jaipur franchise, Rajasthan Royals, but the immediate focus will be on the doughty left hander from Delhi who showed guts and gumption for India across the three formats, scored 10324 runs in 242 matches embellished with two World Cup titles — the Twenty20 In 2007 and the 50 over format in 2011. Gambhir’s international career spanned from 2003 to 2016 after which he spent time as a BJP member of the Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024 before he joined Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders. His success there has catapulted him to the national team that won the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies in July. Gambhir’s first major work will be to facilitate India qualify for the final of the World Test Championship. India under Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri and Rohit Sharma and Dravid finished second best against New Zealand and Australia in the two previous cycles of the WTC, the finals being played in Rose Bowl and The Oval. India has to win at least five of the remaining 10 Test matches to be in the running for a third consecutive WTC final appearance, and this time the final will be played at the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground in London from June 11 next. Gambhir will have five home Tests — two against Bangladesh, starting this Thursday and three against New Zealand — before the historic five-Test series in Australia from November 22. Guiding India to the WTC summit before the ICC Champions Trophy in February- March 2025 in Pakistan will give a perspective about Gambhir’s coaching and mentoring philosophy.
A free burqa distribution programme organised by a Eknath Shinde camp legislator highlighted the uneasiness between the ruling alliance partners particularly over the Muslim vote bank. While the BJP did express its displeasure about such acts as “appeasement politics”, they clearly had to leave it at that. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena neither publicly disowned nor criticised the drive, thus recognising the need to woo core voters. The MLA concerned, Yamini Jadhav recently lost from the prominent Mumbai South Parliamentary constituency by over 50,000 votes mainly due to the fact that the Muslim voters there chose to throw their weight behind Uddhav’s nominee, Arvind Sawant. The fact that 50% of voters in her Mazgaon constituency are Muslims, could not have been lost on her as she faces her electorate yet again to reclaim her MLA seat. All this, while the prominent alliance partner, the BJP continues to adopt an aggressive pro-Hindu pitch with Nitesh Rane’s diatribe against Muslims being the order of the day. The BJP has also been critical of Uddhav’s recent success in garnering the support of the Muslim vote bank terming it as a result of not being sincere to core Hindu ideology. The third partner, Ajit Pawar, has already clarified that he would continue to be secular, in spite of his alliance with the BJP. Pawar has gone ahead and almost-declared the candidatures in key Muslim-dominated seats like Bandra East (Zeeshan Siddiqi) and Anushakti Nagar (Nawab Malik’s daughter Sana Malik) ignoring the BJP.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said he would be seeking an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and personally request him to release funds meant for the second phase of the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) project as well as the funds due to the State under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) relating to school education. Both funds have been blocked by the Centre. His finance minister Thangam Thennarasu has already issued a statement hitting out at the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for saying that the ongoing CMRL second phase for Chennai was a State sector project. He had pointed out that the project envisaged in 2017 was a central sector project in which the Union government’s share had worked out to Rs 7,425 crore. He also refuted a statement by Ms Sitharaman that the state had spent only Rs 5,880 crore on the 119-km phase II whereas the state had already expended more than Rs 18,000 crore so far. The step motherly treatment being meted out to Tamil Nadu, considered the last bastion against the ruling BJP is borne out by the fact that funds allocated for Metro Rail schemes in cities like Bengaluru (Rs 30,399 crore), Kochi (Rs 1,957 crore), Nagpur (Rs 6,708 crore), Pune (Rs 910 crore) and Thane (Rs 12,200 crore), are all from the Centre’s kitty while not even what was promised for Chennai Metro expansion has been delivered.
Even as film fans across the country are wildly speculating about divorce in the Bachchan’s family comes the news from Kollywood that Jayam Ravi, one of the most dependable performers (the standout star of Ponniyin Selvan) dropped a bombshell on his 44th birthday (Sept 9) that he is seeking divorce from wife Aarti after 15 years of marriage. The couple have two children. A shell shocked Aarti, a successful entrepreneur in her own right, said “Ravi did not consult me, nor was I aware that he is about to drop this bombshell on me and the kids. This unilateral announcement never gave me a chance …much as I tried to talk to him.” Coincidentally, Ravi’s first hit, M.Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi was a film that touched the hearts of many. It is about a single mother who brings up her son with no help from a husband who walked out on the marriage. Ironically, Ravi asking for divorce will see Aarti face a similar predicament. Aarti is the daughter of successful TV serial producer Sujatha Vijayakumar. Has Ravi come to the end of his tether because of perceived interference of his in-law? Inspite of his busy schedule, Ravi has always given quality time for his family says sources. No one is aware of the real reason for Ravi’s ultimate break decision. But the way he has done it made Aarti lament, “My grace and individuality have been knocked out by the media speculations.” She still hopes for a rapprochement. Marriages are made in heaven, but hit the rocks in this fantasy world of tinsel make believe.
It was Chandrababu Naidu’s dream to create a world class city — Amaravati — as the capital of Andhra Pradesh. But, he lost the 2019 assembly elections badly and the new government headed by Y Jagan Mohan Reddy put his plan on the backburner. A kind of political vendetta. With Naidu’s TDP sweeping power in Andhra Pradesh 2024 Assembly elections Naidu is going all out with his dream capital plan. The new city, to be built from the ground up, will start from December 1. The Modi government has already sanctioned Rs 15,000 crore for the project, besides Naidu is talking to multilateral agencies like World Bank seeking soft loan for this mammoth project. Sources say Naidu definitely wants a city which is resilient, creates value, drives new markets and responds to future demand. For now the 29,966 farmers who had pooled in 34,400 acres of land for this ambitious project eight years ago are in a celebratory mood. The land prices have zoomed from Rs12,000 to Rs35,000 per square yard. Naidu has roped in renowned London-based architectural firm Foster + Partners to design the government complex to house the legislative assembly, high court and secretarial buildings. Sources say Amaravati would require a budget of at least Rs 40,000 crore.
Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray has miffed his supporters by declaring that he has never hankered for the chief ministership. In the same breath, he has expressed determination to wrest power in the coming election. Conversing at a rally of an Old Pension Scheme organisation, Uddhav said, “You, the people of Maharashtra are my power, which none can take away.” Uddhav performed darshan of Sai Baba at Shirdi and later addressed the OPS meet at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. His observation is viewed in the context of the persistent efforts of his supporters to project him as the next CM of the state. The campaign had dampened some time ago as veteran NCP leader Sharad Pawar and state Congress president Nana Patole had publicly clarified that this issue will be discussed only after the assembly election results are out. Uddhav has refreshed the issue by giving an emotional touch to the meeting by saying that he had been invited to speak with its members though he had no power, no office now. “But you are my power. Nobody can retire me from this position. I don’t care for power, I am concerned for your future,” he said. Nonetheless, he assured the audience that he will wrest power and dispense justice to them and the people of Maharashtra. Uddhav has thus dwelt on both possibilities, although not in explicit terms. His statement, hence, can be interpreted in any way but will make his supporters think before taking any stand.
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.