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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.
Former BJP MP Poonam Mahajan’s implication that a conspiracy was behind her father Pramod Mahajan’s murder has stirred the polity. The serious statement made before private Marathi TV channels has come at a time when her party is fighting a pitched battle with the Maha Vikas Aghadi to retain power in Maharashtra. BJP boss Pramod Mahajan was killed by his brother Pravin almost two decades ago. Poonam had maintained silence about the tragedy all these years. She was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014 and 2019 and was expected to run for a third term. Hence her disclosure at this juncture is interpreted in different ways but none in favour of the saffron party. Poonam’s assertion that her family relations with Uddhav Thackeray have remained unaffected has added to the speculation since all top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, regard the Shiv Sena leader as Enemy No 1. Poonam’s charge that she was refused nomination this time for the Lok Sabha election since her work was disliked by ‘someone in Maharashtra’ has deepened the suspense created on the eve of Modi’s and Union home minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state for campaigning for Mahayuti candidates. Her target is deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, according to BJP insiders. Poonam’s veiled warning that she will write to the Union home ministry to throw light on Pramod’s demise has only added to the BJP’s discomfiture.
Firebrand politician Chhagan Bhujbal has rejected the statements attributed to him by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai in his latest book, 2024: The Election That Surprised India by threatening to initiate legal action. According to the book extracts published by Marathi daily Loksatta, Bhujbal had conceded that he, along with many other MLAs, had gone with the BJP in 2022 to extricate himself from the clutches of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). According to the published version in the daily, Bhujbal said, “All were happy for aligning with the BJP since the ED’s harassment had ended.” Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and some prominent leaders of his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were on the ED radar at the time. There have been persistent allegations that the cases against them are not pursued ever since they decided to join the Mahayuti government in the state. Bhjujbal pointed out that most of 54 MLAs belonging to Sharad Pawar’s NCP had followed Ajit out of the party though ED cases were against only a few. Secondly, he was acquitted from the Maharashtra Sadan matter when Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister. Finally, he decided to go with Ajit in the interest of development. “My assembly constituency has been sanctioned Rs 2000 crore worth development works,” he claimed. The Loksatta version had said that Bhujbal opted for this course since he was scared of going back into ED custody at the age of 75. “I made no such statement,” Bhujbal has insisted.
Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, an ally of the ruling TDP and the BJP, censured state Home Minister Anitha Vangalapudi for not taking adequate action to curb crimes against women and children. Accusing her of “incompetence”, he warned that he would be forced to take over her portfolio. The warning came amid a spike in crimes against women and children. Of course Anitha refused to be alarmed by the harsh comment and viewed Pawan Kalyan’s words as encouragement and not criticism. “I have taken his comments very positively. I have a responsibility”, she declared. She admitted that Kalyan could be disturbed by the incident in Tirupati where a four-year-old was raped and strangled to death by a relative last week. Anitha, 45, who gave up teaching to join politics in 2013, has herself been a target of obscene messages and trolling on social media. The TDP minister is a two-term MLA from Payakaraopeta (SC) seat. Interestingly, while addressing a rally in his Pithapuram constituency, Pawan Kalyan warned Anitha about the law-and-order in the state while heaping a lot of praise for UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s record in combating crime in his state, which recorded 65,743 cases of crimes against women in 2022 — the most of any state in the country — according to the NCRB. Kalyan known to play the Hindu card also met with Union Home Minister Minister Amit Shah recently and handed him some Kondapalli tribal craft which have GI tag.
The entry of super star Vijay into politics seems to have shaken the foundations of several political parties in Tamil Nadu. Every political party in TN pivoted 360 degrees –how would it affect their fortunes? Ironically, the November issue of India Today published India’s Power Pantheon list of the 20 most power wielding politicians … .and guess what, TN chief minister MK Stalin is ranked 8th after PM Narendra Modi, Mohan Bhagwat, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi and others. Despite Stalin’s ideological speak not reaching pan India, he has made his voice heard in the power echelons of Delhi, with 22 Lok Sabha MPs, 10 Rajya Sabha MPS, having won all 39 constituencies in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls cornering 70% vote share. Now this is the kind of power that Vijay wants to move and shake with his just minted outfit. Vijay himself a green horn with ambitions of turning into a second MGR who made history challenging Stalin’s father the late Kalaignar by founding the AIADMK. Without naming Vijay, Stalin said in his recent meet at his constituency, Kolathur, anybody can start a party and claim lofty status. But it needs years of experience and powerful DNA. As a counter to Vijay’s rally where 3 lakh plus people showed up, it is learnt that Stalin has asked DMK workers to make his son’s Udhayanidhi’s birthday on 27th November unforgettable by organizing a massive youth rally. Clearly, it is sending out a message to Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam that the DMK means business.
An upset PM Narendra Modi has discussed with Home Minister Amit Shah and other top security officials why terrorist attacks have increased in Jammu and Kashmir. With a surge in encounters in the Kashmir region, intelligence agencies have told the PMO that some of the highly trained terrorists operating in the Jammu region might have shifted to the Valley ahead of the winter season when the high mountain passes will shut due to heavy snow. Intelligence agencies believe that the terrorists operating in parts of J&K are battle-hardened and are trained on the Afghan front. Most of these ultras also carry U.S.-made M-4 carbines, which suggests that the arms of NATO, which were left in Afghanistan, have fallen into the hands of terror groups based in Pakistan. In the recent past, the Kashmir region has witnessed attacks on non-locals, gunfights with security forces and even an ambush on an Army vehicle on October 24, which left two soldiers and two porters dead. The ambush was similar to the ones that took place in different parts of the Jammu region during the past year. The new trend in which highly trained ultras are conducting attacks has left the security and intelligence apparatus in a tizzy. Major terror attacks in the Jammu region started on the first day of 2023 when seven villagers were killed by armed ultras in Dhangri village of Rajouri. After that, multiple attacks and ambushes were reported from different corners of the Jammu region.
Is there a tussle between Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath over appointing the next DGP of UP police? Not really. Yet Uttar Pradesh’s move to enact a law to appoint the state’s DGP at the local level, bypassing the existing Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) process for such appointments is being viewed as a political contest within the BJP fold. This at a time when UP would not be the only state with a law to appoint the top cop. Punjab, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh already have such laws. The Yogi-led state Cabinet has approved Appointment Rules, 2024, which provides for an independent mechanism to select the DGP through a committee headed by a retired High Court judge. The selection committee will also consist of the Chief Secretary, a UPSC representative, Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission chairman or nominee, Home Department additional chief secretary or principal secretary and a retired state DGP as members. The new guidelines say that a person, to be eligible for selection, must have six months of service left on the date of creation of the vacancy — a provision, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav signalled, could favour UP’s current acting DGP Prashant Kumar. Kumar is close to Yogi. Politics apart, UP rules conform to the SC’s landmark 2006 judgment in the police reforms case filed by retired UP DGP Prakash Singh. The SC had in 2006 clarified that its directions on the matter would apply only until the Centre or the state enact their legislation on the subject. Until 2006, DGPs were appointed arbitrarily. UP itself has only appointed ad hoc acting DGPs for three years.
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.