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Inasmuch as one would like to pat the selection committee for facilitating Indian cricket skip a few steps ahead by naming Shubman Gill as captain of the men in blue one-day international team, the committee refused to state its position on the status of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma vis-a-vis their selection for the 2027 World Cup. Ajit Agarkar was right in saying that that October 2025 is not the right time to take an affirmative call for an event that’s going to happen in October-November 2027. Surely Agarkar and his committee could no way have “blocked” Virat and Rohit’s seats well in advance to leave the other contenders short-changed. The selection committee may or may not remain the same after next year’s BCCI AGM but a matter of vital importance is whether Virat and Rohit would continue to be picked for all one-day internationals — in all 21 ODIs after the three-match series in Australia. India is scheduled to play South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka (all a three match series at home till November 2026 and England and New Zealand, all a three-match away series) and indeed by end of 2026, a few more cricketers would be pressing hard for a place in the one-day team for the World Cup. India’s Test team will be occupied with a five-Test series at home in January-February 2027 before the scheduled WTC final in London, after which the focus will be on a round of a 50 over matches/tournaments. The million $ question is whether the selection committee and head coach Gautam Gambhir will allow the Virat-Rohit thorn to be in their flesh for that long.
After successfully pushing through GST-2 reforms, PM Modi had been looking for innovative ideas for governance. It was this search for ideas to further fuel his Viksit Bharat that led to him to interact with about 85 secretary-level officers of the government on October 6. About two dozen secretary-level officers heading various ministries and departments actively participated in the discussions. It is learnt officers were thrilled with the personal interaction they had with the PM. Three days after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan was already acting on their suggestions. On October 9, he wrote to the secretaries and asked them to roll out their ideas. Among the key points of action was promoting “indigenous development” of digital and social media platforms. The directive on digital platforms is significant as the number of internet subscribers in India as on March 2025 stood at 969.1 million, with most using foreign platforms like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and X. Significantly, PM Modi pushed for use of local platforms coinciding with the launch of Arattai, the messaging app developed by Tamil Nadu-based Zoho Corporation. Earlier, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw posted on X that he was switching to Zoho’s homegrown office suite software. Likewise, Home Minister Amit Shah too switched his official email service to Zoho Mail. In his letter, the Cabinet Secretary had also dissuaded ministries/departments from avoidable litigation and filing unnecessary court cases and wasting resources. Officials were also told to reorient PhD programmes to promote innovation and development of new ideas, and technologies, through topics that fit the emerging needs of the country – and conceptualise awards at the international level to recognise excellence in various fields. Overall, the ministries have been asked to promote “Atmanirbharta” and reduce imports.
In the last 14 India-West Indies Tests there were 25 centuries and all but two of them were by Indian batsmen. Making hundreds against the West Indies has become almost routine but the remarkable feature is that the Indian youth brigade is coming regularly to the party these days. Shubman Gill, just 26, who made his fifth Test century in just 12th innings as captain, was only a few innings behind Alastair Cook (9) and Sunil Gavaskar (10) in recording the feat. Even Sir Donald Bradman took 13 innings to make that fifth hundred as captain of Australia. Having also assumed responsibility as captain on the tour of England, Gill has five hundreds in the calendar year in his 10 Test centuries overall as he emulates Virat Kohli in making merry when hitting a purple patch of batting form. Pushing him hard in making Test centuries is the opener Yashasvi Jaiswal whose hunger for runs has become a lot more famous than his satiating his physical hunger by helping out at a Pani Puri stall outside the tented ground that was his home in Mumbai. The anger he showed in seeing his captain turn his back on him as he sought a quick single when in his 170s is evidence of how run-hungry Jaiswal is. Not yet 24, he joins South African Graeme smith as a quick collector of seven Test centuries as opener. Run making may get more difficult when Team India plays tougher opposition like South Africa in a home series, but the fact remains that there is a youth brigade that is making India proud again since the halcyon days of Gavaskar in 1971 when the breakthrough victory came in the Caribbean.
In a watershed year for Indian cinema, Kannada and Malayalam industries are leading the charge with blockbuster epics that blend cultural depth with universal spectacle. Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: Chapter 1 has shattered records, amassing Rs 500 crore worldwide, fuelled by its raw portrayal of Karnataka’s ‘Bhoota Kola’ rituals and environmental folklore. Shetty’s dual role as the fierce Panjara— a forest guardian clashing with modernity—delivers visceral action and spiritual resonance, backed by immersive folk music and stunning Udupi landscapes. The film’s grassroots appeal exploded through dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, turning rural myths into pan-Indian anthems and earning global acclaim at festivals like Busan. Hot on its heels, Malayalam’s Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra released on August 20, 2025, surged past Rs 300 crore in just six weeks, heralding a superhero saga rooted in Kerala’s matrilineal heritage. Director Dominic Arun masterfully fuses high-octane VFX with emotional intimacy, as producer Dulquer Salmaan crafts a universe where heroine Chandra (Kalyani Priyadarshan) wields ancestral powers against cosmic threats. Priyadarshan’s nuanced turn — from vulnerable orphan to empowered icon — fills a void in female-led genre tales, while spicy dialogue controversies sparked viral debates, boosting theatre footfalls. Salmaan’s bold vision promises spin-offs, blending local lore with Marvel-esque flair. This duo’s dominance underscores a broader renaissance: Gujarati’s Chhello Show 2 breached Rs 100 crore with its heartfelt immigrant saga; Marathi’s Dashaavtar hit Rs 50 crore via satirical family dramedy; and Tamil’s Coolie topped Rs 250 crore in labour-rights thriller mode. Smart OTT tie-ups, dubbed releases, and culturally authentic narratives propel these beyond regional silos, outshining Hindi’s faltering Param Sundari and Sunny Sankari ki Tulsi Kumari. As indigenous voices claim centre stage, Indian cinema evolves into a vibrant mosaic....
IndiGo seems to have cracked it. Their experiment to introduce direct flights between Manchester and Mumbai on July 1, seems to have more than enough takers. Emboldened by such a good response the airline has chalked up plans to add one more destination, Mumbai-London from October 26, making it the 45th destination. IndiGo has direct flights to Manchester and Amsterdam from Mumbai, and now it will be in direct competition with the established British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Air India. IndiGo continues its code-sharing as a partner carrier with some European and Middle Eastern airlines. The tremendous traffic growth — both business and regular travellers, the latest signing of the Free Trade Agreement between India and the UK, surge in India–UK activities on all fronts, including culture, has prompted IndiGo to offer this direct service, say aviation insiders. IndiGo will provide a trendy, competitive lower price at Rs 22,000 upwards for return tickets. IndiGo aims to attract budget travellers on its long-haul service. In addition to direct flights between Mumbai-London, it will also commence direct flights between Manchester-Delhi from November 15. It will certainly be good tidings to the residents of Delhi, north India, Gujarat, and Central India. with the vast network it operates from Delhi, being its headquarters. Mumbai serves as a hub for western India pockets. It is contemplating increasing its 3-day a week frequency to its current Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday schedule between Manchester to Mumbai, thus probably making a service of 9 flights freely in a week from Manchester.
Recruitment scam seems to be the new normal. Now, the state of Odisha is rocked by the Sub-Inspector Recruitment Scam. The Opposition parties, BJD and Congress, have been staging demonstrations against the ruling BJP government demanding a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in Combined Police Service Examination (CPSE) 2024. It is said that the written examination for recruitment of sub-inspectors conducted by the Odisha Police Recruitment Board was postponed after Berhampur Police busted a major recruitment racket with the arrest of 114 aspirants and three middlemen from the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border on September 30. Subsequent investigation revealed the role of an “organised criminal syndicate” was in place to subvert the entire examination process and give job to people who were willing to pay speed money. Sources say such a scam cannot happen without the blessings of senior government officials. It is alleged that each Sub-Inspector post was being sold for Rs 25 lakh. Informed sources say the scam could be worth around Rs 200 crore. So far Vanik Coaching Centre in Odisha is in focus. In the last 15 months, 16 recruitment exams have been cancelled at the last moment, leaving job aspirants frustrated. The BJP-led government by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi says the recent recruitment scam in police is the legacy of the previous Naveen Patnaik’s BJD government. When Short Post contacted DGP Y B Khurania he refused to comment saying, “he was going on leave”.
The idiom aging like an old wine seems apt for the 56-year old Bobby Deol. Finally, he has stepped out of the shadow of his father Dharmendra and brother Sunny Deol. For an actor who almost became a recluse and took to drinking, the comeback has proved all his detractors wrong. What changed his life was an innocent question by his children: why is daddy home and not going to work? This is what he said in an exhaustive interview to Times Now‘s Navika Kumar. He went out looking for a job and he was lucky. A web series came his way and his role as Baba Nirala in Aashram (2020) made audiences sit up again. Then came Animal (2023), where his near-silent performance stole the spotlight despite limited screen time. Suddenly, Bollywood’s “forgotten Deol” was the industry’s most talked-about star. Bobby made his debut in Barsaat (1995). With hit films like Gupt, Soldier, Badal and Bichhoo he had carved a niche for himself as the romantic action hero. His downfall started some time in 2010 as a lot of new faces emerged who were versatile. Now cut to current days, he seems breezing with confidence… zipping in and out of film sets or TV news studios. Sure, Bobby has bounced back but diehard industry watchers have a piece of advice for him. “Now, that films are coming the way, he should pick and choose…he should strike a fine balance between art and commerce…that’s a craft he needs to master”.
In the intensely competitive ecosystem of Kollywood, traversing 22 years and reaching Lady Super Star status is no mean feat …in the same demanding profession where beauty, fitness and a modicum of acting talent combine to make a star. Forty-year old Nayanthara has achieved this milestone, still holding steady as one of the highest paid heroines (Rs 7 crore per film) pan India. Before she turned into the legend Nayan, she was Diane Mariam Kurian, dad Kurian Kudiyattu from the armed forces and mother Omana Kurian who bestowed her beauty and grace. Maybe she carried her military disciplined upbringing to her profession. But Nayan, went through some stormy and controversial romantic hookups too…her dalliance with a married Prabhu Deva, her brief affairs with Simbu and Arya provided much chomping fodder to the media, hungry for titillating bits and bytes. From her first film, Manasinakkare in Malayalam in 2003, to playing Sarat Kumar’s lead in Aiyya in 2005 …pairing with Rajinikanth in Chandramukhi which put her in orbit …soon Vijay, Ajitt, Suriya, Vikram, Simbu, Dhanush and Arya were her co-stars. Nayan’s name guaranteed a good box office run. She carried a mythological, Mookuthi Amman on her shoulders and turned a craze among women; the director is now ready with Mookuthi Amman 2. Vignesh Shivan, her husband came into her life with his directed film Naanum Rowdy Thaan, a relationship that merged into marriage in 2002, a much-hyped wedding… Netflix filmed and marketed it. Her twin boys, Uyir and Ulagh keep her busy, even as she still works in films with the same zeal in heroine-oriented roles. Nayan’s cosmetics start-up is sought after by fashionistas.
Jindal (India), part of the BC Jindal Group, is all set to expand its Howrah steel plant in West Bengal with Rs 1,500-crore investment. Already operating two plants in the state producing a range of steel-based downstream products, the group will significantly enhance its production capabilities with this addition. The Jindal Group’s latest investment aligns with its broader plan to scale up steel production across India, aiming to invest Rs18,000 crore over the coming years to enhance overall manufacturing capacity. The new Rs 1,500-crore downstream facility in West Bengal, with an annual capacity of 0.6 million tonnes, is expected to boost the company’s existing capacity by 60%, significantly increasing production of coated flat products, pipes, and crash barriers. According to the company, the commissioning of the new cold rolling complex marks the completion of a key phase in the expansion project, raising Jindal India’s total downstream steel capacity from 1 million to 1.6 million tonnes annually. Currently, Jindal India operates two advanced West Bengal facilities specialising in cutting-edge colour coating, galvanising, and galvalume technologies, further strengthening its position in India’s steel sector. Beyond West Bengal, the company, through its subsidiary, Jindal India Steel Tech is setting up a greenfield steel manufacturing plant in Dhenkanal, Odisha. JISTL plans to invest a total of Rs 15,000 crore in Odisha in three phases by 2030, with the current Rs 3,600 crore investment marking the first phase of the project.
Each time Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) attempts to appease Lord Ayyappa, something horribly goes wrong. With elections around the corner, first municipality in December 2025 and assembly elections in early 2026, the CPM-led LDF has been doing its best to appease Lord Ayyappa. The Kerala government held a Global Ayyappa Sangamam on the banks of river Pamba last month, in the name of commemorating the platinum jubilee of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages Hindu temples across the state. The meets agenda also included promotion of pilgrim tourism and exploration of investment opportunities. The meet failed miserably when the Opposition Congress-led UDF and BJP opposed the meet. It ended in a whimper with very low attendance. The hype behind the meet led to the focus shifting to release of Ayyappa devotees arrested in the 2018 Sabarimala protest against the Supreme Court judgement permitting women of menstruating age to worship at the shrine. While devotees and people at large ignored the Supreme Court ruling, the LDF took special interest in implementing the Apex Court order by forcefully taking young women to the shrine with full police protection. This act left LDF not only alienating the Hindus in the state but also families of CPM cadres. The Left-oriented cadres, at least on paper may be atheists, but not their families.
After successfully pushing through GST-2 reforms, PM Modi had been looking for innovative ideas for governance. It was this search for ideas to further fuel his Viksit Bharat that led to him to interact with about 85 secretary-level officers of the government on October 6. About two dozen secretary-level officers heading various ministries and departments actively participated in the discussions. It is learnt officers were thrilled with the personal interaction they had with the PM. Three days after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan was already acting on their suggestions. On October 9, he wrote to the secretaries and asked them to roll out their ideas. Among the key points of action was promoting “indigenous development” of digital and social media platforms. The directive on digital platforms is significant as the number of internet subscribers in India as on March 2025 stood at 969.1 million, with most using foreign platforms like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and X. Significantly, PM Modi pushed for use of local platforms coinciding with the launch of Arattai, the messaging app developed by Tamil Nadu-based Zoho Corporation. Earlier, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw posted on X that he was switching to Zoho’s homegrown office suite software. Likewise, Home Minister Amit Shah too switched his official email service to Zoho Mail. In his letter, the Cabinet Secretary had also dissuaded ministries/departments from avoidable litigation and filing unnecessary court cases and wasting resources. Officials were also told to reorient PhD programmes to promote innovation and development of new ideas, and technologies, through topics that fit the emerging needs of the country – and conceptualise awards at the international level to recognise excellence in various fields. Overall, the ministries have been asked to promote “Atmanirbharta” and reduce imports.
Women journalists were conspicuous by their absence at a press conference by Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi on October 10. The participation was limited to less than 20 reporters. The exclusion of women journalists sparked political outrage nationwide. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demanded that PM Modi clarify his position on the incident, calling it “an insult to India’s women journalists.” In a post on X she asked “If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to the other, then how has this insult to some of India’s most competent women been allowed in our country, a country whose women are its backbone and its pride.” In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that it had no involvement in Muttaqi’s press interaction. The press conference was organised at the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi following bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Muttaqi. TMC MP Mahua Moitra in a post on X attacked the government saying, “How dare our government allow Taliban foreign minister Amir Muttaqi to exclude women journalists & hold a ‘male-only’ news conference on Indian soil with full protocol? How dare @DrSJaishankar agree to this? & why did our emasculated spineless male journos remain in room?” Former Union Home Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram also expressed shock and disappointment, saying “male journalists should have walked out in solidarity with their female colleagues.” During his bilateral meeting with Muttaqi, Jaishankar had announced that India would upgrade its Technical Mission in Kabul to the status of the Embassy of India. The Taliban minister will continue to be in India until October 16.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is apparently keen to move beyond the RJD’s traditional support base — the Yadavs and Muslims. It is being said that he is planning to contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly Election from two constituencies. Tejashwi currently represents the Raghopur seat. He is also toying with the idea of contesting from the Phulparas Assembly constituency in Madhubani district. The seat is currently held by Sheela Kumari of the JD(U). Phulparas is seen as a JD(U) stronghold. Significance of the Phulparas assembly seat is that it was once represented by notable OBC icon and former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur — both incumbent CM Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav were seen as his followers. The Modi government had posthumously awarded Thakur Bharat Ratna in January 2024. His son, Ram Nath Thakur, is a MoS in the Modi government. Phulparas holds historical significance because Karpoori Thakur contested from the seat after becoming Chief Minister in 1977. Tejashwi believes that if he also contests from Phulparas, it could significantly influence the support of extremely backward castes in the Kosi and Seemanchal regions. In January this year, the RJD held a grand event in Phulparas to mark the birth anniversary of Karpoori Thakur, which Tejashwi attended. During the event, local leaders and supporters urged him to contest from the constituency. Meanwhile, CM Nitish Kumar’s son, Nishant Kumar, could enter the electoral fray in Bihar. The supporters of the CM have reportedly urged him to field Nishant in the upcoming elections, and speculation is rife that Nitish Kumar may heed their demand. According to party insiders, JDU leaders and workers are keen for Nishant to contest from the Harnaut Assembly seat in Nalanda. The final decision, however, rests with Nitish Kumar.
Why has BSP leader Mayawati realised that her main enemy is the Samajwadi Party and its leader Akhilesh Yadav, and not the BJP? Is it because the SP wooed her Dalit voters? At a rally in Lucknow on October 9, she lavished praise on the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in UP for maintaining the Kanshi Ram memorial. The BSP supremo had returned to deliver a fiery address at the Shradhanjali Sabha for her mentor Kanshi Ram. “I am grateful to the current state government because they did not hold back the collection of funds from the sale of tickets to the memorials built during my regime, for their upkeep,” she said. Mayawati said she had written to CM Yogi Adityanath in this regard, who, she added and he had kept his promise. “Isliye humari party unki abhari hai (So, the BSP is grateful to CM Adityanath).” In contrast, she said, “The SP regime had held back the funds meant for these memorials, which had led to their deterioration.” At the same time, Mayawati blamed the BJP-led Centre for “falsely framing” her and her family members in some corruption cases through the CBI and Income-tax. She said that the Congress regime had done the same thing during the UPA regime. Mayawati also urged BSP supporters to back her nephew Akash Anand in the same way they supported her. The BSP’s electoral fortunes have been steadily declining since the 2022 UP Assembly elections when its vote share fell to 12.88% and it won only one seat. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BSP’s vote share dropped further to 9.39% and zero seats. These BSP vote share figures indicate that the party’s support base is now confined to its core group of Jatav community.
The Election Commission of India announced that Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases November 6 and 11. The counting will be on November 14.”Bihar poll is the mother of all elections, which is why a total of 8.5 lakh officers are deployed for Bihar elections,” said CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Closely questioned about the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls carried out in Bihar, the CEC assured, “People can still get their names added to voter lists till 10 days before the filing of nomination papers by candidates”. The electoral battle in the state will witness a direct contest between the ruling NDA led by chief minister Nitish Kumar and the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ led by the RJD. The NDA currently holds 131 seats — BJP 80, JD(U) 45, HAM(S) 4, and two independents. The Opposition has 111 seats — RJD 77, Congress 19, CPI(ML) 11, CPI(M) 2, and CPI 2. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj will also make its debut, contesting all 243 seats in the state. The CEC also said the number of voters at each polling station has been capped at 1,200 and that the serial number font and candidate photos — which used to be in black and white — will now be in colour. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav tried to strike an emotional chord with voters via X. He wrote “Bihar will vote for a change in the coming assembly polls. After 20 years, a grand festival will arrive that will dispel all sorrows and troubles. On that day, every Bihari will join Tejashwi in celebrating victory, because on that day, every Bihari will become Bihar’s CM – that is, CHANGE MAKER”.
In an interesting twist, the BJP’s Madhya Pradesh government has appointed DMK lawyer P Wilson in a OBC quota case before the Supreme Court. Wilson is presently Rajya Sabha MP of the DMK. An additional solicitor general of the UPA government, he apparently got another term in the RS from the DMK after his successful legal battle questioning powers of the Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. BJP circles were quite puzzled that the MP government should opt for a DMK counsel. The buzz is Wilson was not the direct pick of the MP government. Apparently, chief minister Mohan Yadav had requested the OBC Mahasabha to suggest a name for legal representation. The Mahasabha had recommended Wilson. The OBC Mahasabha filed an affidavit in the SC last week ahead of the regular hearing on the implementation of 27% OBC reservation and unfreezing of 13% reserved posts in MP. The SC is scheduled start regular hearing on OBC quota next week.CM Mohan Yadav had earlier convened an all-party meeting on August 28, where there was unanimous political support for the 27% OBC quota. The quota for OBCs in MP was raised from 14% to 27% through an ordinance by the previous Congress government under Kamal Nath, which ruled from December 2018 to March 2020. OBCs make up 51.8% of the state’s population. Choice of advocate P Wilson is interesting, considering he comes from TN where reservation for OBCs is 69% and was placed under 9th Schedule — that is cannot be challenged — due to efforts of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa. Wilson as a lawyer for the MP government has set off a political buzz that perhaps a loose alliance of sorts is being worked out between the DMK-TVK and the BJP.
Nothing has rattled the Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin more than the NDA team’s visit to assess the Karur incident involving TVK leader and actor Vijay. He charged the BJP of attempting to exploit the Karur stampede, which had claimed 41 lives, for political mileage rather than concern for the state. The NDA team led by Tamil speaking popular actor Hema Malini not only interacted with local people but the visitors have also shot off a letter to CM Stalin seeking department-wise accountability and responsibility for the incident. The letter is signed by one of the eight MPs on the team— former Union Minister Anurag Singh. Annoyed by the quick footed action from the NDA over the stampede, Stalin has claimed that the Centre had never responded when the state was struck by three major disasters that had left thousands suffering. He also charged that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had neither visited immediately nor released funds, but had now chosen instead to go to Karur. Interestingly, the FM had interacted with survivors directly seeking to know first-hand, if the Central assistance of Rs 2 lakhs announced by PM Modi had been credited to their accounts. Stalin sought to know why the BJP had not sent fact-finding committees to probe similar incidents in BJP ruled states like the Manipur internecine clashes or the Kumbh Mela stampede. He felt the NDA team was only being rushed to TN because of the upcoming assembly elections. Interestingly, controversial DMK minister Senthil Balaji held a presser at Karur, post the visit of the NDA team, to counter allegations that his henchmen had triggered the stampede.
With at least 41 people getting killed in a stampede at a political rally in Karur organised by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) of actor Vijay, a lot has changed in Tamil Nadu politics. The tragedy has completely rewritten the way Vijay can do politics in the state. It seems he cannot afford to go solo and needs to hitch his bandwagon to an alliance. May be the AIADMK-BJP alliance. Or some third alliance. Or else he may find crushed by the DMK. At least, three days after the stampede Vijay conceded that the stampede was a conspiracy that should have never happened. It is being said the stampede has so shattered the confidence of his followers and his workers that in a video message to CM MK Stalin, Vijay sought to know if the ruling party was seeking revenge. Clearly the DMK was unsettled by the kind of response he was getting from people. With a huge fan following, Vijay was not willing to have an alliance with the AIADMK. During his initial talks with AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) he had demanded that he be projected as CM. After the Karur incident, Vijay knows he needs friends desperately. To be fair, EPS promptly came out in his support. Former TN BJP chief K Annamalai pointed out that the presence of 400 cops at Vijay’s rally was inadequate. With Vijay seeking a CBI probe into the incident via petition in Madras High Court, it is important that he builds bridges with the Centre. It is learnt that Home Minister Amit Shah also reached out to Vijay. Meanwhile, TN Congress leaders are puzzled that Rahul Gandhi should even call up Vijay. That too when nine Cong MPs had met CM Stalin to discuss their constituency work only last week. Was the Congress deliberately misleading people about TN alliances?
India’s stunning win against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final and refusal of Congress leaders particularly Rahul Gandhi to acknowledge it has become an intense subject of political scrutiny. The BJP was quick to point out that it was perhaps similar to how the main Opposition party couldn’t congratulate the Indian Army for its stupendous strike during Operation Sindoor. Party’s I-T chief Amit Malviya in a post even suggested that the Congress was perhaps “waiting for permission from Pak minister Mohsin Naqvi and their other handlers in the neighbouring country” before joining the nation in celebrating the Indian cricket team’s success. Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dr Sudhanshu Trivedi said “both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra should keep sports separate from politics”, as they did not give any reaction to India’s victory over Pakistan. He said that the Congress and the opposition alliance are always ready to side with Pakistan at every level be it sports or diplomacy and this is their true identity. He pointed out it was India’s 9th victory in the Asia Cup. In this tournament, India defeated Pakistan three times consecutively. The Indian team made a clean sweep by winning all the matches in this Asia Cup. For this, the Indian cricket team, its captain Surya Kumar Yadav, and all the fellow players certainly deserve congratulations. PM Modi tweeted “Operation Sindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same — India wins!. Congrats to our cricketers.”
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was spearheading the demand for statehood for Ladakh and had been on an indefinite fast for 15 days, has been arrested. Wangchuk’s journey from thanking PM Modi for granting Ladakh’s UT status in August 2019 to inciting violence that left four people dead as recently as September 25 symbolises the dangers of political opportunism and external manipulation. Thousands of people had come out and indulged in arson and stoning. Local BJP office was set on fire. Wangchuk called off his indefinite fast soon after the violence spread. It is worth mentioning that the Centre had scheduled October 6 for talks between the agitators and the high-powered committee. Previously, informal talks were scheduled to begin on September 26. Despite these firm assurances, the agitators resorted to arson and violence. It’s not easy to understand the logic behind it. BJP leaders allege that Congress instigated the violence because the party wanted to create a “Nepal-type” situation in India. Why does Wangchuk now raise hackles in India’s power circles? One it is his close and continuing association with foreign funded LEAD India and International Association for Ladakh Studies. His climate project ICE STUPAS faced criticism from the locals for being unsustainable. His recent calls to halt the Army’s infrastructure projects in Ladakh citing climate concerns have sparked serious unease. Besides his American wife Rebecca Norman and her connection with Ford Foundation and Soros’s Open Societies have been a matter of concern. In 2023, Wangchuk began his outdoor hunger strikes, demanding “constitutional safeguards” like inclusion in the Sixth Schedule. It is unbelievable that the engineer-innovator Wangchuk who had developed solar power tents for Indian Army and inspired actor Aamir Khan’s character Phunsukh Wangdu in the popular film Three Idiots, is being portrayed as a NGO person using foreign funds– to undermine the country.
With Bihar assembly elections around the corner, both the BJP and the Congress were seen wooing women voters. While PM Modi reached out to women in Bihar via video conference from Delhi, formally launching the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana that promised to reach out to 75 lakh women across the state. Under the scheme, women would receive Rs 10,000 each through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into their bank accounts. Modi described the initiative as a transformative step for entrepreneurship among rural women. In his address, PM Modi said the scheme was possible because of the Jan Dhan financial inclusion programme launched 11 years ago. He called the scheme part of the government’s effort to make women “Lakhpati Didis” — women earning at least Rs 1 lakh a year — under the central government’s campaign to create 3 crore such women nationwide. The launch of the Rs 10,000 scheme by PM Modi clearly upset the Congress and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. For a party that has come to power in two southern states — Telangana and Karnataka — on the basis of guarantees it was odd that Priyanka even questioned the basis of DBT pay-outs in Bihar and its timing. Speaking to groups of women, she said the promise of Rs 10,000 so close to elections was a transparent attempt to secure votes. Why didn’t BJP give you Rs 10,000 for the last 20 years. Priyanka announced a Congress poll promise of granting land ownership to women. She said every landless family in Bihar would receive 3 to 5 decimals of land, and that ownership titles would be in the names of women.
Ahead of assembly elections in Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the BJP has deployed several Union ministers to take charge of these states’ elections. For Bihar, the BJP has appointed Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as its election in-charge. Alongside him, Union Minister CR Paatil and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya have also been named as co-in charges. Significantly, Pradhan and Maurya are prominent OBC leaders. With the Congress trying to play catch up with the NDA in OBC politics by releasing a resolution for Most Backward Classes or Atipichda Nyay Sankalp at its recent Patna CWC meeting, it is interesting that the BJP managers are prominent OBC leaders. The Bihar Legislative Assembly election for all 243 seats is scheduled for October–November 2025. The previous polls were held in October–November 2020, after which the NDA formed the government with Nitish Kumar as chief minister. In August 2022, JD(U) broke ties with the NDA and joined the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, only to return to the BJP-led NDA in January 2024, once again installing Nitish Kumar as CM. For West Bengal, the BJP has appointed Union Minister Bhupender Yadav as its election in-charge. Former Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb has been named as co-incharge. It is important to note that the BJP has appointed senior leader Baijayant Panda as election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, while Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol has been named as co-incharge. Party sources feel the choice of Panda for TN assumes significance as he was credited for turning around BJP’s fortune’s in Delhi and wresting the state from AAP this year. It is quite possible that the party leadership has similar expectations from him in the southern state too.
A fresh feud is taking shape in the family of RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, following a cryptic post by his daughter Rohini Acharya, who had donated her kidney to her father in 2022. While Tej Pratap has been sulking ever since father expelled him from the party earlier this year, Rohini who has been nursing political ambitions, raised eyebrows with a series of cryptic tweets in the past few days. Rohini, 47, wrote X: “I have been performing my duties as a daughter and a sister and will continue to do so. Neither am I hankering after a post nor do I have any political ambitions.” A medical graduate who chose to be a homemaker and settled with her husband in Singapore, Rohini first came to the limelight in 2022 when she donated a kidney to her father, who was in need of a transplant. Last year, she made an unsuccessful electoral debut from Saran constituency, which was represented by her father long ago. Speculations were rife that she wanted to try her luck again, in the upcoming assembly polls but got a cold shoulder from brother Tejashwi. Her brother’s refusal to accommodate her in state polls, made her attack his close aide – tech savvy Sanjay Yadav– a Haryana born leader Rajya Sabha since April 2024. He was introduced to Tejashwi by Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav. It is not clear if it was Sanjay Yadav’s idea to restrict “kith & kin” in ticket distribution. Whatever it is, the family feud is worrying the Congress — a key ally which is holding the CWC meeting in Patna on September 24. Meanwhile, to openly project Tejashwi as CM, Congress will look for some decent seat share.
Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai is once again in focus. The buzz in Chennai BJP is that he is probably working for the DMK. Or else it is inexplicable that after being cajoled into coordinating with his party colleagues by senior BJP leader BL Santosh — he had even dropped by Annamalai’s residence only last week — and had promised to work for the AIADMK-BJP alliance. Party sources say he was found liaising over the weekend with a breakaway AIADMK faction – TTV Dhinkaran’s AMMK — which he had insisted must be re-inducted into the NDA. This development so upset the state unit that TN BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran rushed to Delhi to meet BJP national president JP Nadda. It was felt Annamalai could be reaching out to Dhinakaran as part of Home Minister Amit Shah’s general advice to ensure BJP presence in southern districts of TN. But does that mean Shah would signal Annamalai to wreck the very foundation of BJP’s ties with the AIADMK and the understanding reached with party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS)? Possibly not. Party insiders feel Annamalai was most likely acting on his own as he expressed regret over Dhinakaran’s exclusion from the alliance. Sources say Annamalai is determined to weaken AIADMK chief EPS and split the BJP-AIADMK alliance. All this is being done with an eye to benefit the incumbent DMK, which is bound to benefit from a split in non-DMK votes. It is also possible he may be driving AIADMK, in desperation, towards the actor Vijay-led TVK. He wants to take revenge on EPS and prevent him from becoming CM in 2026.Within BJP, he is targeting his successor Nainar Nagenthran.
It is not just the BJP and its cadres that celebrated PM Modi’s 75th birthday. Even NDA’s ally and TDP Minister Nara Lokesh, currently on an official visit to the UK made it a point to pray for PM Modi’s health and longevity at ISKCON Temple in London, asserting confidence in Modi’s Leadership to build Viksit Bharat. Sharing his birthday wish for PM Modi, Andhra Pradesh IT, HRD, and RTGS Minister Nara Lokesh offered prayers at ISKCON London. He tweeted, “Started the day with prayers at @iskconlondon on the 75th birthday of our Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi ji. I sought blessings for his long life and his visionary leadership of our great country. I am confident we will achieve Viksit bharat under his guidance.” Interestingly, a day earlier the Andhra Pradesh government had hosted a high-profile Investor Roadshow in London at the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, as part of its global outreach to attract investments ahead of the CII Partnership Summit 2025, scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam on November 14–15. The event brought together more than 150 senior executives and global leaders representing sectors such as advanced manufacturing, finance, energy, and technology. In his remarks during the conversation with global leaders, Lokesh positioned Andhra Pradesh as India’s fastest-growing state. “Our message in London is clear: the sunrise state of Andhra Pradesh is the best place to do business in India. In just 15 months, we have facilitated investments worth over Rs 10 lakh crore and are now engaging global partners to be part of our journey towards becoming a $ 2.4 trillion economy by 2047″
There was much media hype about the revelation that Rahul Gandhi was to make in his press conference. He had hinted it would be a “hydrogen bomb” on ‘vote chori’. However, by afternoon Rahul was found diluting his own utterances via a post on X. The Congress leader who was raging about deletion of votes in Aland assembly seat in Karnataka in 2023 polls at a press conference at the AICC headquarters and had given the Election Commission a week’s time to reply to Karnataka CID’s letters and notices, was found looking for cover. He rushed to correct his mistakes after realising that the Aland seat was won by the Congress. This was pointed out by the BJP. Rahul Gandhi had “held an entire press conference” claiming that 6,018 votes were fraudulently deleted in Aland assembly seat and that the EC was blocking the CID investigation. “Until we pointed out that BR Patil, the incumbent MLA, is a Congress candidate. He even paraded people who claimed that their names were misused to delete votes, without the knowledge of the very individuals whose names were allegedly deleted. Now he makes a U-turn, saying their candidate could have lost if the votes were deleted! What a waste of public time,” said BJP’s Amit Malviya on X. The EC was quick to rebut all the charges. In a strongly worded response, the EC made it clear that no deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as “misconceived” by Rahul Gandhi. A FIR was filed by the EC itself to ensure the matter was investigated. One interesting giveaway from Rahul Gandhi’s attack on the CEC, was his claim that he had some Trojan horses within the EC who were leaking him info about EC’s working. No prizes for guessing…possibly officials brought in during the Congress time.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s response to the Supreme Court’s clean chit to Vantara has apparently not gone down well with the Ambanis. The Congress leader who takes a lot of pride in his earlier avatar as an environment minister in the UPA government tweeted on X questioning the speed at which an expert panel headed by Justice J Chelameswar probed alleged goings on in Vantara and submitted its report to the apex court, clearing the animal care centre of any wrongdoing. Party sources said sensitivities about Vantara were conveyed to Jairam by party bosses. The party leadership were equally shocked about the tone and tenor of Jairam’s post. In his post, Jairam even took pot shots at the judiciary for acting expressly. “When it chooses to, the Indian judicial system, which is defined by long delays, moves with the greatest of speed.” On August 25, 2025, the SC ordered an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the affairs of Vantara, the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre established by the Reliance Foundation in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The SIT, comprising four distinguished members, was directed to submit its report by September 12, 2025. The SIT submitted its report in a “sealed cover” meeting the deadline. The SC accepted its recommendations and closed the case which had been triggered by a PIL filed on August 7, 2025. If only all cases were dealt with and settled so expeditiously and categorically — of course without this mysterious “sealed cover” business! Incidentally, while Jairam has taken a contrarian view on Vantara order, animal activists like Maneka Gandhi came out extending her strong support to Vantara. She said “We have visited Vantara…It is here that animals get life.” Vantara is a project closely monitored and managed by Anant Ambani, the younger son of Mukesh Ambani.
The BJP leadership is all geared up to putting its Tamil Nadu house in order. With AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) meeting Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Tuesday (Sep 16) evening to firm up alliance in the state, ground was laid in TN to ensure smooth working within various groups and leaders. For a start, a coordination meeting of various state-level leaders within the state BJP was held in Chennai. The meeting was held in the presence of senior BJP functionary BL Santosh. The effect of the meeting was such that former TN BJP chief K Annamalai who was so far playing truant appeared mellowed down. For the first time, Annamalai conceded that EPS was drawing crowds in the state. Party sources said he had praised EPS in the party’s internal meeting too. This means Annamalai has come a long way; from initially opposing BJP’s alliance with the AIADMK to now agreeing to campaign with EPS. This would not only consolidate Gounder community votes in favour of the alliance but also consolidate victory. With Santosh in the chair along with TN BJP chief Nainar Nagendran it was decided that Nainar, Annamalai and EPS would now jointly campaign from Oct 1. It is not clear if Annanmalai had toned down his anti- AIADMK position because of a personal compulsion He is now compelled to answer queries over purchase of around six acres agricultural land in Coimbatore worth several crores of rupees. Annamalai said he had purchased it using a loan, his personal savings and that of his wife Akila. He had paid Rs 40 lakh in stamp duty and registration charges. Of course, no one in the BJP believes it.
Even as the Opposition Congress cribbed about PM Narendra Modi’s first visit to Manipur on September 13 as being “too little too late”– as it came nearly 2 years after the outbreak of ethnic violence — Modi used his presence in Imphal to send across a message of friendship to Nepal. He first congratulated Sushila Karki on becoming the country’s first woman Prime Minister. He lauded Karki’s elevation as “a very good example of women’s empowerment.” Speaking at a public meeting in Imphal, his first visit since violence broke out in 2023, PM Modi called Nepal a “close friend” of India and said the two nations are connected by “shared history and faith”. Among the small states in the North East, Manipur is the only Hindu majority state. More than reaching out to Nepal’s PM Sushila Karki, what is of significance is the manner in which Modi lauded Gen Z protesters — referring to images of Nepal youth cleaning and painting roads. Modi said “For the last few days, young men and women of Nepal can be seen working hard to clean and paint the roads of Nepal after violent protests. I have seen their pictures on social media as well. Their positive thinking and positive actions are not only inspiring but are also a clear indication of the new rise of Nepal.” It is believed Modi’s words were also meant for youth of Manipur who have been caught up in ethnic protest. In his opening remarks, PM Modi lauded how many Manipur children were involved in Op Sindoor – he particularly recalled the martyrdom of Deepak Chingakham.
Why did Rahul Gandhi as Leader of the Opposition (LoP) of Lok Sabha skip the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan on September 12? No, it has nothing to do with the miserable manner in which INDIA Bloc candidate B Surendra Reddy lost to CPR. It is being said Rahul’s office initially made inquiries to know where the Gandhi scion would be seated; whether he would be seated on the same row as PM Modi. When it was made clear that as LoP he enjoys Cabinet rank and would be seated with CMs on the third row, Rahul seems to have decided to skip the function. In fact, after PM Modi and former Vice-Presidents, the second row was taken up by governors, followed by the CMs. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi was caught in yet another controversy with the CPRF writing a letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, stating that Rahul was not taking his security cover “seriously” as he was mostly travelling abroad “without informing anyone”. The CRPF referred to Rahul’s foreign tours to countries: Italy (Dec 30-Jan 9), Vietnam (Mar 12-17), Dubai (Apr 17-23), Qatar (Jun 11-18), London (Jun 25-Jul 6) and Malaysia (Sep 4-8). The Rae Bareli MP is violating the protocols mentioned in the Yellow Book of the CRPF. As a former Congress president, he currently enjoys Z+ category security with Advanced Security Liaison (ASL). Z+ ASL is among the highest level of protection provided to individuals facing significant threat perception, and comprises roughly 55 security personnel, including National Security Guard commandos. In 2019, the Union government withdrew the Special Protection Group protection given to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, almost after three decades. The security cover was replaced by the CRPF.
By this time next week, the biopic on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath — Ajey: The Untold Story Of A Yogi — is slated for global release on September 19. The film made in multiple languages traces the remarkable journey of Ajay Singh Bisht, from a Himalayan village to becoming Yogi Adityanath, a monk, spiritual leader and his emergence as CM of Uttar Pradesh. Based on Shantanu Gupta’s bestselling book, The Monk Who Became Chief Minister (published in 2017) the film blends politics and spirituality in a compelling biopic. Gupta says an effort was made to produce it like M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016).”We got Dhoni script writer — Dilip Jha — to work on the film. Along with Priyank Dubey and me on the script, ” he says. The idea of making the film came to the author during Covid years. Gupta says it was his chance meeting with the California-based NRI Ajay Menji in course of promoting his book that led to the making of the biopic. When asked if Yogi had a sneak preview of the film, Gupta shared that of the two books that he had written on the UP CM, Yogi always preferred the second one — The Monk Who Transformed Uttar Pradesh (2021) — as it showcased his work. “He has not seen the film yet,” says Gupta. With only Bihar polls round the corner and UP polls, a good two years away.”Ajey” may have nothing to do with votes. The film under Samrat Cinematics banner with a modest budget of Rs 35 crore is directed by Lucknow born Rajinder Gautam. It has a stellar cast with Anantvijay Joshi, Paresh Rawal, Nirahua, Ajay Mengi, Rajesh Khattar, Pawan Malhotra, Garima Vikrant Singh and others.
In the run up to Tamil Nadu assembly elections early next year, Governor RN Ravi has announced to celebrate “Navratri Kolu” at the Raj Bhavan beginning from Sep 22-Oct 1. Kolu is a traditional way of celebrating Navratri in TN and across Tamil homes. It is interesting that Ravi, a Kerala cadre IPS officer who belongs to Bihar and has spent several years in the Intelligence Bureau before taking up gubernatorial assignments first in the North East (Nagaland) and now in TN, is popularising a Tamil tradition in the Raj Bhavan. He has thrown open doors of the Raj Bhavan to members of the public — inviting students, individuals and general public — to join the daily puja between 4-5 pm,and subsequently for an hour-long cultural programme. Interested members have been asked to register with an X handle specially created for the specific purpose by the Raj Bhavan. With ruling DMK leaders like deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin openly issuing statements against sanatana dharma, it will be nice to see the kind of interest the invite generates among ordinary Chennai residents.
The ruling BJP-led NDA’s candidate CP Radhakrishnan’s (CPR) election win as the Vice-President of India with 452 votes did not come as a surprise. What did was the margin — 14 additional votes that went in his favour! There is much speculation from where the extra votes came in. It is believed that MPs from secular bloc — including those belonging to DMK — at least four of them had reportedly voted for him. CPR is known to have good ties with the DMK and had won Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat twice with DMK’s support. Besides the DMK, other parties’ MPs from the SP and AAP too voted for CPR. The NDA already had 427 votes. With the declared support of 11 YSRCP MPs, that number went up to 438. Besides these extra votes, there were 15 invalid votes — 10 from the NDA side and five from the Opposition. The Opposition candidate — B Surendra Reddy polled 300 votes, 15 short of the 315 votes polled in his favour. Meanwhile, the Congress officially mocked the BRS and BJD for boycotting the Veep election with a post on the X, “If you call them the B team of BJP, they take offense. What more proof is needed than this? What compulsion does BRS have that it won’t even vote for a Telugu candidate? And Naveen Babu, even after such a humiliating defeat, you haven’t stopped giving them support”. It is being said Telangana CM Revanth Reddy apparently played a role in ensuring that the BRS with four Rajya Sabha MPs boycott V-P poll. The BRS has been under pressure ever since the Revanth Reddy government ordered probe into irregularities in Kalleshwaram project, argued a state MP. However, privately Congress leaders will have to thank Revanth Reddy for keeping the BRS away from the NDA. The Opposition candidate pick for V-P was Revanth Reddy’s choice.
The Congress may be basking on the “success” of its Vote Adhikar Yatra in Bihar but one tweet by its Kerala unit on GST saw the party apologise. A political storm was kicked up by the controversial tweet drawing a parallel between Bihar and bidis in an attempt to mock the BJP over latest GST reforms lowering GST on bidi from 28% to 18%. The Congress’s Kerala unit wrote, “Bidis and Bihar start with B. Cannot be considered sin anymore”. The tweet was deleted soon after RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav phoned Rahul Gandhi to contain the damage following backlash in social media. The Congress issued an apology on X and said that the jibe was twisted. “We see that our jibe at Modi’s election gimmick with GST rates is being twisted. Our apologies if you felt hurt.” The now-deleted post, which appeared to deride the state, triggered sharp reactions from the BJP and its ally, the JD(U), who accused the Congress of insulting the people of Bihar, a state headed for polls before November. The government’s action on bidis was apparently inspired by the RSS-linked Swadeshi Jagran Manch which wrote to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying that the 28% GST had hit employment in the registered sector of bidi manufacturing. This had also caused hardships for workers in unregistered beedi production units. The GST on tendu leaves used to make bidis has been reduced from 18% to 5%.
It may seem odd that the 56th GST Council meeting headed by FM Nirmala Sitharaman and state FMs which met for nearly 12 hours could clear the two-slab GST 2.0 reforms on a single day, but will be rolled out only from September 22 (Navratri begins)? Is the Modi government waiting for an auspicious start? The government is not waiting out the austere period of pitru paksha. Official sources say that the government was not really following a Hindu calendar and explained that the roll-out would need preparation of about 150 circulars and this would require working on the details, It was for this reason alone FM Sitharaman had refused to give any media interviews. And ironically, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who had more to do with the failed Indo-US trade deal, was all over TV talking about it. Meanwhile, some details have emerged about how Sitharaman and her team fought and won the September 3 high-stakes late-night battle, with Opposition-ruled states digging in their heels. According to sources, opposition-ruled West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala, and Karnataka strongly opposed rate cuts, citing fear of revenue loss. The meeting, slated to end by 7 pm, dragged late into the night, stretching beyond 9.30 pm. While Punjab and West Bengal eventually softened their stance, Kerala and Karnataka held firm, insisting on concrete assurances from the Centre on compensation. Some even pressed that the decision be postponed till the next day. At this point, Sitharaman told the gathering she was ready to sit through the night if needed, but relief for the people could not wait another day. It was the idea of voting if consensus wasn’t possible that made Kerala and Karnataka eventually climb down.
The BJP central leadership is apparently running out of patience with former Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai. He was among a handful of leaders — nearly all past party chiefs of Tamil Nadu — who were asked to reach Delhi for a meeting this week with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda for a discussion on TN assembly elections next year. Barring Vice-President candidate CP Radhakrishnan, who was also TN BJP chief, all were expected to join the meeting. Nadda had apparently phoned Annamalai to ensure he attended the meeting. However, Annamalai, who has been sulking since the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, seemed to have other plans. Not only did he fail to show up, but also shared on X how he was preoccupied with some wedding receptions rather than attending party work. During a recent visit to TN, Shah had advised him to focus on party work. So had FM Nirmala Sitharaman, who had suggested that he give up factionalism and take everyone along. Annamalai had resented Nirmala’s suggestion so much that he had even launched a campaign against her for poking her nose in TN affairs. Delhi leaders were shocked as the FM had no stake in TN and had acted only on Shah’s behalf. BJP sources now feel Annamalai is so upset with the AIADMK-BJP pact, he will now do anything to emerge as a spoiler, halting the AIADMK-BJP in its tracks. Annamalai is aware that AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami’s tours are a big draw now and can’t tolerate a fellow Gounder (a OBC caste) doing so politically well. BJP feels he may try to bail out the DMK or Vijay’s TVK as a vote spoiler.
At the GST Council Meeting, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman bust the myth that the Centre would continue to prop up states for revenue loss while rolling out GST reforms. The minister who had at the start of her media briefing thanked every member state for making it possible to roll out the two slab GST — 5 % and 18 % — made it clear that as far as “loss of revenue” was concerned it wouldn’t be just the states that would lose revenue, even the Centre would see a drop in earnings. “The Centre may be a one-third partner. The states put together can be two-thirds partners. But we are all in it together. So, anything that is gained or lost is for everybody. It’s not as if states have lost. If all of us have lost, all of us have lost…In the GST Council, the Centre and the states are together in it. Nobody is a donor and nobody is a done…” The new GST slab would be effective from September 22, the first day of Navratri. Sin goods will continue at the existing rates of 28% GST and compensation cess, where applicable, till the loan and interest payment obligations under the compensation cess account are completely discharged. Once it is cleared it will be40% GST for sin goods. All states unanimously voted in favour of GST rationalisation, as the collective intent was to provide relief to common man. When mocked about the 40% tax on sin goods by the Congress, Sitharaman couldn’t help asking if the Congress was demanding 5% GST on tobacco and gutkha? She pointed out how the Congress could not implement GST while in office as it was not trusted by anyone.
Tamil Nadu Congress MP Sudha Ramakrishnan is much relieved to have got back the chain that was snatched from her during morning walk in Chanakyapuri’s diplomatic enclave early August. It took the Delhi Police two days to crack the case and nab the culprit. However, the process of recovering the stolen ornament via Patiala court was a bit long drawn. Reminiscing about the special place the chain had in her life she said she always wore it only because of the Tirupati Balaji pendant. She had bought it with her hard-earned money when she started out as a lawyer “I hold the pendant very close to my heart. I bought it from Vummidi Bangaru in Chennai.” It is the same place from where the Modi government had got Sengol for the Lok Sabha in 2023. “In fact, soon after I lost it, friends were telling me that I will never find it as the chain-snatchers normally melt the ornaments. I was so disheartened that I had promised myself never to bother praying to Balaji if I didn’t get my pendant back. Next day, I received a call from Delhi Police, asking me to reach the court.” In Patiala House she was apparently shown an array of different gold chains and pendants. “That’s when I realised, I was probably blessed as an MP.” As per Delhi Police data, 2,503 cases of snatching occurred in the Capital in the first six months of this year.
It is believed that Jagdeep Dhankhar is merely biding his time to lash out against Modi government next week for his sudden exit as Vice-President of India on July 21. He will apparently speak up on September 10, that is a day after the Vice-President’s election on September 9. Just to puncture the celebratory mood in the NDA camp over the possible victory margin in the vice-presidential election of CP Radhakrishnan. A month after he stepped down as V-P, Dhankhar recently vacated his official residence and moved into a farmhouse owned by Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Abhay Chautala in Delhi’s Chattarpur Enclave, a stop-gap arrangement till he gets an alternative official accommodation. The choice of the farmhouse by Dhankhar is being projected as a political statement. The ties between Dhankhar and the Chautalas go back nearly 40 years, to 1989, when Abhay’s grandfather Devi Lal – Haryana’s foremost Jat leader and then chief minister – identified the young lawyer from Rajasthan as a potential “leader”. In turn, Dhankhar, also a Jat, always referred to Devi Lal as his “mentor”. Dhankhar’s association with the Chautalas began when he caught Devi Lal’s eye for organising reportedly 500 vehicles from Rajasthan for a rally held on September 25, 1989, to mark Devi Lal’s birthday, at Boat Club near India Gate. In the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, Devi Lal offered Dhankhar the Janata Dal ticket from the Jhunjhunu Lok Sabha seat, and actively campaigned for him. Dhankhar, now it is learnt, is going to be chief guest at Devi Lal Farmers rally in Jhind on September 25. where he is likely to reveal his political mind. There are speculations Jayant Choudhary, a minister in Modi govt may join Dhankhar rally? Looks like Dhankhar wants to lead Jat movement in north India.
At a time when the Modi government is thinking of handing a bonanza to the Indian consumers and kickstarting the economy, the Opposition is already thinking of ways and means to create hurdles. At a meeting convened at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, 8 eight Opposition ruled states resolved to demand protection of their revenue interests when the GST rationalisation exercise comes up before the GST Council at its 56th meeting on September 3-4. The biggest cut in GST is expected now, and apprehensions about revenue losses to states have surfaced. These states estimate a revenue loss to be around Rs 50,000 crore during this financial year and nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore next financial year. While NDA-ruled states are backing the Centre’s strategy of cutting GST, the Opposition-ruled states do not want to grapple with potential revenue losses, especially at a time when Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala are heading for Assembly elections. Besides, the Congress has a political problem with GST cuts. That is because the GST cuts were part of PM Modi’s Independence Day speech when he promised GST cuts on items used by common people as a Diwali bonanza. The Opposition states are demanding a 5-year compensation for the rate cut, the sort of compensation that they received when GST was introduced in 2017. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh demanded compensation to all states for a period of five years with 2024-25 as the base year, since their revenues are bound to be adversely impacted by the rate cuts. He also wanted additional levies on ‘sin’ and luxury goods over and above the proposed 40% should be fully transferred to states. Today the Centre gets close to 17-18% of its revenue from various cesses that are not shared with the states.
At an interactive session marking Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s centenary celebrations in Delhi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat made it clear that there weren’t any differences between the Sangh and BJP. Responding to a bunch of pre-submitted questions at Vigyan Bhawan, he made it clear that while there may be “struggle” between the two organisations, “there is no quarrel”. “There can be matbhed (difference of opinion) here, but no manbhed (heart-to-heart disagreement). We need to move forward in one direction, and not different ones,” he asserted. He added that the goals of the two organisations are the same. A big takeaway from Bhagwat’s interaction was that he clarified on his idea of retiring at 75 years of age, which was widely seen as a reference to PM Modi. Even as the event coordinator read out a question that said, in as many words, that his statement “was seen as a reference to PM Modi — he will turn 75 next month. Bhagwat, who is a week older than Modi, clarified that “I never said I will or someone else should retire. At the Sangh function in Nagpur, I was merely quoting a witticism by Moropant ji (senior Sangh leader Moreshwar Nilkanth Pingle aka ‘Moropant’) about how when someone gives you a ceremonial shawl at 75, you should think of retirement.” So, this is not for the retirement of anybody or myself he said. Another highlight was Bhagwat making it clear that Sangh doesn’t get to choose who will be next BJP president…if the RSS indeed had a say it would probably not have taken so long. In the same breath Bhagwat added that political leaders must have space to act independently.
Karnataka government’s decision to invite Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate Mysuru Dussehra festivities was censured after a video went viral in which she was seen criticising the worship of the Kannada language in the form of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari. At the 2023 Jana Sahitya Sammelana, Banu Mushtaq had said the appropriation of Kannada as Goddess Bhuvaneshwari draped in yellow and red, the colours of turmeric and vermilion, was “exclusionary” to people like her (minorities). BJP state president BY Vijayendra asked Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the Mysuru Dussehra only after accepting the Sanatana culture and rituals. “The Sanatana Dharma includes idol worship and offering prayers to the deity. Do you agree with that?” He also took exception to Siddaramaiah’s decision to invite only Banu Mushtaq and ignore translator Deepa Basthi. Hindutva proponents asked how Banu Mushtaq agreed to “bow down before Chamundeshwari’s grandeur when “she cannot tolerate Kannada Bhuvaneshwari”. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya claimed that there was a bigger “game plan” behind having Banu Mushtaq. He felt these were not isolated moves… “The so-called Anti-Communal Task Force, the Hate Speech Bill, the Rohith Vemula Bill pushed at Rahul Gandhi’s insistence on the dubious Dharmasthala SIT, and now the Congress government’s decision to invite Banu Mushtaq…are part of a single, well-orchestrated game plan scripted by urban naxals and Marxists, executed with the full enthusiasm of Siddaramaiah government.” On her part, Banu Mushtaq made course corrections. She termed Dussehra a state festival and said referring to Mother Chamundeshwari with love and affection is a part of our culture. “That’s why it is dear to me as well. People call her Mother Chamundeshwari. I respect the people’s sentiment.”
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin has decided to skip the ‘Global Ayyappa Sangamam’ being organised by the Travancore Devaswom Board at Pampa in Kerala as part of its 75th anniversary on September 20. Oddly, he has cited “prior commitments” in his letter to his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan, and has deputed two state ministers to participate. The political buzz is that Stalin most likely excused himself from the event because of the pressure exerted by the BJP. The invitation from Kerala CM had kicked up a political row with the BJP criticising the invitation extended to Stalin. TN BJP president Nainar Nagenthran, in his post on X, wrote that deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, minister TRB Rajaa, former Minister K Ponmudy and DMK treasurer TR Baalu had made “disgraceful remarks” against Hindus. Nagenthran had said if Stalin intends to attend the event, as a first step, he should make the above DMK leaders apologise for their remarks. Besides, Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar strongly objected to Stalin’s participation. He demanded that both chief ministers apologise to Hindus “Pinarayi, Stalin and his Deputy Chief Minister son Udhayanidhi Stalin have hurt the sentiments of the Hindus and are trying to sabotage Hindu beliefs. Pinarayi government jailed many Ayyappa devotees and unleashed brutal police attacks against devotees who tried to protect the belief on restriction on women’s entry to Sabarima Ayyappa temple,” Chandrasekhar said in a statement. It is most likely in this backdrop that Stalin has chosen to skip visiting Kerala.
Can Opposition leaders like Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee or Congress CM Siddaramaiah or AAP CM Bhagwant Mann shun a high-level panel being set up by the Centre to prepare for the centennial birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee? Just because they are politically opposed to PM Modi. Of course, not. The Ministry of Culture has notified three high-level committees for the commemoration of 150th birth anniversaries of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Birsa Munda, and the centennial birth anniversary of Vajpayee. PM Modi will chair each committee which as members have several CMs as well as union ministers. The committee for Sardar Patel will have 124 members is top heavy panel and includes former Presidents Pratibha Patil, Ramnath Kovind, Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and has 21 CMs, including Opposition CMs Siddaramaiah, Omar Abdullah, Sikhvinder Singh Sukkhu, MK Stalin and Revanth Reddy. The committee also has Patel’s family members Nandini and Diribhai Patel. The committee on Birsa Munda has 118 members, including President Patil and President Kovind, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, several cabinet ministers and 20 Governors and L-Gs. The committee also has over 20 CMs, including Opposition CMs Hemant Soren, Pinarayi Vijayan and Revanth Reddy, besides Naidu and Advani. The Committee on Vajpayee has 124 members, and in addition to the former Presidents and Cabinet ministers, Advani and Naidu, 19 Governors and L-Gs and 17 CMs including Mamata Banerjee and Bhagwant Mann, besides Soren and Siddaramaiah. This committee also has as members Ranjan Gogoi, spiritual guru Ravi Shankar, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Ram Madhav, Suresh Prabhu, Kapil Dev, Azim Premji as well as Advani’s daughter Pratibha Advani.
Wayanad Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra takes her role as a lawmaker very seriously. Not only does she articulate problems of her constituency inside the Lok Sabha, she is also known to take up issues of her constituency with Union Ministers. It is being said when she meets Central ministers, it is not for a private tete a tete. She is always taking along a delegation of Kerala MPs. State MPs, one hears, are extremely happy that the Gandhi girl has made it possible for Opposition MPs to have dialogue with the government on state issues. She recently had a meeting with Health Minister and BJP President JP Nadda on issues of Wayanad. She was accompanied by Kerala MPs, mostly from the Congress. Sharing details of her interaction on X, Priyanka requested Nadda to expedite some health projects in Wayanad and to apprise him of the severe difficulties being faced by the local population in the absence of the Medical College in Mananthavady. “We also discussed the need for better healthcare for Wayanad’s tribal population, their specific health issues, pending NHM funds and the need for a specialised trauma centre catering to cases of animal attacks in the area. Along with this all of us also renewed the long-standing request for an AIIMS for Kerala.” On her X timeline, one finds, she has showcased how Wayanad Coffee has received a Special Mention under Category A – Agriculture in the GoI’s ODOP program — the first such recognition for any product from Kerala. This honour celebrates the dedication of Wayanad’s farmers and the unique identity of their GI-tagged Robusta Coffee, a pillar of Wayanad’s economy. Unlike her brother Rahul who is determined to push even a fake narrative of inflated vote count by the BJP to win 2024 polls, Priyanka seems focussed on governance issues.
Even as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is moving in Bihar on ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, he is being hailed as ‘compassionate’ and dubbed ‘a leader of the poor and the needy’ after he secretly got a new pucca house built for party member Bhagirath Manjhi, a resident of Gaya in Bihar. Bhagirath Majhi is the son of Dashrath Manjhi, known as the ‘Mountain Man’ for having cut a large mountain block to build a road to his native place, Gehlaur in Gaya, all by himself. As per the Bihar government records, Dashrath had carved a path — 110 m long, 9.1 m wide and 7.7 m deep — through a ridge of hills using only a hammer and chisel. Dashrath completed the daunting task single-handedly with the sole objective of connecting his remote and inaccessible village with the Wazirganj block in Gaya district. Bhagirath Manjhi, considered influential among the local tribals and someone who has an inclination for politics, had joined the Congress in January 2025 in a jolt to the ruling JDU, which he had joined in 2023. On June 6, Rahul visited the mud hut of Bhagirath, sat with the family, shared coconut water and listened to their concerns. Rahul then asked the local leaders to ensure that a brick house was built in place of the mud hut and provided funds for the same. Over the past months, Rahul had been engaging with local icons, marginalised communities and symbolic figures besides holding ‘Save Constitution’ conclaves to regain political ground in Bihar, where assembly elections are due in October-November. Bhagirath Manjhi, who had attended the ‘Save Constitution’ meet in Bodh Gaya, may well get a Congress ticket to contest the upcoming Assembly elections from the Bodh Gaya constituency.
Mysuru’s iconic Dasara celebrations are set to soar to new heights this year with an IAF air show planned as part of the festivities. In a major boost, the Modi government approved shifting the annual air show from Bengaluru where it is normally held to Mysuru. An elated Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah thanked Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and extended a formal invitation to him to attend. In a letter addressed to Singh and shared by Siddaramaiah’s office, he said: “It would be a great honour if you could personally grace the occasion. Your august presence will be a source of immense encouragement to the citizens of Karnataka and will further strengthen the bond of respect and admiration that we hold for our Armed Forces.” Dasara 2025, Karnataka’s ‘Naada Habba‘, will be held in Mysuru from September 22 to October 2. The celebrations will feature a blend of traditional and grand events including the Gajapayana (elephant march), extended palace illumination, vibrant cultural programmes, and the majestic Vijayadashami procession, Jamboo Savari. Meanwhile even as Karnataka CM was only too happy with the Centre for being kind to him with its move on IAF air show and as well as bringing a law to block leaders with criminal antecedents from holding office (hopefully implicating DKS), his deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, who has been probed by the ED, surprised his colleagues in the state assembly and flaunted his familiarity with RSS’s signature anthem “Namaste Sada Vatsale“. It wasn’t clear if DKS was sending a desperate message to the Gandhis or trying to reach out to the Centre.
On the penultimate day of Monsoon Session of the Parliament, PM Narendra Modi once again reloaded his battle against corruption–a theme which had won him the historic mandate for the first time in 2014. It is a battle in which people have always stood with him. Coming on the eve of Bihar elections, it surely helps set the mood for the polls. Home Minister Amit Shah moved the 130th Constitutional Amendment in the Lok Sabha that brought the PM’s office into the ambit of law along with that of CMs, State Ministers and other Ministers. By this amendment Modi was essentially reversing the 39th Constitution Amendment which Indira Gandhi had brought during the Emergency in 1975 to exclude her office from prosecution. Of course, Rahul Gandhi explained it as going back to medieval times when the king could just remove anybody at will. An entire Opposition saw a BJP design to destabilise their government. The Centre had legitimate worries. Delhi saw 3 AAP leaders reluctant to quit during their jail term — Arvind Kejriwal, Satyender Jain and Manish Sisodia. Then there has been the classic case of Senthil Balaji in TN who the DMK inducted into the cabinet while on bail. Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal attacked Shah. He said, leaders of the BJP are saying that this bill is to bring morality into politics. “Can I ask the Home Minister a question? When he was the home minister of Gujarat, he was arrested. Did he uphold morality at that time?” Quickly rebutting Venugopal, Shah said when the Congress trapped him in a completely fabricated case, he had resigned even before being arrested. “I did not hold any constitutional position and even after being released on bail, until the court fully acquitted me.”
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin was apparently livid on learning that a section of his party leaders had begun to project the Vice-President election as a “Centre Vs DMK battle”. He was particularly shocked to find out that party’s Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva had thrown his hat in the ring by offering to be Opposition Veep candidate. This DMK leader known to often break into Mohammed Rafi songs fancied he could win some popular rating among MPs. The main concern was that DMK votes do not go to Tamil candidates offered by the NDA – CP Radhakrishnan (CPR). Siva’s soundbite was all over Tamil news channels. This at a time when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had reached out to Stalin seeking his support for CPR. It is being said Stalin gave an earful to Siva. DMK’s hyperactivity made TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee oppose a Tamil candidate; she wondered why everyone was mollycoddling the DMK when TMC was a larger party with 28 Lok Sabha MPs than DMK’s 22. That’s why the Opposition opted for pro-left Justice Surendra Reddy. A pro Left judge, his appeal could be among those ideologically backing him, not culturally. The YSRCP which is outside the NDA has already extended support to CPR. More Opposition votes are likely to cross over or abstain. As for Stalin, he is still struggling to cope with the charge about how his father Karunanidhi had not helped a Tamil president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam get a second term as Sonia Gandhi was opposed to it. In all probability Stalin who enjoys a good equation with CPR may not repeat his father’s mistake. Meanwhile CPR who is in Delhi is not staying in Maharashtra Sadan though he continues to be Maharashtra Governor. He is staying at the residence of Union Minister Prahlad Joshi, his campaign manager for the elections.
At a time when a section of the Opposition leaders such as Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Manoj Jha and Jairam Ramesh were all keen that former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar should take on the Modi government for forcing him out of office and were hoping that he would possibly be propped up as a candidate for the September 9 Veep election. On his part, Dhankhar has played wisely and remained out of reach for the Opposition leaders. A seemingly worried Kapil Sibal posted on X seeking the whereabouts of Dhankhar and made it clear that only Home Minister Amit Shah should know; Dhankhar himself did not fall for the Opposition bait. He has played by his ear and instincts. According to well-informed Jaipur journos, the political buzz is that PM Modi and Dhankhar have already reached a deal. They probably had a meeting. Though the contours of the Modi-Dhankhar agreement are not clear, the government has been making arrangements to please the Jat leader from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. The Rajya Sabha secretariat last week appointed Kaustubh Sudhakar Bhalekar, who had been Dhankhar’s senior PS, as the private secretary to the former VP. Sources said there are about 20 people who Dhankhar had brought in along with him in the secretariat. There are issues about regularising their services. With nominations closing for Vice-President next week, it remains to be who will be the Opposition candidate for V-P contest.
In a surprise pick the BJP-led NDA announced Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the Vice-Presidential election to be held next month. He would be the second leader from Tamil Nadu after President R Venkataraman to preside over the Rajya Sabha as its chairman. His elevation would be significant as it would come on the eve of Tamil Nadu assembly elections next year. Radhakrishnan belongs to the dominant Gounder community just as AIADMK chief Edapadi K Palaniswami and former TN BJP chief K Annamalai. The candidate choice could pose a problem for the DMK which has 29 Lok Sabha MPs and 10 Rajya Sabha MPs. It surely can’t be seen voting against a Tamil candidate and may have to back the NDA choice. He is known to enjoy good equation with the DMK. In 1999, he got the DMK to join Vajpayee-led NDA government.. It may be recalled that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha had voted for President Droupadi Murmu in 2022 because she was the first tribal candidate for presidency even though she was NDA’s choice. Radhakrishan’s announcement was made at the end of the BJP parliamentary board meeting, which was attended by top party leaders, including PM Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah. Radhakrishnan’s choice for the high office is interesting as it comes a year after he was sworn in as Maharashtra Governor on July 31, 2024. Before serving as Maharashtra Governor, he served as the Governor of Jharkhand for nearly one and a half years. Born on October 20, 1957, in Tiruppur in TN, the Maharashtra Governor has been a member of the RSS and served as the State Executive Committee Member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1974.
It is now clear why Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was more keen on street protests than keeping his appointment with the Election Commission of India on August 11 to discuss Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar. In its communication to the Congress leader, the EC had said it cannot host more than 30 people. The Congress was asked to send a list of Opposition leaders who would like to interact with the EC. Jairam Ramesh had even confirmed the appointment and EC officials were waiting for details to make arrangements to receive them. However, now one hears Rahul suddenly changed his mind and decided that the Opposition must go en masse, demonstrate its street power rather than go for a sombre interaction with the EC. Rahul’s street move took both the Opposition leaders and EC by surprise. It is learnt that the Congress found it difficult to pick 30 Opposition leaders as there were too many factions in every party. For instance, when the Congress began drawing up the list, each party claimed that they wanted to send in at least 12 leaders as part of a team to meet the EC. For instance factionalism was quite apparent in DMK which has 22 Lok Sabha MPs; half its members owed allegiance to Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi and the other half to TN Deputy CM Udhyanidhi Stalin. It was then that Rahul dropped plans of meeting the EC officials. He was only too happy to hit the streets as it created a media buzz. Also, a dinner hosted by Mallikarjun Kharge in a 5-star hotel saw 300 MPs turn up. His conversation veered around to how the Modi government was now over ! Only the SC verdict banning street dogs in Delhi-NCR clouded the Opposition celebrations!
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has announced a three-member panel to investigate the allegations of corruption against Allahabad High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Verma. The panel includes Supreme Court judge Justice Arvind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, and Karnataka High Court senior advocate BV Acharya. Inclusion of Acharya is of particular interest; he was the public prosecutor in Tamil Nadu CM late Jayalalithaa’s corruption case and is credited with taking the case to its logical conclusion. The panel will submit a report on the allegations against Justice Verma soon. Justice Verma has been at the heart of the storm after unaccounted cash was found at his home. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla informed the House that he had received a motion for the impeachment of Justice Verma by BJP MP Ravishankar Prasad as well as leaders of the Opposition and leaders of the alliance of the ruling party on July 21. Former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar had resigned after he made an abortive attempt to take up a Opposition-sponsored motion in the Rajya Sabha to impeach Justice Verma.
Looks like there is going to be a high-profile electoral contest within the “elite” Constitution Club of India, as two senior BJP leaders and former Union ministers, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Sanjeev Kumar Balyan are facing each other for the post of Secretary. The club which has about 1200 members mainly consisting of MPs and existing ex-MPs is sharply divided on how Rudy has made the club so unaffordable for ordinary MPs. A section of the BJP is backing Jat leader and former Muzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan as Rudy has revamped the club beyond anyone’s affordability. The general buzz is that it has been made so exclusive that only “the corrupt and commission agents can afford the place”. “We have to replace Rudy and reclaim the Club that was founded in 1947 by President Dr S Radhakrishnan. If MPs cannot afford to step in, why should those who run it be there?”, asked Dr Sonkar Shastri, BJP Dalit leader. He pointed out that the rates charged in the restaurant were simply unaffordable for any retired MP. “On a monthly pension of Rs 31,000, I cannot possibly have a meal of Rs 900. When a meal in the Parliament canteen is Rs 70 or Rs 50 at our BJP office”. Dr Shastri is mobilising support of OBC and Dalit MPs in support of Balyan. So is Godda MP Nishikant Dubey. With voting set on August12, the wager is Rudy is likely to find going tough. A seasoned parliamentarian and trained commercial pilot, Rudy has previously been elected unopposed. On the other hand, Balyan’s connection with western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana leaders seems to be working in his favour. Some MPs are also helping him garner votes from southern states.
On a day when Rahul Gandhi led a Opposition charge against the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar, KN Rajanna, ST/Dalit minister in Karnataka was forced to resign for criticising his “vote theft” charge in Mahadevapura assembly segment. Rajanna, a close aide of chief minister Siddaramaiah was forced to quit to strengthen Rahul’s battle against SIR in Bihar. Or so it seems. However, it is not clear if making a ST/Dalit leader– he belongs to the Valmiki community — is a politically wise move ahead of Bihar polls. Rajanna had questioned Rahul’s charge that the EC “colluded” with the BJP to allow more than one lakh bogus votes in the Mahadevapura assembly constituency. Rajanna pointed out that objections were invited after draft electoral rolls were prepared under our government. “What were we doing then? Shouldn’t we have checked the draft electoral rolls”. It is being said Rahul’s “vote chori” bogey in Mahadevapura assembly segment that falls in Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat had simply also caught CM by surprise. He didn’t expect his deputy CM DK Shivkumar (DKS) to raise the issue of “vote chori” in Mahadevapura — which mainly has a floating population of I-T employees. The CM had assumed deputy CM as Karnataka PCC chief would have known better and expected him to flag the issue of vote chori in Bangalore Rural (Lok Sabha) from where his brother DK Suresh had lost. DKS, it is learnt, deliberately picked up Mahadevpura seat to earn brownie points with the Gandhis and help him become CM by year-end. It must be said CM Siddaramaiah was seen warmly receiving PM Modi at the Bengaluru airport over the weekend.
Air Chief Marshal AP Singh’s statement about how the Indian Air Force (IAF) took down six Pakistan Air Force aircraft during Operation Sindoor should hopefully be the last word for those, particularly the Congress who have been doubting our military operations against Pakistan. “We have at least five fighters confirmed killed and one large aircraft which could be an ELINT aircraft or an AEW&C aircraft which was taken out from a distance of about 300 km, which is the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about.” This is the first time a senior officer of the armed force had officially confirmed bringing down Pakistan air assets. Air Chief Marshal also credited the political leadership for giving the forces the full freedom to plan and execute the attacks. “A key reason for success was the presence of political will. There were very clear directions given to us. No restrictions were put on us….” said Air Chief Marshal Singh. LoP Rahul Gandhi and his deputy Gaurav Gogoi had questioned in the Parliament why PM Modi suddenly stopped Operation Sindoor on the evening of May 10. Without realising that Op Sindoor was a high-tech war fought with sophisticated indigenously developed missile systems such as Akash and the Brahmos, Gogoi had even sought to know why our aircrafts had not entered Pak air space. It was inconceivable for Congress leaders that Pak targets could be taken without crossing the border. That’s why Air Chief Marshal Singh recalled that it had been difficult to convince people about India’s Balakot attack(2019) without evidence. He shared “before and after” satellite images of the terror targets that were struck during the May 7 attack.
Bungalow No 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, is the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s new official address. With voter fraud as the main menu of the house warming, Rahul played the host at his new residence on August 7 evening. His mother Sonia and Priyanka let him have all the spotlight and attention. He was seen interacting with all guests. Congress allies like Dr Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference and UBT Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and his wife Rashmi were among the guests. He made a PowerPoint presentation to top opposition leaders on the “vote theft” in Karnataka — the one that he had done for the press earlier. Rahul claimed that internal surveys conducted by the Congress had projected wins in 16 of Karnataka’s 28 Lok Sabha seats, but the party ended up winning only 9. He used this discrepancy to allege “definite voter fraud,” once again pointing fingers at the Election Commission. Experts feel this line of reasoning is deeply flawed. Internal polls are neither transparent nor independently verified, and often reflect the optimism of campaign teams more than ground realities. If internal polls were a foolproof benchmark for electoral outcomes, then by that logic, the BJP should have cried foul for not crossing the 400-seat mark it had projected. He questioned how the BJP, despite completing two terms at the Centre, managed to secure a third consecutive win. “Anti-incumbency hits every party in every democracy,” he said, suggesting that the absence of such sentiment pointed to manipulation. The absence of anti-incumbency is not proof of fraud. Voters re-elect governments when they perceive stability, delivery, and leadership, particularly in the absence of a compelling alternative. India has seen this before under leaders like Nehru and Indira Gandhi, just as Germany did under Angela Merkel.
Telangana CM Revanth Reddy’s controversial remarks about eliminating anyone whether rich or in any position,” if he comes against Rahul Gandhi’s command or rule”, Telangana is going to write his death order. His remarks had gone viral as he was seen to be taking on PM Narendra Modi on behalf of Rahul Gandhi. Telangana Congress leaders are however now convinced that Reddy, who had initially been in BJP, was perhaps indulging only in a mock fight or noora kushti to please the Gandhis and earn their trust. Apparently, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi conveyed to Telangana Congress leaders visiting him that Revanth Reddy speaking strongly against PM Modi and attacking him served a purpose. Perhaps, he was doing it with PM Modi’s blessings. “Unless you attack me, the Congress leadership will not trust you,” Modi had advised CM sometime back. It may be noted that CM Reddy’s remarks were made at a Congress protest rally held to push for President’s assent to the bill passed by the Telangana government to ensure 42% reservation for OBCs in local governance. It was seen as a strong message being sent across to PM Modi. However, within hours after Revanth Reddy’s warning, Telangana CMO clarified that the CM had used only a figurative political expression such as — mithi mein mila denge — to emphasise state’s strong resolve to defeat “anti-democratic forces” through “democratic means”.
Has the U.S. President Donald Trump’s punitive tariff war with India pushed PM Narendra Modi to have his sort of “Indira is India” or rather “Modi is India” moment! Well, almost unwittingly yes. A day after U.S. President imposed another 25% levy on India taking the total to 50 %, making it among the highest imposed by the U.S. on any country for buying Russia oil, PM Modi gave a veiled response to President Trump’s tariff threats on India, saying that India will “never compromise” on interest of its farmers. “For us, the interest of our farmers is our top priority. India will never compromise on the interests of farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers,” he said. India has been under the U.S. pressure to open its market to dairy products. New Delhi was particularly resisting U.S. dairy products because milk is secured from meat-fed bovine. “I know we will have to pay a heavy price for it and I am ready for it. India is ready for it,” he said, ‘his words were so much like the late PM Indira Gandhi. Meanwhile NSA Ajit Doval who interacted with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow amidst U.S. tariff tantrums announced that Putin would visit India later this month. Interestingly, business leaders rallied behind the government. Anand Mahindra felt Trump’s tariff threat could unleash “unintended consequences”. He wondered, “Just as the 1991 forex reserves crisis triggered liberalisation, can today’s global ‘Manthan’ over tariffs yield some ‘Amrit’ for us? Shouldn’t India seize this moment to shape a virtuous consequence for itself?” Modi’s robust stand against U.S. tariff must have surely surprised Rahul Gandhi who had jibed him about his hands being tied because of cases against Adani in the U.S.
A much-relieved Delhi Police posted on X that “the case of snatching of a chain” of Congress MP from Mayiladuthurai Sudha Ramakrishnan (R Sudha) has been solved. “The accused has been arrested and the chain has been recovered.” The police had cracked the case within 48 hours. The chain snatching was posed as a political challenge to Union Home Minister Amit Shah who recently emerged as India’s longest serving home minister (2258 days) — outdoing LK Advani’s (2,256 days) record. Shah must have surely got the whip cracking on the Delhi Police to deliver as the embattled Congress MP dragged his office into her travails. It is being said the police scanned 1500 CCTVs and over 200 people quizzed to zero in on the alleged chain snatcher. It almost seems like a throwback to what happened in October last year when French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou was robbed of his mobile phone in Chandni Chowk. Delhi Police had managed to recover it after making a few arrests. The gold chain was snatched on August 4 from Congress MP by a bike-borne snatcher in the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri. The MP was on a morning walk with fellow lawmaker, DMK’s Rajathi Salma, near the Polish Embassy. She also wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who oversees law and order in Delhi, and said her chain was snatched by “a man wearing a full helmet” on a scooter. The MP had raised questions of women security in a high-security zone like Chanakyapuri, which houses embassies and protected institutions.
In an interesting twist to politics in Tamil Nadu and Kerala ahead of assembly elections in the two states next year, it is being said a section of Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu are keen on sealing an electoral alliance with popular film star Vijay who has floated Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Party MPs like ManickamTagore are reportedly sending delegations from the state to lobby with the AICC leadership on advantages of dumping its traditional ally, the DMK and opt for a political newbie like actor Vijay’s TVK. While the 2026 election would be actor Vijay’s first political foray into electoral politics, what is giving the Congress’s confidence to invest in him is his popularity rating among the Tamil Nadu youth and his ability to reach out to young and depressed classes. Congress leaders also feel the DMK is not in a good shape and is facing a lot of political headwinds as of now. Of course, a Congress tie-up with TVK is not being pushed by Manickam Tagore alone. It is being said that AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, who hails from Kerala, also feels having a tie-up with the TVK would boost Congress prospects in neighbouring Kerala assembly polls. He feels Vijay’s campaign in Kerala could boost UDF prospects as his films are popular in Kerala too. As of now in TN, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami is an early starter and his campaign tours have begun to draw huge response. With BJP making right organisational change by appointing Nainar Nagendran to head its state unit, AIADMK-BJP tie-up does pose a strong challenge to the incumbent DMK.
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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.