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Before replying to the Op Sindoor debate in Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chose to deal with criticism coming from the secular political parties about nomenclatures of military operations. Making it clear that names were not chosen by the government but by the defence personnel, Shah went on to corner former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan who had slammed the government for knowing “nothing except naming operations on the basis of religion”. Chavan had also questioned why gunning down of Pahalgam attackers was called Operation Mahadev. It is another matter that the operation was named apparently after Mahadev Ridge inside the Dachigam forest in Kashmir where the terrorists were hiding (according to media reports). Hitting back at Chavan, Shah pointed out that the Congress simply did not want to understand that ‘Har Har Mahadev’ was not just a religious slogan. It was the slogan of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj too.” They see everything from the angle of Hindu-Muslim”, he said. Chavan had claimed that the BJP “wanted to mix Hindutva in whatever it does. They are trying to polarise the situation into a Hindu versus Muslim conflict.” He had also questioned the naming of “Operation Sindoor” — India’s retaliatory strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Meanwhile, the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha was quite upset that PM Modi had replied to their debate, even as they were told it would be Shah who would be replying to the Op Sindoor debate.
The century old Registered Post service of the Indian Postal service is being discontinued. It is being merged into a smarter and efficient — Speed Post, according to a circular issued by the Department of Posts. For over a century the registered letter was looked upon as a symbol of credibility, assurance and formality. Whether it be a job offer, legal notice, bank notices, government intimation or a personal letter, Registered Post was not just a service but a part of people’s lives. The Department has given operational streamlining, improved tracking facility and customer convenience as the reason for its merger with Speed Post. As per the circular, all functional guidelines mentioning Registered Post must be amended by July 31, 2025. Terms like Registered Post and Registered Post with Acknowledgement Due — once the very heart of postal communication will be replaced by Speed Post. The launch of the combined service starts from September 1, 2025. Although the transformation may appear trivial when compared to the new age private courier apps and instantaneous tracking services, it has a profound cultural and administrative transformation. Although the Department of Posts assures that speed post will now include all aspects of Registered Post, such as tracking and acceptance of receipt, the issue remains whether it will be able to restore the same measure of trust and ceremonial importance. The age of digital information has already eroded the significance of hard copy letters, but Registered Post was able to maintain its position due to its application in official and legal transactions.
PM Narendra Modi ticked off Congress MP(Sholapur) Praniti Shinde who had dubbed Op Sindoor as “media tamasha” in her Lok Sabha speech. Without taking her name, Modi charged the Congress of mounting a savage attack on Pahalgam victims by setting up an ordinary member to attack the operations of armed forces. Such description of Op Sindoor was dubbed as severe and heinous akin to an acid (tezaab) attack on the Pahalgam survivors, “spreading acid” in the country. Exposing Congress’s betrayal, Modi said, “Got the world’s support. But sadly, no support from the Congress”. Politically it is interesting that Praniti’s insensitive comment came up for mention in Modi’s intervention. Daughter of former Union Home Minister and Maharashtra CM Sushil Kumar Shinde, Praniti was once wooed by Maharashtra BJP to join the party. However, considered close to Rahul Gandhi — she has been part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra — has firmly entrenched herself in the Congress’s charmed inner circle. On his part Modi tried answering all issues raised by the Opposition in the Lok Sabha regarding Operation Sindoor. He observed that while the country was moving ahead at a fast pace towards self-reliance, the Congress was becoming dependent on Pakistan for issues. “Unfortunately, Congress is importing issues from Pakistan.” He slammed the Opposition for doubting the timing of Operation Mahadev that involved gunning down terrorists involved in Pahalgam attack. With reference to a third country’s involvement, Modi made it clear “No country in the world has stopped India from any action in its defence against terror”. On May 9 night, “U.S. Vice President (JD Vance) tried to reach out to me 3-4 times, but I was busy with meetings with the armed forces”.
Home Minister Amit Shah hit out at Congress leader P Chidambaram for his statement that the terrorists behind the Pahalgam attack were “homegrown”, and his demand for proof that they were from Pakistan. Shah criticised the opposition leader for trying to ‘save Pakistan’ and declared, “When he says this, it means they (the Congress) are giving a clean chit (to Pak).” In a typically combative speech, Shah also said, “I thought the opposition would be happy to know the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack are dead… but it seems they are upset…” During the debate on Operation Sindoor, he elaborated on the operations in Kashmir, including the discovery of Pak-made chocolates and Pak government ID cards in the pockets of the terrorists gunned down. He also said ballistic tests on assault rifles — an American-made M9 and Russian AK-47s — recovered confirmed their use in Pahalgam. “Six forensic experts confirmed this to me on a video call… that these are the same bullets used in the Pahalgam attack,” he said. Trying to draw DMK MP Kanimozhi into a conversation, he sought to know from her why the Opposition was always giving a “clean chit” to Pakistan. The DMK leader in a light-hearted way denied that she endorsed Chidambaram’s line. However, when her turn came to speak, Kani, who travelled on a government delegation to speak about Op Sindoor, spoke very negatively. It is quite possible that she wanted to show that she is not close to the BJP. In view of CM Stalin’s failing health, it is being said Kani fancies herself a chance to be the next CM. It is being said senior DMK leaders may not find deputy CM Udhyanidhi Stalin as acceptable to succeed his father.
It was quite refreshing to hear Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra take on the government for failing to protect the lives of tourists at Pahalgam. She was sharp, witty and able to ask the government some pointed questions on security lapses that took the lives of 26 hapless tourists. She wanted to know why no heads had rolled the way then UPA government had forced men responsible for lapses — post 26/11 Mumbai terror strike in 2008. Maharashtra’s then CM late Vilasrao Deshmukh had to quit so too Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil. In his initial remarks Home Minister Amit Shah did admit it was a security lapse and accepted responsibility for it. What worked for him was that the Pahalgam masterminds had been gunned down and he briefed the House with details. At the same time, Priyanka was seen faltering by refusing to accept that the terrorists were Pak-sponsored or that they had a definite communal agenda. She refused to accept that the Pahalgam victims were Hindus and opted to declare them as “Bharatiya” or Indians. It was odd that the Malappuram MP should deny the faith of victims considering the male victims were killed after asking them to recite an Islamic prayer — kalma. Possibly compulsion of her vote bank in Kerala. Zeroing in on Priyanka ambivalence about victims’ faith, BJPs’ Amit Malviya expressed shock over the Congress’s “shocking refusal to acknowledge that the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack were targeted for being Hindus” shows exactly ‘why the party remains disconnected from the sentiments of this nation and why it has no future in Indian politics.”
Was ex-Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar contemplating ‘Ghar Wapsi’ to the Congress fold after engineering a political coup at the expense of the BJP which was pre-empted by PM Narendra Modi in the nick of time? A well-placed source reveals, “Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla had accepted the notice of motion moved by 155 BJP MPs to impeach Delhi High Court Justice Yeshwant Verma as per the decided political strategy. Breaking from the plan, however, Dhankhar also accepted a similar motion moved in the Rajya Sabha by 66 Congress MPs as well as the Opposition’s near identical motion to impeach Allahabad High Court Justice Shekhar Yadav. Political alarm bells went off within BJP and PM Modi issued Dhankhar a 15-minute window to submit his resignation or pain of his own ejection from the V-P post through a vote of no-confidence.” Dhankhar began his political career with Devi Lal, founder of Lok Dal that had merged with the Jagjivan Ram Congress to form Janata Dal before moving to the Congress party under the late Sanjay Gandhi. Realizing the Congress’ political gambit to embarrass the BJP by exploiting the intended impeachment of Justice Yadav in the forthcoming Bihar state assemblies was nipped in the bud Dhankhar, a farmer, Jat leader and advocate known for wining and dining with Justice Verma of the burning cash stash infamy threw in the towel. PM Modi also came in for flak from within his own party for his political exuberance of trusting outsider politicians like Dhankhar and installing them in high statutory posts within the BJP ruled ecosystem that could have cost him dearly had Dhankhar gone through with his nefarious plans.
USA President Donald Trump has blinked first under the incessant stare of Indian PM Narendra Modi over the bilateral tariffs issue. The Union Commerce minister Piyush Goyal led trade delegation to USA returned back in a huff over American attempts to brow beat India into the formers’ one-sided tariff pact. “Goyal and delegation negotiated hard and long till he got the cue from PM Modi to break off talks and return home. Not even a day after the Indian trade delegation returned to India, Trump’s crestfallen team went into a huddle and has decided to send a team of U.S. delegates to India to retrieve the situation and still thrash out a trade and tariffs pact,” a person familiar with the developments told shortpost.in. They will be on our turf now with Goyal strategically making public our disinclination to accept American dairy and agro products on American terms. Massive de-dollarization is taking place in the world after many nations emulated India to deal only in their respective currencies internationally which has impacted the U.S. badly. Ascending gold prices (10 gm) crossed Rs 1 lakh price barrier with silver set to reach Rs 1.5 lakh per kg and countries are focussed on their precious metals reserves. With the hegemony of the U.S. dollar all but vanquished, India looks forward to a more balanced trade and tariffs deal with the U.S. even as it exports reliable and durable technology to the world. An Indo-French and Indo-German collaboration in technology, Russian tie-up for fifth generation fighter jets and more has ushered India into the Big Four of the world both economically and politically.
KL Rahul who is on his 25th Test series in 10 years has not been able to stamp his authority in a consistent way though. He was ever a batter with promise and potential. When he scored a 110 in his third Test innings in Sydney in January 2015, he was seen as a gifted opener emerging out of the Karnataka stable and in the mould of a typical opener, showing the full face of the bat in defence and sure shot in stroke making. After 109 innings (109th incomplete) in 62 Tests, it can be said that he belonged to the highest echelons of international cricket, in particular in red-ball cricket. He has evolved over time and the first thing that he would tell even a layman is that of his organised ways of responding to a delivery from a fast bowler or a spinner. He has not figured in 46 Tests after his debut in Australia, but he is the fourth highest run getter for India after his debut. Only three others — Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane — have scored more than him, but in many more Tests. He has scored 3765 runs with ten x 100s, nine of them in Sydney, Colombo, Kingston, The Oval, Lord’s, Centurion Park, and Headingley. Rahul has scored 3311 runs as an opener and for the first time in his career he went past the 500-run mark in the course of his second innings at Manchester. He has gritted it out to score 508 + runs at an average exceeding 72 and become the second highest run-getter on the tour of England contributing almost 18 % of the team score. Underrated all through his career, Rahul is finally getting his due!
It is as a failed politician that the 69-year old Kamal Haasan took oath as member of the Rajya Sabha. In 2017, he floated a party Makkal Needhi Maiam amidst much fanfare that failed to take off. He suffered the same fate as Sivaji Ganesan who was seen as a talented actor but not a people’s saviour as MGR was perceived to be. Having come into politics with the same enthusiasm as many others of uprooting the system and making a new one work for the people, Kamal surrendered to the same Dravidian power monger politics by aligning with the DMK and then angling to get this Rajya Sabha nomination. He may have been nominated by a political party but Kamal’s place in the Upper House may be the same as that of many celebrities who failed as nominees of the nation like Sachin Tendulkar whose voice is rarely heard in Parliament. Once a firebrand in his early days of initiation into politics with his double barrel guns pointed equally at the Dravidian majors, Kamal will be just another celebrity unless he takes his appointment seriously and gets his voice heard often in the legislature on topics that will pertain to public issues that count and talking about which might help bring about change to some extent. Until then, Kamal will remain a nonentity as a political figure who may have realised that the public is not idolatrous to the extent that any film star can become an MGR or an N.T. Rama Rao. Meeting him to wish him before his Rajya Sabha entry was Rajinikanth, the Superstar who developed cold feet about entering politics, It remains to be seen now what will become of Vijay though he is one matinee idol who is giving up cinema at least temporarily to appear like a serious politician.
Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena party MLA Sanjay Gaikwad has created another first by challenging his critic and former AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel for an unarmed combat in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan ‘any time, any day.’ After gaining notoriety for slapping a canteen boy in the MLA hostel for serving unsavoury food, Gaikwad has asked Jaleel to face him in the physical bout. This is not just a verbal challenge. Gaikwad has published a draft agreement on a stamp paper, to be signed by both, in case Jaleel accepts the invite. On July 11, Gaikwad had threatened to thrash Jaleel for criticising him over the canteen assault. “I thrashed that canteen worker by just punching him twice. But I will beat Imtiaz Jaleel so badly that he will not be in a position to run,” the legislator said. Jaleel immediately accepted the Sena MLA’s challenge, and asked him to fix the venue and time for the potential confrontation. Unabashed, Jaleel once again (July 22) ridiculed Gaikwad for the assault. Promptly, Gaikwad challenged him to meet in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, a ‘neutral’ venue, in presence of the police, making it conditional that no one else will be coming between. Coincidentally, Eknath Shinde and another deputy CM Ajit Pawar are finding themselves in hot water for the questionable deeds and statements of a few of their ministers.
The Turkish firm Celebi Airport Services that handled the lion’s share of ground handling services at nine major airports in India, lost its security clearance following Turkey’s support of Pakistan over Operation Sindoor. Turkey has been facing massive backlash over its support that even includes Indian tourists cancelling trips to the country. An order from the Civil Aviation Ministry this evening said the security clearance for Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd “is hereby revoked with immediate effect in the interest of national security”. Celebi has two separate entities — Celebi Airport Services India to manage ground handling operations and Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India to oversee cargo services at Delhi International airport. The first carries out several high-security tasks critical to the safe and efficient functioning of airport operations. These include ramp services, which involve directing aircraft on the ground; load control and flight operations to ensure proper aircraft balance; and bridge operations, which manage the passenger boarding bridges connected to aircraft. The company also handles cargo and postal services, and warehouse management. Not just in our social media platforms but also political parties like the Shiv Sena wanted them out of Mumbai airport. Security strategist Sushant Sareen batted for complete removal of Turkish aviation firm “Turkey is involved in hostile anti-India propaganda and is involved in sinister activity to incite and instigate and indoctrinate Indian Muslims,” he said. Aviation consultant Sanjay Lazar noted that Çelebi was given security clearance during the UPA era, post-26/11, and faced opposition from trade unions even then. Of course, speculation that Çelebi is linked to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s family, particularly his daughter, is being denied. It is described as an MNC set up in 1958.
Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s endorsement of the government’s handling of Operation Sindoor may have won many friends for him across the aisle but his own party unfortunately viewed it as “crossing of the Lakshman Rekha”. At least this was made clear when party leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera were asked about Tharoor’s remark that India would never allow third-party mediation in its bilateral issues with Pakistan. That is because Tharoor’s remark had largely punctured Congress’ attack on the government. Jairam told the media, “When Tharoor saab speaks, it is not the party’s opinion.” The Congress, which assured full support to the Centre in its action against those behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, has now asked the government to come clean on what led to the ceasefire and questioned what role the U.S. played in it. The Indian leadership, including PM Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, has not mentioned the U.S. in statements following the ceasefire. For the last few days, the Congress has been asking why the U.S. President announced the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Some Congress leaders however felt party leadership was completely out of check with reality. It was felt the party was needlessly obsessing about President Trump. “Whether we like it or not, post Operation Sindoor, people are happy with PM Modi. India is happy that Pakistan has been beaten up.” That is precisely what Tharoor articulated and may be the reason why Congress is distancing itself from him. “People aren’t least bothered about Trump or what he claimed,” pointed out an AICC leader from the South. Meanwhile, official Congress briefings are worryingly becoming stuff for Pak TV to exploit.
The Indian box office is currently witnessing an exhilarating showdown as two major film franchises go head-to-head this week. First up is Final Destination: Bloodline, the sixth instalment of the iconic horror thriller series, making its much-anticipated return after a 14-year gap since its fifth film. This franchise has built a loyal fan base over the years, thanks to its masterful blend of suspenseful storytelling and innovative horror elements. The captivating narrative and high production values have earned it a cult status, making it one of the most awaited releases in the horror genre. On the flip side, we have Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the second part of the franchise’s final instalment and the eighth entry in this legendary action series starring Tom Cruise. Initially set for a May 23 release in India, Paramount Studios has opted to advance it to May 15 coinciding with Final Destination: Bloodline. The stakes are high, particularly for Tom Cruise starrer which has previously achieved remarkable box office success in India, demonstrating a strong appetite for action-packed thrillers. Meanwhile, Final Destination: Bloodline is poised to draw horror enthusiasts eager for the next chapter in this beloved saga. As excitement builds among moviegoers, early projections indicate that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning could rake in Rs20 -22 crore on its opening day. However, with both films vying for audience attention, this week promises to be a pivotal moment for Indian cinema.
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
Four years have zipped by and we are crossing another milestone on 31st January 2025 – it’s our 4th Anniversary. It feels good.
Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
Yes, we have created a brand (in a limited sense), created demand (readers) and created supply (senior journalists). But we are facing teething problems like all start-ups. What makes us happy and confident is the recognition of our efforts. For instance, we have an arrangement with the OPEN Magazine, part of the $4.5 billion Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka-RPG Group. This arrangement sees around 10 Short Post stories posted on OPEN Magazine website every week. This arrangement is testimony that our content has been well received! Also, I may add that the Maharashtra government has recognised Short Post and has allowed our senior editor to cover the Assembly sessions. Ditto: Odisha.
Our goal is to ensure that Short Post becomes a habit. I would like people to keep checking their smartphones to know the latest Authentic Gossip. As regards AI and the fear of it disrupting all businesses including media. On that, personally, I have no such fear as I am confident AI cannot smell news particularly Authentic Gossip. That’s the place we are well entrenched.