All
Politics
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Celebrities
For a change, the customary tea party hosted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the end of Winter Session for party leaders struck a pleasant note. Unlike in the past, when there would be no conversation, except exchange of courtesies, the brief meeting between PM Modi and senior minister Rajnath Singh with Opposition leaders like Priyanka Gandhi and senior leaders from Kerala like RSP MP NK Premachandran went off very well. Did it have anything to do with the absence of Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi who is known to be stiff when it comes to dealing with PM Modi or anyone in the government? Has Priyanka Gandhi’s presence made all the difference? Did she persuade the Opposition to join the Speaker’s tea party? Senior MPs from Kerala deny it wasn’t Priyanka’s idea to attend the Speaker’s tea. “Normally, at the end of every Parliament Session both the ruling and Opposition leaders meet the Speaker to thank him. Since the Monsoon Session was a washout, we had decided to give Speaker’s tea a miss. It had nothing to do with Rahulji’s presence or absence,” says a Kerala MP. At the same time the Kerala leader concedes that the Speaker’s tea meeting without Rahul Gandhi was a pleasant affair. It perhaps had a lot to do with the informal exchanges PM Modi had with Priyanka and Premachandran. Like Priyanka asking PM Modi about his latest foreign visit and the small talk about Wayanad herbal drink for her throat. BJP sources say ever since she became a MP Priyanka has been reaching out to the government. She had sought out a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah and during the session met with Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. Unlike her brother, she is open to the idea of having a dialogue with the government.
In Odisha, there is a public outrage over the recent three-fold salary hike — from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3.45 lakh — of the Odisha legislators. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have expressed their displeasure over this unprecedented hike. Now, it is learned that Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi is taking corrective steps. Sources say, after the salary hike was passed in the Odisha Assembly, CM Majhi was summoned to Delhi by BJP national General Secretary BL Santosh on December 14. Reportedly, it was conveyed to Majhi about PM’s displeasure over the hefty hike which could be sending a wrong signal to other BJP ruled states which are getting lesser pay and allowances. Santosh expressed his surprise how Majhi could take such a bold and swift decision without consulting the central leadership. Majhi has now been advised to roll back the pay hike decision and the first step is to pass a resolution by the legislature party. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling said that such an important decision taken without consulting the central leadership was not well received by the Centre. This massive embarrassment has been saved just in time as the Governor is yet to give his assent on the Bill. As a first step towards roll back, a resolution was adopted for reconsideration of the Bill regarding legislators pay hike passed on December 9 at BJP Legislature Party chaired by the CM.
Indians are known to flout any and every rule if they are not watched or stopped. When abroad, they praise and follow all rules and regulations but once back home, their original instinct takes over. It is so widespread that nowadays, even traffic police personnel ignore the violators or at the most, capture them in mobile cameras. Hence, walking even on footpaths is no longer safe since ubiquitous two-wheelers can bump into you, from behind mostly. Traffic anywhere in India is a testimony to this national malady. Therefore, those criticising the British for enslaving India will find it quite unnerving that in Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune, some foreign nationals were seen stopping two-wheeler riders who were using the footpath and urging them to follow traffic rules. The incident has been recorded by Pune Mirror at Rakshak Chowk in the Pimple Nilakh area. Following its ‘X’ post, there is a barrage of angry retorts. One respondent says, “When outsiders have to teach us how to use our own roads, it’s a serious question mark on our civic sense. Rules aren’t optional, they reflect basic respect for others.” Politician Satyajit Tambe is equally critical. He has lamented in his post, “If foreigners feel the need to point out basic traffic rules, it highlights how urgently we need better civic sense on our roads.” Dr Neeraj Sharma is more direct when he writes, “It’s a shame that we need foreigners to come and teach us civility. I have repeatedly said that we need to change our primary education syllabus and add Civics and civility to it rather than reading about the Battle of Plassey.” The post hopefully serves some useful purpose.
Congress MLC Pradnya Satav’s decision to resign her post and join the BJP has wider ramifications than was initially understood. It is now clear that the most affected individual by her abrupt change of loyalty is none other than Rahul Gandhi. Although the state Congress failed to persuade her to stay over in the party, Pradnya decided to join the ruling party since she felt that no developmental work will be possible in her Hingoli area unless there is a strong political support. Unfortunately for the Congress party, its last leader from Marathwada, former CM Ashok Chavan, is now a BJP MP while his daughter is elected to the legislative assembly on that party’s ticket. Pradnya’s husband Rajiv Satav was a close confidant of Rahul Gandhi, who had entrusted him to handle the last assembly election in Gujarat. In that election, the Congress had won 77 seats, a record in recent times, against the BJP’s 99. After Rajiv’s untimely demise in 2021 in the Covid pandemic, the Congress party sent Pradnya to the state legislative council, a gesture to pay homage to her husband. However, over the past three years, Pradnya realised the importance of political backing and has decided to join the saffron outfit. With her decision, Rahul Gandhi’s leadership limitations have once again been exposed. Nonetheless, on her part, Pradnya has praised Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. But that will be her swan song for the Congress, it is now clear.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s latest attack on GST has exposed visible strain between her and the Chief Financial Adviser and former Finance Minister Dr Amit Mitra. She has questioned his role in backing the indirect tax regime and blamed the Centre for substantial losses to the state. She accused the Centre of collecting GST on behalf of states while withholding their legitimate share, alleging West Bengal has been deprived of Rs 20,000 crore. In an unusually direct reference to her adviser, Mamata questioned Dr Mitra’s support for GST during its formulation and rollout, when he chaired the drafting committee and advocated a uniform tax structure as economically beneficial. She said his position must now be explained in light of continued deductions from GST revenues and the scale of losses claimed by the state. Dr Mitra has pointed to parliamentary statements in which the Centre acknowledged GST fraud amounting to Rs 2 lakh crore. Mamata has countered that while the figure has been officially stated, there is no credible evidence establishing the actual scale of fraud, raising doubts over whether GST has resulted in net gains or losses for states. The remarks come weeks after Mamata publicly admitted that her government erred in accepting GST. She also said that during the GST rollout, Dr Mitra explained the concept of a uniform tax structure to her, an explanation she has since described as misguided, adding that it was based on this understanding that the TMC became the first party to support GST. The public questioning of Mitra highlights growing tensions within the state’s economic leadership amid intensifying Centre-state fiscal confrontations.
The BJP leadership had to recently redeploy Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal once again for handling Tamil Nadu assembly polls. This was apparently being done on request from the Tamil Nadu BJP unit. Even NDA ally — AIADMK chief Edappadi Palaniswami – had conveyed to top BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah that Goyal should be in charge of the state. Initially, the party had assigned senior leader Baijayant Panda and Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol to handle the southern state. Party sources felt Goyal had been a good election manager during the Lok Sabha polls and was quite hands on. TN BJP leaders also found MoS Mohol was too distracted and not taking interest in Chennai affairs. So TN BJP chief Nainar Nagendran rushed to Delhi and lobbied with central leadership to deploy Goyal once again so that BJP can give good results in the state. Nainar had cited the experience of state BJP during Lok Sabha polls. Yielding to local demand, the central BJP leadership tweaked its assignments for the poll-bound states. Goyal was given Tamil Nadu charge and Panda was given Assam. The responsibility of winning back Assam assembly elections will anyway largely lie with incumbent CM Himanta Biswas Sarma.
With the Election Commission releasing West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following the SIR exercise, which saw over 58 lakh voters removed across the state on grounds including death and migration, and voter profiles redrawn across districts and border belts ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, there is a disquiet in the ruling Trinamool Congress. What has particularly upset West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is voter deletion in her Bhabanipur constituency – nearly 44,787 voters have been deleted. The CM is also surprised that no complaints are forthcoming since the draft rolls were published. That is why the TMC leadership decided to deploy its booth-level agents for a fresh, door-to-door verification of deleted voters’ names in her constituency. Bhabanipur had 206,295 voters as of January 2025. The newly published draft rolls list has 161,509 names. TMC leaders are particularly upset over a large number of voters being marked “dead”, “shifted” or “absent”. “The party leadership made it clear that no valid voter’s name should be deleted under any circumstances. Every deleted name must be physically verified,” a TMC source said. Bhabanipur is a dense urban seat with many residents originally from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha. Mamata is also surprised that maximum deletion of voters, 74,533 has happened in Chowringhee constituency of her close friend Naina Bandhopadhya. In contrast, voter deletion from Nandigram — from where she lost – is just 10,550. The seat is now represented by her BJP rival Suvendu Adhikari. Reacting to names deleted in the SIR exercise, BJP leader Amit Malviya says the process has revealed that TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has stayed in power due to votes cast in the names of illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas.
Even a Kollywood super hero takes his vulnerability seriously. TVK chief Vijay’s mega meeting on September 27 at Karur where 41 people died in the stampede must be rankling him. Vijay just pulled the drawbridge across his Panaiyur residential moat, and stayed unavailable, licking his wounds and fearing the worst for his fledgling party. But TN being TN, politics and the election run up are unfolding at a furious pace. Vijay too broke his slumber and planned yet another mega meet…this time in Erode. This time he wasn’t taking any chances. The venue had 40 CCTV cameras, 24 ambulances, 70 doctors on call, supported by 120 nurses, 200 water tanks, with canned water at every point, 3 fire engines and 60 acres as a parking area. Former AIADMK heavyweight points man, AS Sengottaiyan turned Vijay’s GPS and capo di, took over to run the mega event. Having been a confidante of late MGR and JJ, Sengottaiyan is a veteran of political manoeuvring and masterful optics. Is he testing Sengottaiyan’s organisational skills? Even as Vijay was ready to preside over the sea of followers, a bike gang driving rashly crashed headlong …fortunately no loss. The adrenaline run cinema gang escaped with injuries. Vijay, with his confidence boosted, is planning the next meet. Gathering huge crowds is impressive but can this pole-vault him to the top?
The impact of actor-politician TVK chief Vijay, who held his second rally in Tamil Nadu’s Erode district on December 18 afternoon — his first in the state since 41 people died in a stampede in Karur on September 27 — is such that it is already making top DMK leaders rethink their election strategies. With Vijay already setting the tone of his campaign for next year’s Assembly election by borrowing from late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa’s lexicon and calling the ruling DMK as “thiya shakti” or “evil” forces, the top leadership one hears is scouting for safer assembly seats for the 2026 assembly elections. Both his Erode and Puducherry rallies had drawn such massive crowds, that the DMK leadership does not want to take any chance. It is being said that incumbent chief minister MK Stalin, is already toying with the idea of moving to his son Udhayanidhi’s seat– Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni. At present, Stalin represents the Kolathur State Assembly seat. It is another matter that he was recently seen visiting the area. It is also one of the six state legislative assembly constituencies that is part of Chennai North Lok Sabha seat. As for deputy CM Udhayanidhi, he is reportedly toying with the idea of contesting the Tiruvarur seat—the legacy seat in Thanjavur that his grandfather Karunanidhi had won in 2016 assembly polls recording his 13th straight victory since 1957.
Has sibling rivalry caught up with the Gandhis? According to Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, a former Congress leader now in the BJP, insists that the Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi set off for a visit to Germany in midst of Parliament’s Winter Session only after his Parliament speech on electoral reforms went bust and was compared with his sister Priyanka’s speech on Vande Mataram. Sources say the minister spoke about the sibling rift to give context to negative statements being made by the LoP about India — such as “Manufacturing is declining in India” in Germany. It is being said Rahul is apparently upset that his speech made no impact while Priyanaka’s created a buzz. Yet, there are few takers for stories of rifts between the Gandhi siblings. Younger sibling Priyanka regularly defends Rahul against the BJP’s political attacks. She had also fiercely defended Rahul’s trip to Germany. While it is true that both Rahul and mother Sonia have ensured that Priyanka does not have any role in the Congress, party sources say Priyanka has been micromanaging floor protests in her brother’s absence in the last few days. On the penultimate day of the Session, Priyanka used Question Hour to meet Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to sort out issues about her Wayanad constituency. However, too many disruptions cost Priyanka an opportunity to speak about air pollution in Delhi/NCR. The Lok Sabha was adjourned as soon as the house passed modified MNREGA or the new Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025. The House had sat till wee hours — till about 1.30 am — discussing the bill. Speaker Om Birla rejected Opposition pleas to send the Bill to a Standing Committee; After all, 99 speakers participated in the discussion.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee sacked state Sports & Youth Welfare Minister Aroop Biswas following the inept handling of the legendary footballer Lionel Messi event which turned ugly leading to chaos and vandalism at the Salt Lake stadium. The CM who has instituted an inquiry will handle his portfolio for now. Thousands of fans had bought costly tickets but failed to get a glimpse of GOAT Messi. The visuals of the vandalised parts of the stadium shown worldwide embarrassed the ruling Trinamool Congress. Biswas came under sharp criticism after images of him accompanying Messi at the stadium went viral, with football fans alleging that he remained in close proximity to the footballer during the event. Though Biswas wrote to Banerjee expressing his willingness to step down till the probe was completed, sources said the chief minister did not speak to him during two high-level meetings. Some of his associates had expected the controversy to be eclipsed by the publication of the draft voter list. The inquiry committee submitted its preliminary report to Nabanna on Monday (Dec 15) night. Acting on its recommendations, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant on Tuesday issued show-cause notices to DGP,police commissioner, principal secretary etc. Apparently, there has been a turf war between two TMC ministers — Sujit Bose and Aroop Biswas –over access to Messi. Bose has deep roots in Bengal’s sports administration and enjoys high visibility at major events, while Biswas, as Sports Minister, has overseen marquee tournaments, giving him clear institutional authority over visiting athletes. Beyond sports, the two are also perceived as rivals in Durga Puja — Sujit’s Sribhumi versus Aroop’s Suruchi Sangha. While Sujit’s interactions with Messi unfolded in the controlled confines of the hotel, Aroop sought to reclaim visibility at the stadium, where mass crowds and public attention mattered more. As a result the public anger focused on Biswas and Didi had to...
Delhi BJP leaders had mixed feelings when in February 2025 PM Modi zeroed in on a first term MLA from Shalimar Bagh, Rekha Gupta, as Delhi CM – over looking at claims of more worthy CM hopefuls. It was felt perhaps Modi was scripting a different kind of BJP administration for the national capital. Not the sort that Delhi has seen in the 90s either under Madanlal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma or Sushma Swaraj. Ten months later with Delhi and the National Capital Region battling a toxic AQI has Rekha Gupta’s elevation helped? Apparently not. The incumbent CM who has risen from the ranks — from a combative councillor to CM is increasingly proving to be a disappointment, say BJP sources. It is isn’t just her attempt to oversimplify toxic AQI of Delhi with her remarks like “AQI is a temperature that can be measured with any instrument”. Such inane remarks have so embarrassed everyone in the Delhi BJP that party leaders simply retreated into a shell. After all, no one could be seen contradicting her. What saved Delhi was Lionel Messi’s visit. It wasn’t until the football star reached Arun Jaitley Stadium CM Gupta was greeted with “AQI, AQI” chants that her Govt was forced to speak up and of course swing into action. Her environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa finally issued a public apology while asserting that ‘it is impossible for any government to clean up the entire pollution in 9-10 months’. Meanwhile it is being said Rekha Gupta functions a lot like women sarpanches — who authorise their husbands to act on their behalf. Delhi CM’s husband is reportedly present at official meetings. Not so much to influence her decisions but probably to enable her decisions.
The ICC World Twenty20 is only under two months away; So soon, may ask the passionate Indian cricket fan. For it was only in June 2024 that Rohit Sharma’s men in blue team stunned South Africa in the final at Bridgetown. Thanks to an extraordinary catch taken by Suryakumar Yadav around the straight boundary line, India could cause a turnaround in the match that had drifted South Africa’s way. The same Yadav is almost certain to lead the campaign in the February-March 2026 competition to be held in India and Sri Lanka. Yadav has not been in good nick for many matches, the selection committee has no other option though, but to zero in on Yadav to helm the team that will have Shubman Gill as vice-captain. India’s trump cards for some months have been Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma and the mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, but the focus will be on Gill and Yadav who form the core of the Indian team’s batting — being among the top-4. Yadav, clearly has been protected by his leadership that has won many internationals, including the Asia Cup, and lost a few. India has not lost a series since August 2023, winning in South Africa and Australia; its record in this phase is 31 wins including the two against South Africa in the ongoing series and losing just six. The team has won in different conditions, which is what gives credence to the belief that Yadav’s team can really have a good crack at the title that it won in 2024 after 17 years. In a short time left from its opening match against the USA in Mumbai on February 7 next year, the team will have to fix a few glitches.
The box‑office phenomenon around Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar has triggered an exhibition pivot: cinemas in Mumbai added a 12:45 am show and Pune introduced a 12:20 am screening, while several chains pushed regular schedules well past midnight into the early morning — a programming move usually reserved for only the most in‑demand releases. The reason being the consistently packed halls across key urban centres so the exhibitors risk these unconventional slots: audiences showed up in numbers that justified the supply. Dhurandhar’s commercial trajectory underscores that demand. The action drama crossed the Rs 300 crore mark within nine days, becoming one of the fastest films this year to join the milestone club. On its ninth day, the film recorded its highest single‑day collection of Rs 53 crore, taking the domestic cumulative to an estimated Rs 303 crore. Crucially, the Saturday spike — bigger than the previous weekend’s — and the surge in midnight attendance indicate momentum driven by word‑of‑mouth rather than opening weekend hype alone. Social media amplified that momentum. Memes, reels and trending soundtracks turned scenes and performances into viral currency, while controversies — including bans in several overseas markets — generated additional headlines and curiosity. What began as mixed critical response flipped into mass enthusiasm as online chatter translated into footfalls, proving how digital buzz can reshape a film’s theatrical destiny. If sustained, the success of late‑night Dhurandhar shows could set a precedent in Indian exhibition: when demand exists, exhibitors will extend screens and hours, turning midnight slots from novelty to viable revenue streams.
Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi courts seems to have landed in a bit of a controversy over his decision to opt for an official Type 7 VIP bungalow in Delhi’s posh 2 Teen Murti locality – close to the residence of the Union Cabinet Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Majhi is the first CM from Odisha to opt for a luxury type of residence in Delhi. Earlier, Odisha CMs while visiting the Capital stayed either at Odisha Bhawan (now officially closed for redevelopment) or stayed at the central government accommodation or at designated hotels. Majhi’s VIP culture has set tongues wagging. BJD, the Opposition party led by Naveen Patnaik, has taken a potshot at Majhi’s VIP culture and questioned the need for a luxurious bungalow in Delhi even though it has been officially allotted to him. The general ask is: why is Majhi who comes from a humble tribal background fostering VIP culture? And many say this is a wasteful expenditure since CM Majhi is not staying in Delhi permanently. Questions are also being asked about the security cost — 30 Odisha police platoons along with bullet proof vehicles have been deployed to look after CM’s security. By opting to have a permanent resident close to Dharmendra Pradhan’s house, political commentators now ask is it a preparatory signal for the next election?
The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation victory seems to have infused some life into BJP’s mission to break the last frontiers that are Kerala and Tamil Nadu. With the win under their belt, they have now named three Union ministers for talks with the AIADMK regarding seat sharing among the alliance with Piyush Goyal to lead the panel. The AIADMK, under Edappadi K Palaniswami has hit upon a formula to please the BJP by which it will take 160 seats and leave the other 74 for the allies to decide. The BJP will have to juggle with seat demands rising from the likes of Anbumani Ramadoss who brings his branch of the caste party PMK and the rump elements of the old undivided AIADMK like Sasikala, her confidant O Panneerselvam and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran and even the late actor Vijayakanth’s DMDK. But 74 is a good number with the BJP likely to keep at least half that give the rest to try and bring about a coalition of parties to boost the alliance’s vote share. Even so, Tamil Nadu may prove a tougher nut to crack than Kerala when it comes to letting in the BJP, which is considered a north Indian party trying to break its way into the south. The election scene has already got busier this season with Vijay’s TVK entering the fray to make it a genuine three-way contest.
Biju Janata Dal chief, former chief minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik has decided to forgo the recent salary hike and allowances passed in the Odisha Legislative Assembly. In a letter to the chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, he would like to “forgo the salary and allowances hiked for Leader of Opposition and utilise the same for the welfare of poor people of Odisha. He said he is indebted to the people of Odisha and their love towards him and his late father Biju Patnaik. It may be mentioned that in 2015 Patnaik and his family decided to donate their ancestral property Anand Bhavan in Cuttack for the people of Odisha. The Odisha Legislative Assembly increased the monthly salary of its members more than three times — from Rs 1.11 lakh to Rs 3.45 lakh, one of the highest in the country. It is understood that the salary of the chief minister, ministers, speaker, deputy speaker, the LoP and the pension of ex-MLAs were increased by around three times.
TRENDS & VIEWS
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.